Hannover Messe has presented Endress+Hauser with this year's Hermes award for the iTHERM TrustSens, the world’s first self-calibrating thermometer.

The compact thermometer iTHERM TrustSens has been designed especially for hygienic and aseptic applications in the food and beverage and life sciences industries. With automated and fully traceable self-calibration during production, the sensor eliminates the risk of undetected non-conformities, resulting in product safety and process efficiency. The integrated heartbeat technology allows for continuous device diagnostics and verification without interruption of the process.

iTHERM TrustSens relies on an integrated reference sensor. The developers used the so-called Curie point physics principle, in which the magnetic properties of a material abruptly change at a specific temperature point. This point is determined for the reference sensor. As soon as the temperature falls below this value, such as following a steam sterilization, both sensors are adjusted. Since the Curie point remains constant, the reference sensor as a master provides a stable comparison value. 

The probe calibrates itself each time the system is cleaned or sterilized. Large systems often include hundreds of temperature sensors that have to be calibrated several times a year.

“The award-winning product makes a major contribution to the deployment of the Industrial Internet of Things throughout the process industry,” said Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe.

iTHERM TrustSens will be on show at Hannover Messe 2018 from Apr. 23–27.