Control Interface Research Articles

EMCI-EMP: developments and experience with the novel detector control solution

The Embedded Monitoring and Control Interface (EMCI) and Embedded Monitoring Processor (EMP) system is a state-of-the-art solution developed for the Detector Control System (DCS) upgrade in the ATLAS experiment. The EMCI serves as a radiation-tolerant interface for control and monitoring data of the detector Front-End electronics. The EMP, a multi-processing System on Chip (MPSoC) platform, serves as the interface between the EMCIs and the Back-End of the DCS, providing centralized data handling and monitoring capabilities. The firmware and software ecosystem includes the EMP operating system (epos), dedicated firmware IP blocks, associated software libraries, and OPC UA based middleware applications. This paper focuses on the ongoing hardware verification and development of the firmware and software infrastructure for the EMCI-EMP system.

Constructing a novel controllable interface structure through the anchoring effect of α-cyclodextrin at cryogenics to enhance and toughen the mechanical properties of epoxy resin

The fracture toughness of an epoxy resin (EP) often decreases under cryogenic conditions, primarily because of performance degradation caused by molecular chain freezing. In this study, a high-tensile-strength and high-fracture-toughness EP-based nanocomposite (EP/CPN–CuO) was synthesized using α-cyclodextrin (α-CD) for anchoring. The α-CD immobilized flexible linear polymers grafted onto the surface of CuO nanorods (NRs) with negative thermal expansion within a novel interface with the EP. The composite exhibited enhanced mechanical properties because the α-CD effectively hindered the curling of polymer chain segments and considerably improved the chemical bonding between the EP and CuO. Experimental results demonstrated the enhanced mechanical performance of EP/CPN–CuO under cryogenic conditions compared with that of other materials reported in the literature. EP/CPN-CuO-2.0 exhibited a tensile strength of 111.40 MPa, a Young’s modulus of 6.67 GPa, and a fracture toughness of 2.69 MPa·m1/2, marking increases of 67.4 %, 10.8 %, and 100.7 % compared to pure EP. Thus, this study effectively resolved the trade-off between the tensile strength and fracture toughness of an EP under cryogenic conditions, providing a new pathway for the widespread application of EPs in cryogenic environments.

Interface Control to Improve Thermal Conductivity of Interpenetrating Polymer Network

Interface Control to Improve Thermal Conductivity of Interpenetrating Polymer Network

Successful PLC Based Solar Powered Automated Irrigation System Prototyping for Water-Strained Agricultural Nations Like Pakistan

Water scarcity poses a critical challenge to agricultural sustainability in nations like Pakistan, despite abundant solar energy potential offering a sustainable solution for year-round productivity enhancement. This research focuses on designing and prototyping a PLC-based solar-powered automated irrigation system tailored for water-strained agricultural nations. The primary goal of this research is to design, prototype, and evaluate a PLC-based solar-powered automated irrigation system. The study utilizes PLC technology (Siemens SIMATIC S7-1200) for automation, incorporating capacitive moisture sensors for closed-loop control based on soil moisture and environmental data for data-driven decision making and precision agriculture. HMI is employed for real-time monitoring and control interface. Results from prototype development show promising outcomes in optimizing water use efficiency and reducing reliance on unreliable electricity sources. This paper underscores the potential of such technologies in fostering sustainable AgriTech development and addressing the pressing water challenges faced by agricultural sectors in developing countries. Prototype development and testing have shown significant improvements in water efficiency compared to traditional irrigation methods. Automated control based on real-time sensor feedback has demonstrated precise water management, enhancing crop yield potential without increasing water consumption.

Enhanced tunneling electroresistance in ferroelectric tunnel junctions achieved through dual interface control

Interface engineering in ferroelectric tunnel junctions is a fertile playground to realize large tunneling electroresistance (TER) ratios. Here, the TER effect of Pt/La0.8Ca0.2MnO3 (LCMO)/BaTiO3 (BTO)/Nb: SrTiO3 (NSTO) ferroelectric tunnel junctions (FTJs) is investigated. It is found that the TER is enhanced by 2 orders of magnitude for the FTJ with a 0.5 nm (∼one unit cell) LCMO layer, as compared to its counterpart without LCMO. The observed effect is attributed to the NSTO/BTO and LCMO/BTO interfaces, both of which are responsive to ferroelectric polarization. These interfaces exhibit metallic or insulating behavior synchronously depending on the direction of the polarization in the BTO layer, resulting from the ferroelectric electric field effect and metal–insulator phase transition, respectively. This switching action with polarization reversal significantly increases the contrast in electrical resistance between the high resistance state (OFF state) and the low resistance state (ON state), therefore triggering a large TER. The increase in LCMO thickness (from 0.5 to 1 and 2 nm) leads to the decrease in TER, owing to the decreased barrier height/width at the NSTO/BTO interface, as revealed by the electron transport mechanism of Fowler–Nordheim (FN) tunneling.

Development of a Fleet Management System for Multiple Robots’ Task Allocation Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

This paper presents a fleet management system (FMS) for multiple robots, utilizing deep reinforcement learning (DRL) for dynamic task allocation and path planning. The proposed approach enables robots to autonomously optimize task execution, selecting the shortest and safest paths to target points. A deep Q-network (DQN)-based algorithm evaluates path efficiency and safety in complex environments, dynamically selecting the optimal robot to complete each task. Simulation results in a Gazebo environment demonstrate that Robot 2 achieved a path 20% shorter than other robots while successfully completing its task. Training results reveal that Robot 1 reduced its cost by 50% within the first 50 steps and stabilized near-optimal performance after 1000 steps, Robot 2 converged after 4000 steps with minor fluctuations, and Robot 3 exhibited steep cost reduction, converging after 10,000 steps. The FMS architecture includes a browser-based interface, Node.js server, rosbridge server, and ROS for robot control, providing intuitive monitoring and task assignment capabilities. This research demonstrates the system’s effectiveness in multi-robot coordination, task allocation, and adaptability to dynamic environments, contributing significantly to the field of robotics.

Mechanically Resilient, Self-Healing, and Environmentally Adaptable Eutectogel-Based Triboelectric Nanogenerators for All-Weather Energy Harvesting and Human-Machine Interaction.

Triboelectric nanogenerators (TENGs) have garnered significant attention for mechanical energy harvesting, self-powered sensing, and human-machine interaction. However, their performance is often constrained by materials that lack sufficient mechanical robustness, self-healing capability, and adaptability to environmental extremes. Eutectogels, with their inherent ionic conductivity, thermal stability, and sustainability, offer an appealing alternative as flexible TENG electrodes, yet they typically suffer from weak damage endurance and insufficient self-healing capability. To overcome these challenges, here, we introduce an internal-external dual reinforcement strategy (IEDRS) that enhances internal bonding dynamics within the eutectogel matrix, composed of glycidyl methacrylate and deep eutectic solvent, and integrates plant-derived lignin as an external reinforcer. Notably, the resultant eutectogel, named GLCL, exhibits appealing collection merits including superior mechanical robustness (1.53 MPa tensile stress and 1.85 MJ/m3 toughness), ultrastrong adhesion (4.76 MPa), high self-healing efficiency (84.7%), and significant environmental adaptability (-40 to 100 °C). These improvements ensure that the assembled triboelectric nanogenerator (GLCL-TENG) produces stable and robust electrical outputs, maintained even under dynamic and postdamage conditions. Additionally, the GLCL-TENG exhibits significant extreme environmental tolerance and durability, maintaining high and consistent electrical outputs over a wide temperature range (-40 to 100 °C) and throughout 10,000 cycles of repeated contact-separation. Leveraging these robust performances, the GLCL-TENG excels in all-weather biomechanical energy harvesting and accurate individual motion detection and functions as a self-powered interface for wireless vehicular control. This work presents a viable material design strategy for developing tough and self-healing eutectogel electrodes, emphasizing the potential application of TENGs in all-weather smart vehicles.

Recent Advances and Challenges in Perovskite‐Based Protonic Ceramic Electrolytes: Design Strategies and Fabrication Innovations

AbstractProtonic ceramic electrochemical cells (PCECs) have received extensive research attention as full solid‐state, electrochemical devices that can interconvert electrical and chemical energies via rapid proton conduction at reduced temperatures. Nonetheless, the practical application of PCECs still faces numerous challenges. In addition to the development of electrode materials, the protonic ceramic electrolytes (PCEs), which are crucial for the performance and stability of PCECs, encounter issues such as poor sinterability, low ionic conductivity, and inadequate thermochemical matching. To address these obstacles, the design and optimization of protonic ceramic electrolytes have recently become essential research focuses in the field of PCECs. To achieve effective customization of the elemental composition, crystal structure, defect structure, ionic conductivity, and chemical stability, many candidates for electrolyte materials with various compositions have been proposed. This review also covers state‐of‐the‐art developments in PCE fabrication technologies, including powder synthesis, thin‐film deposition, more controllable sintering processes and interface treatments for structural integrity and ionic conductivity. This review comprehensively summarizes the most recent design approaches and optimization strategies for perovskite‐based protonic ceramic electrolyte materials and is crucial for advancing the commercialization of PCECs.

BLE-IOT-PID: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) Based IOT Controlled PID Controller for Multi-loop Pilot Plant with Quantum Firefly PSO Optimization

Introduction: Conventional Proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controls for multiloop pilot plants are constrained by wired connections, outdated control techniques, and inefficient real-time data sensing and acquisition. As a result, inefficiencies arise, where control loops for parameters like temperature, level, and flow require continuous dynamic adjustments and precise regulation. To overcome this issue, a full wireless solution is proposed which is the need of today’s era. Method: This study presents a novel PID controller for a multi-loop pilot plant, utilizing a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based Internet of Thing (IoT) system for wireless, real-time data sensing and control. The system gathers data through sensors and sends it to cloud storage via a BLE access point, which is then monitored using a mobile app called BIP. In addition to monitoring, the BIP app serves as a control interface, allowing PID parameters to be adjusted through a Quantum Firefly- Particle Swarm Optimization (QFPSO) algorithm integrated with the ThingSpeak cloud. This enables the control module to function in three distinct modes for the plant’s loops. Users can manually configure PID parameters, as well as temperature and level set-points, while the system automatically regulates the flow set-point based on real-time data. The BLE-based IoT system comprises five modules using Arduino Nano 33 BLE: a Flow Sensor, a Temperature Sensor, a Level Sensor, IoT communication, and an access point. These modules provide more accurate data than traditional sensing systems. Result: Key benefits of the proposed system include wireless accessibility, user-friendliness, a simplified design, ease of upgrades, and consistent control across multiple loops. The proposed system can be easily adapted for various types of industrial control systems with minimal effort. Conclusion: Additionally, the developed wireless sensor node can replace wired sensor nodes in any electronic system.

Rationally designed laterally-condensed-catalysts deliver robust activity and selectivity for ethylene production in acetylene hydrogenation

Future carbon management strategies require storage in elemental form, achievable through a sequence of CO2 hydrogenation reactions. Hydrogen is recycled from molecular intermediates by dehydrogenation, and side product acetylene selectively hydrogenated to ethylene. Existing Pd alloy catalysts for gas purification underperform in concentrated feeds, necessitating novel concepts. Atomistic simulations unveil superior selectivity of Pd:C solid solutions that optimize chemisorption energies and preclude sub-surface hydrides, verified here with model thin films. Multiple design criteria deduced from conventional catalysts facilitate synthesizing a self-repairing Pd:C system of a laterally condensed catalyst (LCC). A Pd layer prepared on a designated SiO2 buffer layer enables control of reactive interface, sub-surface volume and extended functional interface towards the buffer. Function and metric are supervised by operando micro-spectroscopy. This catalyst design shows, ethylene productivity >1 kmolC2H4/gPd/hour is reproducibly achieved and benchmarked against known catalysts. Photovoltaics deposition technologies enable scalability on real-world substrates saving active metal. A design-of-experiment approach demonstrates the improvement potential of the LCC approach.

Enhanced control of a brain-computer interface by tetraplegic participants via neural-network-mediated feature extraction.

To infer intent, brain-computer interfaces must extract features that accurately estimate neural activity. However, the degradation of signal quality over time hinders the use of feature-engineering techniques to recover functional information. By using neural data recorded from electrode arrays implanted in the cortices of three human participants, here we show that a convolutional neural network can be used to map electrical signals to neural features by jointly optimizing feature extraction and decoding under the constraint that all the electrodes must use the same neural-network parameters. In all three participants, the neural network led to offline and online performance improvements in a cursor-control task across all metrics, outperforming the rate of threshold crossings and wavelet decomposition of the broadband neural data (among other feature-extraction techniques). We also show that the trained neural network can be used without modification for new datasets, brain areas and participants.

Teleoperation system for multiple robots with intuitive hand recognition interface

Robotic teleoperation is essential for hazardous environments where human safety is at risk. However, efficient and intuitive human–machine interaction for multi-robot systems remains challenging. This article aims to demonstrate a robotic teleoperation system, denominated AutoNav, centered around autonomous navigation and gesture commands interpreted through computer vision. The central focus is on recognizing the palm of the hand as a control interface to facilitate human–machine interaction in the context of multi-robots. The MediaPipe framework was integrated to implement gesture recognition from a USB camera. The system was developed using the Robot Operating System, employing a simulated environment that includes the Gazebo and RViz applications with multiple TurtleBot 3 robots. The main results show a reduction of approximately 50% in the execution time, coupled with an increase in free time during teleoperation, reaching up to 94% of the total execution time. Furthermore, there is a decrease in collisions. These results demonstrate the effectiveness and practicality of the robotic control algorithm, showcasing its promise in managing teleoperations across multi-robots. This study fills a knowledge gap by developing a hand gesture-based control interface for more efficient and safer multi-robot teleoperation. These findings enhance human–machine interaction in complex robotic operations. A video showing the system working is available at https://youtu.be/94S4nJ3IwUw.

Concept and Design of Cutting Tools for Osseodensification in Implant Dentistry

Osseodensification is an innovative surgical instrumentation technique based on additive (non-cutting) drilling using special burs. It is known from the literature, that the osseodensification burs should operate in a clockwise direction to drill holes and in a counterclockwise direction to compact the osteotomy walls. For these purposes, the burs have special design features, like conical contour shape, increased number of helical flutes, and negative rake angle on the peripheral part. However, although other parameters and features of the burs define their overall performance, they are not described sufficiently, and their influence on surgical quality is almost unknown both for clinicians and tool manufacturers. The purpose of the present research is to identify the key design features of burs for osseodensification and their functional relationship with the qualitative indices of the procedure based on an analytical review of research papers and patent documents. It will help to further improve the design of osseodensification burs and thereby enhance the surgical quality and, ultimately, patient satisfaction. Results: The most important design features and parameters of osseodensification burs are identified. Thereon, the structural model of osseodensification bur is first represented as a hypergraph. Based on the analysis of previous research, functional relationships between design parameters of osseodensification burs, osseodensification procedure conditions, and procedure performance data were established and, for the first time, described in the comprehensive form of a hypergraph. Conclusions: This study provides formal models that form the basis of database structure and its control interface, which will be used in the later developed computer-aided design module to create advanced types of burs under consideration. These models will also help to make good experimental designs used in studies aimed at improving the efficiency of the osseodensification procedure.

Development of Software Interface for AI-Driven Weed Control in Robotic Vehicles, with Time-Based Evaluation in Indoor and Field Settings

Herbicide blanket application is widely practiced by farmers to chemically control weeds in the field, thereby enhancing productivity and improving crop quality. However, their repetitive use also has caused several negative issues on the environment and human health. To overcome these negative issues precision site-specific weed control can be used to reduce the herbicide application by targeted application on only weed areas. Hence, a robotic platform utilizing NVIDIA Jetson embedded device as control and processing unit was developed and tested on lab and field conditions for weed control. The average time taken for data acquisition and artificial intelligence-based computer vision tasks was tested under both lab and field conditions. Moreover, a grid map creation algorithm using YOLOv4 deep learning algorithm was evaluated to control the nozzles of the robotic platform. Integrating all these components together enabled real-time weed management approaches, enhancing the precision and efficiency of herbicide application Independent paired t-tests reveal that there is no significant difference in computational time between lab and field testing. Conversely, independent paired t-test revels that there is significant difference in image size between lab and field testing. The reduction of herbicide application based on grid map was obtained 79 to 80 %, which does not include YOLOv4 algorithm failure and system synchronization failure. The study suggests the importance of field testing for real-time applications of the robotic platform by using deep learning computer vision methods for weed control.

Remote Temperature Monitoring and Control System Using SCADA for Large Industrial Environment

In large-scale food companies to ensure product quality and protection, precise temperature control must be maintained. This research presents the design and implementation of a SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system integrated with a PID (Proportional-Integral-Derivative) control strategy for effective temperature regulation. The system offers operators a comprehensive Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for real-time visualization and control, processes temperature data through a PID controller to maintain a setpoint of 85°C, and continually monitors temperature data in real-time. The simulation results demonstrate that despite outside disruptions, the system can maintain the required temperature within close tolerances, assuring ideal process conditions. Large-scale industrial applications of SCADA systems are emphasized by their function in advanced data analysis, supervisory control, alarm management, and data collecting.

Design of a LiF-rich solid electrolyte interphase layer through a fluorinated carbon (CFX) complex separator for stable lithium metal batteries

The formation of a stable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) layer is very important for improving the cycling stability and safety of lithium metal batteries (LMBs). However, since the reactivity of lithium metal anodes (LMAs) is very high, controlling the movement of Li+ at the anode/electrolyte interface remains challenging. In this study, an approach involving coating a fluorine functional-controlled fluorinated carbon (CFX) layer onto a commercial PE separator to form a stable SEI layer was proposed. The strong reaction between the fluorine functional groups constituting CFX and Li+ facilitated the rapid formation of a LiF-rich SEI layer in the resting and initial cycling stages. This initial stable SEI layer promoted a subsequent homogeneous Li+ flux, thus improving the LMA stability. In addition, the mechanism by which the total amount of fluorine and the fluorine functional groups control the Li+ dynamics through the CFX-coated PE separator with controlled fluorine functional groups was used to identify the mechanism by which the total amount of fluorine and the fluorine functional groups provide the advantage of the creation of a stable SEI layer. Therefore, this study contributes to the energy storage field by solving the cycling stability problem related to LMAs and emphasizes that a stable SEI layer can be formed based on the important interface control according to the type of fluorine functional group.

JET CODAS - the final status

The JET Control and Data Acquisition System (CODAS) has stood the test of time and seen us through to the end of JET plasma operations in 2023. The system architecture has remained largely un-changed over the last decade or so although many new diagnostics and control systems have been added and the volume of data collected has grown massively. CAMAC remains at the heart of the system, particularly for continuous acquisition and control for much of the traditional, stable parts of the system. However, most of the newer diagnostics and control systems are network attached. The CAMAC interface was changed, about a decade ago, to remove the serial highway driver from the subsystem host so that the subsystem hosts could be virtualised and run on more powerful Oracle/Sun hosts, with the Serial Highway driver running on legacy sub-system host network attached. Other significant changes have been the development of a standard, web-based interface for control and data acquisition for diagnostics, the adoption of EPICS for several diagnostics and plant control along with integration into CODAS and the adoption of the ITER SDN protocols over ethernet to supplement the original ATM based real time control infrastructure.These developments were driven by the increased monitoring and machine protection requirements for the ITER Like Wall and the enhanced requirements for the high power Tritium Campaigns (DTE2 and DTE3). The latter, including significant expansion of the neutron and gamma diagnostics, along with expansion of the Tritium introduction systems and enhanced control systems. Towards the end of plasma operations, the requirement for the Laser Induced Desorption with Quadrupole Mass Spectroscopy (LIDS-QMS) involved significant development work to incorporate the associated control and data acquisition systems together with pushing the mode of operation for JET Pulses. At the very end of plasma operations, the requirements for long pulse operation also pushed the pulse operating mode. We now progress to Decommissioning and Repurposing JET and CODAS continues to be adapted to support the diminishing number of systems required to support the plant that is still operational and support diagnostic calibration later this year.

(Invited) Interface and Surface Control for High Performance Heterojunction Solar Cells

The transition towards a decarbonized society requires the broader use of photovoltaic power generation, which in turn necessitates the development of more efficient and high-value photovoltaic modules. To achieve this goal, we are carrying out various fundamental research projects aimed at improving crystalline silicon solar cells, which are the mainstream of photovoltaic power generation, as well as tandem solar cells for the future. Our focus is on improving the performance of heterojunction solar cells based on interface and surface control by developing new technologies for creating NATURE contact structures that provide high surface passivation performance and electrical conductivity [1], metal oxide thin films that can significantly reduce the cost of carrier selective passivating contacts [2], nanopyramid structures suitable for thin silicon solar cells and conformal spin coating of perovskite thin films [3], and nanoimprinting technology that enables long-wavelength optical confinement structures for the backside of multijunction solar cells. This presentation will review these fundamental technologies.[1] R. Tsubata, K. Gotoh, M. Matsumi, M. Wilde, T. Inoue, Y. Kurokawa, K. Fukutani, N. Usami, Silicon Nanocrystals Embedded in Nanolayered Silicon Oxide for Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells, ACS Appl Nano Mater 5 (2022) 1820–1827. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.1c03355.[2] S. Miyagawa, K. Gotoh, K. Kutsukake, Y. Kurokawa, N. Usami, Application of Bayesian optimization for high-performance TiO x /SiO y /c-Si passivating contact, Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells 230 (2021) 111251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.solmat.2021.111251.[3] Y. Li, H. Sai, T. Matsui, Z. Xu, V.H. Nguyen, Y. Kurokawa, N. Usami, Nanopyramid Texture Formation by One-Step Ag-Assisted Solution Process for High-Efficiency Monocrystalline Si Solar Cells, Solar RRL 6 (2022) 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1002/solr.202200707.

Reaction of Calcium Titanate with Al Metal in Molten CaCl2

A new innovative production process of Ti production replacing the Kroll process is desired. The authors have been researching the production of Al-Ti alloy by Al reduction of TiO2 in molten CaCl2. It was shown in our previous study that Ti was reduced by the reaction of Al metal and CaTiO3 in molten CaCl2 at 1500°C, and that excess CaO addition was effective. However, the Ti content in the obtained Al-Ti alloy was still very small. In this study, the effect of Al-Ti alloy formation in molten CaCl2 containing Ca4Ti3O10 was investigated, and the appropriate condition for Al-Ti alloy formation was studied. Calcium titanate: Ca4Ti3O10 was prepared by sintering a molded mixture of CaO and TiO2, and a small Al lump was used as reductant. The influence de-greasing of the Al lump by NaOH solution as pretreat was examined in this study. Molten CaCl2 containing Ca4Ti3O10 with the Al lump was kept for 1~1.5 hour at 1400°C~1450°C, and cooled down. The Al lump after the experiment was rinsed with pure water, and analyzed by XRD and SEM-EDX. Figure 1 shows the dependence of Ti content in the Al lump on the immersion time. A small amount of Ti was detected in Al lump, and the Ti content varied with the immersion time. In the case that the Al lump without the pretreatment was used, the Ti content slightly increased with the immersion time, but the content was only 0.32 at% for 1.5 hour immersion at 1400°C. It was shown in our previous study that the Ti content was 0.06 at% in molten CaCl2 with CaTiO3, and that the content became 0.62 at% in the bath containing CaTiO3 with extra CaO where the molar ratio of CaO to TiO2 was 4:3. The result in this study is consistent with our previous study, which implies that the type of titanate ion in the bath strongly affects its chemical reduction by Al. The pretreatment of the Al lump strongly affected the Ti content; in the case that the Al lump with the pretreatment was used, the Ti content remarkably increased with the immersion time, and the content became 6.74 at% for 1.5 hour immersion. Since the Ti content did not reach a plateau even after 1.5 hour, a higher Ti content is expected by longer immersion. The Ti contents at 1400°C and 1450°C were almost the same, so the temperature dependence of this reaction seems not significant. Since the reaction seemed not to reach the equilibrium and the Ti content in Al was still insufficient, a further investigation should be necessary for the development of effective Ti production by this method. The researches on the influence of the titanate concentration and on the interface control other than de-greasing can lead more effective reaction. Figure 1

All-Solid-State Li-S Cells: The Importance of Interfaces

All solid-state batteries have long been considered the next leap forward in energy storage devices, owing to their improved safety and higher theoretical energy density than their liquid counterparts. However, even with these improvements, heavy metal positive electrode materials such as lithium nickel oxides (NMC) and lithium iron Phosphate (LFP) are not gravimetrically energy dense enough to meet the growing energy requirements of modern-day applications. One promising candidate is the lithium sulfur (Li-S) chemistry due to the high theoretical capacity and abundance of sulfur. However, designing positive electrodes with high sulfur content that is able to withstand the large sulfur morphology expansion, alongside minimizing the excess Li storage in the negative electrode has remained elusive. A solution to this is the development of “anode-free” or zero excess lithium (ZEL) cells which minimise inactive materials and mitigate the challenges of handling Li metal foils during fabrication. These offer a further enhanced energy density, additional safety improvements and more control of the negative electrode interface. However, the inefficiency of lithium plating and stripping leads to rapid capacity degradation due to the absence of an excess lithium inventory.Here we present, to our knowledge, the development of the first zero-excess (anode free) all solid state LiS battery, composed of an Li2S-based catholyte combined with an Li6PS5CL solid electrolyte and a Ni/In negative electrode. The cell displays good capacity retention, 350 mAh g-1 Li2S after 50 cycles, and good rate capability, up to 2C. Since zero-excess cell degradation is primarily afforded to Li losses at the negative electrode, our study focuses on understanding this degradation and its relationship with the interfacial resistance at the anode-electrolyte interface. In addition, we show the affect of replacing Indium with an ionically conductive amorphous thin film as a method to reduce interfacial resistance which improves the gravimetric energy density of the cell. Finally, using X-ray computer tomography, we investigate the formation of cracks and void shifts and their subsequent effect on cycling performance, alongside the importance of pressure to enable long cycling life. Figure 1