Intelligent Fiber Optic Systems (IFOS), Inc.

IFOS designs and manufactures innovative optical sensing systems, photonic modules, fiber optic sensors, and environment monitoring subsystems. In the IFOS approach, optical fiber is used not merely as a light pipe, but rather as an active intelligent medium.

Transcript

00:00:00 the sense of touch is one of the human body's most important early Warning Systems your ability to feel things such as pressure and temperature Through Your Skin allows you to react and interact with your environment an Innovative company based in Santa CLA California has been developing systems that in essence provide a sense of touch to materials and

00:00:24 structures intelligent fiber optic systems known as iOS uses optical fiber as an active intelligent medium to help monitor a wide range of structural data through small business Innovation research or sbir funding from NASA Langley Research Center the company developed a technology to enhance the safety of high performance aircraft and space Vehicles while the advanced

00:00:50 composite materials used in modern high performance air and space vehicles have made them lighter and stronger stress strain and environmental factors can still cause damage damage to their composite skin damage that isn't always easy to see the iOS technology uses fiber optic sensors embedded into that composite skin to enable realtime monitoring of the structural health of

00:01:14 the craft the benefits of fiber optic sensing technology aren't limited to the sky the same traits that make the systems ideal for Aerospace applications such as low power consumption and their immunity to electromagnetic interf interference offer benefits for monitoring structures on Earth iOS further developed the sbir

00:01:37 funded Research into a family of commercial products called isense isense systems can detect and measure a wide range of parameters to keep users aware of potential damaging forces to the structures the technology is planned to be used on skyscrapers and Railway Bridges and it can help protect a variety of other high value assets

00:02:01 I sense's immediate feedback May provide the early warning necessary to prevent potential catastrophes to make sure engineers get the relevant information they need to make timely maintenance and safety decisions iOS is currently optimizing the isense software as well as miniaturizing its Hardware we are working also on intelligent decision Aid

00:02:25 algorithm because you collect a lot of data that have to be accurate but then you have to to reduce the amount of volume of data process it and extract useful information to make a intelligent decision so that's the next step the next step for NASA is to venture farther into the cosmos than ever before eventually human-like robots will play a crucial role in human exploration by

00:02:50 assisting astronauts as they work in the unforgiving and harsh environment of space IFA sees opportunity to help NASA meet the challenges ahead robots are don't have enough sensors people call them they say they sensor impoverished so when they they don't have enough sensors they cannot uh their capabilities are very limited to effectively assist their human

00:03:12 counterparts these robot helpers will need to work with dexterity and precision that's why iOS has partnered with Stanford University under an sbir award from NASA Johnson Space Center to create a smart skin for robotic hands and arms advanced fiber optic sensors will be directly integrated into the structure or skin of the robotic helper's hands and arms now put a bend

00:03:39 in it put a bend in it like that okay good now go back to straight when combined with Advanced software to help the robots understand and sort out significant data the hope is that these futuristic Androids will also gain a sense of touch so that they can make the instant and intelligent onboard decisions required to hold and maneuver objects in space

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