newsletter
A publication from ifm efector featuring innovation steps in technology from around the world
Dear Readers:
Desalination may not
be on everyone’s radar
these days, but scientists
are projecting freshwater shortages in the
next 15 years that will
affect most countries globally.
To address the issue, researchers are
taking a fresh look at how to remove
salt from water and reduce the energy
consumption required to do so. The
technology is called forward osmosis
and it’s attracting a lot of attention as
the latest innovation in helping the
world extract freshwater from our
oceans and underground water.
ifm is taking a fresh look at existing
vision technologies. Rather than apply
complex, pricey vision systems for
inspection and error-proofing, ifm
engineers have designed a series of
high performance vision sensors that
are compact, robust, easier to use,
and very reliable – at great value!
Enjoy the issue!
Sincerely,
Lizanne Dathe
Editor, i-Step Newsletter
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
The Ocean
on Tap
Fresh water pumps into a reservoir after being treated at a desalination plant.
By the year 2025, 2 out of 3 people will face freshwater shortages.
A new desalination technology could help reduce the shortfall.
Scientists have been voicing concerns
about water shortages for several
years now, and a recent UN report
estimates that by 2025, two-thirds of
the world’s population will face
freshwater shortages.
When you consider the facts, it's not
hard to understand why there's a
looming problem. The world's
population tripled in the 20th century
and is expected to increase by another
40-50% in the next 50 years. By the
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October 2010 • Issue 22
Photo credit: Jose Luis Roca / RFP / Getty Images
EDITORIAL
year 2050, 4 billion people (over half
of the entire world's population) will
be facing severe water shortages.
The water shortage has yet to
significantly impact the United States,
at least not on par with how other
parts of the world are already
struggling. According to the World
Water Council, 1.1 billion people are
currently living without clean drinking
water.
Any breakthrough would not come a
moment too soon. Many countries are
eyeing the oceans as a potential
source of drinking water. However,
seawater must be desalinated in order
to be a viable alternative, and today’s
desalination plants have their own
unquenchable thirst – for energy.
Energy is needed to drive reverse
osmosis (RO), the process in which
salty water is forced at high pressure
through a membrane that lets water
molecules through, but blocks the salt.
The amount of energy required to run
a desalination plant is formidable.
But now several researchers and startup companies think they have a more
energy-efficient alternative and it
works by turning RO desalination on
its head.
Continued on page 3
ifm efector – close to you!
IFM PRODUCT
2
ifm Vision Sensors Offer Smarter
Inspection and Error-Proofing
ifm offers a versatile line of vision sensors that can solve a variety of errorproofing and inspection applications throughout the industrial automation
process. ifm has applied practical innovation to simplify complex vision
technology. The result is a product family that offers robust housings, simple
setup, and reliable performance at a great value.
The ifm Vision product line includes:
• Multi Code Reader - identifies data matrix and 1D codes
• efector dualis Inspection Sensor – detects and compares defined shapes
• 3D Image Sensor – evaluates shape, size and volume in 3D
Watch vision sensors video
www.ifm.com/us/vision
Multi Code
Reader
Data Matrix codes are
critical for tracking and
insuring reliable quality in
the manufacturing process.
ifm’s Multi-code Reader is
designed to identify, verify
and qualify 2D data matrix
codes and 1D bar codes.
Starting list price $875
efector dualis
Inspection
Sensor
ifm’s
efector
Dualis
Inspection Sensor can
provide 100% inspection
throughout the assembly
automation process. The
sensor detects, evaluates
and compares an object to
a pre-defined shape for
reliable error-proofing.
Starting list price $875
3D Image
Sensor
ifm’s 3D Image Sensor
evaluates the size, shape
and volume of objects
in three dimensions. The
sensor provides critical
information such as conveying, material handling,
level and intelligent routing/
sorting.
Starting list price $1450
Place orders, tech support 800-441-8246
Laser-etched DMC code on glass
Printed DMC code on plastic parts
Laser-etched code on PVT panels and
glass can be difficult to read due to low
contrast. ifm's Multi-Code Reader’s
integrated lighting and CMOS image
sensor can identify low-contrast codes.
Printed code on plastic parts can wear or
disintegrate over time. ifm’s Multi-Code
Reader reliably detects printed codes that
become damaged or soiled – even if up
to 25% of the information is damaged.
Assembly monitoring
Object character evaluation
Correct
Passed
Incorrect
Failed
The efector dualis inspection sensor can
identify incorrect orientation of parts in
a feeder bowl before they are applied.
The sensor detects a series of preset
characters that indicate expiration date.
If a character is missing the sensor sends
an alarm.
Palletizing and de-palletizing
Bulk material level
Pallet in 3D
A robotic arm stacks material on a
pallet. If a stray box is left on the skid,
the robotic arm could crush the product.
ifm’s 3D sensor evaluates the entire
layer of a pallet and sends an alarm
output based on loading errors.
Visit our product catalog www.ifm.com/us
Grain level in 3D
Material such as grain can shift within a
bin creating hills and valleys that can lead
to incorrect level detection. The sensor’s
pixel array spreads across the grain to
detect high and low points and provide a
more accurate indication of level.
Shop for products online. Easy ordering via eShop
DESALINATION (CONTINUED)
Photo credit: Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
RO is an inherently energy-intensive
process. So instead of fighting this
energy, why not try to harness it?
That’s the thinking behind the
experimental Forward Osmosis plants
that are starting to appear.
Using forward osmosis rather than reverse
osmosis greatly reduces the energy
requirement compared to a RO desalination
plant (shown above).
Water can be sucked effortlessly out of
seawater if you offer it a more
concentrated “draw solution” to flow
into.
One of the first companies to harness
the power of forward osmosis is
Hydration Technology Innovation (HTI).
The company released the X-pack, a
portable water filter that incorporates
a forward osmosis membrane into a
small sealed plastic packet. Inside the
packet is a powder containing sugar
and flavorings, which act as a seed for
the draw solution.
According to HTI, the packet can be
thrown into a mud puddle and the
powder will draw the water molecules
through the membrane to create a
drink. Many US soldiers now carry
these packs, which can be thrown over
the side of a boat to pull a sweet drink
out of the sea.
Forward osmosis desalinates seawater
Saline
Water
Membrane
Draw
Solution
NH3/CO2
Draw
Solute
Rocovery
Product
Water
Brine
But the X-pack is not going to solve
the world’s water crisis. A research
team at Yale University hit on an idea
that took the concept a step forward.
The researchers decided to use a draw
solution based on ammonium
bicarbonate. Just as HTI’s sugary
powder does, the ammonium and
KNOW HOW
bicarbonate ions can pull water
through the membrane. If you then
heat the solution to around 40°C,
ammonia and carbon dioxide are
given off, leaving behind pure water.
The team says its low-grade heat
method could produce fresh water
while using substantially less energy of
today’s desalination plants. Their
technology is being marketed by the
company Oasys who hopes to have a
small plant built by mid-2011.
A team of researchers at the
Singapore Membrane Technology
Centre has developed a membrane
consisting of tiny tubular fibers that
can be used with ammonium
bicarbonate as the draw solution. Salt
water passes down the center of the
fibers while the draw solution swills
around the outside. Wang Rong,
deputy director of the Center, states
this type of membrane has the
potential to reduce the energy used
for seawater desalination by 30%.
Meanwhile, the comForward
pany Modern Water is
osmosis uses
successfully deploying
low levels of
energy to yield forward osmosis using
30% less energy than
high levels of
conventional desalclean, healthy
ination. Instead of
water.
ammonium bicarbonate, Modern Water uses a proprietary
salt to suck the water through their
membrane. Modern Water says their
technology is already in use at a pilot
plant in Gibraltar and at a full-scale
plant in Oman.
So, is forward osmosis the answer to
our water needs? There are hurdles to
overcome according to Mark Shannon,
Research Director of Desalination
Materials at the University of Illinois,
Urbana-Champaign. He is concerned
that the cost of the membranes may
be prohibitive. “The water flux in
forward osmosis is low, so a lot of
membrane is required,” he says.
However, Shannon sees great
potential for forward osmosis in
recycling waste water. And, the
technology may turn out to be ideal
for desalinating brackish water, such
as deep underground water and
estuary water. Deep underground
water is plentiful.
“Underlying almost every continent
are large sources of brackish water,“
Shannon says. “Forward osmosis
could be a smashing success.”
Life Raft Makes
Seawater Drinkable
Surrounded by water, but not a drop
to drink is never felt more profoundly
than a person who is stranded at sea.
Kim Hoffmann, a graduate student at
the Academy of Art University in San
Francisco, considered this problem as
a young girl spending summers on her
parent’s sailboat.
This thinking led her to develop a life
raft that could be the difference
between life and death for a person
lost at sea.
Hoffman’s Sea Kettle, which recently
made the short list of this year’s James
Dyson Award competition, is an
insulated, sturdy shelter able to turn
sea water into fresh water.
Sea Kettle makes 3 liters of fresh water per
day for those stranded at sea.
A person using the raft operates hand
pumps within the cabin in order to
draw seawater into a plastic coneshaped reservoir on the roof. Heat
from the sun causes the water to
evaporate. The salt-free water vapor
from the evaporated seawater can be
captured and collected in containers
within the raft’s wall.
Hoffman says the desalination process
she incorporated into the design was
inspired by the Watercone, a portable
water desalination cone made by
Mage Water Management. By adding
their concept into a conventional life
raft design, Hoffman came up with
the Sea Kettle.
Hoffman says the raft can provide
drinking water for up to five people
on a daily basis.
The sun’s heat causes the water in the
reservoir to evaporate. The condensed
water droplets collect in one
of four shafts and then
flow down into pockets
which can be accessed
from inside the raft.
3
ifm efector – close to you!
4
Laser beam powers UAVS to stay in flight
Conventional
unmanned
aerial
vehicles (UAVs) are limited in their
flying time because of the fuel they
carry or a short battery life. With the
help from the sun, UAVs can stay up a
bit longer – like Qinetiq’s Zephyr that
has been able to fly for 82 hours.
However, the sun doesn’t shine all the
time, as we know, and solar powered
UAVs can have a hard time staying up
at night.
The company LaserMotive, a Seattlebased research company, believes they
can keep an electric aircraft in the air
Credit: LaserMotive
20,000 ft.
UAVs can remain airborne
indefinitely by regularly
returning to the beaming
station to recharge its batteries.
10,000 ft.
forever – without the sun or any fuel –
just using energy from lasers.
LaserMotive is developing a laser
power beaming system to transmit
electricity without wires for applications where wires are either cost
prohibitive or physically impractical.
The company demonstrated a laserpowered model helicopter at the
recent AUVSI Unmanned Systems
Conference. The tethered, radiocontrolled model helicopter was
powered
by
an
array
of
semiconductor-diode near-infrared
lasers, which produced laser beams
that were then focused down to a
single beam seven centimeters wide.
The beam, which will not damage
eyes,
tracked
the
helicopter
automatically and illuminated the
helicopter’s photovoltaic (PV) cells,
which were optimized for the laser’s
wavelength. The PV cells then
converted around 50 percent of the
laser power to electricity, providing
MIND-BENDER
just a few watts, but
enough to keep the
rotors spinning.
LaserMotive took home
Sample of a near-infrared
a $900,000 prize in
1,000 W laser diode array,
less than 3 inches across.
the NASA-sponsored
Power Beaming competition. They beamed power to a
robot that climbed a 900-meter cable
dangling from a full-scale helicopter.
The technology could help power
space elevators to lift objects
thousands of kilometers into orbit.
In other scenarios, a craft could hover
for long periods over a laser base, or
fly between a series of laser bases. In
the longer term, lasers could power
remote ground-based sensors or
supply emergency power during
disasters.
By demonstrating the physical and
economic viability of laser power
beaming, LaserMotive has big plans
for extending flight duration in space
and on Earth.
About this issue:
Answer the question:
How many revolutions are made by a 28-inch bicycle
wheel over one mile?
a) 620
b) 720
c) 820
d) 920
e) 1020
Authors of this issue: The Ocean on Tap, Kate Ravilious,
New Scientist; Tracy Staedter, Life Raft, Discovery.com;
Laser Beam Powers UAVs, Jeff Hecht, New Scientist and
T.J. Nugent, J.T. Kare, LaserMotive, LLC.
The first 100 people who answer the mind bender
correctly will receive a $10.00 i-Tunes gift card.
Log on to www.ifm.com/us/response to enter your answer. Closing date is 11/19/10.
The answer will be revealed after this date on our website and in the next i-Step newsletter.
To know the answer sooner, provide your email address and we’ll email the answer to
you. Answer to last issue’s puzzle: 5 x 2 - 3 + 5 ÷ 4 = 3
ifm efector offers a
complete line of
sensors and controls.
Photo credit: LaserMotive
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Inductive
sensors
Cylinder
sensors
Photoelectric
sensors
Vision
sensors
Inspection
sensors
Pressure
sensors
Despite careful review by the editorial staff, the
editor cannot be held liable for the correctness of
the publication. The applicable legal regulations and
provisions for the acquisition, installation and setup
of electronic units must be adhered to. No part of
this publication may be reproduced in any way or,
using electronic systems, be processed, copied or
distributed without the editor’s expressed written
consent. It cannot be concluded from the publication
that the described solutions or designations used are
free from industrial property rights.
Flow
sensors
Level
sensors
Vibration
sensors
AS-i
networking
Cordsets
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