Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) & Graphene Innovations Inc Manchester (GIIM) (The University of Manchester)

Dr Vivek Koncherry from The University of Manchester is bringing together artificial intelligence, advanced materials and advanced manufacture in a unique way to help deliver the next generation of manufactured products.

Dr Koncherry is based at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC), where he is building a pilot digital manufacturing line to make state-of-the-art composite-based products, for example for use in the UK space sector.

To manufacture such sophisticated products in Greater Manchester, Dr Koncherry has designed a pioneering advanced manufacturing processes that embeds AI and the internet-of-things (IoT), as well as co-bots (robots that can safely work with humans).

The AI component includes highly accurate object recognition technologies and machine learning that will detect – and help correct – problems in the manufacturing process, such as flaws in the weave of a composite vessel being made from a high-tech, winding technology that uses robots.

These technologies will be demonstrated at the Digital City Festival expo.

• Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) is a world-class materials innovation accelerator that is part of The University of Manchester and the wider ecosystem to commercialise graphene and other two-dimensional (2D) materials in the city-region.
• Graphene Innovations Inc Manchester (GIIM) is a company spun out from The University of Manchester led by alumnus and entrepreneur Dr Vivek Koncherry. GIIM is dedicated to the acceleration and deployment of graphene research and headquartered in Greater Manchester.