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German SME has developed a light communication and positioning system for e-mobility and smart cities and seeks partners for a serial production

Country of Origin: Germany
Reference Number: TODE20180925002
Publication Date: 8 October 2018

Summary

A German SME active in the photonic sector with focus on smart measurement and communication solutions has developed a light communication and positioning system for e-mobility - enabling last few meter guidance. Briefly, the solution combines infrared and video data to facilitate accuracy to a few millimeter. The company is looking for partners to develop the product towards serial production. Commercial agreement with technical assistance, licence agreement or technical cooperation are sought.

Description

The German company based in Berlin is active in the photonic sector and - based on optical methods - develops smart measurement and communication solutions  - mainly used and suitable for the mobility sector.
The small but strong team is committed to efficient, creative and timely action, clear objectives and visionary approaches. Their realised projects are mainly in the area of surface measurements for the aerospace industry and are their reputation. They deliver customised solutions from scratch to one-off product.
They cultivate their partnerships and network based on competence, reliability and expertise. Through open and fair cooperation they promote a motivating and inspiring atmosphere and achieve effective results.

The clear and rapid detection, identification and localisation of vehicles and objects by land, sea or air is highly relevant with the fast paced developments in e-mobility and the introduction of autonomous aircraft and vehicles.
In the field of autonomous driving or flying a system which locates the 2D or 3D position exactly on some millimeters (an example of application is the automated coupling of vehicles for charging or refueling) will be state of the art in the near future.

Currently, state of the art positioning that is comparable to the here described solution is based on dynamic GPS. However, this solution only has an accuracy of 10 to 15 meters.

The developed last-few--meter positioning system is a robust and reliable technology that transmits and receives information about modulated infrared (IR) light via high power LED and combines and evaluates the information with video data. Accurate and precise localisation and positioning of the object or vehicle is independent of any large-scale infrastructure such as GPS, GMS or wireless connection. The application of the developed prototype is the coupling maneuver of an electric bus to a pantograph charging station.
During the approach, the electric vehicle transmits its "mission planning" and profile data to the charging station as part of the approach, which in turn transmits the target position for the coupling maneuver by means of light and video.

The system is tolerant of varying and changing environmental conditions such as total brightness, reflections and external light sources.
The developed system's data output includes an intuitive display for the driver as well as data for the control of the charging station itself or for diagnosis and maintenance purposes.

Additionally, the technology is not only suitable for electric road vehicles but e.g. also for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

In order to develop the technology towards serial production, the company is seeking partners such as vehicle manufacturers or suppliers. Integration of the technology into further testcases would also be a welcomed option. Findings from further use of the technology under commercial agreement with technical assistance, licence agreement or technical cooperation would enable a joint development and progress of the technology towards market readiness and suitability for a serial production line.

Advantages and Innovations

A recognition, communication and positioning system that is independent of common infrastructure will gain in importance in autonomous traffic. The developed system is a robust, cost-effective and self-sufficient solution that can be used globally regardless of the development standard of the communication network infrastructure - even in less developed environments - and thus makes a social contribution possible even for infrastructure in weak regions.

The innovative light communication technology has the potential to become a relevant system in the charging infrastructure for e-mobility. This technology enables the communication and interaction of objects on the Internet of Things or in automatic and autonomous driving in road traffic and smart cities. It might become a standard product in the electromobility charging infrastructure. Due to the independence of existing communication network infrastructure such as radio, GPS or GMS for position detection, the system is suitable as a backup or redundancy in safety-critical operations. It is accurate to some milimeters.

Further, the developed system can also be applied outside of electric driving to different kinds of vehicles, e.g. for guiding and controlling drones or swarms of drones, and is therefore suitable for expansion into different product families.

Stage Of Development

Field tested/evaluated

Stage Of Development Comment

The product readiness of the developed system according to the Technical Readiness Level (TRL) is TRL7, several prototypes have already been realised and successfully tested in the laboratory and under real conditions in the field such as the positioning of an electric bus to a charging station.

Requested partner

Converting project results into marketable products is in line with the company's strategy. 
To this end, partners are needed to develop the product to serial production maturity. The technology's functioning needs to be verified in different environments to ensure its flawless adaption to them and to make the last step towards serial production.
Three most suitable options are at hand, further suggestions will of course be considered:
1. further product testing in an actual testcase
2. integration into current technoliogies / vehicles by product manufacturer and/or suppliers
3. licensing of the technology to product manufacturers and/or suppliers.

The chosen types of cooperation - commercial agreement with technical assistance, licence agreement or technical cooperation - have been verified as most suitable for the technology's development in collaboration with the aforementioned types and roles of partners.
They should support reaching the initial goal of market readiness and suitability for a serial production line.
Potential partners would benefit from a new technology exceeding the state of the art which has been tested and could still be adapted to partner's needs. The technology is independent of any infrastructure as radio or GSM and has a significantly higher accuracy than GPS, i.e. millimeters instead of meters.

Cooperation offer ist closed for requests