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Fig. 10. Group picture after a scientific colloquium during the opening
ceremony of the CD Laboratory for Measurement Systems for Harsh Operating
Conditions on the campus of the Graz University of Technology, Austria.
Fig. 9. Tutorial on capacitance measurement technology held by members of
TC-09 SCS.
signal. Based on this, countermeasures or compensation strategies
can be developed.
The application and development of capacitive sensing
technology therefore has to follow a holistic strategy, where
all relevant effects dependencies are considered [33]. This was
also discussed for the ice sensor. This holistic approach should
also be accompanied by appropriate modeling and simulation
to derive appropriate signal processing schemes, e.g., light
weight signal processing techniques, which can perform all
signal processing applications on small computing platforms,
e.g., microcontrollers.
Extensions of capacitive sensing for applications such as
process tomography or environmental sensing can be seen in
the field of spectroscopic measurements [40]. Frequency dependent
variations of the dielectric properties can form an
additional source of information, establishing a connection to
TC-02 Impedance Spectroscopy or the IEEE Instrumentation
and Measurement Society.
Activities of TC-09 SCS: Support of
Engineers and Young Scientists
The diverse areas of application and scientific topics make
capacitive measurement technology an interesting field of research.
Promotion of the field and providing expertise on the
parts of a capacitive measurement system is an essential part
of TC-09 SCS's activities. In the last years, members of TC-09
SCS have organized several special sessions on (capacitive)
measurement systems for harsh environments at the I2MTC
conference [41], and have held tutorials for specific topics, e.g.,
Bayesian methods for the design of signal processing techniques
[43], [44]. The sessions included invited talks of TC-09
SCS group members or participation in industrial collaboration
days. For example, Fig. 9 shows a tutorial, and Fig. 10
shows a group photo after a scientific colloquium.
TC-09 SCS as a Platform
" Capacitive sensing is sensitive with respect to almost everything. "
While capacitive sensing can be challenging, it also
November 2022
offers a large potential for many sensing applications. In any
case, it is an exciting field of measurement research that offers
many synergies with other areas of engineering and science.
IEEE TC-09 SCS provides a platform for exchange in this area,
and TC-09 SCS is open to all interested parties.
Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank Prof. Dr. Georg Brasseur for
his initiative to establish and form TC-09 SCS and for his long
term and continuing support and guidance for its members.
Part of the presented research work was developed within the
Christian Doppler Laboratory for Measurement Systems for
Harsh Operating Conditions. Therefore, the financial support
of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Digital and Economic Affairs,
the National Foundation for Research, Technology and
Development and the Christian Doppler Research Association
is gratefully acknowledged.
References
[1] L. Baxter, Capacitive Sensors: Design and Applications, ser. IEEE
Press Series on Electronics Technology. Hoboken, New Jersey,
USA: John Wiley and Sons, 1996.
[2] G. Brasseur, " Design rules for robust capacitive sensors, " IEEE
Trans. Instrum. Meas., vol. 52, no. 4, pp. 1261-1265, Aug. 2003.
[3] B. George, T. Bretterklieber, M. Neumayer, and H. Zangl,
" Precision measurement of humidity dependent permittivity of
foams, " in Proc. 2010 IEEE Sensors Conf., pp. 201-204, 2010.
[4] B. George, H. Zangl, T. Bretterklieber, and G. Brasseur, " Seat
occupancy detection based on capacitive sensing, " IEEE Trans.
Instrum. Meas., vol. 58, no. 5, pp. 1487-1494, Jan. 2009.
[5] T. Bretterklieber, M. Neumayer, M. Flatscher, A. Becke, and G.
Brasseur, " Model based monitoring of ice accretion on overhead
power lines, " in Proc. 2016 IEEE Int. Instrum. Meas. Technol. Conf.
(I2MTC), pp. 1-6, 2016.
[6] T. Schlegl, T. Bretterklieber, M. Neumayer, and H. Zangl, " A novel
sensor fusion concept for distance measurement in automotive
applications, " in Proc. 2010 IEEE Sensors Conf., pp. 775-778, 2010.
[7] M. Neumayer, B. George, T. Bretterklieber, H. Zangl, and G.
Brasseur, " Robust sensing of human proximity for safety
applications, " in Proc. 2010 IEEE Int. Instrum. Meas. Technol. Conf.
(I2MTC), pp. 458-463, 2010.
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