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SPX Service Solutions to Adapt NASA Satellite Technology To Monitor Vehicle Pollution

21 July 2000

SPX Service Solutions to Adapt NASA Satellite Technology To Monitor Vehicle Pollution

    KALAMAZOO, Mich. - SPX Service Solutions, a unit of SPX Corporation today 
announced that it has received the exclusive license to use patented NASA 
technology for use in developing a new remote sensing device to monitor motor 
vehicle exhaust.

    Cities and states may soon have a new high-tech tool in the battle against
automotive air pollution, thanks to NASA satellite technology originally
developed to track global greenhouse gases and the Earth's protective ozone
layer.  As envisioned, NASA's atmospheric remote sensing technology will be
adapted to an autonomous roadside system to monitor motor vehicle emissions.

    Cars and trucks will pass through a low-power light beam, without stopping
or slowing down.  Space-age sensor technology will instantly analyze vehicle
exhaust pollutants important to local and state governments working to meet
federally mandated air quality standards.

    "Taking an accurate reading of several exhaust products as a car passes by
is a formidable challenge.  We want to take a measurement of all the gases of
interest every one thousandth of a second over a period of a half-second.
Fortunately, our newest remote sensing technology has that capability," said
Glen Sachse, senior research scientist at NASA Langley Research Center,
Hampton, VA.  Sachse is one of six team members who invented the highly
sensitive electro-optical system at the core of the technology.

    "Remote testing of vehicle exhaust will provide governments around the
world with a fast, efficient and low-cost method to identify and reduce motor
vehicle air pollution and greenhouse gases, which account for approximately
half of all air pollution," said Craig Rendahl, Remote Sensing business leader
for SPX Service Solutions.

    "With the number of vehicles on the road increasing every year, we believe
there is a significant global market for technology of this nature," said
Rendahl.  "SPX will offer a basic unit which will be available at the end of
2000.  With the help of NASA, we expect to begin manufacturing a highly
enhanced remote sensing device before the end of 2001.  This second-generation
product will contain many other features, including the capability to test
heavy-duty diesel vehicles."

    The U.S. Clean Air Act mandates that a certain percentage of the U.S.
fleet of vehicles be measured each year.  The act allows for remote sensing as
an option.

    In a process called "clean screening," drivers who formerly took their
vehicles in for an annual emissions inspection would receive a notice in the
mail certifying that their vehicle has passed twice in a 12-month period and
that they do not have to submit to an emissions test -- at least that's the
expected outcome for most drivers.  As individual roadside exhaust
measurements are taken, the license plate would be photographed and the data
would be transmitted to a central collecting point.

    Those drivers whose vehicles passed would save both time and money.
Drivers whose vehicles failed or gave marginal readings would be identified
for additional testing and possible emissions-related repairs.

    In space, NASA uses remote sensing devices mounted on satellites and
backlighting from the sun to take global atmospheric measurements as part of
its Earth Science Enterprise program.  The program is aimed at expanding
knowledge of the Earth's environment in order to provide the scientific basis
for sound policy decisions on environmental matters.

    Service Solutions, a unit of SPX Corporation, is a leader in special
service tools, equipment program management, electronic diagnostics, emissions
testing equipment and technical information services for the global motor
vehicle industry.  It markets its products under the Kent-Moore, Miller
Special Tools, OTC, Robinair, Bear, Allen Testproducts and Valley Forge brand
names.  SPX Corporation is a global provider of technical products and
systems, industrial products and services, service solutions and vehicle
components.