Alstom has partnered with three Québec universities to develop artificial intelligence and Industry 4.0 applications for rail manufacturing.
Researchers from Université Laval, Université du Québec à Montréal and École de Technologie Supérieure will work with the manufacturer on welding procedures, augmented-reality support for welders and assemblers, robotic welding-cell scheduling and AI-assisted vehicle body design.
Testing at La Pocatière
The technologies will be tested at Alstom’s La Pocatière site, with the research intended to improve manufacturing quality, efficiency and performance. The programme will examine how data generated on the factory floor can support expert teams and inform approaches suitable for deployment in live industrial environments.
The three universities are members of the SDG Innovation Network. They will receive financial support from the Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada and research organisation MITACS.
The initiative is expected to train 11 people, including graduate students, undergraduate interns and postdoctoral researchers, through applied work closely linked to industrial operations.
“In the era of the fourth industrial revolution, partnerships between academia and industry are powerful accelerators of innovation, productivity and competitiveness,” said Éric Rondeau, innovation director for Alstom Canada, on 17 September.
“By combining cutting-edge research, emerging talent and our operational needs, this enhanced collaboration with the SDG Innovation Network will help us master smarter manufacturing processes, optimise our production lines and transform data into tangible benefits for our industry and customers. These methods and solutions can also be adapted and deployed across other Alstom sites worldwide,” he said.