Research

Research

The School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem focuses on industry-oriented research in line with the efforts of the Entrepreneur College (Taicang). Currently, the School’s research priorities include:

1. Enabling Technologies in Intelligent Manufacturing
This priority allows for deep and niche research into the technologies that enable intelligent manufacturing and its direct and associated domains to push the boundaries of applied knowledge in AI, industrial big data, industrial IoT, advanced and sustainable materials, additive manufacturing, advanced engineering systems, robotics technology, and robotics systems etc. This priority is driven by deep engagementwith industry and funding bodies.

2. Advanced Industrial Ecosystems Design
This priority focuses on innovative design and management of industrial or manufacturing ecosystems that leverage enabling technologies and state-of-the-art in advanced and intelligent manufacturing and other domains. These technologies allow for high efficiency, automation, integration and usage of intelligent features, and efficient control and monitoring. This priority also focuses on systems design, allowing for better and more efficient integration into given contexts.

3. Sustainable Development and Technology-led Innovation Ecosystem
This priority focuses on taking a holistic and multi- and transdisciplinary approach to advance the sustainability of advanced industrial systems and related domains in line with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This priority also enables a participatory and immersive exploration of technology-led innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem through deep engagement with stakeholders and action research.

The School’s current research directions mainly include:
1. Materials characterisation, alloy manufacturing, process optimisation
2. Solar-cell technology, lithium-ion batteries, integrated circuits, deposition and characterisation of dielectric materials
3. Cyber-physical systems, model-based systems engineering, multiphase fluid flow and heat transfer numerical modelling
4. Resource-efficient manufacturing
5. Systems thinking for manufacturing processes and supply chain
6. Computer-aided process planning for hybrid and intelligent manufacturing systems
7. Nonlinear dynamics and control of nonlinear systems
8. AI, IR4.0, robotics and autonomous systems