UCL-Brazil International Collaboration Workshop in Advanced Metrology and Large Structures Testing

Portable 3D metrology, which allows measurement tools to be brought to the measured objects and which can handle dynamic situations, is the essential technology of interest here. Due to their flexible nature, these tools offer considerable scope to expand the application of metrology which, in turn, further drives its development. The past 25 years have seen major developments such as dynamically tracking laser range finders and highly automated vision metrology systems. Another metrology driver is Industry 4.0, an industrial philosophy or new industrial revolution stemming from Germany. It describes the current trend for automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and the move towards smart factories. Metrology is a topic frequently missed by research funding programmes, despite its economic impact which has generated world-wide over 200 3D systems manufacturers, over 200 3D metrology service companies and a range of end users including Airbus, Boeing, Embraer, NASA, Ford, Audi, BMW, VW, GE, KUKA and CERN.

The building of an online network of industry and academic partners would greatly enhance the capacity for these opportunities to be more readily exploited through research funding. Cooperative knowledge transfer, e.g. via a public website, would be beneficial to all parties by increasing the capacity for applying and developing 3D metrology at these institutions. By promoting their facilities and focusing their collective expertise to an interested public, the groups can increase the scope for identifying problems specific to 3D metrology. This would add impact to their individual and collective research, which in turn encourages further links with commercial and industry partners.

A 10-day exploratory visit to Brazil is proposed for September 2017, hosted by the new ISI SIM and LGI institutes where areas of cooperation and information exchange would be evaluated. Provisionally the visit will overlap with the National Mobility Engineering Congress, Joinville, 19 - 22 Sept. The Congress attracts engineering students from across Brazil. The location is also the LGI base. UCL and the host institutes would therefore use this opportunity to present 3D metrology to a wide academic audience in Brazil. The host institutes would also help facilitate discussions with Brazilian industries in order to identify areas where metrology could be applied and developed. ISI SIM and LGI have connections to shipbuilding, aerospace, automotive and moulding industries and visits are proposed to Embraer, São Paulo and a NAVSHIP shipyard near Joinville. It is also proposed to hold a workshop at São Leopoldo, the ISI SIM base, to present 3D metrology to local Brazilian industry. The teams at ISI SIM and LGI are well placed to support these workshops and presentations with systems for demonstration and relevant project work.

This application is for a short-term fact-finding mission which, as an outcome, should identify at least one opportunity for further research funding which can be followed by associated applications for that funding. Those further proposals will have their own pathways to impact. The exploratory visit will itself address the 4 aspects of impact identified by the EPSRC:

People
One immediate aim of the visit is to engage UCL researchers in a project in Brazil aimed at extending metrology application knowledge. This will have the added benefit of expanding the skill base in this area in UK academic environments, meanwhile successful collaborative efforts by the project team will promote further skills development both in the UK and Brazil. Building momentum in this regard will ensure that in the future these skills are more likely and able to be passed on to future generations and applied within both academic and industrial contexts.

Knowledge
Expanding the online knowledge base will directly achieves this, meanwhile the distribution of presentation material to Brazilian academic and industrial groups will expand the coverage of UK knowledge and technology capability to a wider international audience. In return UK knowledge in this field will be expanded by the feedback and discussion provided by the Brazilian partners.

Economy
Portable 3D metrology makes manufacturing efficient, e.g. on-site inspection and is a clearly identified as a key industrial driver for the coming decades. An increase in manufacturing and inspection metrology capacity will serve to bolster the UK economy through increased efficiency and productivity. This collaborative endeavour directly feeds into this through exploring and expanding the application of metrology to the industrial sector, both in the UK and internationally.

Society
Creating a cooperative international network brings metrology experts together and promotes advancements that will ultimately impact on society through the extension of education capacity in metrology in the UK. An active network also increases the potential for impactful engagement work, through the development of public activities through academic institutions.