Artificial Intelligence in Prognostics and Health Management of Engineering Systems

Prognostics and health management (PHM) has become a crucial aspect of the management of engineering systems and structures, where sensor hardware and decision support tools are deployed to detect anomalies, diagnose faults and predict remaining useful lifetime (RUL). Methodologies for PHM are either model-driven, data-driven or a fusion of both approaches. Data-driven approaches make extensive use of large-scale datasets collected from physical assets to identify underlying failure mechanisms and root causes. In recent years, many data-driven PHM models have been developed to evaluate system’s health conditions using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms applied to condition monitoring data. The field of AI is fast gaining acceptance in various areas of applications such as robotics, autonomous vehicles and smart devices. With advancements in the use of AI technologies in Industry 4.0, where systems consist of multiple interconnected components in a cyber–physical space, there is increasing pressure on industries to move towards more predictive and proactive maintenance practices. In this paper, a thorough state-of-the-art review of the AI techniques adopted for PHM of engineering systems is conducted. Furthermore, given that the future of inspection and maintenance will be predominantly AI-driven, the paper discusses the soft issues relating to manpower, cyber-security, standards and regulations under such a regime. The review concludes that the current systems and methodologies for maintenance will inevitably become incompatible with future designs and systems; as such, continued research into AI-driven prognostics systems is expedient as it offers the best promise of bridging the potential gap.