Projects Selected for Award Negotiations:

10 projects have been selected for award negotiations from proposal submissions in response to CESMII’s third RFP issued in June 2021.  These projects will develop and apply Smart Manufacturing (SM) solutions to improve energy productivity, operational performance, and quality, as well as develop hands-on education and training materials to upskill the workforce.  The portfolio of projects tightly aligns with the goals and metrics of CESMII, as well as the updated institute roadmap. Below is a brief description of each of the projects:

Spiral Technology, GE Renewable Energy and LM Wind Power

Will develop an Augmented Reality based solution to decrease cycle time, increase accuracy and throughput for composite wind turbine blade manufacturing and inspection. The solution will be integrated with CESMII’s SM Innovation Platform. The projected impact for 15 locations is estimated to be $40M in additional revenue. 
The solution can be tailored for other use cases in composites manufacturing.

Rutgers University

Will create test beds to demonstrate integration of legacy mill and lathe with wireless 5G-enabled sensors and edge computing for blade milling and high-value aerospace component repair.  The solution will include edge-based data transfer, control algorithms, deep learning tools and SM Profiles for blade milling and adaptive repairing.  The solution will lead to lower surface defects and rework (up to 25%), lower costs (at least 20%) and improve energy efficiency.  Higher quality blades could impact jet engine efficiency and hence CO2 emissions.

Falkonry and ArcelorMittal

Will develop and demonstrate a solution to predict the strip breaks in steel cold rolling mills, reducing downtime and improving productivity by creating reusable structured information models (SM Profiles) and a data driven predictive model demonstrated with the SM Innovation Platform. The projected impact from a 15-day reduction in downtime is worth $3.5M annually for steel mills. Prevention of strip breaks will also result in a significant reduction in re-work, reducing energy usage and carbon emissions.

RPI, G-W Process Optimization and Krinos Foods

Will develop a solution to improve product quality, waste and energy consumption for mixers and fillers in food manufacturing by creating reusable structured information models (SM Profiles) and a data driven predictive model demonstrated with the SM Innovation Platform. The project will result in an anticipated throughput increase of 15% and a waste reduction of 10%, leading to higher energy productivity for the manufacturer.

Adapdix and Intel

Will demonstrate an AI/ML based solution for wafer-handling automated robotic work cells to predict and optimize cell performance, enabled by a structured information model (SM Profile) for real-time data collection on vibrations, cell performance parameters, and predictive maintenance.  The solution is expected to significantly reduce downtime at Intel, with broader application across the electronics industry.

Linde and Emerson

Will partner to develop new digital solutions to predict impending failures and improve reliability for Air Separation Units (ASU), using new IIoT sensors and analytics tools integrated with CESMII’s SM Innovation Platform.  The project will also demonstrate use of SM Profiles (information models) and Apps from the CESMII marketplace.  The project will result in lowering excess oxygen and improve energy efficiency, with a potential impact on 4600 ASUs around the world.

Tulip 

Will develop a set of role-based, simulated work cell exercises to train students on IIoT, analytics, no-code application development and industrial SM applications.  The hands-on software-based exercises will be published for CESMII and can be used to design education curricula cost effectively.  The projected will enable simulation-based training and content development and expands CESMII’s library of educational resources.

Smart Automation Certification Alliance (SACA) will partner with Amatrol

To develop and pilot a new smart manufacturing micro-credentials program (SM Fundamentals, SM Visualization, SM Production Systems and SM Cybersecurity) that addresses the operations and maintenance skills associated with energy efficiency and small-medium business solutions. The program will be piloted for industry and academic members of SACA and CESMII and will specifically benefit SMMs.

Amatrol will partner with Texas A&M and community colleges

To develop low-cost hands-on teaching tools based on Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) and Digital Twins (DT) for a scalable workforce development model for the nation without need for equipment investment. The project increases access to AR/VR based, low-cost training resources to accelerate the development of SM skills, increasing the pool of educators with SM skills and making training for incumbent workers more accessible at scale.

Finger Lakes Community College will partner Purdue University

To develop basic, intermediate, and advanced resources for educating students at community colleges, baccalaureate institutions and SMMs.  It addresses a gap in semi-automation training, connected workers and leverages the benchtop training system developed by Penn State from prior work funded by CESMII.  The project will enable co-op training for community colleges and incumbent workforce at small and medium manufacturers.

   * One additional project selection will be announced at a later date.

CESMII Roadmap Projects Request for Proposals (RFP3)

This RFP represents the third group of Request for Proposals for the institute, covering both technology as well as workforce development. It focuses on areas that have not been addressed in the previous RFP. Approximately $4.8M ($2.4M Federal and $2.4M cost share) will be made available for this RFP. The RFP is divided into four different but highly connected focus areas and corresponding classes of projects.

1. Enabling R&D projects target development and demonstration of building block technologies such as sensing, control, analytics and process modeling with R&D focused on closing specific gaps in each building block area.
2. Workforce Development projects are focused on generation of education and training content, tools for training and a knowledge repository to serve the talent pipeline as well as the existing workforce.
3. SM Innovation Platform Capability projects address specific gaps in the core capabilities of the platform, including connectivity, contextualization, instance management and SM solution integration.
4. SM Innovation Projects help solve manufacturing use cases using SM technologies and solutions (leveraging the core capabilities of the SM Innovation Platform) while creating structured information models (SM Profiles™) and innovative SM software Applications that will be used to populate the SM Marketplace™ in the future.

Focus areas (FA) 3 and 4 will support the efforts of focus area 1 in a way to provide Platform Capabilities and demonstrate these capabilities through selected Enabling R&D projects as use cases, as applicable. We encourage proposals that can combine FA 1 with either FA 3 and/or FA 4 in collaboration with solution provider(s) and system integrator(s). Additional details are provided in the subsequent sections.

We invite you to respond to one or more of our focus areas.  The details of each focus area will be listed below, and are in our RFP3 Document.  A list of additional resources are included at the end of this page.

Focus area #1: Enabling R&D

1. SM solutions that demonstrate integration of SM building block technologies: This work will focus on demonstration of integrated solutions (including all building blocks – sensing, control, analytics, modeling) for impact on energy and productivity through process optimization for two uses cases: one for process industry, one for discrete manufacturing.
2. Development and demonstration of SM solutions for energy productivity improvement in linked manufacturing processes: This work will have emphasis on the use of SM in multi-step production flow-paths for increasing energy efficiency and improve productivity, through demonstration of multi-step feed-forward control and optimization by leveraging use of building block technologies and information flow.
3. Demonstrate cost effective sensing and sensor integration solutions for legacy equipment using wireless communications such as 5G: Emerging technologies like 5G communications create opportunities for a large segment of small and medium manufacturers for low-cost sensing and connectivity particularly for legacy equipment. This work would focus on developing and demonstrating 5G based sensing/connectivity solutions in at least two distinct use case scenarios relevant to SMMs.

Focus area #2: Education and Workforce Development

1. Workforce SM Skills Curriculum development for a micro-credentials programs to upskill the workforce. This program will provide more flexibility for employees to take courses and accumulate credentials while they are working. We want to provide a pathway to 2 and 4-year programs and ways to skip courses through testing for employees that have already acquired some skills. Initial outline for curriculum and target occupations has been developed by the CESMII Education Committee but will be firmed up as part of this project. We are pursuing curriculum that leverages CESMII educational tools including the SM Innovation Platform (SMIP), Educational SM Apps, and the hardware and software in the SM Learning System. Several universities and community colleges in the CESMII Network of Educators and Trainers are committed to adoption and delivery of this hands-on curriculum and helping us shape the pathways. This project will generate guides for the instructors and suggested student exercises for each course.
   • Part 1 – SM Skills Educational Modules that map to the micro-credentials program. For example, these could be covering core concepts of manufacturing, smart manufacturing, process technologies, manufacturing process equipment and controls, digitalization of manufacturing, business aspects of smart manufacturing, Data Acquisition System (DAQ), and data analytics as applied to manufacturing (AI/ML)
   • Part 2 – Hands-on Educational Modules to be embedded o the SM Skills modules with specific hands-on exercises that leverage the CESMII SMIP, SM Learning Systems, and Educational SM Apps to teach the respective SM skills. We encourage software vendors and manufacturing end-users (OEMs/SMMs) in the CESMII ecosystem to engage with educators/trainers in the development of these hands-on modules.
2. VR/Digital Twin based SM Learning System: Student exercises for SM education requires access to data that is representative of data in a real factory. CESMII has many education partners in the ecosystem with industrial assets in their R&D and educational facilities. However, there are still limitations to how many can access a specific industrial asset in parallel and given the nature of education calendars, many classes would want to access the same assets at the same time. This project provides the best of both worlds: (a) access to real industrial assets, and (b) access to industrial data for hands-on exercises by developing VR/digital twin models of real industrial assets that simulate the real variations in the data from the physical asset the emulate. These models should combine (i) video from the real assets, (ii) light 3D models, (iii) ability to stream data that emulates problems for student exercises based on real data streams from the physical assets, and (iv) the ability to stream data using information models (SM Profiles) into analysis and control loops using machine learning/AI and workflow tools from partners in the CESMII SMIP ecosystem. The student exercises should be design for the Workforce Upskilling Curriculum matrix developed by the CESMII Education Committee. Train the trainer guides and suggested student exercises will need to be provided along with the learning system.
3. Educational SM Apps that provide the learner with hands-on experience with the type of software tools used in the Smart Factory, especially tools that are being implemented by Small-Medium Manufacturers (SMMs). This project will produce SM Apps configured with data ready for classroom exercises where students can adopt different roles in the factory and run through different scenarios by downloading the apps to a tablet or mobile phone. One of the main goals of these exercises is to increase appreciation in the workforce for the value of data to downstream functions and to the overall success of the business. Examples should demonstrate the value of leveraging SM Apps and the SMIP to increase productivity and reduce resources/waste. The SM App and user interface (UI) would be designed to expose the students to enough data and screens to get the point across but should also shortcut some of the burden of a real application to expedite classroom exercises. It would be a plus to include a mobile app version that students can download to their phones to perform some of the role-playing exercises. The student exercises should be design for the Workforce Upskilling Curriculum matrix developed by the CESMII Education Committee. This project should also produce trainer guides and suggested student exercises.

Focus Area #3: SM Platform Capability

We encourage proposals that can combine FA 1 with either FA 3 and/or FA 4 in collaboration with solution provider(s) and system integrator(s)

1. Define and develop formal ontological models (knowledge graphs) and semantic interoperability: CESMII is interested in evaluations about existing and emerging formal models and industry specifications for ontology, and on projects to map or apply such industry specifications to the SM Profile. Such ontologies must be applicable to attributes of informational models, as well as relationships between base information models.
2. Platform Instance-to-Platform Instance communication: CESMII envisions a brokering layer that facilitates secure, on-demand data exchange between instances of the SM Platform, using an approach that does not require changes to the existing SM Platform Application Programming Interface. Such a broker (an inter-application communication technology to help build a common integration mechanism to support SM cloud-based services) will provide a mechanism for organizations to specify access, and an auditing mechanism, potentially based on blockchain technology.
3. Profile creation for targeted equipment, processes: CESMII would like to solicit best-in-class information models for common manufacturing equipment and processes that have broad applicability across multiple industry verticals. Such models should be aggregates of base information model components and include the attributes of components, the relationships between components and the physics of equipment and process in operation.  These information models should be created with tools provided by CESMII.
4. Predictive models for targeted equipment, processes: While SM Profiles provide Information Models, and specify the information that should be made available for predictive models, such a structure is limited in what value it can create, since it excludes algorithmic operation on the data. CESMII would be interested in general purpose (but directly applicable for less common fit-for-purpose) predictive model development that can create value from the data guaranteed by SM Profiles. Such projects should produce commercially viable solutions for the SM Marketplace.  Equipment and processes that have broad applicability across multiple industry verticals are encouraged.  Interfaces between these predictive models and SM Profiles should be created with tools provided by CESMII.

Focus Area #4: SM Innovation Projects

We encourage proposals that can combine FA 1 with either FA 3 and/or FA 4 in collaboration with solution provider(s) and system integrator(s)

1. Improvement in energy efficiency and energy productivity for manufacturing processes (unit operations or flow paths). The proposal should focus on specific manufacturing industry use cases that address opportunities of optimizing energy productivity with the respect to the baseline energy use of the considered process. The project should clearly articulate the different technologies that are justifiably needed to demonstrate impact on energy metrics. In showcasing the energy related performance improvement, the project should leverage existing capabilities of the SM Innovation Platform and help in developing it further with reusable information models (SM Profiles) as well as reusable software tools and applications. The proposals should also clearly identify and explain what existing capabilities of SMIP and Profiles that are being considered for the use cases.
2. Improvement in performance and productivity for manufacturing processes (unit operations or flow paths). The proposal should focus on specific manufacturing industry use cases that address opportunities of optimizing process performance, cost, quality, throughput and waste reduction with the respect to the baseline performance of the considered process. The project should clearly articulate the different technologies that are justifiably needed to demonstrate impact on process performance and productivity metrics. In showcasing the process and productivity related performance improvement, the project should leverage existing capabilities of the SM Innovation Platform and help in developing it further with reusable information models (SM Profiles) as well as reusable software tools and applications. The proposals should also clearly identify and explain what existing capabilities of SMIP and Profiles that are being considered for the use cases.
3. Improvement in process monitoring and performance prediction of process equipment (equipment for continuous processes and machinery for discrete processes). The proposal should focus on specific manufacturing industry use cases that address opportunities of optimizing equipment performance with the respect to the baseline performance of the considered process such as overall equipment efficiency. The project should clearly articulate the different technologies that are justifiably needed to demonstrate impact on equipment performance metrics. In showcasing the process and productivity related performance improvement, the project should leverage existing capabilities of the SM Innovation Platform and help in developing it further with reusable information models (SM Profiles) as well as reusable software tools and applications. The proposals should also clearly identify and explain what existing capabilities of SMIP and Profiles that are being considered for the use cases.

NOTE:  CESMII issued two RFPs for SM Innovation Projects in 2019 and 2020.  Over 15 SM Innovation projects have been selected and launched, covering a diverse set of use cases and industry verticals [Innovation Projects Overview – CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute].

For this RFP, proposals addressing the following themes will be given priority:

• Projects addressing specific use cases not covered in current portfolio. For example: stamping, forming, extrusion, forging, etc. as well as those from the process industries.
• Projects addressing use cases covering new industry verticals or supply chain: For example: automotive, metals manufacturing, etc.
• Projects solely focused on small manufacturers: Innovation Projects that focus specifically on the SMM community, under-represented industries, and under-served regions will be entertained.

In this class of projects, teams may submit proposals covering multiple areas of interest. However, the budget must remain within the maximum amount of $200K (federal + cost share). Proposing teams are also encouraged to build new solutions, SM Profiles and Apps for the same manufacturing processes, assets or use cases addressed in existing institute projects [CESMII Funded Projects Overview – CESMII – The Smart Manufacturing Institute]. The additional solutions should not be simple extensions to the original focus of these projects. Rather, teams are encouraged to propose projects that demonstrate interoperability and reusability of existing components and solutions developed from prior institute projects. Proposing teams may contact CESMII HQ for project team contact details.

RFP3 Schedule

Resources

(Note – Documents have been Updated Based on Extension Dates)

Download the CESMII Roadmap Projects Request for Proposals (RFP3) (.PDF)

Response Templates

(Note – Documents have been Updated Basedon Extension Dates)

Download the FOCUS AREA #1: ENABLING R&D  Template (.DOC)

Download the FOCUS AREA #2: EDUCATION AND WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT Template (.DOC)

Download the FOCUS AREA #3: SM PLATFORM CAPABILITY Template (.DOC)

Download the FOCUS AREA #4: SM PROJECTS Template (.DOC)

Download the Response Quad Chart PowerPoint Slide (.PPT)

Supporting Documents and Links

Access to CESMII Technology is available under our Website Technology menu selection.  Links are provided below for your convenience.

About SM Profiles

About the SM Platform

GitHub Developer Resources

CESMII Intellectual Property Information

Download SM Upskilling Curriculum Guidelines (.PDF)

Download the Profile Creation Flow Chart (.PDF)

Informational Webinar Dates

Two (2) Informational Webinars were hosted to explain the process.

• Monday, June 21, 2021 12:00 PM-1:30 PM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada).
• Wednesday, June 23, 2021 8:30 AM-10:00 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada).

This is the Presentation Used in the Informational Webinar

Questions And Answers