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UK project uses AI to analyse industrial video to cut errors
UK researchers have embarked on a project that will use AI-powered analysis of industrial video images to help plant operators to avoid human errors and to improve safety, productivity and efficiency.
The project is taking place at Imperial College London’s carbon capture pilot plant which has been running since 2012. ICL researchers will work with ABB and the computer vision company Unleash live, to explore ways AI-powered video analytics can enhance human capabilities.
The plant’s control system automatically supervises all aspects of the process, and shows this on displays where researchers can monitor and intervene if necessary. As part of the new project, AI will track video images received through an ABB Ability 800xA control system plug-in which warns if instruments are not positioned correctly before a process starts or is shut down. For example, it will determine if valves are correctly open or closed before pumps shut down.
It can also detect unusual events such as smoke or fire, or health, safety and environment-related events, such as workers not wearing protective equipment.
“On a big industrial plant, you may have security cameras and other types of camera networks – for example, CCTV,” explains Unleash live CEO, Hanno Blankenstein. “AI-powered video analytics allows you to send video feeds from the camera system to the operator workspace and provide actionable insights in real-time – something that otherwise may take hours. This capability is under-utilised, and we want to show its potential.”
“We have many analytical technologies in our portfolio, and we are now very keen to explore the full potential of AI-powered video analytics,” adds Jean-René Roy, manager of ABB’s global Measurement & Analytics business. “A great deal of operational insights can be extracted from images, and it is great to see that innovation is ripe in this space.”
The ICL pilot plant uses more than 250 ABB instruments to measure temperature, pressure, carbon dioxide and flow, and to train the engineers and scientists of the future.
More than 4,500 students have had hands-on experience of the technology since the plant opened in 2012. In 2023, ABB and Imperial College London signed a 10-year contract to extend their partnership.
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