Cognitive Power Electronics 4.0 – powerful and intelligent

© Fraunhofer IISB / Kurt Fuchs
DC-Grid Manager

With their concept of Cognitive Power Electronics 4.0, researchers at Fraunhofer IISB demonstrate how the next stage of evolution for power electronics could look in the age of the Internet of Things (IoT). The concept combines proven power electronics system technology with new functionalities from the area of digitalization: Additional controllers can be embedded in power converters, for example, which increases connectivity and intelligence. Power electronics with this kind of expansion can be used, for instance, as a sensor platform: certain sets of data are an inherent part of systems such as power converters and form the basis for intelligent decisions and advanced regulation strategies. Based on this sensor platform, the power electronics monitor the data from internal and external sensors and use it for fault detection or real-time optimization of the application in question. To allow functions such as remote operation or remote maintenance, the power converters can be connected to existing networks and cloud services.

The computing power of modern power converters can also be used to implement advanced data analyses and customized machine learning algorithms, to deploy selflearning and self-adapting converters, or to implement predictive maintenance for the entire electronic system. To this end, a modular design is available that can be combined with an application-specific plug-and-play functionality. The hardware and software of these innovative power converters can be reconfigured. The converter detects changes in its environment (e.g. operating mode, fluctuations in the power grid) and adapts to the application’s requirements. Beyond this adaptability, the converter can also have a failsafe and fault-tolerant design: If a hardware component within the electrical system fails, the converter intervenes to ensure that the application can continue to operate. Examples of this include the DC Grid Manager and the Modular Power Distribution System from Fraunhofer IISB.

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