www.pitapa.org Spring 2022 PENNSYLVANIA INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE A Commonwealth-University-Industry Partnership for Economic Development through Research, Technology, and Education
A Strong and Continuing Partnership
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IN THIS ISSUE REFINING RELIABLE SENSORS FOR FLEETS OF AUTONOMOUS DELIVERY ROBOTS – P.3 ADDING THERAPEUTICS TO SOY PROTEIN-BASED WOUND DRESSINGS – P.5 ADVANCED AIR PURIFICATION FOR CONTAINERIZED GASES USED IN HEALTHCARE APPLICATIONS – P.6
2022 PITA Directors’ Letter
The Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) has connected Pennsylvania’s companies with the Commonwealth’s world-class university researchers and their students for over 20 years, promoting economic development in Pennsylvania. PITA, which is funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED), helps Pennsylvania increase the state’s market competitiveness through the development of new technologies and process improvements. We are proud of the program’s strong history of working with Pennsylvania companies and students to foster economic growth in the state. The program has supported over 1,310 technology and process improvement projects in partnership with more than 520 Pennsylvania companies, obtaining more than $2 of funding from industry and federal sources for every $1 of state funding obtained. PITA has also mobilized more than 490 faculty members and over 2,180 students to work on Pennsylvania-specific technology, process improvement, and educational outreach projects, and has also enabled 15 startup companies to be created from PITA-sponsored technologies. In this edition of the PITA Newsletter, we highlight recent partnerships with Bosch Research and Technology Center, the City of Pittsburgh, LifeAire Systems, and NeuEsse, and DCED’s visit to Lehigh University. As always, we welcome partnerships with new companies. Those interested in working with faculty and graduate students on short-term technology-development or process improvement projects should contact the PITA Associate Directors Chad Kusko, Lehigh University, chk205@lehigh.edu or Colleen Mantini, Carnegie Mellon University, cmantini@cmu.edu.
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BURAK OZDOGANLAR
RICHARD SAUSE
ozdoganlar@cmu.edu Carnegie Mellon University
rsause@lehigh.edu ATLSS, Lehigh University
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Refining Reliable Sensors for Fleets of Autonomous Delivery Robots on Sidewalks For more information, contact Colleen McCabe Mantini, Carnegie Mellon University, cmantini@cmu.edu.
“Assuming the robots may communicate with each other, if one robot senses a pedestrian, while
A team of students at Safe AI Lab working on autonomous vehicles (Left to right: Hanjiang Hu, Sameer Bharadwaj, Jiarun Wei, Zuxin Liu, Diana Gomez, Yihan He)
another robot’s sensors are blocked by another obstacle, the first robot can pass the information to the second, saving energy.” — Ding Zhao, Carnegie Mellon University, assistant professor of mechanical engineering
By Kayla Valentine Pennsylvania recently legalized autonomous delivery robots, dubbed Personal Delivery Devices (PDD), and classified them as pedestrians. These robots are used to transport goods such as food and pharmaceuticals in pedestrian areas and have been especially useful in the pandemic—resulting in ten other states legalizing PDDs. Research by Ding Zhao and his students aims to develop a robust sensing mechanism for a network of PDDs on sidewalks, leveraging the team’s experience in active sensing, multi-agent planning, and safe reinforcement learning. The goal is to maximize the limited sensing, computation, and communicative capabilities of each robot by collaboratively integrating the sensing systems between robots, adaptive to various levels of automated communication data shared between them. The research team will collaborate with Bosch Research and Technology Center in Pittsburgh and the City of Pittsburgh in technology development and testing, as well as receiving funding from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) to expand current research.
It is especially important for the robots to correctly detect uncertain obstacles, such as unpredictable lighting conditions, road conditions, geometry of the road or sidewalk, and pedestrians. Their solution is to create an interconnected fleet of delivery robots that will communicate with each other, improving the robustness of their sensors. While most scholars focus on software, parameter tuning, and deep learning algorithms, Zhao instead emphasizes the physical configuration by placing LiDAR sensors on them in combination with software programs. LiDAR sensors measure the time for the reflected light to return to a receiver using lasers, creating a digital 3D map of the area. “We want to solve an optimization algorithm with this autonomous delivery robot by attaching sensors to it. We want to figure out the best placement for, say, three sensors and their placement, which will allow for the best performance,” said Zhao, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. To configure where the sensors would be placed, Zhao and his students Hanjiang Hu and Zuxin Liu proposed a surrogate model to approximate the problem, as the traditional approach was too computationally heavy to solve. Despite being an often-ignored factor in the computer community, their research shows that hardware configuration is dominant in several cases. To demonstrate this point, Zhao created a physical autonomous robot platform, allowing for an intensive realistic simulation analysis to show the benefits in Continued on page 7
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A Strong and Continuing Partnership For more information, contact Chad Kusko, Lehigh University, chk205@lehigh.edu. By Chad Kusko The successes of the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) program over the years have been the result of the strong alliance between Carnegie Mellon University, Lehigh University, and the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED). DCED administration, including Secretary Dennis Davin, Executive Deputy Secretary Neil Weaver, Deputy Secretary Steve D’Ettore, and Executive Director of the Office of Technology and Entrepreneurship Jennifer Leinbach, visited Lehigh University’s Advanced Technology for Large Structural Systems (ATLSS) Engineering Research Center on November 3, 2021.
related PITA projects over the years. It remains home to several active PITA projects with Pennsylvania industry partners. As part of the visit, the DCED team was given an update on recent PITA program happenings and was provided a tour of the ATLSS structural testing laboratory, including seeing demonstrations of recent PITA supported testing systems and Department of Energy and National Science foundation projects within the facility.
The ATLSS Engineering Research Center, a national center for research and education on structures and materials of the infrastructure, administered the PITA program at Lehigh from program inception to 2018, after which administration within Lehigh has been under the direction of the Institute for Cyber Physical Infrastructure and Energy (I-CPIE). Within the ATLSS Center, the large-scale, multi-directional structural testing laboratory has also been home to many civil infrastructure-
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Adding Therapeutics to Soy Protein-based Wound Dressings For more information, contact Colleen McCabe Mantini, Carnegie Mellon University, cmantini@cmu.edu.
By Kayla Valentine and Phil Campbell
Preclinical data from NeuEsse demonstrates
Wound dressings represent an ever increasing market, with closure products predicted to exceed $15 billion by 2023. Similarly, advanced wound care products for surgical and chronic wounds are predicted to exceed $22 billion by 2024. The primary contributing factors are the increasing geriatric population and the increasing prevalence of non-healing wound ulcers due to obesity and diabetes. And, although advancements in wound care technology will continue to occur and wound management programs are also evolving, the need for cost effective wound care treatments that can augment and support wound healing, beyond barrier function, are needed.
acceleration of skin wound healing by providing proteins that provide a support matrix that creates a supportive microenvironment for wound healing cells.
Plant-sourced proteins such as soy protein isolate have recently been explored as a potential source material for a range of biomedical applications, including wound care. Soy proteins represent a near inexhaustible source of base material, and unlike animal or human material sources, do not harbor potential disease concerns. Phil Campbell, research professor of biomedical engineering, biological sciences, materials science and engineering, and the Engineering Research Accelerator, has partnered with a Pennsylvania-based startup, NeuEsse, to initiate studies to add therapeutic potential beyond the current soy protein-based wound dressing product line, OmegaSkinTM, which is the company’s current the focus. This work is funded by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA). Preclinical data from NeuEsse demonstrates acceleration of skin wound healing by providing proteins that provide a support matrix that creates a supportive microenvironment for wound healing cells. OmegaSkinTM creates a breathable barrier between the environment and the wound site, that unlike synthetic bandage materials does not have to be removed. The proteins that make up the bandage are broken down by the body to provide the building blocks for wound healing cells to repair the wound site.
The goal of the partnership between Campbell and NeuEsse is to pursue the inclusion of signaling molecules, including growth factors, cytokines, and extracellular vesicles, that can not only moderate the wound immune microenvironment, but also promote the various cellular processes that will result in skin wound healing with minimal scarring. Such signaling molecules do not naturally occur in plantbased biomaterials and must be added exogenously. Campbell and NeuEsse believe that such additions will augment the innate properties of OmegaSkinTM toward further improving the healing of compromised wounds such as diabetic ulcers and severe burns.
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Advanced Air Purification for Containerized Gases Used in Healthcare Applications For more information, contact Chad Kusko, Lehigh University, chk205@lehigh.edu. By John Fox During a collaborative PITA study, Lehigh University and LifeAire Systems developed a new, in-line filter technology that is used to clean gases and purify air in operating rooms, clinical labs, and other medical facilities. The Lehigh team was led by John Fox, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, who specializes in pollution prevention technologies. LifeAire Systems is a global leader in air purification systems led by CEO Kathryn C. Worrilow, Ph.D., who originally pioneered their air purification technology for use in in-vitro fertilization laboratories.
“The assistance of the PITA program has been invaluable to the development of Aire~LifeLine in strengthening our technologies. Medical facilities need superior filtration for containerized gases and air purification, and PITA made it possible to develop just that.” — Kathryn Worrilow, CEO of LifeAire
The study aimed to develop a technology that removes volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the air and gases inside of medical facilities at a rapid, highly effective rate. VOCs are detrimental to IVF procedures–these compounds attach directly to DNA during embryo growth and inhibit their development. Through a decade of research, LifeAire developed a proprietary ambient air purification system (APS) that is scientifically proven to be clinically effective at protecting the human embryo during IVF. Subsequent research has proven that these VOCs can also affect other medical procedures and facilities outside of IVF laboratories, including cell culture activities in life sciences. While LifeAire developed the industry standard for ambient air purification, this collaborative study with Lehigh University made for more approximate quantifications of containerized gas purification for healthcare applications. Air purification for containerized gases is a necessary advancement to continue advancing IVF patient outcomes and improving other sensitive healthcare procedures. “The assistance of the PITA program has been invaluable to the development of Aire~LifeLine in strengthening our technologies. Medical facilities need superior filtration for containerized gases and air purification, and PITA made it possible to develop just that,” said Kathryn Worrilow, CEO of LifeAire. “We are thankful that our relationship with Lehigh University has led to a product that gives clients a cleaner, safer medical environment.” The study found that the LifeAire in-line filter removed over an order of magnitude greater of the compounds compared to other common filters. The Aire~LifeLine provides comprehensive and consistent VOC remediation of cylinder and house gases (oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and tri-gas) while protecting against a broad range of VOCs and particulates. The in-line filter delivers the most advanced, longest-lasting filtering capacity in the market.
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The improved air quality is measured clinically with a 20.7% improvement in blastocyst conversion rate across 5,319 cycles and statistical improvement of ongoing pregnancy rates, regardless of maternal age. PITA is proud to continue delivering high quality research that benefits Pennsylvania and medical facilities across the country, making possible the collaborative efforts that drive technology– and science–forward.
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Refining Reliable Sensors Continued from page 3 information to the second, saving energy. We can also increase safety for the fleet,” he explains. “However, communication delays could be caused by dropped signals and short bandwidths, which could lead to performance issues.” He continued to say that this is a long-term goal for the research, and something they hope to refine in the future.
safety enhancement and cost reduction required for a single agent. It allowed them to establish the robots’ ability to use tracking, allowing them to avoid obstacles even if they become blocked by another. In addition to the tracking method, Zhao emphasized using an internet between fleets of PDDs, allowing them to communicate obstacles to each other. “Assuming the robots may communicate with each other, if one robot senses a pedestrian, while another robot’s sensors are blocked by another obstacle, the first robot can pass the
Engineering more advanced PDDs affects a multitude of industries, most prominently autonomous vehicles, and delivery robots on sidewalks. However, the robots have the potential to improve software manufacturing systems, and could be deployed for household use in the near future. Zhao’s findings were recently used in one of the first studies to quantitatively investigate the influence of LiDAR 3D sensor placement for autonomous vehicles meant for transportation of both goods and people. The work will be presented at CVPR, a top conference in computer vision. Zhao believes that their work, while beneficial to the economy, will also improve the well-being of the community. Currently, he and his team are working to collaborate with libraries, where the robots would be used to deliver books. The collaboration would also provide the opportunity to train students to work with real-world robots, preparing them for careers in the robotic and technological industries. Read more about this work: https://arxiv.org/abs/2105.00373.
PITA Industry Partners Fiscal Years 2017-21
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on real-world, market-driven challenges confronting PA companies.
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INFRASTRUCTURE and enhancing the competitiveness of PA companies with the goal of the TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE www.pitapa.org ALLIANCE creation of jobs in Pennsylvania and the retention of highly trained/educated Faculty and students assist companies in creating technology of the future benefits PA industry. PENNSYLVANIA INFRASTRUCTURE
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PENNSYLVANIA INFRASTRUCTURE TECHNOLOGY ALLIANCE
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Project duration is typically 18 months. Project involves graduate and/or
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PITA is an industry-led program that enables companies to identify opportunities for the university, through its faculty and students, to provide expertise and capabilities that they may not otherwise be able to access.
through an RFP process in Pennsylvania companies gain access to faculty expertise, university equipment,
and students. University faculty and students are afforded the opportunity to work on real-world, market-driven challenges confronting Pennsylvania companies. Faculty and students assist companies in creating technology of the future and enhancing the competitiveness of Pennsylvania companies with the goal of the creation of jobs in Pennsylvania and the retention of highly trained/educated students in Pennsylvania.
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Tara Rae Moore Chief Editor Carnegie Mellon University tararaemoore@cmu.edu 412-268-9673 Chad Kusko PITA Co-Associate Director Lehigh University chk205@lehigh.edu 610-758-5299 Colleen McCabe Mantini PITA Co-Associate Director Carnegie Mellon University cmantini@cmu.edu 412-268-5314