United States military vehicles may soon be able to detect upcoming maintenance issues thanks to an artificial intelligence system being developed by a Starkville-based company.
Technology research and product development company, Camgian Microsystems, has partnered with Ohio-based manufacturer Parker-Hannifin to develop artificial intelligence and data collection software to improve the maintenance of U.S. Army vehicles.
Camgian founder and Chief Executive Officer Gary Butler told The Dispatch Parker-Hannifin contracted with the company to work on a U.S. Department of Defense contract to build an AI-based software program that will use sensor technology to monitor and diagnose the condition of military vehicles to predict when repairs and maintenance will be needed.
“(The military’s) systems are used in many high-end critical operations,” Butler said. “Last thing you want them to do during an operation is to go down, so if we can forecast a failure in advance, they can address it when the machines are in the normal downtime and improve the overall productivity of the operation.”
The contract itself is worth $1 million, according to Parker Hannifin Head of Internet of Things and Smart Connected Products Center Anne Marie Johlie.
Founded in 2006, Camgian is located in Thad Cochran Research, Technology and Economic Development Park at Mississippi State University. The company develops intelligent software systems powered by data collection and artificial intelligence that improve the speed and quality of critical decisions in areas like machinery maintenance for the U.S. military and other corporations, including Taylor Machine Works, Bloomberg financial and Boeing Company.
The joint project was announced in late January and will be complete by the end of the year. Camgian will use a group of teams to develop the program and hook it up to sensors to collect data and relay it through the vehicles. Once the program is finished, Parker-Hannifin will install the programs onto military assets such as regular and assault vehicles, Butler said.
Butler noted the new software program will work much faster than the military’s current maintenance systems because the data collected by the sensors will be processed by an AI inside the vehicle instead of at a base, which could be miles away when a problem with a vehicle occurs.
“The vehicle, in this case, or the asset becomes intelligent; it can process its own information and make decisions,” Butler said. “It’s information that a maintenance personnel or maintenance team needs to know in terms of how to address the potential issue that could potentially cause downtime in the system. So again, you’re imbuing these assets with a degree of intelligence they don’t have today.”
Johlie said Camgian was chosen for the project because of its long-standing reputation in the technology sector and its experience working on military contracts.
“I think they are a very complementary partner to Parker,” she said. “Parker has a rich set of expertise in hydraulic systems, electrification, telematics, and things that go on mobile systems, especially heavy off-road mobile systems. Camgian has rich expertise in artificial intelligence and machine learning data analytics. When you put them together, we can create additional value for our customers so that they can gain insights about their machines to have prognostic and predictive maintenance.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.