High School GOCAPS Students Lay Foundation for Artificial Intelligence; SRC Logistics, Inc. Core Identification
Springfield, MO – Three local high school seniors – all participating in the Greater Ozarks Centers for Advanced Professional Studies (GOCAPS) – spent the spring semester studying artificial intelligence (AI) and applying that knowledge to a real-world technology innovation project at SRC Logistics, Inc. (SRCL).
Braxton Hall (Marshfield High School,) Kyle Duckworth (Ozark High School,) and Daniel Walker (Parkview High School) have been learning AI through experience at the GOCAPS classroom located inside SRCL’s facility on East Division Street since December 2018. The three students were enlisted to assist Cody Allen, Director of Technology, and Joshua Mincks, Data Scientist and AI Developer, of SRCL in laying the foundation for AI that will assist in identifying and sorting brake shoes upon receipt at SRCL’s facilities.
GOCAPS Students (from left to right,) Duckworth, Walker and Hall built the identification turntable and conveyor belt model with Mincks (left,) GOCAPS Instructor Darrin Earhart (middle) and Allen (right.)
The project’s most significant challenge has been collecting data in the form of labeled pictures to that will form the framework for the AI’s identification abilities. To streamline the process, the students designed and built a motorized turntable, equipped with lights and a camera, that photographs the brake shoe at a rate of one photo per second. The camera then automatically uploads the photos to a labelling software built by Mincks to identify each component of the brake shoes.
“The original intent for adding the [GOCAPS] students to the project was for labor assistance while providing them with real world application for IT and engineering. Their level of innovation was a bonus that proved crucial to the project,” said Allen.
“This was a very challenging project at first, but we had a lot of fun,” said Hall. “I never would have thought I’d be working on something like this.”
Hall and Duckworth will continue with SRCL this summer as interns and plan to attend Ozarks Technical Community College and Missouri State University, respectively, in the fall. Walker plans to join the National Guard and hopes to continue his relationship with SRCL after his service.
The long-term goal for the AI project at SRCL is to improve efficiency and accuracy in the sorting process while helping to alleviate the monotony of the high turnover position. Allen and Mincks hope to have a production model in their facility by the end of 2019 with hopes of expanding the technology’s abilities to a mobile application for dealer use.