The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute has selected a new joint short-cycle
project from Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research and
Spirit AeroSystems for a $400,000 award.
The project, titled Technology Assessment of Virtual Commissioning for Day One Manufacturing
Readiness, involves the development of digital twins for complex manufacturing systems
to reduce costs, errors, and hazards that may not be apparent in the design phase.
Simulating systems by using digital/virtual twins allows for system testing in a digital
environment prior to installation, enabling more successful installs and better “day
one” experiences. NIAR researchers will create a report detailing the framework for
the creation of a virtual twin for commissioning, and all the steps involved in its
development. The framework package will contain the data and considerations needed
to develop a full digital twin.
“The NIAR team’s extensive experience with utilizing digital twins for end-to-end
digital engineering, along with our Expert Steering Committee, will be pivotal in
assisting the industry’s continued adoption of virtual commissioning,” said Jeswin
Joseph C., NIAR program manager and associate director of emerging technologies.
NIAR is seeking representatives for the expert steering committee. This committee
will assess technology gaps in virtual commissioning and the creation of digital twins
for physical robotic/automation cells, defining and guiding the use of virtual commissioning
in advanced manufacturing for the next 5-10 years. To contribute, visit https://wichitastate.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_eW1eFaFS4y0iuaO.
ARM Institute projects are selected from Project Calls. These Project Calls are crafted
in collaboration with the ARM Institute’s internal team of experts, ARM Members, and
Department of Defense collaborators. The 23-01 Technology Project Call specifically
called for proposals to address topic areas including Automated Robotic Task Planning;
Multi-Robot, Multi-Human Collaboration, Task Sharing & Task Allocation; Safe and Scalable
Manufacturing of Energetics; Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Robotics for Manufacturing;
and Discovery Workshops and Market Studies.
About NIAR Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research provides research,
design, testing, certification and training for the aviation, defense and manufacturing
industries. NIAR has a $217 million annual budget, 1,400 employees and two million
square feet of laboratory and office space in six locations across the city of Wichita, the Air
Capital of the World. Areas of expertise include Additive/Advanced Manufacturing; Advanced Coatings; Aerodynamics;
Ballistics/Crash Dynamics; Composites/Advanced Materials; Digital Twin; Environmental/EME;
eXtended Reality; Flight Simulation; Full-Scale Structural Test; NDT; Sustainment;
Reverse Engineering; Robotics/Automation and Virtual Engineering. www.wichita.edu/niar
