Courtesy: Renesas
Imagine a world without cold storage—medicines would spoil, food would perish, and supply chains would collapse. Refrigeration systems are vital to modern life, from pharmaceutical coolers to large-scale warehouses. These systems form the backbone of the cold chain, ensuring products meet strict storage requirements.
To achieve durability and sustainability in these operations, embracing AI is essential for maximum performance optimisation. Renesas has been continuously innovating in this space, delivering a range of AI-driven solutions tailored for the refrigeration industry—helping businesses enhance efficiency, reliability, and energy savings.
Renesas Enablement for AI-powered Refrigeration Solutions
Renesas’ solution concept introduces a suite of AI-driven applications designed to tackle everyday challenges in refrigeration systems. These proposals focus on enhancing operational efficiency and reliability in key areas such as predictive maintenance, energy optimisation, and asset management, among others.
Refrigerant gas is crucial for maintaining stable cold temperatures in cooling systems. Over time, however, leaks can develop due to wear and tear in pipes or refrigerant circuits. To address this challenge, Renesas AI leverages advanced AI algorithms to detect anomalies by analysing changes in electrical current and compressor vibrations. This proactive approach enables timely maintenance, prevents costly breakdowns, and ensures optimal cooling efficiency.
Compressor Overheat Detection
Compressor overheating can result from issues such as low refrigerant levels or clogged filters, leading to potential system damage. Renesas AI HVAC solutions go beyond leak detection by continuously monitoring filter conditions and measuring intake airflow in real time. By analysing this data, the system predicts risks before they escalate, ensuring the cooling system operates efficiently and reliably.
Cooling Capacity Monitoring
Renesas HVAC solutions integrate advanced AI features to predict fan imbalances that directly impact cooling efficiency. Using AI models trained with electrical current data, these anomalies can be detected, enabling seamless and sensorless monitoring. This proactive approach enhances system reliability and ensures optimal cooling performance.
Assets Monitoring: Availability and Expiry Tracking
AI-powered object detection and classification enable real-time monitoring of stock levels and refrigerated assets. The system can automatically suggest restocking needs and estimate lead times for each item. Reducing the need for manual inventory checks and minimising the frequency of opening cooling units, it reduces energy consumption and improves operational efficiency.
Person Identification
AI-powered person identification enhances security and user experience in refrigeration systems. Authorised access can be ensured through two approaches:
- Vision-based authentication using an object detection model combined with on-device learning for custom face recognition.
- Voice-based authentication using a speaker identification model with a microphone sensor.
These methods can be combined for two-step authentication, which is especially critical in medical or industrial refrigeration environments. For home appliances, person identification enables context-aware interactions, such as personalised dietary recommendations or recipe suggestions, creating a smarter and more intuitive user experience.
By integrating real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and intelligent object detection, these systems deliver optimal performance, energy efficiency, and operational reliability. From detecting refrigerant leaks and airflow issues to predicting fan imbalances and automating inventory management, the Renesas solution concept offers a comprehensive, end-to-end approach to cooling system optimisation.
This seamless and sensorless monitoring capability not only extends system longevity but also drives significant energy savings. As demand for smarter, more efficient refrigeration systems grows, Renesas is leading the way, pioneering the next generation of intelligent cooling solutions.
