System Interface for an Integrated Intelligent Safety System (ISS) for Vehicle Applications

This paper deals with the interface-relevant activity of a vehicle integrated intelligent safety system (ISS) that includes an airbag deployment decision system (ADDS) and a tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS). A program is developed in LabWindows/CVI, using C for prototype implementation. The prototype is primarily concerned with the interconnection between hardware objects such as a load cell, web camera, accelerometer, TPM tire module and receiver module, DAQ card, CPU card and a touch screen. Several safety subsystems, including image processing, weight sensing and crash detection systems, are integrated, and their outputs are combined to yield intelligent decisions regarding airbag deployment. The integrated safety system also monitors tire pressure and temperature. Testing and experimentation with this ISS suggests that the system is unique, robust, intelligent, and appropriate for in-vehicle applications

A Sensor System for Detection of Hull Surface Defects

This paper presents a sensor system for detecting defects in ship hull surfaces. The sensor was developed to enable a robotic system to perform grit blasting operations on ship hulls. To achieve this, the proposed sensor system captures images with the help of a camera and processes them in real time using a new defect detection method based on thresholding techniques. What makes this method different is its efficiency in the automatic detection of defects from images recorded in variable lighting conditions. The sensor system was tested under real conditions at a Spanish shipyard, with excellent results

An Electronic Nose for Reliable Measurement and Correct Classification of Beverages

This paper reports the design of an electronic nose (E-nose) prototype for reliable measurement and correct classification of beverages. The prototype was developed and fabricated in the laboratory using commercially available metal oxide gas sensors and a temperature sensor. The repeatability, reproducibility and discriminative ability of the developed E-nose prototype were tested on odors emanating from different beverages such as blackcurrant juice, mango juice and orange juice, respectively. Repeated measurements of three beverages showed very high correlation (r > 0.97) between the same beverages to verify the repeatability. The prototype also produced highly correlated patterns (r > 0.97) in the measurement of beverages using different sensor batches to verify its reproducibility. The E-nose prototype also possessed good discriminative ability whereby it was able to produce different patterns for different beverages, different milk heat treatments (ultra high temperature, pasteurization) and fresh and spoiled milks. The discriminative ability of the E-nose was evaluated using Principal Component Analysis and a Multi Layer Perception Neural Network, with both methods showing good classification results

A multisensing setup for the intelligent tire monitoring

The present paper offers the chance to experimentally measure, for the first time, the internal tire strain by optical fiber sensors during the tire rolling in real operating conditions. The phenomena that take place during the tire rolling are in fact far from being completely understood. Despite several models available in the technical literature, there is not a correspondently large set of experimental observations. The paper includes the detailed description of the new multi-sensing technology for an ongoing vehicle measurement, which the research group has developed in the context of the project OPTYRE. The experimental apparatus is mainly based on the use of optical fibers with embedded Fiber Bragg Gratings sensors for the acquisition of the circumferential tire strain. Other sensors are also installed on the tire, such as a phonic wheel, a uniaxial accelerometer, and a dynamic temperature sensor. The acquired information is used as input variables in dedicated algorithms that allow the identification of key parameters, such as the dynamic contact patch, instantaneous dissipation and instantaneous grip. The OPTYRE project brings a contribution into the field of experimental grip monitoring of wheeled vehicles, with implications both on passive and active safety characteristics of cars and motorbikes

Preference and placement of vehicle crash sensors

Senzori za detekciju sudara su od bitne važnosti u aplikacijama za sigurnost vozila. Jedna od najvažnijih primjena tih mjernih sustava je u sustavima za vezanje vozača u vozilu. Uz to, senzori se uveliko koriste za ublažavanje udesa i u razvijenom sustavu upravljanja vozilom. Senzori za otkrivanje sudara su se u zadnjih nekoliko desetljeća značajno razvili. Ipak, postojeći zahtjevi i izazovi dovode do novih inovacija i poboljšanja njihovih funkcija. U ovom se radu daje pregled senzorskih tehnologija i postavljanja senzora za otkrivanje udesa s naglaskom na otkrivanje sudara prevrtanjem vozila. Daje se i prijedlog za izbor senzora za otkrivanje pojedinog sudara ovisno o radnim karakteristikama senzora. Potražnja za odgovarajućim senzorima u sigurnom sustavu vozila ostaje izazov i aktivno područje rada u nadolazećim godinama. Zato ovaj pregled treba koristiti kao putokaz istraživačima koji se žele baviti detekcijom sudara i izborom senzora.Crash detection sensors play a vital role in vehicular safety applications. One of the major applications of these sensing systems is the use in occupant restraint systems. Besides, sensors are extensively used in the accident mitigation and advanced vehicle control system. Crash sensors have advanced significantly in the last few decades. Yet, existing demands and challenges bring new innovations and improvements in their functions. This paper reviews the sensor technologies and placement of sensors for accident detections with an emphasis on the rollover crash detection. The paper also suggests sensor selection for particular crash detection depending on the performance of the sensors. The demand for the sensors for a responsive driving environment and safe vehicle system shall remain a challenging and active area for years to come. Thus, this review shall work as a guideline for the researchers who wish to study on the crash detection and sensor selection

Visualization of Crash Channel Assignments in a Tabular Form

Passive safety systems try to lessen the effects of an accident. Airbags are a passive safety feature. They are designed to protect occupants of a vehicle during a crash. These systems have to be configured correctly in order to deploy airbags at the right time in case of a collision. Airbag application tools are used to simulate and interpret crashes. Some factors influence when an airbag should deploy. Based on different parameters, the logic for firing airbags is also different. Under every circumstance, an airbag has to be deployed at the right time in order to prevent injuries and fatalities. During the process of simulation, the data which is simulated is written to a database. During interpretation, this data is extracted from the database. Then, the required information can be analyzed and interpreted for further use. This data contains crash related information. For example, the type of crash, crash code and crash channel assignments. For every crash present in the airbag project, crash channels are assigned to the sensors. Each sensor present has a crash channel assigned to it. This is called the crash channel assignment. An airbag application tool is developed to show the crash channel assignments. This tool should handle the information extraction, and visualization of crash channel assignments. The final output should be in a tabular format, which includes user specific customizations