Steel fabrication is a process that involves creating large metal assemblies to individual specifications using a range of equipment. To ensure maximum productivity, it is important to monitor the utilisation of these machines. While tracking manual equipment utilisation is possible, it requires fitting sensors on the equipment and integrating them into the equipment itself.
This project aims to develop a smart system that can be installed in a workshop to monitor productivity by analysing audio signals recorded in noisy workshops. This system will be able to identify the equipment being used and its location by using sound source identification and localisation algorithms. The identified equipment and its location will be recorded in a central database, allowing the system to track equipment utilisation rates and optimise performance. A graphical user interface (GUI) will be provided to display real-time and historical data, making it easier to monitor productivity levels.
This project is sponsored by the Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA) of NZ. HERA is a non-profit research organization dedicated to supporting and furthering the heavy engineering and steel industries in New Zealand. HERA provides their members with research and development services, advanced engineering solutions, quality assurance processes, and support for adopting new technologies and optimizing productivity and sustainability. HERA is the innovation hub for the metalworking sector in Aotearoa - www.hera.org.nz.
Undergraduate
- A prototype system equipped with microphone array that implements sound source identification and localisation algorithms
- A GUI
- Experimental results of verifying the performance of the prototype system under various acoustical environments
As this project requires fundamental knowledge in digital signal processing, at least one of the group members must have passed MECHENG370 Electronics and Signal Processing. Due to the nature of the project, it is offered only to Mechatronics students.
Acoustics Lab (City 422.154, Lab)