Visyx Strategic Partner – Hella KG

Hella KG, a leading Tier I supplier to the automobile industry, was searching for a sensor solution that would provide in situ, continuous monitoring of automotive motor oil during engine operation.  Hella KG’s search was motivated by ongoing changes in automotive engine technology to achieve new emission standards, coupled with longer recommended oil change intervals.  These developments have created the need for a robust, multi-parameter sensor that can be located in the harsh environment of combustion engines.  Interested in solid-state sensor technology, Hella KG entered into a license and development agreement that gave Hella KG an exclusive license to Symyx’s tuning fork sensor for the passenger vehicle market in 2003. The Hella KG license and relevant Symyx tuning fork technology patents are now owned by Visyx Technologies, Inc. Visyx was formed as an independent company Symyx in 2006.

Hella KG’s strategic interest for tuning fork technology was the sensor’s ability to directly measure multiple physical properties of engine oil, namely viscosity, density and dielectric constant, and to perform these measurements in situ and in real-time. Hella KG’s scientific and engineering teams worked with Symyx to advance the tuning fork flexural resonator to operate in the demanding engine environment. The sensor electronics are now embodied in an ASIC that is packaged with the resonator as a robust multi-chip module sensor that meets the challenging safety, quality and performance standards of the automotive industry.  This novel oil condition sensor will determine when the oil has degraded or is contaminated by abnormal conditions such as soot, fuel leaks and coolant leaks. 

Upon commercialization, which is anticipated in 2009, the oil condition sensor will help safeguard newer generation vehicles that offer extended oil change intervals.  These sensor-equipped vehicles will reduce the cost of ownership and minimize the consumption of natural resources by allowing the operator to maximize the useful life of their engine oil.  The use of Visyx tuning fork sensor technology in the high-volume passenger vehicle market takes advantage of the Visyx sensor’s robustness, performance envelope, and unique multi-parametric physical property measurements.  Visyx retains rights to the sensor for commercial development and distribution outside the field of passenger vehicles.

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