IAV develops new measuring system for scenting vehicle interiors
Everything in the modern, networked vehicle is designed for comfort – from interior equipment to infotainment to driver assistance systems. To further increase the well-being on board, the tech solution provider IAV has developed a method by which the scenting of vehicle cabins can be measured more precisely and brought into series production faster.
""The USPs of modern vehicles are no longer oriented solely on the quality and performance of drive technology, but increasingly and at different levels on comfort and experience features,"" says Thomas Einzinger, Head of Department of Thermal Management at IAV. ""We want to make a relevant contribution to this.""
In particular, manufacturers use room fragrances in luxury models to create a wellness atmosphere in the interior and, thus, increase the vehicle's value. IAV has already supported vehicle manufacturers in the development of the necessary scenting systems. The nose of engineers was used for the application and dosing of fragrances – a somewhat subjective process that does not provide neutral measurements.
For this reason, IAV says it has developed a new measuring method for the application of fragrance systems. The engineering specialist's mobile "sniffle laboratory" draws air in the passenger cell at the outlet and delivers its measured values to a connected computer. Inside the device, a sensor with high precision in the ppm range (parts per million) detects the concentration and the proportion of the fragrance molecules in the indoor air.
"This makes the measurements quantifiable and reproducible," says Dominik Fellner, Team Leader System Development at IAV. "Our new measuring system delivers all the values in real time, which noticeably accelerates the application". Says Thomas Einzinger — Head of Thermal Management at IAV
The overall concept is optimally designed to meet the requirements of both technical development and pre-development. Among other things, the experts of IAV use the so-called statistical test planning and, thus, significantly reduce the number of necessary measurements without noticeably losing quality in the results.
The device evolved as part of an IAV in-house development and has been available for customer projects since April 2021. IAV intends to make the system more widely used and develop it further technologically, based on new, collected knowledge.
From the perspective of IAV, scenting systems could in future also be introduced as optional equipment in vehicles below the luxury class. Other fields of application also exist in other means of transport, such as buses, trains, ships or aeroplanes.