By Josh Perry, Editor
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Integrated circuits (IC) are a building block for the electronics that are used on a daily basis around the world and it is critical for engineers and manufacturers to know that they are working with circuits that will meet specifications, which is why researchers at the Indiana Innovation Institute (IN3) are advancing computer vision for testing IC.

Researchers are using AI, machine learning and computer vision to ensure the integrity of IC. (Wikimedia Commons)

David Crandall, an associate professor from the University of Indiana (Bloomington), spoke with the university about the projects that he is working on and the importance of ensuring IC integrity.

He explained, “Electronic devices and integrated circuits are manufactured in plants throughout the world. They traverse a complicated supply chain to get between where they're manufactured and where they're placed into devices. A lot can go wrong in that process. Integrated circuits can be swapped or replaced for various reasons -- people wanting to make a bit of a profit by substituting a cheaper device for one that's more expensive, or for more nefarious reasons like hacking. We want to ensure the integrity of the integrated circuits so that the devices built out of them do what they are supposed to do.”

Researchers are turning to computer vision and machine learning to make the process of testing IC more reliable. At the IN3, scientists are teaching computers to analyze photos and recognize the objects located within them, even the subtle difference between IC.

According to Crandall, computer vision can be used to study the packaging of an IC to check part numbers and indications of modifications or damage as well as the internal circuitry.

“I work in computer vision and artificial intelligence,” he said. “We're looking for ways to apply these techniques to new, important, exciting problems. As we apply them, we discover new technical challenges, which leads us to go back to the drawing board to create new, better algorithms. I don't have deep expertise in microelectronics, so I wouldn't be able to impact this field alone. Collaborating with experts via IN3 will be the way we impact their field and bring back important, interesting problems for us to work on as well.”

Read the full interview with Prof. Crandall at https://news.iu.edu/stories/2019/01/iub/18-david-crandall-in3-indiana-innovation-institute.html. Learn more about IN3 at https://in3indiana.com.