2021 IEEE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
on ELECTRO/INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
May 14 - 15, 2021, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
Format: Online
www.eit-conference.org/eit2021
 
Industry Sessions
Industry Session
Friday, May 14, 2021
11:00 AM


Doug Johnson
Operational Technology ManagerNexteer Automotive


 
Manufacturing Controls – History, Facts and Useless Knowledge
 
From the beginning of time, humans have created tools and equipment to make life easier. From horses and oxen to water wheels, life was hard; and in 1712, the invention of the steam engine transformed the world from muscle power to raw mechanical power. As time ticked on, designs, concepts and technology changed as electricity transformed the world. Equally significant to the transformation of industry was the birth of computers, the Programmable Logic Controller, and robotics. The topic of this presentation addresses the migration of Industry 1.0 through Industry 4.0 by taking an alternative approach to history while focusing on manufacturing controls. This presentation looks at the unique challenges industry must consider when migrating towards Industry 4.0 and provides insight into Nexteer Automotive's digital transformation.
 

Doug Johnson was raised in Warsaw, Indiana. After high school, Doug attended Purdue University where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology in May 2000. After graduating, he relocated to Saginaw where he worked for General Motors Corporation filling various roles in Engineering and Maintenance. After 8 years of employment, Doug moved to Portage with Stryker Instruments in Kalamazoo as a Process Engineer working on manufacturing improvements and robotics. After one year of service, Doug decided to move his young family back to the Saginaw area to be closer to family. He joined Nexteer Automotive in November 2010 where he works in the Manufacturing Engineering group. His current position is Operational Technology Manager, managing three groups; Core Controls and Automation, Core Applications, and Core Infrastructure.
 
Doug currently lives in Freeland, Michigan with his wife of 19 years, Rachel, and three children - twins Caleb and Amolia (14), and Abbie (12).
 
Industry Session
Friday, May 14, 2021
11:45 AM


Jordan Kimble
Continuous Improvement Manager
Gentex


 
Lean Manufacturing
 
  1. History of Lean.
  2. Introduction to the Toyota Production System and the adaption of "TPS" in the automotive industry within the US. (Operational Excellence)
  3. The 4 Capabilities of the Operationally Outstanding.
 

Jordan Kimble is a Continuous Improvement Manager for Gentex Corporation, leading the Continuous Improvement and Talent Development Team. He has worked at Gentex for 11 years in Supervision, Industrial Engineering, Customer Quality and Product Launch, and Continuous Improvement. Jordan has a B.S. in Manufacturing Engineering from Western Michigan University.
 
Industry Session
Friday, May 14, 2021
1:45 PM


Mark Stoel
Continuous Improvement Engineer
Gentex Corporation


 
Developing better problem solvers using Toyota Kata
 
Gentex Corporation has long been rooted in technical expertise and problem solving. With changing culture, less support staff, and a change in how we operate induced by the pandemic it became clear that we were going to need to change our approach to problem solving. Our hope was to include the many functions in our company to increase our problem solving effectiveness starting with the frontline leadership of our manufacturing team.
 
The main gap we were initially addressing was finding a method for our manufacturing team to learn functional problem solving so they could overcome the issues that are currently causing chaos.
 
Mike Rother's learnings and bestselling books about Toyota Kata were derived from his time spent studying Toyota's management system and the famous culture that creates continuous improvement behavior throughout the organization. Toyota Kata is a structured approach using a Learner and a Coach to develop and sustain practical scientific-thinking skills. The objective is to continually practice scientific thinking by running experiments until it becomes an engrained habit and part of a daily thought process.
 
While adapting the Toyota Kata method at Gentex we are having more success developing our people and their problem solving capabilities. The success is evidenced through the projects from our frontline leadership that have saved a considerable amount of money with a very low cost to implement. The main finding is understanding how the coach role coupled with the development of the learner has reshaped our strategy to problem solving. Our learnings for effective problem solving also include starting with a clear vision of what the problem is and how it is measured, helping the learner with daily review and positive accountability, and ensuring that the coach is a main contributor to a successful project as well as the development of people and their problem solving efficacy.
 

 
 
Industry Session
Friday, May 14, 2021
2:30 PM


Jhansi Manda



 
Sensor Fusion in ADAS
 
The entire automotive Industry is focused on moving towards Autonomous Driving. What does it take to achieve it? what are the main inputs to an autonomous driving system - well, it is sensors and many of them. Join this presentation learn more about how the information from different sensors is combined for a greater effect. You will learn what is sensor fusion, why do we need it and how it is done. And some real-life use-cases.
 

Jhansi Manda has over 18 years of experience in the embedded software domain, with the majority of that time spent in the automotive domain. Jhansi has worked on various industry standards, ranging from J1939, CAN, LIN, and UDS protocols to the latest industrial standards such as Autosar, Automotive Safety (ISO26262), and Cybersecurity. Jhansi is currently a Software Architect at GM. She is currently working on Adaptive Autosar features. Some of her previous projects include designing the architecture for ADAS systems with ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and sensor fusions on multi-core systems. Jhansi is an active member of IEEE and is designated as the SAE Technical Paper Editor. She also enjoys volunteering at universities as a guest lecturer to share her knowledge.
 
Industry Session
Friday, May 14, 2021
4:15 PM


Sharan Kalwani



 
Proactive Approach to protecting our Distributed Energy Grids
 
We have made major strides in our energy grids, especially with different sources (renewables, etc). however, we have paid scant attention to protecting them, it is usually an afterthought in many instances. With the rise in Edge Computing and the capabilities it brings, we can propose a more proactive approach to enabling energy grid operators and professionals, stronger cybersecurity and boosting this into both current and future distributed grid set ups.
 

Sharan Kalwani is an industry technology specialist with 25+ years of experience. Sharan has degrees in both Engineering and Computer Science and has worked in many diverse areas. He is a senior member of IEEE-Computer Society, IEEE-Education Society and IEEE-Vehicle Tech Society, an Emeritus member of Michigan!UNIX/user group, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and also leads the SIG-Linux section of SEMCO. He enjoys teaching, holds an adjunct position at several universities. He has published a book on "Linux and Internet Security" and is now working on his second. He is also the recipient of the IEEE MGA Achievement award for his contributions to IEEE activities in 2018.
 
Industry Session
Saturday, May 15, 2021
11:00 AM


Lisa Zyonse
Senior Engineer
Consumers Energy


 
Reducing Wasted Energy Generation with Conservation Voltage Reduction
 
Conservation Voltage Reduction (CVR) has various use cases for providing innovative opportunities to provide reliable energy while also saving money and reducing overall carbon footprint. CVR optimizes the energy delivered onto the electric distribution grid by utilizing "smart" devices along its path throughout each Feeder. Data is incorporated from not only Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) system as well as from the "smart" distribution devices, but also from historical loads on the Feeder and even weather conditions during the deployment of CVR on each Feeder. This data provides additional support for determining the Feeders that may experience the greatest benefit from CVR, as well as ensuring the voltage levels delivered to the customers are within the ANSI C84.1 standard and the steps needed to correct potential frequent voltage deviations outside of that ANSI standard. This presentation will provide an overview of CVR, focusing on its application within the Consumers Energy electric distribution grid, along with the benefits and challenges faced during the initial pilot and subsequent rollout of CVR.
 

Lisa Zyonse is a Senior Engineer at Consumers Energy, where she focuses on researching new, advancing technology to further enhance the electric grid. Recipient of the Company's "Leave it Better Award", Lisa leads a team of engineers on an energy waste reduction project that will result in cost benefits for both the Company and customer, as well as minimize the Company's carbon emissions footprint by 2030. Throughout the nine years with Consumers Energy, she has gained insightful knowledge and experience working across high voltage and low voltage distribution systems, as well as spending time roaming the dusty floors of a coal-powered generating plant. Lisa brings an energetic perspective to the way the Company moves forward on its path towards providing cleaner energy.
 
Industry Session
Saturday, May 15, 2021
11:45 AM


Dr. Mohammed Safiuddin
Research Professor Emeritus
Electrical Engineering Department
University at Buffalo


 
Measurement of Economic Power-An Engineering Approach
 
Business Directory defines economic power as "Conditions of having sufficient productive resources at command that give the capacity to make and enforce economic decisions, such as allocation of resources and apportioning of goods and services." This qualitative definition may be sufficient for general discussions, but it doesn't offer any quantitative measurements for management and control. Is there a way to measure economic power for analysis and synthesis of economic systems in this 21st century? This paper answers this question by introducing a set of quantitative terms from the field of electrical engineering, used in power measurement and control of electrical systems. Circuit theory concepts are introduced to show how the relationship between cash and cash flow in finance is analogous to that of electric charge and electric current and how education level, as economic potential, is analogous to electrical potential that causes current to flow in a circuit. An individual is identified as the basic cash flow source in the economy. Circuit models for an individual as well as a typical production facility are developed and demonstrated with an example. Equations for the measurement of economic power, losses, efficiency and power factor are presented. It is shown that the individuals are the basic cash flow sources and producers of economic power.
 

Dr. Mohammed Safiuddin is Research Professor Emeritus in the Electrical Engineering Department at University at Buffalo, and President of STS International, Plainfield, IL, USA. He started as Junior Engineer, Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Board (India) in 1958. Joined Systems Control Department, Westinghouse Electric, Buffalo, New York in June 1960 as Associate Engineer. Progressed through the ranks of Engineer, Senior Engineer, Fellow Engineer positions to Manager, Product/Strategic Planning (1982), Power Electronics and Drive Systems Division; Technical Advisor, Marketing Department (1984). He was parttime instructor in the early sixties, Adjunct Associate Professor ('77- '91), Research Professor ('91- '10), at the University at Buffalo, USA. His areas of technical interests cover industrial control systems, renewable energy, Smart Grid power systems, and Technology Management. Has been awarded 10 patents in this field and has dozens of published papers and conference presentations. He is Life Fellow of the IEEE, was awarded Roscoe Allen Gold Medal (1957) by Osmania University, was recipient of "IUSD Award of Merit" (1992) by the IEEE-Industry Applications Society for contributions to industrial control technologies, and service to the IAS, was recognized for meritorious achievement in continuing education by the IEEE-EAB award for the year 2000. He is a member of the Pi Mu Epsilon (Mathematics), Beta Gamma Sigma (Business) and an "Eminent Engineer" member of Tau Beta Pi. He was recognized with International Business and Academic Excellence 2019 "Distinguished Educator Award" in 2019 by GISR Foundation and American College in Dubai. University at Buffalo honored him with the "2020 Engineer of the Year" award.
 
Industry Session
Saturday, May 15, 2021
1:45 PM


Jacob Beningo
President, Beningo Embedded Group


 
Introduction to Machine Learning for Microcontroller-Based Systems
 
Microcontroller-based systems have generally been considered too small from both a memory and computational operation standpoint for Machine Learning. That has changed. The need to decrease energy consumption, bandwidth and latency while simultaneously increasing security and reliability is driving machine learning out of the cloud and into the edge. In this session, we will introduce machine learning in microcontrollers using TensorFlow Lite, Keras and STM32 microcontrollers.
 
Attendees will learn how to:
  • Build and train a simple model using Keras
  • Convert and analyze a model for use with a microcontroller
  • Deploy the model to an STM32 microcontroller
 

Jacob Beningo is an embedded software consultant with over 15 years of experience in microcontroller based real-time embedded systems.
 
After spending over ten years designing embedded systems for automotive, defense and space industries, Jacob founded Beningo Embedded Group in 2009. Jacob has worked with clients in more than a dozen countries to dramatically transform their businesses by improving product quality, cost and time to market. He has published more than 200 articles on embedded software development techniques, is a sought-after speaker and technical trainer who holds three degrees which include a Masters of Engineering from the University of Michigan.
 
Jacob is an avid writer, trainer, consultant and entrepreneur who transforms the complex into simple and understandable concepts that accelerate technological innovation.
 
Jacob has demonstrated his leadership in the embedded systems industry by consulting and training at companies such as General Motors, Intel, Infineon and Renesas along with successfully completing over 50 projects. Jacob also speaks at and is involved in the embedded track selection committees at ARM Techcon, Embedded System Conferences and Sensor Expo. Jacob holds Bachelor’s degrees in Electrical Engineering, Physics and Mathematics from Central Michigan University and a Master’s degree in Space Systems Engineering from the University of Michigan.
 
In his spare time, Jacob enjoys spending time with his family, reading, writing, playing hockey and golf. In clear skies, he can often be found outside with his telescope, sipping a fine scotch while imaging the sky.
 
Industry Session
Saturday, May 15, 2021
3:45 PM


Dr. Vivek Varma



 
Artificial Intelligence to Predict Consumer Behavior Globally
 
Nielsen has been a pioneer in the field of Data Science. With each technological advancement and through each new era of business, Nielsen marked the passage of time with trustworthy reporting and the relentless pursuit of truth. Today, our retail and consumer data platform measures shopper behaviors more precisely than ever before. While trends may change, our unmatched integrity and commitment to data science and analysis remains true and trusted across the globe.
 
This presentation will focus on the data platform and tools provided by Nielsen to its customers to empower them to derive invaluable insights. A demo will also be included to show how NielsenIQ is able to deliver the clear perspective, the breadth and depth of information, and the complete context to business needs. Our search for knowledge drives our momentum forward, so business can stay ahead of the curve to reveal the connected story of their customers and business.
 

Dr. Vivek Varma is an technology professional offering over 20 years of demonstrated career success in delivering technology-enabled business transformations to Fortune clients, and federal and state governments. He possesses extensive consulting and industry experience in the delivery of digital solutions, intelligent automation, and program management for Consumer and Industrial Products, Financial Services and Power and Utilities industries. He currently focuses on client service delivery for NielsenIQ.
 
He is a Senior IEEE member and has presented his work at several international conferences. He is recognized for taking on major initiatives, adapting to rapidly changing environments and resolving mission critical issues to ensure bottom line success. He has built and worked with world-class inter-disciplinary teams across US, India, Australia and Japan. He serves on the Boards of several volunteer organizations. He holds BS and MS degrees in Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, and PhD from The University of Melbourne in building Decision Support System for Sustainable Development.
 
Industry Session
Saturday, May 15, 2021
4:30 PM


Dr Alex I. Jittu
PE-CTO
AIJ Engineering Consulting LLC


 
Developing Sustainable Production Products in Automotive Paint Shops
 
Because of the rapid development of society and economy, people's lives are undergoing a great change. To keep pace with the development of people's modern lifestyle and behavior, Engineers continuously develop innovative products.
 
The process of product innovations requires the evaluation of the sustainability of these products to meet the sustainable development. The performance of the innovative products presented in this session are evaluated based on their real impact in social, economic, and environmental aspects.