Session: CIE-11-02 CAPPD:Computer-Aided Product and Process (CAPPD General)

Paper Number: 143867

143867 - Research2Market Connect: Cloud-Based Platform to Connect Academic Research With Smes for Accelerated Innovations 

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can benefit significantly by exploiting and successfully commercializing technological innovations in academic institutions. The primary challenge in realizing this requirement is the non-availability of systematic repositories and lower Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) with systems or products available at academic institutions. This paper presents Research2Market Connect to aggregate innovations within academic institutions and a listing of the repository on a cloud-based platform for offering shared access to SMEs. As academic research may not be readily suited to market needs, the platform facilitates enhancing the TRL level (from TRL 4 to TRL 7) through online collaborations and resource provisioning using the service-oriented model. The platform elements - an academic profile, an industry profile, and a mechanism for improving the TRL level using the Design-as-a-Service (DaaS) framework, are conceived and discussed in the paper. An illustrative case study of the rapid development and deployment of a face shield during the COVID-19 pandemic is presented to showcase the importance of collaborative innovation using a cloud-based platform. It has been shown that cloud-based platforms similar to Research2Market Connect can enable SMEs to leverage research in academic institutions with human expertise and computational resources to overcome resource barriers and swiftly respond to changing market conditions.

Presenting Author: K A Desai Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

Presenting Author Biography: Dr. Kaushal A Desai is a Professor at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, India. He is an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and worked as a guest researcher at the Manufacturing Metrology Division, National Institute of Standards of Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, USA, and Clemson University - International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). He has been instrumental in setting up Smart Manufacturing and Metrology research facilities at IIT Jodhpur. His research interests include incorporating process physics in planning CNC tool paths or developing smart manufacturing solutions. His research group is also working on integrating CAD/CAM/CAE tools in the new product design and development. He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and is a symposium organizer, guest editor, and reviewer for reputed conferences and journals.

Authors:

Shubham Vaishnav Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Ankit Agarwal Clemson University
Pratik C Sorathiya Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
K A Desai Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
Laine Mears Clemson University