Unmanned and Autonomous Systems: Future of Automation in Process..
“Unmanned and Autonomous Systems:
Future of Automation in Process and Energy Industries'' by Dr. Mehmet Mercangöz
Process and energy industries have been recognized as adopters of high levels of automation compared to other sectors. Nonetheless, human cognitive input still plays a critical role in the operation of process plants and the replication of these cognitive capabilities via algorithms and computational methods remains a challenge. In this talk, we will go over an analysis of process plants based on a scenario of reduced availability of skilled labor and increased demands for safety, sustainability, and resilience. We will look at the various tasks involving mechanical labor, sensory effort, situational awareness, and decision-making in the operation of process plants and map them to possible realizations of unmanned and autonomous systems. We will discuss the factors influencing complexity of operation in process plants and how complexity can be linked to automation challenges. We will also discuss the importance of human-machine collaboration and the different types of interaction humans and autonomous systems can have in a process plant setting. As part of autonomous system capabilities, we will consider adaptation as a key capability and we will make a connection to adaptation of model based solutions. Lastly, we will assess current technology capabilities and provide some perspectives for future technology development. The closing argument will be that reaching higher and wider levels of autonomy requires a rethink of the design processes for both the physical plants as well as the way automation, control, and safety solutions are conceptualized.
Dr. Mehmet Mercangöz is recently appointed as the ABB Reader in Autonomous Industrial Systems at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Imperial College London. Since 2018, he also holds an appointment at ETH Zurich as a Lecturer at the department of Information Technology and
Electrical Engineering. Previously, he served for 14 years at the Corporate Research Organization of the company ABB, most recently as a program manager for industrial artificial intelligence. From 2012 to 2018 he led the control and optimization research group in Switzerland. His research spans the fields of model predictive control, machine learning, and process optimization. He has worked on
electrical variable speed drives for natural gas compressors as an emission free alternative for gas turbine drivers. The control solutions he helped develop for these applications are now responsible for the safe delivery of natural gas to many European countries. He previously worked in the development of energy storage applications based on thermodynamic cycles and on manufacturing such as pulp and paper production. Dr. Mehmet Mercangöz received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees from Boğaziçi University, İstanbul, Turkey, in 2000 and 2002, respectively and his Ph.D. degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA, in 2007, all in Chemical Engineering.