Corporate Technology - Rolf Hellinger

Information & Communications
No area of industrial society today can get by without the benefits
of information and communications technology. The same applies
to Siemens’ Energy, Industry, and Healthcare Sectors, which receive
support from the Information & Communications team (CT IC).
More than 250 specialists are involved in topics such as intelligent
and autonomous systems, network technology and multimedia
communications, IT security, knowledge management, and user
interface design.
Systems that
Never Stop Learning
Many of today’s industrial applications
would be lost without intelligent systems.
Take the steel industry, for example, where the
material properties of finished product can be
precisely defined in advance. This requires the
use of an intelligent temperature control system
that can optimally adapt to varying production
parameters and, for example, spray precisely the
right amount of water onto hot steel to cool it
down at exactly the right moment. The same
applies to the power industry, where a procedure
by the name of “nonlinear model predictive
control” is used to ensure optimum turbine operation.
This technology not only ensures that turbines
adapt to the task at hand, but also that
their control system learn on the job.
Similarly, information and communications
technologies (ICT) now plays an important role
in power distribution and manufacturing. Mobile
robots and their auxiliary localization systems
are increasingly being used in automated
production lines. CT IC experts
have developed a driverless
forklift that does not require a
complex or expensive guidance
infrastructure before being
able to operate in a given
area. Instead, it is fitted with
an autonomous navigation
system (ANS) developed in a
joint project between CT and
Siemens’ Industry Sector. CT
IC contributed a series of basic
technologies for ANS, including
a system for the interpre-
20 Corporate Technology
tation of three-dimensional landmarks. This dispenses
with the need for any special infrastructure,
since ANS can determine its current position
by fusing data from a combination of
sensor sources. Other areas of application include
service robots that are used for cleaning
and monitoring duties.
A very new area of research at CT is data
transfer by means of visible and infrared light.
January 2008 saw the launch of an EU project in
this field.
OMEGA, which was initiated by France Telecom,
involves CT IC along with over 20 partners,
all working to develop this technology. In particular,
the project is investigating the use of fluorescent
tubes and LEDs for this purpose. Besides
being used for lighting and signaling, these can
also be modulated, via their power supply, to a
frequency of up to 20 megahertz and thus utilized
for wireless data communications. This
form of optical communication is already being
tested with high-performance
LEDs such as the Ostar from
Osram. Given their high frequencies,
these devices are
not characterized by disturbing
flickering. Nor do they produce
any stray radio radiation
— an advantage of great interest
to hospitals, for example,
where highly sensitive
measuring equipment can be
interfered with by the technology
currently used for wireless
data transfer.
Away from the work environment, more and
more people now favor more environmentallycompatible
products and systems that generate
little or no “electrosmog.” As part of the OMEGA
project, a prototype is being developed to show
that ceiling lights can be modulated in such a
way that they can be used, for example, to
download video content at a rate of approximately
100 Mbit/s.
Optimized Interfaces
Attractive and user-friendly interfaces are likewise
crucial to the success of many different
products and systems. Indeed, good user interface
design (UID) can also relieve user stress
and thus reduce the likelihood errors.
In partnership with marketing and development
teams at the Siemens Sectors, experts
from CT’s Information & Communications Division
analyze end users’ needs with a view to creating
new interface concepts and enhanced visual
design. In addition, they implement new
components and prototypes, which are put
through their paces in usability tests. The products
and systems tested in this manner range
from train cockpits and washing machines to
medical equipment and control technology for
power plants and automation systems. Experts
from CT IC thus help all Siemens divisions worldwide
to design optimal user interfaces.
An example of such work is the design of the
Siemens web site, which reached the top of the
Financial Times Bowen Craggs Index 2008, making
it one of the best corporate web sites worldwide.