EDITORIAL TECHNOLOGY NEWS

May 2011 • Issue 24Continued on page 2Continued on page 2

tested autonomous cars to date.Considering that the first DARPAautonomous racing challenge in 2004ended without any of the competitorsfinishing the 150-mile course, thetechnology is moving fast.

Google may seem like an unlikelycompany to take on the challenge ofautonomous vehicles, but when youlook at the team the company hasassembled, it’s clear that Google isvery much at the forefront of researchin the field.

The man behind thisresearch is ProfessorSebastian Thrun, co-inventor of Google’sStreet View map -ping service anddirector of theStanford ArtificialIntelligence Labora -tory (SAIL).

Thrun is also a previous winner of theannual DARPA Challenge, and he hasaccumulated a team of engineers whohave all won past DARPA Challengesand share a common vision of thefuture of autonomous driving.

Developing this technology is personalfor Thrun. He lost his best friend to a

newsletterA publication from ifm efector featuring innovation steps in technology from around the world

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It’s becoming clear that self-drivingcars aren’t some far-off futuristicdream. In fact, this technology isactually achievable in the near future.

Google surprised the automotiveworld when it announced they hadproduced their own fleet of driverlessToyota Priuses. The company statesthat their cars have driven themselvesfor 140,000 miles — with a driver inthe seat, just in case — makingGoogle's fleet the most thoroughly

Dear Readers:

There is an inherentconnection betweenproblem solving andinnovation.

In the field of auto -nomous driving, Google engineersenvisioned solutions to trafficcongestion and vehicle fatalities byapplying their core expertise:processing massive amounts of data.Taking a computer focus rather than amechanical approach to vehicledevelopment, the innovation ofdriverless cars is closer to reality.

ifm engineers apply problem solving inproduct development by under-standing our customers’ challenges.For example, the adverse effects ofharsh environments can deterioratesensor housings. And, sensor damagefrom target impact is typically due toinadequate sensing range.

Two new sensor families solve theseissues by applying ifm’s core expertise:powerful sensing technologies thatproduce extremely long sensing rangesin robust housings. Prime examples ofinnovation through problem solving.

Lizanne Dathe, Editor

140,000 miles and counting. Google has modified a fleet of Toyota Prius cars using an array ofsensors, cameras, data and computer software to navigate public roads without a human driver.

Precise background suppressiontechnology in a 2-wire AC sensorifm’s family of compact OG Series photoelectric sensors wasintroduced in 2008 as a reliable alternative to traditional M18tubular plastic sensors. Tubular plastic housings tend to wear andbreak over time and require substantial mounting space. As asolution, ifm engineers designed the OG Series sensors in acompact, robust metal housing that occupies minimal mountingspace. To prevent cross-threading during installation, the OGfeatures M18 mounting threads that are full metal and won’t strip.

ifm has now expanded this line of OG Series photoelectrics toinclude a family of AC voltage sensors. The new AC units are doubleinsulated which eliminates the need for a grounding wire andreduces the total number of wires required for a system. The sensors

Cars are becominginformation vehicles.They collect hugevolumes of data andprocess data in everyaspect of the drivingdecision. And that’sGoogle's coreexpertise.

Autonomous Driving TechnologyFrom a search engine company?

Autonomous Driving TechnologyFrom a search engine company?

M18 OGsensor in arobust, metalhousing.

OG AC (CONTINUED)

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2DRIVING (CONTINUED)

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car accident and he states thatautonomous vehicles have thepotential to significantly reduce thenumber of car accidents that cause1.2 million fatalities worldwide andexponentially more injuries.

The Google team doesn’t take anyshortcuts in the development ofautonomous driving. Rather than amechanical approach to autonomousvehicle design, Google is taking astrong computer focus. They usestaggering amounts of data collectedfor Google Maps and Street View andchurn it through their data centers toprovide as much information aspossible about the roads they aretraveling.

Google’s modified Priuses use an arrayof different avenues to capturesensory data. They collect hugevolumes of real-time data using LIDAR(Laser Detection and Ranging), inertialmotion sensors, position sensorsmounted on the wheels, small radarsensors in the bumpers, GPS, and avideo camera in front of the rear viewmirror to detect stop lights, stop signs,pedestrians and bicyclists.

LIDARA rotating sensor on the roof scans morethan 200 feet in all directions to generate aprecise 3-D map of the car’s surroundings.

POSITION ESTIMATORA sensor mounted on therear wheel measures smallmovements made by the carand helps to accurately locateits position on the map.

RADARFour standard automotive radar sensors,three in front and one in the rear, helpdetermine the positions of distant objects.

VIDEO CAMERACamera mounted near the rear-viewmirror detects traffic lights and helpsthe car’s onboard computers recognizemoving obstacles such as pedestrians.

GPS RECEIVERReceives GPS signals for the car’scurrent location.

ONBOARD COMPUTER PROCESSORCollects and processes data.

This data is fed into software thattakes into account the rules of theroad, speed limits, the presence,distance and identity of objects, andcurrent driving conditions.

Artificial intelligence software sensesanything near the car and mimics thedecisions made by a human driver.Fortunately, robot drivers react fasterthan humans, have 360-degreeperception, and do not get distracted,sleepy or intoxicated. The onlyaccident, engineers said, was whenone Google car was rear-ended whilestopped at a traffic light.

Using artificial intelligence torevolutionize the automobile is proofthat the company’s ambitions reachbeyond the search engine business.

In a world of plentiful accurate data,powerful sensors, massive storagecapacity and processing power,autonomous driving may be possible.

While the technology is still severalyears, if not decades, away frommainstream adoption, Thrun envisionsa day when we look back and think"how ridiculous it was that humanswere driving cars."

The Technology Inside

allow easy and directconnection to devicesin the field andreduce the total costof installation.

ifm’s high performance backgroundsuppression technology eliminates theneed for adjustments as target colorschange. The sensor can differentiatebetween the target and thebackground regardless of backgroundcolor. This type of precise, repeatablebackground suppression technology isideal for sensing targets that are veryclose to a reflective background and israted for ±10% of nominal sensingrange for all target colors.

For quick installation and simplealignment, ifm engineers havedesigned bracket systems for thesensors and reflectors with full 360°adjustment that enables the productsto rotate in multiple directions to fit anapplication.

Starting list price for the OG Seriesphotoelectrics is $71.00. For moreinformation and to see a productvideo, visit www.ifm.com/us.

Bright LEDs indicate operatingstatus (power and output)making troubleshooting inapplications fast and simple.

High accuracy backgroundsuppression technologyeliminates the need foradjustments as target colorschange.

Retro-reflective modelsincorporate a polarizing filterthat eliminates false triggersfrom shiny targets.

Long sensing range in a smallhousing gives more flexibility in machine design.

Powerful visible red lightsource with large spotdiameter enables easyalignment and quick setup.

High optical performance, robustmetal housing at a great value

IFM PRODUCT

3

TECHNOLOGY NEWS

Bridges will cry for help before they fail

About half of the country’s bridgeswill celebrate their 50th birthday by2020. And with age, comesdeterioration. “We’re facing a babyboomer bridge problem,” says JeromeLynch, director of the Laboratory forIntelligent Structural Technology atthe University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

The big wake-up call came with thecollapse of a bridge carrying the I-35W highway over the MississippiRiver in Minneapolis, MN, in August2007. The collapse indicated the needfor more stringent inspections. In theUS, human inspectors certify bridges

every two years, but they can misssmall cracks, problems in hard-to-access locations and internal damage.

To address the aging bridge problem,the National Institute of Standards andTechnology and several othercompanies are developing solutions tomonitor bridges.

Many of the systems are based onpiezoelectric sensors. These devicesgenerate a small current when theyvibrate to passively monitor vibrationsin the structure, and they can alsoactively probe for faults. Just as amedical ultrasound scanner uses anacoustic signal to image internalorgans, an active piezoelectric sensorcan send an acoustic signal into abridge's interior. By listening for thereturned signal, it can detectstructural anomalies such as hairlinecracks or areas of unusual strain.

Distributed Sensor Technologies plansto use a single optical fiber to do thework of hundreds of discrete sensors.The idea is to stretch the fibers taut

and attach them to the bridge. Cracksand other imperfections will alter thevibrations picked up by the fiber,which in turn will alter the way abeam of laser light travels along it.

At the University of Michigan, Lynchhas created a sensor of a differentsort: a "skin" made of polymers andcarbon nanotubes that changes itselectrical resistance when deformedand that can be painted onto a bridge.The results allow a computer togenerate a 2-D image that, like an X-ray, will reveal details of the internalstructure, providing a map of anydamage it may have sustained.

Victor Li, also at the University ofMichigan, has mixed carbon black intoconcrete to make it more electricallyconductive. Existing concrete is "verydumb," he says. Li's idea is that cracksand damage to a bridge made of hisconcrete will show up as interruptionsin an electric current, indicating whereand how bad the damage is.

With more engineers monitoring thecountry’s bridges, future maintenancecan be predictive rather than reactive.

Non-flush, stainless steel metal face sensorswith extremely long sensing ranges

Eliminate sensor failures from targetimpact and the harsh effects ofextreme environments. ifm’s stainlesssteel, metal face sensors are designedand tested to provide reliable positiondetection in the harshest environments.

The sensor’s 316 stainless steelsensing face and housing withstandaggressive chemicals and will notcorrode in extreme washdownenvironments. Designed to resistingress during high-pressure cleaningsor from oils and coolants, the sensor’szero-leak housing is rated IP69K.

The robust, stainless steel sensor facecan withstand physical damage fromtarget impact resulting in long life-in-application. The sensors’ extremelylong sensing ranges allow the sensorsto be placed farther away from atarget further reducing potentialdamage from impact.

ifm has extended this line of robustsensors to include a line of non-flushM12, M18 and M30 sensors.

Side sensing challenges can causetraditional non-flush sensors toindicate false outputs. ifm’s non-flushsensors are not affected by materialssurrounding the sensor and offer atrue non-flush operation.

For high temperature applications, thesensors offer an extremely stablesensing range over the entiretemperature range from 0° to 100°C.

Starting list price for the non-flushsensors is $69.00. To learn more, visitwww.ifm.com/us. Available June 2011.

316 stainless steel sensingface and housing

True non-flush operating; nofalse outputs

Correction factor of 1 forsteel and stainless steelwon’t reduce sensing range

Wide temperature rangeof 0...100 °C

Withstands extremetemperature fluctuations

Resistant to aggressivecleaning agents

M12

M18

M30

0 5 10 15 20 25Sensing Range (mm)

ifm metal face non-flushtraditional non-flush

M12 M18M30

Sensing Range Comparison

Durable housing with truenon-flush operation

ifm’s metal face non-flush sensors far surpasstraditional non-flush sensors in sensing rangeand robustness.

6 mm

4 mm

10 mm

12 mm

25 mm

18 mm

4TECHNOLOGY NEWS

MIND-BENDER About this issue:Authors: Autonomous Driving Technology, compiledfrom articles from GetRobo.com; Evan Ackerman,botjunkie.com; and John Markoff, New York Times;Liquid Salt, Nic Halverson, Discovery News; BridgesWill Cry, Sujata Gupta, New Scientist Magazine.

Despite careful review by the editorial staff, the editorcannot be held liable for the correctness of thepublication. The applicable legal regulations and provisionsfor the acquisition, installation and setup of electronicunits must be adhered to. No part of this publication maybe reproduced in any way or, using electronic systems, beprocessed, copied or distributed without the editor’sexpressed written consent. It cannot be concluded fromthe publication that the described solutions ordesignations used are free from industrial property rights.

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Temperature sensors

Photoelectricsensors

Flowsensors

Visionsensors

Cylinder sensors

Inductivesensors

Pressuresensors

AS-i networking

CordsetsVibration sensors

Levelsensorsifm efector offers

a complete line ofsensors and controls.

Liquid salt extracts oil from sandA more eco-friendly method forextracting oil and tar from sand hasbeen developed by a group ofresearchers at Penn State University.Using ionic liquids to separate heavyviscous oil from sand, the team'stechnique could help reduce toxicwaste from surface-minded oil sands andaid clean-up effortsafter oil spills.

Tar sands, also knowas bituminous sandsor oil sands, constituteapproximately two-thirds of the world'sestimated oil reserves.Canada is the world's major producerof the unconventional petroleum fromtar sands, and the US imports morethan one million barrels of oil per dayfrom Canada, nearly twice as much asfrom Saudi Arabia. An estimated 32billion barrels of oil could potentiallyexist in Utah's tar sands.

Extraction and separation of thesedeposits are often expensive andharmful to the environment becausethey contain complex mixtures ofsand, clay, water and bitumen, a"heavy" or highly viscous oil.

Processing thismixture to fuelrequires significantamounts of waterand energy andgenerates contam-inated waste waterthat is stored inopen air ponds.Toxic to aquatic life,this waste water can

seep into groundwater.

However, the new method uses verylittle energy and water, and allsolvents are recycled and reused. PaulPainter, professor of polymer scienceat Penn State and his team developedthis new method using ionic liquids(salt in a liquid state) to facilitate the

separation. No waste process water isgenerated since the separation takesplace at room temperature.

The bitumen, solvents and sand/claymixtures separate into three distinctparts. They can be removed separatelyand solvents can be reused.

This method can also be used toextract oil from beach sand after oilspills. Using sand polluted by the BP oilspill in one experiment, the team wasable to separate hydrocarbons fromthe sand within seconds. After a smallamount of water was used to cleanremaining ionic liquids, the sand wasso clean it could be returned to thebeach, instead of landfills.

The team works with a group of ionicliquids with high chemical andthermal stability, low flammability, andnegligible vapor pressure, makingrecovering the ionic liquid relativelysimple.

The team has built a bench-top modelsystem and is currently reducing theirdiscovery to practice for patenting.

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