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The Nanotechnology has become one of the most promising fields of research for the past few decades. The ability to control matter and systems on nanoscale (having at least one dimension smaller than 100nm) was enabled by the invention of advanced technologies like the Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) that allowed the atomic size resolution possible. The link between the micro and atomic-scales creates the capability to produce nanoelectrical-mechanical systems (NEMS) that presents unique properties never seen on the macro world before. The automotive industry is already investigating these new properties and their benefits, and future automotive applications are already being projected.

The next generation of satellite system developed by the European Union and the European Space Agency, GALILEO, is schedule to be fully implemented by 2010. The system is being projected to operate at 1.17645 GHz (L5 frequency) for civilian purposes as an alternative of the currently North American system, and will be used as a safety signal on Ground Positioning Systems (GPS) devices. A low-cost microstrip antenna planar patch antenna resonating at L5 frequency is developed with optimized parameters for automotive applications. For the last 15 years, periodic structures are one of the most noticeable topics of research due to their promising applications in microwave circuit and antenna design. A Photonic Band Gap (PBG) dielectric substrate comprised of periodical structures was used during the development of this project intending to minimize the surface wave losses for a given bandwidth, and therefore, a higher performance antenna could be achieved.

Nowadays Design of Experiments (DOE) has been used intensively in industrial environment as an important tool to identify critical factors related to a certain output characteristic. Another relevant characteristic is that the DOE can also be used as a strong resource on “physical system modeling process”, as presented in this paper. It was possible to generate a transfer function relating the output and the main input factors and in sequence a Monte Carlo simulation was used in order to predict the process capability. It was possible to observe a strong convergence between predicted results and real world results.

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) has become one of the most important tools for innovation project development. It has been used for several companies and good results are being reported as effect of the methodology. This paper aims to present an application of DFSS on an automotive technology development process. It was possible to listen to the “Voice of customer”, translate it into measurable parameters, generate potential concepts and finally identify the most adequate technology. The use of Design for Six Sigma methodology was shown very efficient to technology prospect. The structured frame work and focusing in two main points (being them first “Get the right design” and then “design right”) are the strengths of the methodology.