The intelligent control system (ICS) involves the combination of software and hardware guided by a general information process to control the intricate physical processes of a system. ICS works autonomously or in man-machine mode to integrate the control goal and to derive sensible ways to execute the goal.
ICS mimics various aspects of human intelligence and its intellectual response, such as adaptation, learning, planning under unpredictability, and decision-making. It offers a level of intelligence and autonomy to a machine, thereby helping it improve its performance and ability to adapt in real-time to changing inputs and conditions and enabling it to become more intelligent, connected, and agile.
ICS entails the use of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques such as neural network control, bayesian control, fuzzy logic control, and evolutionary computation.
In the 21st century, ICS use is growing in many fields due to increasing emphasis on the intellectualization of manufacturing processes and machine autonomy. Its applications can be found in industries such as precision manufacturing, medicine, energy, transportation, aviation, robotics, and telecommunications.
Medical applications of intelligent control are varied and increasing. It is used in surgery for applications like bone and joint rehabilitation and the development of prosthetics. ICS is also helping reduce operation time and improve safety standards in cataract surgery. It is starting to get integrated into drug delivery systems to help activate the release of drugs. It is also being used to aid in maintaining a stable temperature during blood dialysis.
In the Energy sector, ICS has enhanced the efficiency of energy production operations such as electric power systems, oil well drilling, wind farms, and solar farms. Its use in electric power systems, particularly smart grids, is helping detect and reduce failures, thereby increasing reliability and energy supply quality by lowering the frequency of power supply interruptions. The replacement of conventional monitoring systems by ICS in hydroelectric power plants is effectively enhancing power system performance in various areas such as operation, planning, and control. ICS is bringing autonomy to subsurface horizontal oil well drilling operations by controlling the drilling path and preventing deviations from the optimal path, thus reducing the time of drilling operations and optimizing petroleum yields.
Within mining, ICS is bringing improvements in operations by optimizing extraction volume and lowering failures of machinery parts and machinery downtime. It is helping reduce energy and machine usage costs by autonomously controlling functions of grinding machines such as feed and machine speed.
ICS’ use in aviation is helping control aircraft take-off and landing processes and assist aircrafts adapt to any changes in aircraft dynamics. It is being used to alert and assist flight crew during significant damage or component failures.
ICS is also applied in autonomous undersea vehicles (AUVs) used in deep-sea exploration. The developments in neural networks, visual recognition systems, and computer vision have increased the efficiency of AUVs’ across underwater tasks.
ICS can also be seen in autonomous parking of vehicles, utilizing soft-computing techniques and intelligent navigation to get information from sensors.
The application of ICS in the CNC/precision machining industry is allowing CNC/precision machines to adapt in real-time to changing instructions and conditions through their ability to self-learn and improvise. Unlike conventional machines, these autonomous control system-driven machines can simultaneously self-optimize multiple objectives instead of just carrying out one task continuously without any variations.
ICS can use information from process sensors to autonomously adjust process functions of CNC machines, including cutting speed and depth. These intelligent machines allow faster self-calibration, vibration and thermal compensation, voice indication, remote maintenance activities, etc. They deliver high processing accuracy and efficiency and self-diagnose and rectify faults.
ICS-enabled machines can easily communicate with machine operators through self-learning and evolutionary procedures to remind the need for maintenance and remote diagnosis. They can also conduct a quality assessment of the machining processes and evaluate the precision of the machined products. These intelligent machines also promote the integration of multiple CNC machines that currently function and operate independently, thus enhancing the efficiencies of CNC machine shops.
The industrial applications of ICS are not just limited to these industries alone. Its application will certainly continue expanding across industries in the future, driven by the growing demand for intelligent machines and systems across industries and processes.
Lambda Function's ICS seeks to increase the levels of machining autonomy on the shop floor, thus lowering the need for constant human supervision of CNC machines and empowering machine operators with reliable intelligence. Lambda Function's ICS solutions inspect process parameters of CNC machines, contextual parameters, and engineering data to generate performance evaluation reports, conduct process impact analysis, and assist machine operators in effective decision-making.
At Lambda Function, we are building the state-of-the-art ICS for the CNC machining industry to help you (machine shops) machine your parts accurately and in real-time. Our product assists you in reducing your non-recurring and recurring production costs by mitigating the variability and unpredictability of CNC programming and machining. We can help you achieve higher machine uptime, improve cycle time, increase yield, lower annual expenditure on cutting tools, and improve staff productivity.
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