-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- smt007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current Issue
Production Software Integration
EMS companies need advanced software systems to thrive and compete. But these systems require significant effort to integrate and deploy. What is the reality, and how can we make it easier for everyone?
Spotlight on India
We invite you on a virtual tour of India’s thriving ecosystem, guided by the Global Electronics Association’s India office staff, who share their insights into the region’s growth and opportunities.
Supply Chain Strategies
A successful brand is built on strong customer relationships—anchored by a well-orchestrated supply chain at its core. This month, we look at how managing your supply chain directly influences customer perception.
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - smt007 Magazine
Darwin AI Evolving the Islands of Automation
March 20, 2023 | Nolan Johnson, I-Connect007Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
When Canadian artificial intelligence company Darwin AI was founded in 2017, machine learning and deep learning were still relatively new terms. In the past five years, CEO Sheldon Fernandez and his team have been working with this technology to develop some foundational IP to simplify implementation. About a year ago, Sheldon took a “part happenstance, part deliberate” opportunity to develop a vertical offering for EMS manufacturing. Here’s what happened.
Sheldon, it’s nice to meet you. Would you briefly introduce your company?
Sheldon Fernandez: We’re based out of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, and we're organically connected to the University of Waterloo, which is kind of like Canada's MIT. Two of our co-founders are professors at the institution, including Professor Alexander Wong, Canada’s Research Chair in AI and Medical Imaging.
We’ve been working on foundational machine learning and deep learning technology for the past five years. A couple of years ago, our large industrial and aerospace clients were telling us about their supply chain challenges during the pandemic and reshoring sensitive electronics manufacturing work back to North America, specifically printed circuit boards (PCB). We thought that created an opportunity for us.
When we looked at PCB manufacturing, it became apparent that while the SMT placement workflow was highly automated, there was a need in automating back-end production and final assembly. This laborious part of the process was where EMS companies and OEMs were still employing manual inspection. These inspection tasks are tough to crack from a traditional machine vision perspective, and we wondered, “Can AI bring anything to bear on this problem?” We spent about a year developing a hardware and software solution which fits into the typical assembly line for PCB manufacturing. It also does post-assembly analysis, and what's really fascinating is how quickly an operator can program our product.
We often hear that AOIs are good at what they do but are laborious to program and maintain. With our system, there’s not a lot of manual work. You give the system a good (i.e., golden) board—or a couple of good boards if there's a union of different components—and our AI system creates a map of where components should be in less than a minute; away you go. You can tweak it after that, and it’s striking how quickly you can configure the product.
We brought our mini system to IPC APEX EXPO, and the response was fascinating. So many companies were intrigued by finally automating back-end production, and we're really excited about becoming a part of the community.
To read this entire conversation, which appeared in the March 2023 issue of SMT007 Magazine, click here.
Testimonial
"We’re proud to call I-Connect007 a trusted partner. Their innovative approach and industry insight made our podcast collaboration a success by connecting us with the right audience and delivering real results."
Julia McCaffrey - NCAB GroupSuggested Items
China Plus One: Vietnam and Thailand Manufacturing Solutions
10/28/2025 | Marcy LaRont, PCB007 MagazineU.S. electronics manufacturing companies are weighing the “China Plus One” solution as they strategize how best to mitigate the ever-increasing pressures and costs of manufacturing in China. Several global markets, particularly Thailand and Vietnam, are seeing significant growth in their sectors. This article breaks down the pros and cons of each market, including a look at U.S. tariffs and how each country is addressing a significant skilled labor gap to support their electronics manufacturing goals.
Saab Q3 2025 Results: Delivering Sustained Growth
10/28/2025 | SaabOrder bookings for the third quarter amounted to SEK 20,861m (21,173), with strong growth in medium-sized orders.
SEL Announces Expansion Projects in Idaho and North Carolina
10/28/2025 | SELSchweitzer Engineering Laboratories (SEL) is adding 370,000 square feet of new and expanded facilities to locations in Moscow and Boise, Idaho, and Charlotte, North Carolina.
American Made Advocacy: Smart Policies Can Ensure AI Data Centers Are Secure
10/28/2025 | Shane Whiteside -- Column: American Made AdvocacyMegatrends in the economy always capture the interest of the media, politicians, investors, and industry titans. The latest megatrend is artificial intelligence (AI), which has created a mad rush to increase American capabilities and has manifested itself in the proliferation of massive data centers.
Nvidia’s Blackwell Chips Made in Arizona Still Head to Taiwan for Final Assembly
10/27/2025 | I-Connect007 Editorial TeamNvidia has begun production of its next-generation Blackwell GPUs in the United States, but the company still depends heavily on Taiwan to complete the process, The Register reported.