The patent-pending technology developed by Dow’s global Coating Materials Research & Development (R&D) team highlights the growing impact of digitalization in the industry and represents some of the latest digital capabilities enabled by DOW Paint Vision. Built and backed by scientists, Dow Paint Vision offers data-driven capabilities designed to simplify the formulation process and accelerate innovation in the paints and coatings industry.

“The innovative minds and expertise of Dow’s global Coating Materials R&D organization has led to a solution that leverages digital capabilities in order to predict the strength of coatings formulations,” said A.N. Sreeram, senior vice president, Research & Development, and chief technology officer for Dow. “This newly standardized image processing plan will allow our researchers to predict the durability of coatings formulations to further enable the manufacturing of longer-lasting applications.”

Many critical coating performance attributes are traditionally rated by researchers using visual assessment to quantify film performance. The rating is assessed subjectively, often using guidelines provided by an industry specification or third party.

Through customization of both the hardware and software of the new imaging technology, images are captured in a consistent format and tagged with relevant experimental context and metadata. This approach eliminates inconsistencies caused by human perception and enables an accurate and consistent means of digitizing the appearance of coatings.

A convolutional neural network (CNN) model analyzes images to produce robust and quantifiable ratings. In a study performed by Dow scientists, corrosion performance predictions were validated against human ratings with an accuracy greater than 90%. The results are stored in a centralized database that is available as a historical record for future algorithm development and improvement.

By using innovative machine processing algorithms in conjunction with standardized imaging stations, Dow scientists are streamlining collaboration across our global labs and revolutionizing the testing of traditionally subjective visual methods for coatings applications.

Presented by the Business Intelligence Group, the 2023 Artificial Intelligence Awards recognize organizations, products and people who bring artificial intelligence to life and apply it to solve real world challenges.