Listening for Indicators of Failure

Not an uncommon thing that is done by human engineers responsible for maintenance.  Now proposed to be more autonomous.

'Listening' to Engine Blades to Stop Failures, Disasters   By Purdue University News

This new method can measure and monitor blade vibration at the same time.
Purdue University researchers have developed a monitoring system that can detect one of the most common causes of premature blade failure in gas turbine engines: rotor forced response vibration.

Purdue University researchers have developed a monitoring system to identify the sound of rotor-forced response vibration, a common cause of premature blade malfunction in gas turbine engines.

The system employs multiple unsteady pressure sensors to listen for specific pressure waves associated with turbine engine blade vibration. Gas turbine blades are typically very lightly damped, and can function like a tuning fork; their blades can produce a specific frequency or tone when they resonate, which the pressure sensors are designed to pick up.

Said Purdue's Nicole Key, "With the help of big data analytics, the blade vibration information can be used to predict the possible engine failure and optimize preventive maintenance schedules."

From Purdue University News
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Knock it with a SmartPhone to Identify

Here a system built in South Korea that lets you knock on an object with a smartphone, and it identifies it using sound and motion sensors.   We worked on problems that predicted maintenance needs of machinery, using sounds and vibrations, might this be useful for such an application as well?  Another way to gather data that might be useful otherwise.     Add visual inspection information for machinery diagnosis?

Object Identification, Interaction with a Smartphone Knock
KAIST - South Korea

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) in South Korea have developed technology for identifying objects and carrying out actions, simply by knocking on objects with a smartphone. The Knocker solution combines the sound and motion sensors in smartphones with software that executes directions according to sounds and vibrations. These capabilities are maintained even in low-light settings, without the use of cameras or other specialized hardware. Knocker harnesses the smartphone's built-in sensors, and machine learning identifies objects the device is knocked on by analyzing the responses generated when a smartphone is knocked against an object. Knocker was able to identify 23 everyday objects in noisy environments with 83% accuracy, and with 98% accuracy in quiet indoor environments.  ... " 

AI Monitoring Machinery Health

In the CACM:   A favorite topic in manufacturing,  to predict and improve maintenance.  

" ... An artificial intelligence algorithm created by University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) principal research scientist Rodrigo Teixeira greatly increases accuracy in diagnosing the health of complex mechanical systems.

"The ability to extract dependable and actionable information from the vibration of machines will allow businesses to keep their assets running for longer while spending far less in maintenance. Also, the investment to get there will be just software," says Teixeira, who is the technical lead for the Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS) analytics project at UAH's Reliability and Failure Analysis Laboratory (RFAL).

In blind tests using data coming from highly unpredictable and real-life situations, the algorithm consistently achieves over 90 percent accuracy, Teixeira says. ... " 

Samsung Phone Detecting People and Objects

In Engadget: Advanced usability via sensory detection.  " ... Samsung's Ultrasonic Cover: a specialized case that uses sound waves to detect people or objects (in a two-meter radius), helping users navigate new surroundings by sending vibration or spoken alerts. Even without the accessories, the Galaxy Advance Core features a trio of physical buttons on the front and dedicated camera and voice recorder buttons on the side, assisting smartphone owners that don't want to rely solely on on-screen controls. ... " 

Predicting Earthquakes with Smartphones

An interesting example of using a network of smartphones as sensors, and converting that data into a form that can detect earthquakes and then communicate them through the same network. How predictive this system can be in accurate prediction is unclear.  What are the costs of false positives? " ... California Institute of Technology researchers have created an app called CrowdShake  (Still in prototype) that provides early earthquake warnings by converting a smartphone's accelerometer into a seismometer. ... "The accelerometer is already in the phone, the location is something the phone knows, it's not something that a person has to tell it," Guy notes. "And of course your smartphone knows exactly what time it is." .... The accelerometer serves as a sensor gathering vibration data, which is analyzed and then returned to the community with warnings when necessary. ... " 

And also a video on the subject.

Brain and Brand Vibrations

Martin Lindstrom in his latest article writes about phantom cellphone vibrations That have us reaching for our pockets even without any conscious cues. He relates how this work relates to fmri studies he did concerning the influence of cigarette warning images. Our brains are powerful and very malleable instruments. Thus the increasing interest in how our brains really react to marketing messages. And how we ultimately respond to those cues under alternative scripts of behavior. Big sophisticated marketers are all investigating. I will be reviewing colleague Lindstrom's forthcoming book 'BrandWashed, Tricks Companies Use to Manipulate Our Minds and Persuade Us to Buy' here soon.

Skin as an Interactive Canvas

In CACM:    Had seen some related examples of this.  An on-skin body input and display system.   Very clever thought.   Skin as an interactive canvas.  Abstract. Video below. " ... Skinput is a technology that appropriates the skin as an input surface by analyzing mechanical vibrations that propagate through the body. Specifically, we resolve the location of finger taps on the arm and hand using a novel sensor array worn as an armband ... "