Research Details

In partnership with industry, researchers in technology development group of the Fraunhofer Stuttgart (TEG) have developed components to optimize production and have integrated in a transportable demonstrator. Often, when a machine fails, the whole production is stopped the time to identify the cause of the failure and repair, so companies want preferentially use components without electricity or cable. The components developed by researchers at Stuttgart are intelligent autonomous energy. They consist of sensors, an arithmetic logic unit (URL) and a radio. They measure the positions, forces or temperature and send data by radio wave. So without any wiring that the measured data can be transmitted to the unit. All phases of the process are monitored by sensors that operate without external energy. The demonstrator in which German researchers have inserted their system is a miniature conveyor run on compressed air. It carries small pieces of construction closed circuit: small round pieces are caught by a suction vacuum, transported a short distance and then deposited on a support which redirects to their starting point. The researchers made use of photodiodes powered with energy from photovoltaic cells to check if the device was loaded properly. They also use pressure sensors to monitor the operation of vacuum suction and piezoelectric elements that produce electricity when deformed - deformation which takes place at the start or the stop the vacuum pump. The electricity produced is sufficient to send a signal to the central unit. In the next two years, the various components developed within the TEG should prevail in the industry and improve production. By the Fraunhofer TEG developed novel mechanical test methods to test external force influences on complex components standardized.As the prosthetic proves it is also ideal for components of the human interface product.