Jump to the main content block
:::

A Promising Industry 4.0 Breakthrough in the Biochip Market, Award-Winning Automated Optical Inspection System Powered by Taiwan Tech

A Promising Industry 4.0 Breakthrough in the Biochip Market, Award-Winning Automated Optical Inspection System Powered by Taiwan Tech

The biochip market is heating up, expanding rapidly thanks to increased competition between major companies such as Fluidigm, Illumina, Perkin Elmer. Based on a US market research report in 2020, the global biochip market is expected to rise 11.7%, reaching 34.25 billion USD by 2030, marking substantial growth from its 12.82 billion USD valuation just ten years prior. Major driving forces in the biochip market include research and investment into the need to miniaturize biological, clinical tests for research and diagnosis, immune diseases, cancers, viral infections, and personal treatment. The growth expected in this sector presents an opportunity for companies to integrate new Industry 4.0 technologies in this booming industry.

Revenue

Taiwan Tech (NTUST) won the distinguished award in 2021 at the International Conference on Smart Sensors for the research, “Development of an Automated Optical Inspection (AOI) system for Rapidly and Precisely Measuring Dimensions of Embedded Microchannel Structures in Transparent Bonded Chips”. The research is a collaboration between the High Speed 3D Printing Research Center, directed by Professor Pin-Chuan Chen and Taiwan Tech mechanical engineering graduate student Chi-Minh Truong, and several other professors from different universities across Taiwan. The system at the center of the research is capable of making dimensional measurements of biochips rapidly, highly accurately, and at a low cost, tackling the main issues facing researchers in the industry.

“There was a need for a machine that could measure microfluidic chips’ dimensions automatically. Back then, the AOI was created for measuring a straight line microchannel chip’s structure. However, fabricated microfluidic chips in the industries may have a more complex microchannel structure. Therefore, the system, which is also an upgrade, has the ability to measure curved and Y microchannel structures, making it able to work on higher level structures,” said Chi-Minh Truong.

Industry 4.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chi-Minh Truong presents his research during the competition
(Image credit: Chi-Minh Truong)

The AOI system is constructed based on Snell’s law, designed with an optical lightning camera module, a movement mechanism module, a motion sensor module and an electronic control system and vision software. The system’s camera, with lights provided, captures the dimensions of the structure from certain angles. By using NI LabVIEW 2018 programming interface, the system is programmed to automatically analyze the captured image and acquire all the important data. The data is then used to calculate the height and width measurements of the microchannel cross-sections and the results are presented on the human–machine interface. [1] 

LED light

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camera, microfluidic chip, and LED light positioning;
(b) system components assembly
(Image credit: Chi-Minh Truong)

 

After working through several challenges, the research results demonstrate significant advantages of the system. Many existing techniques require manual measurements, but a compelling advantage of the AOI system is that it is able to operate automatically, saving resources for manufacturers. This represents a distinct improvement over the complex manual steps involved in earlier versions of metrology; now with just a simple mouse click, the system will measure the dimensions with a degree of accuracy greater than previous methods, all while delivering the results in just seconds.

The AOI system also represents a game-changing reduction in financial outlay. With a cost of just $140 USD, there is an astounding opportunity for savings over the $140,000 USD price tag of Interferometric Microscopy. “With further development, the system in the future can be capable of working in more complex structures and different transparent materials with the same accuracy as the demanding biochip market grows,” said Chi-Minh Truong.

The Industry 4.0 revolution is well underway, allowing companies to easily share information with customers, manufacturers, suppliers, and other parties in the supply chain. As these changes push productivity and competition, there will certainly be a shakeup in the biochip market as manufacturers invest in making their factories smarter, integrated, and fully automated. The demand for these technologies will grow the digital economy and drive the transition to more sustainable practices.

“The system can be used along with IOTs in smart factories. It certainly can be controlled and connected with other machines in the manufacturing line using the internet with smartphones, tablets, laptops and you can even control them when you are in another country,” Chi-Minh Truong remarked. He further noted that there is potential for AI to be integrated into the system: “The AOI can be used with AI to automatically detect the type of surface of the microfluidic chips, therefore selecting the correct algorithm for the detected surface, making it no longer required for an operator to choose the algorithm manually.”

NTUST recently established the Taiwan Tech Industry 4.0 Implementation Center, the only center in Taiwan dedicated to training talent for Industry 4.0 and the development of related technologies. Commitments like these underscore the university’s approach to supporting researchers working on leading-edge projects like Truong and Chen’s AOI system. Successes like these not only situate Taiwan Tech as a prominent hub of science and technology research, but also highlight the opportunity for students to be a part of this fourth industrial revolution. The biochip market represents one aspect of how Taiwan Tech’s graduates are well prepared to lead the way toward higher productivity, efficiency, and sustainability in high-tech industries.


Click Num: