The 3rd F2F meeting of the I-MECH consortium took place on 12-14 of November 2018 in Madrid, hosted by GMV A&D. The agenda consisted of plenary meetings to report the progress at work package (WP) level and multiple parallel sessions to align on building block (BB) details. A fruitful discussion took place between the meeting participants and decisions were made regarding the ongoing and near future activities. The short summary of the meeting outcome (per WP and BB) is given below.
The work accomplished in WP2 (Reference System Architecture), was summarized via the illustration of the “I-MECH 1.0” framework to serve as a tangible reference for “greenfield” pilots.
The progress of WP3 (Instrumentation layer design and development) which is mainly related to Layer 1 was presented via the actual status of BB1 (Platform for smart sensors with advanced data processing), BB2 (Real-time wireless Sensors), BB4 (High Speed Vision), BB5 (High Performance Current Amplifiers) and BB10 (HW for Multi-Many Core Control). The main achievement of the BB1 is that now the HW topology is clear and the team is focusing on how pilot users can customize it for their specific function. The BB2 team showed the new sensors (some of them programmed in a model-based system engineering (MBSE) way). In fact their integration in Pilot 4 has already started. BB4 will be represented as a less fast, but cost effective solution at Layer 1 level, using a SoC solution of a CPU and GPU (in one device). Additionally, it will bring-in an ultra-fast but costly solution using an Industrial PC (and dedicated cards). The BB5 owner showed the BB5 prototype which is ready for verification. Finally the BB10 will bring-up two hardware implementations for Layer 2: FPGA and CPU based.
The progress of WP4 (Control Layer design and development) closely related to Layer 2 was presented through the actual status of BB7 (Vibration Control), BB8 (Model based Multi-variable Control), BB9 (Iterative & Repetitive Control) and BB11 (SW for Multi-many Core Control). The involved tasks have successfully applied the techniques of BB7 and BB8 in an approach that aligned with the methodology of WP2. In the first quarter of 2019, the interface of the involved SW part (in Simulink) will be tailored to the framework details for “I-MECH 1.0”. Thus, the BBs will become available in a Simulink environment from where ‘code’ is generated for the 2 HW platforms of BB10. This MBSE approach is facilitated by the BB11. The progress report of BB11 revealed that the FPGA based solution will bring a subset of the complete interface between Layer 3 and Layer 2. The team of the CPU based solution revealed details about a Xen hypervisor with an ERIKA Enterprise RTOS on top of it.
WP5 (mainly related to condition monitoring and associated infrastructure) presented the actual status of BB3 (Robust conditioning Monitoring) and BB6 (Auto tuning & Self-commissioning). The team, working on BB3 showed that the methodology of WP2 can be applied for (high-speed) vibration monitoring & diagnosis at both Layer 1, whilst judging trends at Layer 3 level. The team working on BB6 showed a Simulink representation that can be used for both Layer 2 and Layer 1 hardwares (for use in a Power Inverter). BB6 demonstrated that they are ready for MIL (Model in the Loop), SIL (Software in the Loop), PIL (Processor in the Loop) and HIL (Hardware in the Loop) use.
WP6, which is about the integration process, shared ideas about how the first V (verification) of a W approach (meaning that firstly, the BBs will be verified in an isolated environment) will be addressed in the first quarter of 2019. The associated deliverable D6.1 has already been submitted at the end of November.
WP7, which has to do with the Pilots that hold Building Blocks, explained that Pilot 1 (GSC) and Pilot 2 (12-INCH Stage) will demonstrate a “greenfield” integration of the I-MECH framework with (almost) all building blocks. Other Pilots will, in most cases, incorporate the methodology of I-MECH and/or Building Blocks.
Regarding the dissemination, exploitation & communication activities (WP8), the states behind the I-MECH communication channels like the website, LinkedIn and Twitter were presented. A campaign to increase the number of followers on LinkedIn page was very successful as, at this moment, the project has more than 140 followers. New perspectives under the umbrella of Industry 4.E Lighthouse were explored.
It was a great meeting and besides the ‘formal’ part, multiple bilateral chats during the social event in the great city of Madrid, brought a stronger bond between European partners of I-MECH!