Efficient Industrial Sensors

摘要

With the help of intelligent and digitally networked systems, modern industrial production is becoming increasingly self-organised and self-reliant. People, machines, plants, logistics systems and products can communicate and cooperate with one another, which allows individual stages in the production process or even the entire value chain to be made more efficient. This vision of Industry 4.0 includes systems that make independent decisions based on the data available to them and carry out tasks almost autonomously. The W-band radar units developed by the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics IAF take industrial automation one step further. The radar systems inspect packaged goods to determine their content and completeness. On the basis of the results, the systems can automatically separate out incorrect deliveries before they are shipped to customers. The W-band radar developed by Fraunhofer IAF uses millimetre waves at frequencies of between 75 and 110 GHz, which is known as the W-band. The millimetre waves that are emitted can pene- trate all non-metallic and non-transparent materials, including plastic, textiles, paper, wood and even dust, smoke and mist.