Confirm | Research Centre for Smart Manufacturing

CONFIRM DIH is focused on the application of digital innovation across the manufacturing value chain to foster growth and competitiveness in the Irish manufacturing industry and enable Irish based manufacturing SME and larger companiesto compete within the rapidly changing global landscape.

Smart manufacturing involves optimising production systems, developing Smart products, Smart machines, Smart production systems, and Smart supply chains by adding intelligence, and enhanced information technology and IoT. These new technologies will be at the heart of: Industry 4.0, the factories of the future, increasing product line adaptability, enabling real-time decision making, shortening supply-chains, and speeding up the development of new innovations to produce higher-quality goods at reduced costs across all industry sectors.

The CONFIRM DIH incorporates a Centre of Excellence with shared research facilities, access to state-of-the-art equipment and a broad ecosystem of stakeholders. CONFIRM DIH offers technology and support services to companies of varying sizes from SME and Mid-Caps to large MNEs. It provides access to knowledge, expertise and training in the smart manufacturing domain. CONFIRM’s solutions, moreover, provide for different customized approaches addressing companies on different innovation stages, from awareness raising and maturity level identification for newcomers to digitization, to tailored solutions and services for starter companies, to full systems solutions for advanced companies

Confirm is a not-for-profit, national strategic initiative supported by Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the Irish national foundation for investment in scientific and engineering research. The Confirm DIH draws on the expertise of 9 core Irish research performing organisations (RPOs), 16 international collaborations, andnumerous industry partners across MNC and SME sectors to deliver cutting-edge research and development projects in the smart manufacturing domain. It provides the skills and services required to place Irish-based industry at the forefront of the smart manufacturing revolution, helping companies of all sizes - ranging from SME to larger organisations - compete globally at the highest level.

The Confirm DIH is an open platform to accommodate the diverse digital innovation needs of the manufacturing industry in Ireland andwill be adriving force in the delivery of technological advances and expertise for a smart manufacturing innovation ecosystem. Confirm’s core research activity is in the areas of:

• Data Analytics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Predictive Modelling
• Decision Analytics
• Enterprise Modelling & Simulation
• Software Systems
• Human Computer Interaction
• Security & Integration
• Networking Systems & IoT
• Sensors
• Robotics & Control
• Product & Process Modelling
• Material Processing

To maximise the impact of our research initiatives, the Confirm DIH coordinates R&D and innovation activities, provides communication & outreach to the manufacturing industry, promotes a positive perception of manufacturing in wider society, contributes to the development of a skilled human resource pipeline for the manufacturing industry, provides a liaison between companies and a network of experts, and promotes new collaborative multi party national and international research projects to implement digital technologiesfor Irish based manufacturing companies.