(2024 - 2027)
This project aims to develop an optical telescope system capable of spectroscopic analysis of space debris. In order to achieve the high-precision telescope pointing and tracking required for this application, a self-learning pointing model and an improvement of orbit prediction based on obtained data will be developed. Ultimately, spectroscopic analysis can give information on the material, pose and rotation of space debris.

Adaptive mounting system with powerless gravity compensation for mirror segments in large telescopes (2023 - 2024)

Vibration isolation is indispensable in many high-precision applications, both in industry and research. Since the stringent requirements cannot be met by purely passive systems, a suspension system for heavy loads with a levitating platform, active vibration suppression and integrated gravity compensation was developed in this project.

Research and Flight Test of Advanced Turbulence Cancelling Technologies for Sustainable Urban and Regional Air Mobility (2023 - 2026)

The SmartWings2 project aims enhanced turbulence load suppression (TLS) via new sensor technologies of wind lidar and distributed MEMS turbulence sensing, as well as a novel flaplet. The predecessor project SmartWings successfully demonstrated TLS in light aircraft by means of turbulence probes in front of the wing and actuation of predefleced flaps for direct lift control.

Precision Measurements on Moving Objects (2023 - 2030)

The performance of optical measurement systems for 3D imaging of moving targets suffers from motion-induced blur caused by the relative lateral movement between target and measurement system during the finite measurement time (exposure time). This motion blur introduces additional measurement uncertainties, what results in a trade-off between measurement accuracy and acceptable relative velocity. In inline metrology applications, efficient end-of-line quality assurance is achieved by inspecting items on a conveyor belt. However, to attain accurate measurements, the speed of the conveyor belt speed must be decreased during inspection, which directly results in reduced throughput, becoming a bottleneck in the production line. This project aims to eliminate this bottleneck by introducing advanced compensation and correction strategies.

(2023 - 2027)

In this cooperation project together with University of Vienna, approaches of pollination biology and flower evolution are combined with mechatronic methods in order to investigate how Melastomataceae flowers have adapted to vibration pollinating bees. For this, a vibration system is designed in order to execute artificial, bee-like flower vibration experiments. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the flowers are explored by vibration experiments in the lab and the internal flower structure is obtained by computer tomography. With this, the bio mechanics of flowers can be modeled and simulated.

Advanced Robotic Measurements In Line (2023 - 2030)

Modern production systems, particularly for the high-tech sector, have a continuously growing demand for precision and throughput. The permanent monitoring and control of the manufacturing process by means of sensors, as well as inline 3D measurement systems for quality inspection are prerequisites to achieve a high yield and high quality of the produced goods. Besides novel production plants and automated assembly techniques, advanced robotic measurement systems for inline applications are considered as the most important enabler for future production. This project aims to design and develop application-specific holistic and advanced inline robotic measurement systems, and to implement adapted combinations of the developed concepts in iTRACK and mEMO for relative motion sensing, compensation and correction.

Principles for In-Plane Motion Sensing and Tracking (2023 - 2030)

Distance and displacement are important physical quantities for positioning, sensing of object motion, vibration and deformations in various scientific and industrial areas such as non-destructive testing, as well as inline measurement systems. While there are various optical principles available for measuring out-of-plane (axial) displacement, the fast, robust and precise measurement of in-plane (lateral) displacement of arbitrary, non-structured technical surfaces on the sub-micrometer scale remains a largely unsolved challenge. This project aims to develop a fast and highly accurate in-plane sensor that enables measurements at the single to sub-micron scale.

MobileSpectro – Development of a handheld FTIR spectrometer (2022 - 2025)

Infrared spectroscopy is a fundamental technique for the characterization and analysis of chemical compounds. MobileSpectro aims to develop a miniaturized high precision FTIR spectrometer that enables handheld operation for field use and provides a performance comparable to lab-based instruments.

(2021 - 2024)

This project aims at the development and integration of a vibration isolation platform with the main target application of optical drone identification systems in mobile scenarios. It will be integrated into existing vehicles to provide early and effective information for the protection of convoys against UAV threats.

To overcome the speed limitation of stereolithography 3D printers in this project, a polygon mirror based light engine is developed, which enables a laser line scan speed of a few hundred meters per second.

(2020 - 2024)

The knowledge of the electrical surface charge distribution at the nanoscale is beneficial for many research areas including biological and material sciences. Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy (KPFM) is considered an eligible tool for the quantitative determination thereof. Current methods utilize a DC-Bias for the measurement of the charge distribution, which is not desirable when operating in liquid environments or on semiconductors. This project aims to bypass the parasitic effects of current methods and to enable quantitative surface potential measurments in DC-Bias critical environments.

In Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), micro-cantilevers with a sharp tip are scanned over a sample to measure various surface properties with nanometer resolution. The measurement of the cantilever deflection is a crucial part, which defines the imaging performance of AFM. Self-sensing cantilevers with integrated piezoresistive or capacitive elements enable a direct and efficient deflection measurement and are a promising alternative to the conventional optical lever method. This project aims at enabling novel AFM methods and applications by exploiting the advantages of self-sensing cantilevers.

Sub-Mikrometer Rastersonden-basierte Charakterisierung von HF-Halbleiterprodukten auf Waferebene (2021 - 2024)

RF systems belong to the key components of modern technologies such as radar for environmental detection for safe automated driving through night and fog and Internet of Things devices like 5G telecommunication chips. The goal of the SuRF project is the development of a wafer-level scanning probe system for characterization and testing of radio frequency (RF) and millimeter wave (mmWave) semiconductor products with sub-micrometer precision.

(2018 - 2021)

The accurate measurement of local RF-voltages within integrated circuits is crucial for the development of miniaturized electronic devices. Contactless probing techniques are considered a promising approach to overcome the space limitations imposed by the size of required contact pads used in conventional probing techniques. This project aims at developing a scanning probe based measurement system capable of mapping voltages within RF-devices with sub-um spatial resolution.

Versatile technology platform for MEMS scan system for automotive safety applications (2021 - 2024)

Advancements of sensors, communication and artificial intelligence are about to bring a revolutionary changes in mobility and transportation by autonomous driving. Scanning mirrors based on Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies are one of the promising solutions for various automotive applications, e.g. photonic sensing such as lidars and human machine interfaces such as augmented reality head -up display (AR HUD) and smart headlights. The AUTOScan project aims for automotive grade MEMS scanning systems for robust sensing and imaging in harsh automotive environmental conditions, enabling reliable MEMS lidars and AR HUDs.

(2019 - 2022)

This project aims for the analysis, development and integration of an active primary mirror cell for mid-sized telescope systems between 60 cm and 2 m. Based on an integrated mechatronic system design and a modular approach, an extremely lightweight construction as well as great imaging performance and cost-efficient solution shall be reached.

(2020 - 2023)

The project aims to develop a telescope-based, mobile optical system for the detection, identification, and precise tracking of UAVs within a significantly larger observation radius than was previously possible. The integrated camera system enables real-time reconnaissance and tracking of the target object, allowing for analysis of the existing threat potential. Thanks to the significantly extended range of the proposed system, potential threats can be detected in good time, enabling the targeted selection and coordination of necessary defensive measures.

High precision in-line measurements on free form surfaces are considered a key factor for the industrial production of the future. Robot-based measurement systems provide the required flexibility but are typically lacking the required precision. The scope of this project is the development of a measurement platform designed as end effector for industrial robots, which carries a measurement or inspection tool and compensates for environmental disturbances, enabling precision 3D measurements on both arbitrarily oriented and moving samples.

Next-generation high-quality motion systems require high-precision actuators with higher energy efficiency and larger force to improve the system throughput. Particularly, actuators with a motor constant higher than comparable voice coil actuators are highly desired. This project investigates hybrid reluctance actuators (HRAs) with guiding flexures as a promising candidate of the next-generation systems.

Aktive Turbulenzunterdrückung für Flugzeuge

Atmospheric turbulence is an unsolved problem for aviation. By investigating smart wing structures, which sense turbulence and actively reject disturbances by flap deflections, it shall become possible to fly through turbulence in a direct and reliable way in the future.

The project deals with the total installation and processing of floor structures including underfloor heating of our industrial partner mixit Dämmstoffe GmbH. Our focus in the project lies on the construction of an automated leveling robot in order to increase the distribution quality and achieve a shorter processing time.

(2016 - 2018)

Electrical modes of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) allow the high-resolution mapping of surface charges on a sample with nanometer precision. A particular measurement challenge is to perform such modes on biological samples (tissue extracts, biomolecules, biomembranes, etc). To this end, the project aims to investigate different preparation and measurement approaches and a specific goal is to determine alterations of surface charge of biological fibers caused by the reaction with sugar, which has important implications in medicine and cell biology.

High resolution long range Lidar for autonomous driving (2017 - 2020)

Lidar is an acronym for light detection and ranging, in analogy to radar. Lidar has received much attention in the automotive industry as a key component for high level automated driving systems. Compared to other sensing techniques such as stereo cameras and radar, lidar can provide high resolution and highly accurate 3D measurements of the surroundings and robust detection in various weather conditions.

(2016 - 2019)

This project aims to integrate adaptive optics (AO) technology into small-sized telescope systems of the industrial partner, ASA Astrosysteme, in order to enable free space optical (FSO) communication between satellites and optical ground stations. Compared to radio-frequency communication, this yields a potential increase of the data rate of more than 1 order of magnitude, while simultaneously significantly reducing the emitting power and weight on the satellite.

The precise tracking of high velocity satellites with ground based optical telescopes is a prerequisite for a number of future applications such as optical satellite communication, observation of space debris or satellite laser ranging. To achieve this goal, good mechatronic design as well as high performance control are necessary. Together with our industrial partner, ASA Astrosysteme GmbH, this project aims on increasing the achievable precision and tracking velocity of existing ASA ground stations.

Distributed Intelligent Automation with Next-generation Architecture

The DIANA project is a solely industry funded project, funded by Rockwell Automation Inc, and is concerned with the development of novel industrial control applications, methods, and solutions. Another main focus of the DIANA project is the development and fostering of EtherNet/IP (tm) and the open-source EtherNet/IP (tm) adapter stack OpENer.

Vision-based measurement methods are becoming increasingly important in automation technology. Well-known examples are autonomous vehicles that navigate through the environment using a variety of imaging sensors, or robots that detect if someone has entered the working area using a camera. Nowadays the needed computing power for real-time image processing is readily-available which opens up new possibilities to use vision-based measurement methods in industrial automation.

Imaging, handling and manipulation of material with high resolution are important techniques for various applications of research. Atomic force microscopes (AFM) are one of the most important tools for imaging applications with spatial resolution beyond the diffraction limit of light. The project aims is to build a basic AFM-system in cooperation with Anton Paar GmbH.

Project Noreia entitles the design and development of a highly sophisticated PVD deposition plant, which consider state of the art developments in automation and control as well as deposition techniques. The design and development is conducted in a framework between the Institute of Materials Science and Technology (Prof. Paul H. Mayrhofer) and the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology within the TU Wien.

Fundamentals of opto-mechatronic systems

Currently innovation is taking place at the border of disciplines rather than in one individual field of engineering. This particularly holds for application domains that span more than one field of engineering, since a high level of system integration from different disciplines provides solutions that a single domain alone cannot provide. As an example, the combination of optics and mechatronics form the interdisciplinary field of opto-mechatronics.

Scanning optical point- and line-sensor

To overcome the limitation for better productivity and reliability of production in this project, a rotating or steering mirror scans the sensor’s optical point or line over a product surface, targeting triangulation, confocal, and color sensors.

Characterization of highly divergent optics

Opto-mechatronic devices such as triangulation sensors or chromatic confocal sensors project focused light beams onto the surface of the measuring object. Assessing the properties of the focused beam is essential as they are directly related to the achievable measurement resolution and precision of the opto-mechatronic device.

The improvement of the process changeover of modular manipulators offers enormous potential for process optimization in small-series production. Current handling devices can not be converted quickly to new products and production processes sufficiently. Especially for SMEs, the cost of retrofitting the production plant usually exceed the benefits, which is why they cannot compete in the market.

Atomic Force Microscopy capable of vibration isolation

An atomic force microscope (AFM) can image and inspect a sample surface with high resolution by scanning a probe with a sharp tip over the sample. During scanning, the vertical position of the probe with respect to the sample typically needs to be regulated with nanometer resolution. For the required high resolution, AFMs are sensitive to vibrations transmitted from the floor dependent on their design.

The project scope includes the development of a library of standardized software components. Such software components enable a simplified implementation of industrial control applications by composition of such components on an abstract level. Furthermore, the library components already define integrated basic control functionality of the underlying hardware component and provide services for connecting several components in a flexible manner with each other (application integration).

Automated in-line metrology for nanopositioning systems

Robot based in-process metrology is a key enabling technology for upcoming production systems and is considered as one of the most important preconditions for future production. Measuring properties at the nanometer scale such as topography, morphology and roughness within a production line becomes increasingly important for quality control and process monitoring tasks to make high tech production more efficient.

Many applications require positioning with nanometer resolution. They include lithographic equipment for semiconductor and liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing and data storage devices such as hard disk drives (HDDs) and optical disk drives (ODDs) (e.g. CD/DVD/Blu-ray), as well as scientific instruments such as atomic force microscopes (AFMs). The achievable positioning resolution of these systems is typically influenced by vibrations transmitted from the floor.