SMILE provides three levels of cleanroom training, from browser-based exploration to augmented reality guidance during a procedure. The tools are being adapted and tested for use in the Mines Nanofabrication Facility.

For more information and materials, visit Zafer Mutlu’s training resources.

Level 1 · Browser · Complete as of November 2026

Interactive videos

SMILE browser video showing labeled equipment in a yellow-lit cleanroom.
Interactive video demo: equipment is outlined and labeled in the cleanroom video.

A neural network outlines and labels equipment in a cleanroom video. Selecting a tool opens its process description, photos, and components. The demo runs in a browser without a headset or app installation.

Open the interactive video demo

Level 2 · Browser or VR · Complete as of November 2026

360° cleanroom tour

360-degree tour interface with cleanroom view, navigation floor plan, and equipment information panel.
The browser tour combines a panoramic cleanroom view, a floor plan, and equipment details.

Explore a photo-mapped cleanroom with a floor plan and tool information panels. The tour is available in a regular browser and through WebXR on a Meta Quest 3 headset.

Open the browser tour · Open the WebXR tour

Level 3 · HoloLens 2 · Research system

AR cleanroom assistant (ARCA)

ARCA headset view with labeled spin coater, controller, pump, and wafer, alongside instructions for step 3 of a 44-step procedure.
ARCA guides the learner to the spin coater. The panel shows completed, current, and next steps while boxes identify the equipment and wafer.

ARCA displays the current procedure step and outlines the equipment needed for it. Gaze interaction and virtual buttons let learners move through instructions and request help. The spin-coating demonstration guides a learner through a 44-step procedure.

ARCA pipeline linking vendor images and captured frames to object recognition, and course modules to live instructions on HoloLens.
ARCA pipeline: equipment images support object recognition; course modules supply instructions displayed on the headset.

ARCA uses equipment detection rather than requiring a digital twin of the cleanroom. Contact the project team about the headset system and research collaboration.

Research in progress

The team is studying spatial awareness and verification of trainee actions. Current work combines hand-object detection with cleanroom tool detection to identify which object a hand holds or touches. Planned work includes depth, eye tracking, spatial maps, and procedure-step checks in ARCA.

Student research topics include reducing detection latency, moving models to edge devices, and evaluating the tools with cleanroom trainees.

People and support

SMILE is led by project PI Zafer Mutlu (University of Arizona). Other project investigators include Mehmet E. Belviranli (Colorado School of Mines) and B. Kim (University of Arizona). SMILE is funded by the DoD Microelectronics Commons through the ASU SWAP Hub. Its integration into CoRtEx is part of the NNME Southwest effort.

Contact Mehmet Belviranli · HPSS Lab