Sensors, radio transmitters and GPS modules all feature low power consumption. All it takes is a few milliwatts to run them. Energy from the environment – from sources such as light or vibrations – may be enough to meet these requirements. A new measurement device can determine whether or not the energy potential is high enough.

Whether fruit, meat or cheese – the quality of food is not always as consumers would like it to be. But, in future, a spectrometer will allow them to gage the quality of food before they buy it. No bigger than a sugar cube, the device is inexpensive to manufacture and could one day even be installed in smartphones.

Is a contact wire missing or is it faulty? What‘s the situation in front of the entrance to a railway station or a tunnel? A 3D laser scanner can increase the train‘s safety and reliability.

Radio signals reach pilots on board an aircraft through the “radar dome“, the rounded nose of the aircraft. But if errors occur during the production of this “nose“, – tiny foreign particles, drops of water or air bubbles – this can impede radio traffic. In the future, a non-destructive testing system will identify just such imperfections during production.

Is there a hairline crack in the oak table? Was the window frame glued badly? Ultrasound thermography can reliably identify material defects during the production of wooden items. This allows rejects to be caught quickly and eliminated, and faulty goods to be repaired in good time.

Driver-assistance systems help prevent accidents. Quite simply, the more a car knows about its surroundings, the more intelligently it can respond to them. Researchers have now developed an optical sensor for the windshield that can even tell the difference between fog and darkness. The system will also be available for small cars.

Guitar virtuosos have to master all kinds of playing techniques. But how can the intricate process of playing the instrument be captured digitally? A special thin film on the tailpiece has the answer. Functioning as a sensor, it converts the tension on the string into digital control signals.

For reasons of workplace safety, storage shelves in warehouses are subjected to routine testing of their stability. These inspection rounds are time-consuming and deliver just a snapshot in time. Researchers have devised a wireless, sensor-based system to provide continuous monitoring of the condition of storage shelves.

For years, ultrasound has proven to be a valuable tool in non-destructive materials testing. However, the demands of modern production conditions are increasing all the time. Researchers at Fraunhofer have now developed a new, more reliable process that delivers testing results at a rate that is up to a hundredfold higher.