ACUTRONIC Carco Electronics
www.acutronic.com

The Driving Force in Motion SimulationAcutronic Carco Electronics :: The Driving Force in Motion Simulation

New inertial sensing technology is enabling the automotive industry to greatly enhance vehicle safety – what was once a potentially fatal accident is now simply an evasive manoeuvre. ACUTRONIC test equipment enables automotive engineers not only to develop the best performing inertial-based electronic systems but also to verify their performance during production.

In the 1990s gyroscopes were well known in the navigation systems of aircraft, spacecraft and ships and in defence applications. But these gyroscopes were high precision and cost several thousands of US dollars each – too accurate and too expensive for automotive applications.

The emergence of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) technology enabled inexpensive inertial sensors to be designed for the automotive industry with the right accuracy and at the right price. Manufacturers began using them to enhance vehicle stability in critical situations, thus enhancing safety. Today more and more new vehicles have an ESC (Electronic Stability Control) system or an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) on board, containing one or more gyroscopes used as yaw-rate or roll-over sensors. This trend will continue in the coming years due to recent mandates by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration as well as the proven success of these systems. The question now becomes: what about testing large quantities of these low cost sensors and systems? Testing of aerospace grade gyroscopes is performed on highly accurate and relatively costly motion simulators, only a few units at a time. Testing and calibration of gyroscopes may also be very time-consuming as temperature is very often involved. With the advent of high volume, low cost MEMS inertial sensors, the market requires a more cost effective solution that can handle higher production volumes. The answer is a motion simulator with reduced accuracy with the capability to handle and test a larger number of units at the same time.

Entry in automotive market

Since the mid-1990s ACUTRONIC has been a recognised world leader in the manufacture of motion simulators and inertial test equipment for the aviation, space and defence industries. As inertial sensors become more commonplace in vehicles, ACUTRONIC is now teaming with the leading manufacturers of ESC systems to develop test solutions optimised for these devices. Today ACUTRONIC offers a number of systems specifically designed for the MEMS market, including one-, two-, and three-axis motion tables, with and without temperature chamber. These systems are optimised for testing:

Testing is often performed with a one-axis system. However, higher level integration of sensor electronics, using multiple gyroscopes and accelerometers with two or three axes on one chip, may require two or three axes of motion testing. Thus, testing around all axes may be done in one setup without manual re-orientation of the sensor. Furthermore, sensor sensitivity and cross-axis coupling can be evaluated in parallel.

Company Profile

ACUTRONIC manufactures motion simulators for the aviation, space, defence and automotive industries. The group has its main office in Bubikon/ZH (Switzerland), employs in total around 120 people and has a branch office in Olten/SO (Switzerland). ACUTRONIC USA is located in Pittsburgh, PA (USA) and provides design, engineering and manufacturing for the US market.

ACUTRONIC pioneered the development of the first truly digital motion control system for inertial guidance testing and hardware-in-the-loop flight motion simulation applications. Today, the ACUTROL®3000 digital motion controller is unparalleled for these applications, with more than 220 field-proven units installed worldwide.

ACUTRONIC Switzerland Ltd.
Techcenterstrasse 2
8608 Bubikon
Switzerland

Tel: +41 55 253 23 23
Website: www.acutronic.com

ACUTRONIC USA Inc
640 Alpha Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15238
USA

Tel: +1 412 963 9400
Website: www.acutronic.com 

 

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