At the 2023 INFORMS Annual Meeting, NIST researcher Mehdi Dadfarnia presented research findings based on use of NIST-developed SimPROCESD software, which can model and simulate manufacturing configurations and maintenance policies for production and resource planning purposes. This conference attracts thousands of participants to showcase cutting edge research in data analytics, management science, and operations research.
The NIST software SimPROCESD is an open-source, Python-based discrete-event simulator for multistage manufacturing and equipment maintenance. The software enables users to rapidly model and simulate part production in any manufacturing configuration (that determines the flow of parts through manufacturing machinery to complete a job). The modular design of the software allows users to recreate many maintenance actions, from repairs triggered by AI-driven condition-based predictive policies to time-based inspections and run-to-fail corrective work.
Dadfarnia’s presentation focused on using SimPROCESD to compare various maintenance policies across several manufacturing key performance indicators (KPIs), including part production, machine availability, and number of repair actions. This talk presented work from a broader effort in NIST’s Industrial Artificial Intelligence Management and Metrology project, which develops domain-specific tools and methods to improve the effective use of AI systems and tools in industrial applications and to understand their financial and engineering risks and benefits.
NIST helped to foster awareness, debate, and education at the Technical Language Processing (TLP) Tutorial of the 15th Annual Conference of the Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) Society in Utah. This event resulted from the collaborative effort of the NIST TLP Community of Interest (COI) (including TCP COI leadership Rachael Sexton, Engineering Laboratory, and Michael Sharp, Communications Technology Laboratory) and our external partner, the Logistics Management Institute (Sarah Lukens). The tutorial attracted 200 attendees, with a goal to increase awareness of TLP industrial applications to reliability and maintenance. The tutorial provided an overview of what differentiates technical language from natural language, provided an overview of some basic processes and algorithms, and highlighted the NIST-led resources within the TLP COI.
The tutorial was very well received, with significant attendee interest in language processing tools used in industry. This interest was echoed throughout the conference, with a panel that discussed the use of Large Language Models (LLMs) in PHM, and several papers that were presented on related topics:
Additionally, during the tutorial, attendees discussed both the growing role of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in industry and the new U.S. Executive Order on AI. Although many individuals and some companies expressed their excitement to be early adopters of LLMs and support the U.S. AI initiative, the broader PHM community has yet to provide a unified stance on the subjects amid uncertainty of how best to move forward. Some suggested that prioritization and implementation of use cases from stakeholders and leading organizations could jumpstart the uptake initiatives. Towards this end, attendees expressed interest in obtaining guidance and reasonable assurance of quality, reliability, and availability in tools, noting that while tools like LLMs are currently free and easy to access, that may change in the future. One attendee concluded in anticipation of a presumed suite of new LLM-based tools “Let’s not throw out our best practices in engineering just because we have a shiny new toy.”
The LLMs discussions included input on developments in the software solution space, in which many companies are looking at ways to monetize LLMs as potential tools to solve varying stakeholder needs. Attendees identified end-to-end solutions to connect spoken/written word and a physical part as a high value target for the manufacturing and design communities: e.g., asking LLMs to design a part, linking it to software and a 3D printer, and having a prototype part produced locally. Another high value target that sparked significant interest aimed at extracting and processing text from images of technical documents such as piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and failure mode and effect analyses (FMEAs). Capturing both text and pictographic relations in a technical specification document could accelerate digital twin model development and make processing incoming logs or requests much more efficient.
The slide deck for this event is available upon request (email: michael.sharp@nist.gov) and a recorded version is available on the PHM website.
CTL’s Smart Connected Manufacturing Systems Group and the Longterm Archiving and Retrieval (LOTAR) Consortium have supported multi-year efforts to harmonize composite material standards. ASME Y14.37 enables engineering practices for the definition of composite parts, and ISO 10303 STEP (STandard for the Exchange of Product model data) enables the representation and exchange of composite part information.
Harmonization of these standards provides shared vocabularies across the model-based engineering disciplines that ease product lifecycle communication, improve product quality, reduce time to market, facilitate implementation of newer technologies, and reduce manufacturing costs. While these standards are related, they are developed in different communities. Over time, advances in manufacturing of composite parts led to the standards becoming out of sync.
Propagation of ISO 10303 STEP composites capabilities from ISO 10303-242 Managed model-based 3D engineering (AP242) to ISO 10303-238 Model-based integrated manufacturing (AP238) will occur in the coming year. ISO 10303 is widely used in the industrial base, with AP242 focused on model-based engineering and design and AP 238 focused on manufacturing process planning. Closing the gaps between design and process planning will increase advanced manufacturing capabilities by improving the route from engineering and design to the process plans that operate the machines.
Composite materials are increasingly used in aerospace due to the reduction in the weight of parts, which leads to increased fuel efficiency, as well as their strength and durability. The increased demand in automotive and transportation, aerospace and defense, and wind energy market segments is projected to raise the global composites market value from $113.7 billion (U.S. dollars) in 2022 to $168.6 billion by 2027. Harmonization of these standards will be vital to keep pace with the demand.
Harmonization has resulted in the addition of several new capabilities, including additional rosette (major and minor fiber direction specification) types for plies and ply pieces within a laminate table; the ability to capture both nominal Engineering and Manufacturing Edge of a Part/Ply (EEOP, MEOP); and specifying Limited Length or Area Indicator (LLAI) requirements. The description of these additions shows the uniqueness of the needs of Manufacturing composite structures.
This collaboration has also improved recommended practices that guide software translator developers in building interoperable applications.
On November 28, 2023, the NIST Global Community Technology Challenge (GCTC) presented three smart city projects on a panel at the Smart Cities Connect conference in Washington, D.C. The cities’ projects were representative of city efforts to enhance transparency and open access to information between local government and community residents, which could serve as models for other communities. Panel members included Jennifer Tifft, Office of the Mayor of Syracuse, New York; Raimundo Rodulfo, Chief Technology Officer of Coral Gables, Florida; and Dr. Mariela Alfonzo, CEO of State of Place, a small business focused on data analytics to enhance community quality of life at the intersection of technology, data, geography, and urban design. The panel was chaired by Michael Dunaway, NIST program lead for GCTC.
Following the cities’ presentations, Michael Dunaway briefly described the National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology (NSSCET) and the document’s reference to smart cities, Internet of Things, and connected infrastructure. He also invited attendees to participate in the NIST Virtual Public Listening Session on 19 December that is seeking public input on the Request for Information (RFI) on implementation of the NSSCET.
Following the conference, the GCTC team and city representatives participated in a workshop hosted by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to define concepts and values that could assist Foreign Service Officers in presenting U.S. smart cities policies and initiatives to overseas contacts and aid in identifying economic opportunities for U.S. technology firms.
NIST’s Rick Candell and Mohamed Hany were invited to participate in the ASTM F45.04 Robotics, Automation, and Autonomous Systems panel discussion on Communication and Interoperability on November 1, 2023. Rick Candell fielded questions regarding the importance of understanding wireless aggressors in industrial settings and how to evaluate wireless performance in operational scenarios. In particular, Candell addressed the IEEE P3388 Standard for Radio Frequency Channel Specifications for Performance Assessment of Industrial Wireless Systems. He explained how ASTM and the IEEE could collaborate in a mutually beneficial way to address the performance evaluation of industrial robotic platforms, autonomous unmanned ground vehicles (AUGV), and teleoperation when wireless is used as the primary mode of communications for those scenarios. NIST’s Kang Lee, representing the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society TC-9 sensor technology committee, also explained the modes of collaboration possible. Collaboration between the two standards development organizations does appear beneficial and is being evaluated such that the IEEE P3388 working group, chaired by Rick Candell, would focus on the wireless channel aggressor specifications and testing process, while the ASTM F45.04 committee would focus on the test methods for the operational system utilizing the P3388 standard. IEEE P3388 is written such that profiles representing specific industrial scenarios may be developed for repeatability and performance testing efficiency within industry. Members of the ASTM F45.04 committee are also members of the IEEE P3388 working group; therefore, synergy between the two groups is already underway.
In an invited presentation on December 5, 2023 to the Delaware Chapter of the International Society of Automation (ISA), NIST project leader Dr. Rick Candell provided a comprehensive overview of the performance assessment of wireless networks in industrial environments, focusing on the IEEE P3388 standardization effort. Addressing industry's pressing need for a standardized testing framework, Candell delved into how this standard promotes transparency and accountability in wireless performance assessment, particularly emphasizing reliability and latency in information delivery within industrial systems. Candell also covered the taxonomy of wireless aggressors, test methodologies, reporting requirements, roles, responsibilities, and the current work plan of the IEEE P3388 working group. Candell emphasized how this standard will take an important role in advancing wireless adoption as a principal model of communications in industrial automation. Concluding on an interactive note, he invited attendees to actively participate in the working group, encouraging them to lead the development of specific profiles, review work products, and share their own use cases for a collective stride toward enhanced wireless communication performance in industrial settings. The International Society of Automation (ISA) is a non-profit professional association of engineers, technicians, and management engaged in industrial automation. ISA publishes standards related to cybersecurity, industrial wireless sensor networks, and safety integrated systems.
On November 16, 2023, NIST’s Robert Bohn and colleagues in NIST’s Transformational Networks and Services (TNS) group hosted an international team of government and industry collaborators from South Korea and Germany to discuss current updates with Project Agility. Project Agility is a multi-national research project which focuses on the networks and service federation of 5G testbeds. Additional meeting participants included Dr. Abdella Battou, Smart Connected Systems Division Chief, Dr. Bin Hu (TNS), Dr. Taesang Choi of ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute), Dr. Moon Park of Mobigen, Dr. Ranganai Chaparadza of CapGemini, and Dr. Sejun Song of University of Missouri-Kansas City.
The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the testbed collaboration directions, expansion of collaboration with KT Corporation (formerly Korea Telecom), further development and incorporation of selected decision elements in the framework, and additional brainstorming on future collaborations. After the meeting, the group toured the 5G Wireless Industrial Testbed with NIST’s Rick Candell. The group was interested in the testbed setup and learned more about additional NIST facilities and capabilities.
