At HANNOVER MESSE 2008, the Bahlsen company is demonstrating the journey that a delicious snack bar takes from its origins as a cookie and liquid chocolate. Visitors are able to observe the exemplary environmentally sound workflow in an energy efficiency tunnel.

Energy resources are judiciously allocated during all five phases of production: pumping, aeration, thickening, tempering, and cooling and heating. An audio guide that can be listened to via a headset explains the efficient processes of the machine to visitors.

At the end of the tunnel, visitors are met by energy experts from the German Engineering Federation (VDMA ), the German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers' Association (ZVEI), and 30 additional companies. They then receive more information about the possibilities for saving energy during industrial processes.

Bahlsen GmbH & Co. KG www.bahlsen.com

The red sports car slams against the wall with a crash. Windows shatter and metal debris flies through the air. The dummy behind the steering wheel is caught by a safety belt.

Crash tests involving a vehicle being driven into a wall are less frequently used today, because prototypes are increasingly developed on computers. At HANNOVER MESSE 2008, Fraunhofer researchers are demonstrating how realistic such simulations can appear to be.

The simulation software ensuring that fewer vehicles need to be put through the crash test experience is called CAROD (Computer Aided Robust Design). Seven individual Fraunhofer Institutes worked together to develop this simulation method that can predict and help to eliminate the majority of faults at a very early stage of the production cycle.

With the help of a supercomputer, this method will soon allow researchers to conduct the equivalent of two years worth of testing - in a single day!

Fraunhofer-Allianz www.ifam.fraunhofer.de  

Although it is only 10cm long, UWE-2 will be the star attraction at the University of Würzburg's stand during HANNOVER MESSE 2008. For good reason: UWE is Germany's smallest satellite.

Constructed in the form of a cube, the little satellite weighs around 1kg and has some great expectations to live up to. Its mission is to conduct telecommunications experiments under space conditions so that internet protocols can be optimized.

Such telematic technologies will lead to innovative applications here on Earth. Benefits will include, for example, the remote servicing, telemonitoring, and control of machines that use automatization technology.

University of Würzburg  www7.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de   

At HANNOVER MESSE 2008, the Gerhard-Mercator-Universität Duisburg introduces its very promising contribution towards a solution for our energy and climate problems. Its glass prototype of a fiber optic photo-bioreactor is designed to convert CO2 emissions - for example, from heating systems - into biomass.

To achieve this, the Duisburg research team's photo-bioreactor mimics one of nature's well-known principles: photosynthesis. The university's prototype combines CO2 and light with quickly growing green algae. The result? Carbon dioxide is converted into oxygen. A model demonstrates the technical recreation of nature's principle at HANNOVER MESSE 2008.

The process involves mounting a device on the roof of a building to collect daylight. This light is sent to the bioreactor via so-called optical fibers - thin but extremely efficient cables. The bioreactor contains algae with a high concentration of CO2. The light facilitates photosynthetic processes which in turn convert CO2 into oxygen. The algae that emerge from this process can then be used as a carbon-neutral energy source.

www.uni-due.de  

Most of us are all-too familiar with the annoying experience of a flickering neon tube. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, the irregular light patterns constantly grab our attention. WERMA GmbH's new signal light capitalizes on this effect at HANNOVER MESSE 2008.

The trick? Unlike other common signal lights, this innovative new development makes use of an unpredictable light source and random flickers to attract attention.

The signal's light sources are light-emitting diodes (LEDs). A microprocessor generates the random patterns of light, which lends the signal a very "excited" effect and ensures a sustained and very high level of attention from those present - including people who can only see the signal out of the corner of their eye.

WERMA Signaltechnik GmbH + Co. KG

www.werma.com

Lasers are extremely well-suited for measuring products. Especially if this is difficult to achieve with a human hand or other contact-based systems. Lüneburg-based LAP GmbH is demonstrating Calix, their innovative dimension-measurement laser, at HANNOVER MESSE 2008.

Because it is built to be impervious to temperature changes, the laser is able to provide precise measurements under adverse industrial conditions - right down to within 5 micrometers of accuracy.

Calix can measure webbed or flat plate-shaped products such as sheets of metal, plastic boards or strips of rubber. Smooth, soft, sticky or hot materials have no effect on the precision of its measurements. It also has no trouble with sensitive or optically challenging surfaces such as shiny sheet metal - as a non-contact system, it never scratches the surface it is measuring.

In addition, because laser measurement is not dependent on specific materials, there is no need to obtain or use material values as in radiometric methods of measurement.

www.lap-laser.com

In a special section of HANNOVER MESSE 2008 devoted to energy efficiency, the Danfoss company demonstrates how to reduce energy consumption by up to 70 percent during the operation of pumps.

With an innovative frequency converter and an electronic rotational speed control, pumps can now be regulated to operate continually at optimum settings. This makes them particularly efficient because they only use the amount of energy required for production.

This new technology thus makes a contribution to protecting the environment while at the same time ensuring that industrial plants and facilities are more cost-efficient.

www.danfoss.de/vlt

Typical commercial pallet jacks such as the ones found at any large supermarket are not particularly innovative. But the pallet jack that scientists from Bremen brought to HANNOVER MESSE 2008 is no ordinary working tool. This one is fitted out with scales, four antennae, an RFID (radio frequency identification) sensor, and a small computer with a flat screen display and special software. This makes it a clever assistant for supermarket employees as they receive deliveries.

How does it work? The system on the pallet jack in the supermarket reads the data of the delivered goods with its antennae, processes the information with its computer, and checks it against the order for the goods in question. Of course, the information required for such a comparison must first be entered into the system by the receiver of the goods. 

If there is a difference between the order and the delivered goods, the pallet jack detects this and displays a corresponding message on its screen. In this way missing stock can easily be reordered without wasting time on manual counts or comparisons of long printed lists.

www.logdynamics.de/lab

Andrea Staude