Pictures of the Future Fall 2005
Patents and Innovations
Personalized Car Keys / Stereo Hearing Aid
Stereo Hearing Aid
Inventor Torsten Niederdränk with hte Acuris hearing Aid. The tiny device packs the computer capacity of a Pentium 4 processor
Thanks to an innovative researcher from Siemens, hearing aids fitted in both ears can now adjust automatically to specific acoustic situations. Dr. Torsten Niederdränk,who heads the Basic Technology Group at Siemens Audiological Systems in Erlangen, Germany, and his team developed the Acuris system, which has been on the market for about a year now. With Acuris, both hearing aids are always optimally adjusted because they communicate with each other and thus function synchronously. The resulting stereo sound makes it much easier for wearers to locate the origin of sounds and to hear low-level noises. The two hearing aids continuously exchange control signals via a tiny radio transceiver only a few millimeters in size. If the wearer is engaged in conversation and a truck passes by, the system reacts in fractions of a second, automatically suppressing the vehicle noise and boosting the sound of the speaker’s voice. The system is available with hearing aids that can be worn either behind or in the ear. The device worn in the ear is barely visible in the auditory canal. The computing power of each device is roughly equivalent to that of a Pentium 4 processor. Since 1999, Niederdränk has submitted hearing aid inventions. In 2004 he was named "Inventor of the Year"
Intelligent Car Keys
PASE inventor Alain Brillon has filed 26 patent applications for intelligent entry-control systems for automotive applications
Today’s intelligent car recognizes its owner, unlocks the door, automatically adjusts the driver’s seat and enables the ignition. All these innovations owe their development to Siemens inventor Alain Brillon from Toulouse, France. Brillon is the co-inventor of the Passive Start and Entry (PASE) systems. Since 1997, he has filed 26 patent applications, most of them in this field. The system debuted in the S-Class from Mercedes in 1998, and more and more vehicles are now equipped with this technology. PASE is a keyless entry-control and start system. All a driver needs to have is an identification transmitter in the form of a small card or key. When he or she wishes to enter the vehicle, a proximity sensor registers hand contact on the door. In the meantime, the driver has already identified himself or herself by means of an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag integrated in the key or card. PASE then unlocks the door, adjusts the vehicle to the driver’s personal preferences and enables the ignition. To start the vehicle, the driver simply presses the gas pedal and then pushes a button. The engine can only be started when the identification transmitter is in the vehicle—a feature that greatly enhances security as well as comfort