New sensor principle for NOx measurement

In recent years, it has become increasingly difficult to reliably measure nitrogen oxide
emissions (NOx emissions) economically due to the constantly tightening exhaust emission limits. Six medium-sized companies and research institutes are therefore working together to develop a new type of NOx sensor for use on diesel engines in mobile machinery.

The development is based on an electrochemical cell which, thanks to its simplified design, enables fast response times and avoids cross-sensitivities. The sensor principle can be used to control exhaust gas aftertreatment systems more efficiently and safely comply with future strict exhaust gas standards. An article on this was published in the 03/2016 issue of ATZ Offhighway.

New sensor principle for NOx measurement ATZ Offhighway: PDF Download

Actuators

Tester for actuators pressurized with negative pressure

Driver assistance systems

In collaboration with the University of Koblenz-Landau, a reversing assistance system was developed to support the reversing of vehicles with trailers – based on a visual human-machine interface. The system is intended for retrofitting, regardless of the vehicle and trailer model. Many drivers who have no problem driving forwards with a trailer are very unsure when reversing and are therefore unable to drive the trailer safely. The main reasons for this:

When reversing, the steering movement must be mirror-inverted to the direction of travel, which can easily lead to a ‘knot in the brain’. The influence of the steering wheel movement is not reliably recognizable and predictable.
Reversing trailers are an unstable system. If the steering wheel is turned too far, the trailer is positioned at right angles to the direction of travel due to the interrupted power axle and can only be realigned by driving forwards again.

The development objective was an assistance system that enables even inexperienced drivers to reverse safely and precisely with a rigid drawbar trailer by displaying the trajectories (routes) in the actual image of the reversing camera attached to the trailer on the mobile output device. This allows the driver to continuously check and correct the steering angle and the expected path of the trailer on the screen when reversing slowly or even when stationary.

Data logger with remote query

Know what’s going on worldwide at all times. The system allows global remote data retrieval on operating statuses. This is done either via the GSM network, which is available almost everywhere, or via the Internet. Manual queries and automatic transmissions are possible, but above all direct alarms are also possible. In addition to monitoring and control functions, GPS also enables modern and cost-effective fleet management.