ERC RESEARCH IN INTELLIGENT MANUFACTURING SYSTEMS

The Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Manufacturing Systems, at Purdue University, was established in 1985 to focus attention on t he task of creating a new generation of discrete products manufacturin g capability. In addition to the direct technical objectives, the ERC was charged with creating a new cross-disciplinary research environmen t, new methods for working with industry to ensure bidirectional techn ology transfer, and new modes of engineering education. The first part of the paper will describe the vision of the center and its relation to industrial competitiveness, the translation of that vision into tec hnical objectives, and the ten-year strategic plan that has guided the conduct of the work. It will also explain how the effort is organized , from the initiation of projects in consultation with industry, to th e formation of cross-disciplinary teams, to the conduct of the collabo rative research, to the monitoring of progress, and finally to the man agement of technology transfer. The benefits to the university to indu stry, and to the individual investigators from working in this manner will be highlighted. The second part of the paper will illustrate the unique character of research conducted at the Engineering Research Cen ter. The cross-disciplinary collaborative approach does reveal intelle ctual and technical issues that would not otherwise have emerged, or i f they had, could not have been addressed through the traditional meth ods of single-investigator academic research. Details of several of th e projects, including the linkage among them, will illustrate this poi nt.