AIMS Lab

The Artificially Intelligent Manufacturing Systems (AIMS) Lab is where industry professionals and academia come together to study and develop manufacturing systems that work with, and are controlled by, different types of artificial intelligence.

Formed in 2019, the AIMS Lab provides an industry-relevant venue to develop and optimize novel, hybridized manufacturing processes, design and test custom sensors and controls, study and advance human-robot interaction, benchmark cognitive computing frameworks, and define security and ethics based protocols. The lab fits into CDME's core mission of working with industry partners in applied research and supporting undergraduate student development during that research.

In the AIMS Lab, researchers are leveraging the robustness of proprietary automation systems with the flexibility of open-source technologies to support the next generation of manufacturing.

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What We Do

The AIMS Lab offers a full research solution for manufacturers by leveraging model-based simulations, in-house robotic systems, machine vision capabilities, and access to computational processing. Through partnering with the ROS (Robot Operating System) Industrial Consortium, the AIMS Lab has accelerated the ability to deploy technologies into reality.

At the heart of the 1,500-square-foot lab space on the university’s west campus are five Yaskawa robot arms that stretch from floor to ceiling. As a proponent of the open-source manufacturing movement, many of the tools and capabilities of the AIMS Lab are openly published on its Github page.

As a division of CDME, the AIMS Lab can perform the following advanced manufacturing operations: welding, forming, joining, injection molding, die casting, waterjet and laser cutting, mechanical and hydroforming pressing, electrical assembly, and most additive manufacturing methods. Additionally, engineers can provide characterization capabilities such as corrosion analysis, mechanical behavior, optical emission spectrometry, and other inspection capabilities. These offerings may supplement any fundamental or applied research project.

Who We Serve

The AIMS Lab was developed with input from industry, national defense and energy laboratories and university experts.

The laboratory is a hub for industry professionals and academia with a common interest in robotics to collaborate under one roof. This teamwork enables students to gain the practical, hands-on experience essential to engineering the future of robotics. It also provides industry partners the technology and workforce advantage necessary to compete in a global marketplace.

“The AIMS lab aims, pun intended, to be the bridge to these two communities and provide each of them an environment that would be difficult to create on their own,” said Michael Groeber, associate professor in the Department of Integrated Systems Engineering.

Engineers leveraging the AIMS Lab lead multidisciplinary projects with immediate, relevant applications. The AIMS Lab is also equipped to partner with organizations in the U.S. Department of Defense supply chain.

AIMS Lab Equipment

The AIMS Lab offers the unique ability to support projects involving three robots in a single cell. Such arrangements are becoming more common as industries pursue flexible manufacturing techniques. A single cell of robots can be quickly repurposed to any operation within a family. In assembly, the inherent flexibility of multiple manipulators in a cell enables simultaneous tasks or collaborative tasks.

The AIMS Lab houses the following robotic systems: