About the challenge

Aramco, a world leader in integrated energy and chemicals, and YES!Delft are partnering up for the second time to discover new innovative and sustainable technologies to challenge the creativity and innovative thinking of TU Delft and Erasmus University students. This time around, the focus is on taking quality control to the next level.

From artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to blockchain technology, there are plenty of opportunities to make quality control a more automated, predictive and sustainable process.

Quality control is key to ensuring that products make it on the market in the highest quality possible. It is there to make sure that in every stage of its supply chain, a company is using the best materials, from the best suppliers, with the best manufacturing practices. And while strict quality control is the standard in many industries, it is still largely a manual process – and that poses certain challenges.

Bringing more innovation and sustainability to quality control

For this Tech Quest, which will take place on September 29th, (from 8:30 – 20:00) Aramco and YES!Delft are looking for solutions in four different categories:

• Automated Document Review using AI. In order to determine if certain materials are up to Aramco’s quality standards, trained personnel review a myriad of reports and certificates and assess if they are compliant. Currently, documentation is delivered in different formats – from Word and Excel, to PDFs – which makes inspections particularly time-consuming. We are looking for tech-driven solutions to make document reviews more efficient using AI and eliminate repetitive manual work.
  

• Fight against Counterfeit. Delivering the highest possible quality product requires reliable quality control throughout the supply chain. Yet, even with strict processes in place, there is room for counterfeit parts or products to make their way in. We are looking for innovative technologies to ensure that products are properly marked as well as the genuineness of materials at every stage of the supply chain. 
  
  
• Real-time Quality Control. Current inspection practices are in the hands of personnel who specialize in quality control. This setup, while well established within the company, poses certain challenges. On the one hand, inspections by quality control experts add time to the manufacturing cycle, making the processes more expensive, and on the other, they are subject to the human factor. This category calls for solutions to support quality control by making it easier to predict material and product defects, automatically correct upsets in the process and minimize the need for human intervention.
  
  
• Automated Solution for Cleaning Solar Panels. Solar energy is an important alternative to fossil fuels that Aramco is pursuing. The efficiency of solar panels decreases significantly when covered by sand, dust, leaves from nearby trees and the like. Regular cleaning is necessary but also very expensive and labor-intensive. We are looking for innovative ideas and technologies to make the cleaning of solar panels fully automated and ideally with net-zero emissions.

Who is this challenge for?

This Tech Quest is open to Bachelor, Master and Ph.D. students from TU Delft and Erasmus University who are eager to demonstrate their ideas in the field of innovation. A maximum of 35 participants will be selected and placed in small teams to work on one of the four categories.

The challenge is a great opportunity for you to work in a multi-disciplinary team, alongside technical experts, and pitch in front of Aramco management and staff. It is a 1-day event, in which you will be working on the assignment, get pitch training and in the afternoon the final event.

What’s in it for you?

1. The winning team gets €2.000,-, followed by €1.500,- and €1.000 for the second and third place. There will be 4 encouragement prices
2. Coaching hour with two YES!Delft experts.

Apply Now

The call for applications is now open and you have a chance to submit yours by September 16th. You can register as an individual or as a team. Each team will work on one of the four assignments. If you want to showcase your innovative thinking and skills, there is no time like the present. Apply now!