Research Associate @ National Centre for Aerospace Innovation and Research (NCAIR)

The aim of this project is to provide a leading Indian aerospace manufacturer with remote, secure, real-time monitoring and analytics of the status and effectiveness of machines on the shop floor

A typical shop-floor manager cannot monitor each machine individually. Various decisions related to the purchase of parts/tools, replacement of the machine, signing-up new projects etc. depend on the OEE of the machine. IoT based solution look promising in this regard and can provide the manager with secure real-time and historical information with just a few clicks from anywhere in the world.

I am responsible for the entire link spanning the sensors, the IoT device and the server. I developed the plan for data collection from the sensors, on-board processing on the IoT device, transmission to the server over secure HTTPS connection and subsequent data processing and storage on the server. I also devised the test cases for the backend Machine Learning algorithm to identify the state of the machine (ON/OFF/Cutting) from the sensor data. I interfaced with the Machining Group, Analytics Group and Front-end team to understand their constraints and requirements pertaining to sensor locations, volume and type of data, and the transfer speed. I will now work on the fabrication of the final device and subsequent testing on-site.

This being an on-going project, the final output is yet to be delivered. However, I've presented a poster on this topic:

"Manufacturing Analytics: IoT based Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) Measurement and Improvement", at Applied Materials India Engineering and Technology Conference (IIT Bombay, India), September 27, 2018

This project enhanced my knowledge and skills related to embedded electronics. Further, it introduced me to various new concepts related to Networks and Communication. It also taught me about various non-technical factors (aesthetics, economics, user-friendliness etc.) that come into play during product-development and deployment. Hoping to learn a lot more as the project progresses.

NCAIR is an industry-academia consortium founded in IIT Bombay in collaboration with Boeing and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with a vision to create a world-class aerospace manufacturing ecosystem in India. Website: http://www.ncair.in/