Chemical Engineering March 2023 - 14

NavVis
FIGURE 5. The comprehensive datasets enabled by
the point clouds that the NavVis system develops
can be applied into full digital twins
dents benefitted from complementing
their traditional education with virtual
" visits " to simulated industrial environments.
According to Bennett, the
study found that students who had
the more experiential aspect of using
the headsets scored around 60 to
70% better than students who did
not use headsets. " When you actually
experience something, versus just
reading about it, it's much more solid
in your memory for recalling later. So,
there is definite evidence that using
headsets with full VR, specifically in
the context of industrial chemists, has
real value for them when they enter
the workforce. "
Aveva
Advanced functional materials
Progress in materials research and
development is helping to expand the
applicability of wearable technologies
and overcome some of the challenges
in designing functional wearables for
industrial use.
Dynamic pressure changes are a
FIGURE 6. The industrial metaverse concept envisions
a VR-enabled, collaborative environment
where workers can access live, digital versions of
their assets
and interact with the assets (Figure 6).
" It's really different and a much more
natural collaboration between people
when you're in the 3D space. Neither
of us have left our chair, but we are
manifesting in a version of the actual
operating asset, " says Bennett. Safety
considerations are obviously a huge
factor when considering virtual collaboration,
because no travel or special
site certifications will be required to access
an asset. " I don't need any safety
certificates to fly my avatar to the top
of a flare stack when I'm in the metaverse
because there's no physical risk
to me. There are definitely some opportunities
to bring more expertise into
high-risk environments more quickly, "
he adds.
However, a major hurdle for implementation
of the industrial metaverse
is overcoming preconceived notions
about VR headsets. Bennett believes
that headsets will become more ubiquitous
among the younger workforce,
citing a study that Aveva carried out
with the University of Milan (www.
unimi.it) looking at how chemical engineering
and industrial-chemistry stu14
major
hurdle in developing wearable
sensors. As the wearer goes about
their everyday tasks, the pressure on
any device they are wearing is frequently
changing, which can interrupt
the flow of data from the sensor.
Now, a new method of vapor-printing
enables pressure-sensing fabrics with
integrated piezoionic materials, which
redistribute ions throughout the sensor,
effectively turning any mechanical
motion into an electrical signal that can
be monitored. Developed at the University
of Massachusetts Amherst's
(www.umass.edu) Wearable Electronics
Laboratory, this is said to be the
first fabric-based sensor that allows
real-time monitoring. " Fabric pressure
sensors are useful in industrial
PPE to indicate if a pressure threshold
has been exceeded. For example,
the destructive pressure from exceeding
a recommended grip
strength
while moving or operating inventory
or equipment in industrial settings, "
explains Trisha L. Andrew, director of
the Wearable Electronics Laboratory.
According to work published in Advanced
Materials Technologies, this
also represents the first fabric-based
sensor that enables personalized realtime
analysis of grip strength. Applications
of the pressure sensors include
capturing physiological signals in
loose-fitting garments and gait in footwear,
says Andrew. The sensors also
feature a special coating to protect
against humidity, meaning that fabrics
can be easily laundered.
In another example of functional
materials for wearables, scientists are
using the de novo computational protein-design
approach to develop new
biosensors that can detect hazards
and toxins. According to Fiorenzo
Omenetto, dean for research and professor
of engineering at Tufts University
(Medford, Mass.; www.tufts.edu),
the sensors represent a confluence of
biomaterials (in this case a regenerated
silk fibroin) and de novo protein
constructs that can be reassembled
into several wearable end formats
while maintaining the protein's functionality.
For this work, the team was
able to fabricate the bioresponsive
materials into a printable ink, wherein
the protein constituent could be designed
to respond to particular molecules
of interest with high selectivity
and specificity. The biosensor is programmed
to glow when it detects its
target molecule, and the intensity of
light emission can be used to gauge
the concentration. In addition to inks,
the materials platform can be adapted
into films, sponges, filters and more.
The biosensors are also more durable
than many existing methods for detecting
pathogens or chemicals in the
environment, since they require no biological
components that can quickly
degrade or electronic components
that are difficult to integrate into wearable
devices.
" We fabricated a set of functional
demonstrator devices, including bioresponsive
PPE, such as masks and
laboratory gloves, " says Omenetto. A
key benefit for this materials platform
is its versatility. In addition to the PPE
demonstrations, the team has developed
a bioresponsive drone prototype
for air-quality monitoring. Such
demonstrations, says Omenetto, are
meant to illustrate the expanded utility
and ease of fabrication for these sensing
interfaces, even when targeting
hard-to-detect variables. The Institute
for Protein Design at the University of
Washington (Seattle; www.ipd.uw.edu)
engineered the proteins that the Tufts
team incorporated into the devices. ■
Mary Page Bailey
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
MARCH 2023
http://www.tufts.edu http://www.umass.edu http://www.ipd.uw.edu http://www.unimi.it http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering March 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering March 2023
