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Article Excerpt
Although extremely cost-conscious, the automotive sector is a vital and expanding arena for sensors, which are critical for enhanced passenger safety, health, and comfort. A sensor company that focuses on developing and manufacturing sensors specifically geared toward very cost-effectively meeting the key requirements of both automakers (vehicle OEMs) and the suppliers to the OEMs is best positioned to succeed in the automotive sensor segment. To optimize its opportunities in the automotive arena, a sensor company should also implement strong quality control standards and, most importantly, focus on providing economical yet value-added sensing devices for significant existing and emerging applications. It is also beneficial to have the resources to be able to address automotive sensing applications that present challenges with respect to, for example, the sensor's temperature range, robustness, and freedom from undesired influences (such as electro-magnetic interference).
To become a key provider of sensors for automotive applications, it helps to have the significant resources necessary for being able to very cost-effectively manufacture sensors in very high volumes (e.g., millions of units per year) and to be certified to automotive quality control TS16949) standards. However, smaller sensor companies with promising technologies can penetrate the automotive industry by partnering with a larger sensor company or automotive system supplier or by licensing its technology to a significant sensor company or to a system supplier to the automotive industry.
Honeywell Sensing & Control's (Freeport, IL, 800-537-6945)(www.honeywell.com/sensing) automotive group is a significant manufacturer of magnetic speed and position sensors for such applications as engine management, as well as transmission speed, wheel speed, and window lift, and of silicon micromachined pressure sensors for such applications as HVAC compressor pressure, oil pressure, and evaporative purge. The group, which provides sensors for engine, transmission, chassis, in-cabin, and safety and security applications, has expertise in sensor electronics and packaging, and can address tough automotive sensing environments and system-critical applications. Honeywell's automotive group, moreover, focuses on understanding and addressing the key needs of vehicle OEMs and their system suppliers.
Honeywell's automotive product portfolio includes sensors for such parameters as speed and direction, position, pressure (including in-cylinder pressure), and temperature, as well as control valves for diesel engines, electro-mechanical pressure switches, coils, and circuit breakers. They also offer an optical sensor for passive keyless entry. Moreover, through a licensing arrangement Honeywell is finding expanding opportunities for providing packaged SAW torque sensors, as well as potentially SAW sensors for additional applications.
Bill Mitchell, vice president and general manager of Honeywell's Automotive and Infotech business lines, noted that Honeywell has provided hundreds of millions of speed and position sensors, and tens of millions of pressure sensors for use in light vehicles. In 2004, Honeywell's automotive sensor business experienced growth, spearheaded by the Asian (including the Chinese) market. The automotive speed and position sensor business experienced higher growth in 2004 than the automotive pressure sensor business.
In addition to offering diverse sensing technologies for...
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