虽然工业自动化术语通常是指能够执行高度结构化的预编程任务的机器代替人工劳动力，但该术语industrial autonomy描述了能够独立适应不同的环境，以最小的人为干预。例如，自主机器人可能能够学习抓住不熟悉的对象或在没有人工程序员的帮助下导航新空间。人工智能和机器学习提供了实现这一点所需的内部加工电源，但还需要强大的外部传感器来帮助机器人和其他自动化技术感知并响应其环境。
这就是为什么技术如“传感器融合，”which grants a single sensor the ability to monitor multiple input types, are on the rise. These advanced sensor technologies are made possible by the exponential growth in computing capacity over the past several decades, which allowed more intelligence to be packed into smaller and smaller devices. However, the added processing power comes at a cost—namely, an increase in energy consumption.
To overcome this challenge,Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft,欧洲主要应用研究组织推出了NeuroSmart，这是一个与Fraunhofer光子微系统研究所联合研究举措。该项目旨在使用神经形态电子产品，这些电子器件在人类大脑的操作上进行建模，以利用较少的能量。作为该项目的一部分，神经形态传感器将安装在机器人系统中，以用于制造环境，目的是提高其能效的目标。
The data processing performed by neuromorphic sensors is “realized by a novel analog computer memory technology that is also capable of performing computational operations when data is newly acquired in the system,” explained Michael Mensing, a scientist and project leader at the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems. "In practice, this is used to recognize objects and their behavior accurately and in real time. Until now, this mode of operation has required several separately developed components in computers and particularly energy-intensive communication between them.”
根据Fraunhofer光子微系统研究所的说法，这种新方法利用集成电子产品，允许对物体识别和分类的模型的并行开发，该分类专门适用于各个传感器。与当前方法相比，这允许更快的响应时间，增加数据保护和显着的节能。
The NeurOSmart Initative has a project budget of eight million Euros and will operate for four years, during which it will attempt to integrate its neuromorphic sensor electronics with a complex light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system. LiDAR, a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure distances, is a vital component in numerous autonomous systems, and is often used to enable robotic navigation in diverse or changing environments
Other Fraunhofer-Gesellshaft organizations participating in this project include: The Institute for Silicon Technology, the Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems, the Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology, and the Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems.
