RVmagnetics introduces the future of wireless measuring with the smallest passive sensor of physical quantities in the world. In this era of evolving IoT devices, of AI distribution within a variety of industries, the foundation is the highly accurate, dependable, and sufficient data.
RVmagnetics is the R&D entity that custom-developed MicroWire-based solutions to access physical data, from otherwise inaccessible locations, with otherwise unreachable levels of integrity.
The MicroWire Sensor
Essentially a composite material itself, the MicroWire is made of metallic alloy and glass coating, in fact, from a gram of metallic alloy, 100.000 of sensors (kilometres) can be manufactured, and RVmagnetics is the sole-manufacturer of these.
MicroWire Sensor is thin and elastic like a human hair, sends accurate real time data, regarding a wide range of the physical quantities such as temperature, pressure, el.current, magnetic field, vibrations, pull, stress, torsion, position, and other physical quantities of your material. The MicroWires’ glass coating, elasticity, miniature size and magnetic nature gives them undeniable added values:
- the possibilities to be integrated into humid, hazardous, noisy, physically unreachable environments,
- without chemically affecting the environments,
- without the measurements being compromised,
- with little or no addition to the size or weight of the application,
- reducing the need for destructive measurements, etc.
Sensing System
Once the MicroWire sensor, a passive element is located - it needs no direct contact or wiring to provide the signal. To detect the signals from the MicroWire a sensing device is required, which is by itself an innovative, custom designed and created solution specifically for your application, by highly professional scientists.
The sensing head is simply composed of 2 coils (usually copper), one of which excites the MicroWire crating a magnetic field around it, the other, sensing coil receives the MicroWires response in the local environment (within the vicinity of 10 cm distance), of whatever physical quantity is required to measure.
The sensing head is powered by a CPU, which, as it is famously known, can be miniaturised as well. The digital data can be transferred (through wifi, Bluetooth, SigFox, etc.) to the customers preferred software, fed to AI, used as a fundamental Predictive Maintenance information, or just collected for future use.
Application Perspectives
The client's benefits lies in affordable sensors that from ordinary material can make a smart one.
Sensor is used for various applications, from health and integrity monitoring of different structures, machines, batteries; helping prevent and predict the maintenance of these, all the way to smartified medical devices (for both in vivo and in vitro).
Some of the specific application perspectives of the MicroWires shown below.
Smart Electric Motor
- Possibilities to provide measurements directly from within the motor (no matter the size)
- Even though the MicroWire is a magnetic material itself, the magnetic background of a motor (even the strongest ones) does not compromise the measurements
- Embedding the sensor inside already existing motors: little or no addition to weight or size
- Highly accurate temperature and vibration measurements from directly the shaft, bearings, stator etc. (the only sensor capable to provide the data) with sensitivity up to 10.000 x/second
- Possibility to collect and use the date for preventive and predictive maintenance of the motor, thus decrease the power consumption and waste.
Self-monitored, safe and smart Batteries
- Localised thermal management directly from within the battery
- Possibility to integrate the MicroWire in between the cells of the batteries
- Highly accurate and sensitive system that is not affected by the harsh chemical environment within the battery
- Non destructive testing: contactless measurements, thus, no risk of spark or ignition (the sensing device can be outside the battery, while the sensor is inside)
- The ability to collect the date as exceptional as this, enables predictive maintenance of the battery as well as the idea of smart and self monitored battery
- The continuous physical data collected from within, can help predict failure of the battery which can be tragic, long before those take place.
Smartified composite materials
The MicroWires can be embedded into the layers of a composite material, during the production process
- This way it can be used to monitor the production process, and post production, when the MicroWire is inside the composite - this materials is now smart
Monitor clearly specified parameters in different material:
- Delamination
- Cracks
- Temperature
- Pressure
- Vibration
- Bending
- Other
The sensor causes no material defect and adds no additional weight to the composite.
Other interesting possibilities worth mentioning that also have highly positive feedback from the industries are the capacity of the MicroWire to enable better monitoring the quality of metal sheets, smart rivets/screws, ID tags for tracking or anti-counterfeit applications, smart fertilisation device, smartified implants, etc.
The founder and CTO himself, Rastislav Varga has more than 20 years of experience in fundamental and applied research in magnetism. Being backed by a team of scientists, with a combined experience of more than 30 years from various fields in chemistry, engineering, electronics etc.
