According to the college’s Sensor Systems and Internet of Things Lab, the project goal is to “collect and analyze real-time image and sensor data and automatically communicate it to the operations and process engineering teams during the furnace’s operation.” 

“This project is a practical way to engage with Mohawk College’s research expertise while introducing local students — a critical part of our future workforce — to advanced manufacturing and the steel industry,” said Peter Badgley, Stelco vice president of technology. 

The two-year project is being supported through a CA$300,000 grant from the National Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Stelco also will be investing in the project as part of a broader blast furnace upgrade, the college said. 

“We look forward to working with the team at Stelco on this exciting collaborative research project,” said Esteve Hassan, Mohawk’s NSERC Industrial Research Chair for IIoT Applications. “Our teams will work together to employ machine vision and complex data analytics to enhance the current blast furnace process monitoring and provide a superior way to monitor key performance factors.”