Prof. Dr. Frei gives us an example how an intelligent fuse will maintain the functionality of a hybrid vehicle:
Imagine the gasoline engine fails at high speed. An intelligent system knows that the e-motors can handle a higher voltage for a short time. Thus the speed can be maintained, slowly reduced and the car can safely leave the highway and come to a stop.
The decision where to stop could even be done, by monitoring the temperature of the motors. If the temperature remains lower than expected, the car could stop closer to a garage, making the impact for the driver less stressful.

Matthias Baumgartner

Mr. Kiffmeier and Prof. Dr. Frei explain the possibility of using electronic fuses. „The old melting fuse is preventing failure but not helping the diagnose.“
An intelligent electric fuse with sensors will give more and precise data of what happened and this will lead to a better diagnose.

With such an intelligent fuse the system can estimate a lifetime and diagnose the state of health, e.g. of a battery. By using external data, such as the outside temperature the prediction will become even more precise.

Currently the calculation of fuses is dimensioned by a worst-case-scenario: E.g. a taxi in the Sahara. "We don't have the chance to use much bigger cables in the future, but we can use them more effectively. Extreme users might have a shorter lifecycle, but an intelligent system can diagnose at what time an exchange of wires is necessary."

Matthias Baumgartner