NEWS
TECHNOLOGYSPOTLIGHT
Advances in technology across industry
Protecting heritage sites Pixy on Track T
he village of Olympos, located near the ancient city of Rhodiapolis, in the Antalya region of Turkey, escaped a wild fire, on 2 September 2012. This happened thanks to a network of cameras coupled to an intelligent video-based smoke detection algorithm that raised the alarm. This automatic early warning system is being tested as part of a multi-sensor fire detection network developed by an EU funded project called FIRESENSE. Its aim is to protect ancient heritage sites, such as ancient Olympia in Greece. In the absence of such detection system, the birthplace of the Olympic Games, was only just saved from forest fires, on 26 August 2007, after a three-day fire fight that cost 60 lives. The automated warning signal generated through the project takes advantage of recent advances in multi-sensor surveillance technologies. It is using wireless sensor networks capable of simultaneously measuring temperature and humidity, collecting information through optical and infrared cameras and local weather stations. Intelligent computer vision and pattern recognition algorithms as well as multi-sensor data fusion techniques automatically analyse the sensor data. Visit: www.youris.com
Feel the Forze AN
astounding 134 teams from universities in 34 countries competed against each other in racing cars they had designed and constructed themselves at the famous Silverstone circuit in last year’s Formula Student Competition. One of the most innovative cars at the starting line was the Forze V from the Delft University of Technology, the lurid coloured racer was green in more ways than one, as it was the only vehicle in the race to be powered by a fuel cell. The hydrogen/electric motive power was made possible by dedicated technology from fluid control specialist Bürkert. The team had already competed in 2011 with the Forze IV but the new race car needed to be more powerful, faster, lighter and above all, more reliable than its predecessor. Since standard solenoid control valves and controllers from Bürkert were already in use on the car, the decision to contact the fluid technology specialist for fuel cell specific components and technology was a logical next step. With the exception of the stack, the humidifier, the recirculation pump and the compressor, the rest of the fuel cell technology on the Forze V comes from Bürkert. “Thanks to the Bürkert solutions we were able to double the performance of the fuel cell in the Forze V in comparison with the Forze IV. At the same time, the weight of the vehicle was reduced by about 10% from 312 kg to 280 kg,” Forze team leader Jan Jaap Treurniet explains. “In motor sports, where fractions of seconds make a difference, that is a gigantic step forward.” Visit: www.dmaeuropa.com 22 Industry Europe
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ail transport is currently experiencing a tremendous boom. More and more people opt to take the train to save time and money. In addition, trains are an environmentally friendly means of transportation both for passenger and freight traffic. The capacities of the existing transport channels and their carriers can still be expanded considerably with intelligent, networked installations. In the face of increasing passenger numbers and the rise in the transportation of goods by rail, safety and comfort requirements have become more stringent. Pixy AG has addressed this area. Evolved by a company established in 1988, these robust Swiss products have a firm place in the trains of the world s major rail vehicle manufacturing companies. Today more than 30,000 Pixy displays are in service around the clock all over the world. They are used wherever the need for mobile visualisation and rough industrial environments come together. Whether in the freezing cold or in smouldering heat, users can certainly rely on Screenboards®. In the range of ETCS Pixy has already enormous experience. On the Level 2 line Rome Naples, witch is frequented with 300km/h, ETCS DMI s from PIXY are put into regular service. Other projects for example are high speed lines in Spain, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, Switzerland and Germany. INC-90 belongs to the latest generation. It s a compact low power-display for global application. It’s designed for standard railway applications like ETCS, TCMS, CTCS and especially for digital video applications. Visit: www.pixy.ch
