AMA – Association for Sensors and Measurement has selected 35 of the most interesting ventures in the field of sensing and measuring technology, which facilitate the implementation of Industry 4.0 solutions.
AMA (Association for Sensors and Measurement) is a German association of companies dealing with sensors and measurements. Founded in 1981, the association currently has 460 members, associating companies that produce sensors and software, universities, research institutes. The AMA Innovation Award 2018 will be presented during the “Sensor + Test” Fair held in Nuremberg in June.
The jury consists of ten scientists from German and Swiss universities and research institutes. Thirty-five projects of twenty companies, universities and research institutions were nominated to the award.
A list of candidates with a brief description of the project in German can be found in the AMA Innovation Award 2018:
- ENDRESS + HAUSER, Switzerland – an accurate measurement of the flow and mass of industrial substances with intelligent elimination of the influence of gas inclusions, self-calibrating temperature measurement devices using the Curie temperature phenomenon
- SENSIRION, Switzerland, BOSCH, Germany – a new generation of gas sensors adapted for mounting in smartphones, detecting among others: volatile organic compounds (VOC). Sources of volatile organic compounds may be (among others): paints (e.g. formaldehyde), varnishes, cleaning agents, furniture, office equipment, glues or alcohol
Organic volatile compounds (VOC) developed by Bosch and Sensirion
- CELAGO SENSORS, Germany – a new generation of highly sensitive strain gauges (FolienDMS), which can be used as measuring elements for mechanical quantities
- HYGNOVA, Germany – disinfection system – sensors detect the behavior that should be followed by disinfection and the system automatically reminds of it
- SENVISYS, Germany – application of vibration sensors, supported by data analysis based on artificial intelligence for monitoring railways and train depots. The solution reduces the costs of railway crossing supervision and is able to detect the failure of rails and rolling stock
- OXFORD UNIVERSITY, ZP CHILLI TECHNOLOGY GROUP, United Kingdom – ChilliPot is the world’s first Scoville focus meter (scale of focus or spice of a dish). The meter can be used by growers, farmers, food producers and technologists
- DART SENSORS, Exeter, UK – self-calibrating sensors for formaldehydes, alcohols and fuels
- EFENTO, POLAND – Physical values monitoring system in the Cloud based on NB-IoT communication. Efento offers, among others, sensors for temperature, humidity, fuel vapors and differential pressure. The platform can be conveniently extended with sensors of other physical values.
Efento’s solution described in the brochure with candidates for the AMA award
- WÖLFEL-GRUPPE, Germany – radar sensors to control rotor blades to detect material defects using millimeter and THz thermodynamic waveforms
- INFINEON, Germany – Acustic sensors based Ccntrol system for silicon wafers used to produce chips
- POSITAL, Germany – a set of magnetic encoders for precise measurement of angular deflection or rotational speed of an object
- CONTECH SOFTWARE & ENGINEERING GMBH, Germany – Shape analyzer for assembly supervision and quality control
- DEWTRON, Austria – a versatile energy quality analyzer
- HOCHSCHULE HELLBRON, Germany – surveillance systems for industrial cooking based on radar sensors
- FRANZ LUDWIG GESELLSCHAFT, Germany – microwave sensors for temperature, humidity and homogeneity of bulk materials
- HOCHSCULE TRIER, Germany – a device for measuring distortion using laser interferometry, allowing for example testing of aircraft turbines without disassembly
- FRAUNHOFER-INSTITUT, Germany – high accuracy distance sensor using LIDAR technique. Used, for example, for measuring distances in chips
- FRAUNHOFER-INSTITUT, Germany – magnetic sensors for quality control of solar panels, detecting defects based on magnetic field analysis generated by the panel
- VŠCHT PRAHA, CZECH REPUBLIC – precise and easy to use spectroscopic detection system
- UNIVERSITÄT STUTTGART, GERMANY – analysis of electrical parameters of materials by means of computed tomography
- UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY, USA – an intelligent platform, with a hydrogel sensor, for monitoring, in real time, biomarkers and levels of drugs in the blood
- RMIT UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIA – a durable, sensitive, selective and reusable mercury sensor for continuous monitoring of the presence of mercury in industry and the environment
- POLYTEC, GERMANY – a non-contact vibrometer, measures vibrations or displacements with low power and amplitude
- CIS FORSCHUNGSINSTITUT FÜR MIKROSENSORIK GMBH, GERMANY – silicon strain sensors: 50 times more sensitive than conventional strain gauges built using a film. Used, among others, to monitor responsible screw connections (turbines)
- VAISALA, FINLAND – thin film capacitive sensor for monitoring temperature and humidity parameters of hydrogen peroxide in transport and storage conditions
- FIBOS, CANADA – an accelerometer prepared for work at high temperatures, using an optical measuring platform. Used for monitoring of turbine blades or vibrations in exhaust systems
- J & M ANALYTIK AG, GERMANY – low cost spectroscopic sensors used in plastics processing. Available functions: humidity measurement, polymer degradation detection and color change recognition
- FRAUNHOFER-INSTITUT, GERMANY – industrial measuring system with high accuracy, which can be used to select components for precise assembly
- FRAUNHOFER-INSTITUT, GERMANY – a system of photoacoustic sensors for continuous measurement of SO2 emissions
- SMARACT, GERMANY – vibrometer for microchips, for each pixel of the microscopic image the amplitude and phase of vibration are measured. Application for example in the design of MEMS systems
- ZOLITRON, GERMANY – measurement of physical values together with the analysis of phenomena on the cloud platform
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR MATERIALS SCIENCE, JAPAN – sensor technology, filter materials for control and management of toxins in water
