UWB-Sensors for Industrial Applications

Apart of the new perspectives ultra wideband technology opens in communications, it also permits the development of a new class of electromagnetic industrial sensors, which is based on multi-parameter measurements. This paper presents three versions of experimental UWB-sensors of the new kind and demonstrates their capabilities. A non-contacting free space sensor for determining the moisture content of granular materials, a contacting sensor for estimating the storage time and quality of foodstuffs, and a sensing system for detecting and locating foreign bodies in material streams are described. The fundamental system design for all sensors is quite similar and based on pulses with picosecond rise times. An engineered version of the sensor system is presented for the quality sensor.