GESA Symposium 2007 “Experimental Structure Analysis for Condition Monitoring”. As part of the SENSOR+TEST 2007 conference programme from 22 to 24 May, the Symposium of the Gemeinschaft für experimentelle Strukturana-lyse (GESA) will be held the first time. This Association for Experimental Structure Analysis is a group in the Society for Measurement and Automatic Control (GMA), a joint organization of the VDI and the VDE. The GESA has been active for more than 30 years in the areas development, characterization and application of measuring processes and experimental technologies for condition analysis of materials, structures, components, and systems. “The monitoring of machines, systems, and other technical constructions is one of the most significant areas of application for innovative sensorics, measuring, and testing technology,” says Holger Bödeker, the Managing Director of AMA Service, the organisers of the trade fair. “That’s why the combination with the GESA Symposium will provide an ideal forum to discuss future tasks and potential solutions for condition monitoring and early damage detection.” Supported by the increasing effectiveness of sensorics and measuring technology, modern methods of  ...

TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) has an important role in VTI. In TPMS applications, VTI's silicon capacitive 3D MEMS sensors can achieve extremely low power consumption with high accuracy. The sensors are very small and robust, withstanding very high temperatures- >150°C -, so the sensor may be mounted into the tire even before the vulcanization process. TPMS is already a standard feature in luxury cars, and penetration in middle class cars is increasing rapidly. World market for TPMS in 2006 was estimated to be over 50 million units. The rapid market increase is mainly caused by new legislation in the USA that made TPMS a mandatory safety feature in cars sold there. The Europeans are quickly following suite, although there are no plans to make TPMS mandatory in Europe. The basic Tire Pressure Monitoring System simply indicates to the driver the need to check the tire pressure to ensure safe driving. The most advanced systems display each tire's pressure and temperature in real time. This contributes to safer driving, while at the same time reducing fuel consumption and tire wear, improving traction control and providing better braking efficiency. With run flat tires TPMS is the only and practically mandatory method to detect incorrect pressure while driving. ...

The SENSOR Conference will again be held parallel to the world’s biggest sensor and measuring fair, the SENSOR+TEST 2007, from 22 to 24 May of this year in Nürnberg. The organizers of the fair and conference, AMA Service, have just published the conference programme for the three-day sensorics congress. The conference committee, chaired by Prof. Dr. Reinhard Lerch, University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, and Prof. Dr. Roland Werthschützky, Technical University of Darmstadt, has selected 96 submissions for the three-day programme. Further 49 topics will be presented as posters. “The concept of this conference”, says Prof. Lerch, “is absolutely right. The quantity – and especially the quality – of the submitted contributions has shown that the experts are taking this event very seriously.” Prof. Werthschützky adds, “It wasn’t easy to make the selection. Nevertheless, we’re convinced that we have put together a first-class agenda and can thus offer the participants an informative, well-balanced programme.”  ...