Underwater navigation and exploration require special sensors for object detection and imaging. Part 1 of this blog addressed cameras and sonar. LiDAR is also used for underwater applications. Studying the depths and shapes of underwater terrain or bathymetry can be performed by bathymetric LiDAR. The airborne approach to scanning the seafloor uses a green wavelength […]

Unlike land or airborne vehicles that can use radar and cameras to locate and identify objects underwater navigation and exploration present greater challenges. If underwater visibility is good, cameras provide a good source of information. Increasing resolution and the number of cameras are among the improvements that have been made in the recent past to […]

To make designing with the sensor easier, best practices and guidelines compiled by the application experts at the sensor manufacturer and other tools can simplify user’s implementation and avoid pitfalls that have been observed in previous system designs. This is certainly true for sensors (transducers) that convert mechanical forces to electrical signals and have mechanical […]

The 3rd Generation Partnership Project, or 3GPP, provides seven telecommunications standard development organizations a stable environment to produce the reports and specifications that define 3GPP technologies. The organizations include Association of Radio Industries and Businesses (ARIB) (Japan), Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), China Communications Standards Association (CCSA), European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), Telecommunications Standards […]

Sensor suppliers make cloud connectivity easier and faster by offering special design kits and tools. For example, STMicroelectronics recently launched SensorTile.box, STEVAL-MKSBOX1V1, so users can easily collect and send sensor information to the cloud. With Bluetooth® Low Energy connectivity to a smartphone, the multi sensor kit allows the design of wireless IoT and wearable sensor […]

According to “Chromatography Composition Measurement,” in The Measurement, Instrumentation, and Sensors Handbook, chromatography is a technique for separating mixtures into their components. The process involves two phases. The first phase is stationary and provides a large surface area. The second phase is mobile and moves in a fixed direction relative to the stationary phase. Modern […]

An electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG), electroencephalogram (EEG), electromyogram (EMG) and electrooculogram (EOG) all measure biopotentials, the electrical output of human activity. However, the amplitude and bandwidth of the measurements varies for each of these. The table shows the values for each biopotential group according to the article “Biopotentials and Electrophysiology Measurements” in The Measurement, Instrumentation, […]

Fourth generation (4G) wireless cellular networks can theoretically download at speeds up to 100 Mbps, but a fifth generation (5G) network can achieve from 1-10 Gbps. While some fifth generation (5G) wireless cellular systems began operation in limited areas of the US and other parts of the world in 2018, 2019 should mark the real […]

Coping with the application environment is one of the more complex issues that sensors must address. To survive in harsh environments, sensors manufacturers improve the ruggedness of their sensors in many different ways. Three recently announced products exemplify the differences. For dusty and wet environments, Sensata Technologies ACW4 single turn and TCW4 multi-turn absolute Hall […]

A common problem in applying an existing sensor (or many other products for that matter) to a new application is a shortcoming in one or more of the sensor’s capabilities. In some cases, the sensor’s specifications clearly show its limitations. So, what does an inventor or system designer do to overcome the limitations? For a […]

Drones represent a focused application for many different types of sensors. In broad terms, the sensors in these applications can be classified as optical, acoustic, position, touch, environment and other sensors. More specifically, the sensor types include: inertial sensors (accelerometers, gyroscope, magnetometers, tilt), image sensors (infrared, thermal, multispectral, 3D), speed and distance sensors (radar, LiDAR, […]

While there are several market research reports published each year for sensors, some focus on specific markets like industrial, automotive or consumer and others address a single sensor category. Gas sensors are an interesting example. In “Global Gas Sensor Market Study Report 2019,” QY Research says the global Gas Sensor market is valued at million […]

Market research experts expect a growing adoption of wearable sensors in industrial facilities. Gloves with fabric-based sensors are one of the growing applications. While they were initially designed to improve the gaming experience and sports activities, lightweight gloves with highly sensitive and accurate sensors can increase productivity and safety in an industrial environment. For example, […]

At the device level, packaging for microelectromechanical (MEMS) sensors is often performed by an outsourced assembly and test (OSAT) company. The sensors could include accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers and microphones as well as pressure, temperature, infrared, biomedical, chemical and gas sensors. The first level of chip packaging formats includes cavity land grid array (LGA), molded cavity […]

The market report, “Industrial Sensors Market by Sensor (Level Sensor, Image Sensor, Gas Sensor, Pressure Sensor, Position Sensor, Force Sensor, Flow Sensor, Temperature; and Humidity & Moisture Sensors),” specifically addresses this topic. According to the report, the projected value of the industrial sensors market is expected to be USD 16.0 billion in 2018 and is […]

Many industrial applications for autonomous vehicles are in well-controlled environments that do not need the extensive mapping and understanding of varying traffic rules that impact autonomous road vehicles. Part 1 of this blog addressed the different levels of autonomous driving as defined by SAE for road vehicles and introduced the topic of autonomous farming. Part […]

Part 1 of this blog addressed the different levels of autonomous driving as defined by SAE for road vehicles and introduced the topic of autonomous farming. This blog will provide additional information about autonomous farming applications as well as lift trucks. All of these areas are well-controlled environments that do not need the extensive mapping […]

First of all, what is an autonomous vehicle (AV)? The SAE provides classifications that many industries use for vehicular products. For automated driving, SAE has five classifications for on-road vehicles. In SAE J3016, Level 1 through Level 5 define increasing amount of automation and Level 0 designates no automation. Level 3 through Level 5 provide […]

Many people take clean air as a given. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates (2014) that 4 million deaths globally are caused, at least in part, by air pollution. WHO also estimates (2016) that more than 90% of the world’s population lives in regions where air pollutant levels are higher than the WHO specified […]

The acquisition of successful microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor companies by larger and broader semiconductor manufacturers and even other larger sensor suppliers has occurred frequently within the past few years.  While there are numerous post-acquisition steps that need to be taken to successfully integrate the two companies, a co-development project is technical way to demonstrate the […]

At Sensors Expo 2018, Giovanni De Majo from audio and pressure sensor product marketing at ams, demonstrates how his company’s AS3415 Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) chip can help reduce the background noise for headphone users in an airport, car or airplane. Selecting between the noise situation in an airplane car or airport De Majo chooses […]

At Sensors Expo 2018, Antonio Cirone from ST Microelectronics demonstrated and discussed different approaches for predictive maintenance for motors, fans and more using accelerometers, environmental and acoustic MEMS sensors. The demo has two motors. The green motor is balanced properly and the red motor is out of balance. Spectrum analysis of the triaxial accelerometer output […]

At Sensors Expo 2018, Chet Jewan, vice-president of sales and business development from Eta Compute, explains how his company’s computing technology can benefit heart rate monitoring and energy harvesting applications. The first demo, with an Eta Compute chip running at 0.476V powered by solar energy, displays Jewan’s heart rate. A second demo has sensors being […]

The short answer is with development boards. For more details, at Sensors Expo 2018, an expert from Microchip Technology explains how his company expands the capability of microcontroller (MCU) evaluation boards with numerous MikroElektronika plug-ins using a microbus connector for a variety of applications. In addition, with the MPLAB Code Configurator, base code can be […]

At Sensors Expo, Eric Biel, an engineer from Powercast Corporation, explains how radio frequency (RF) energy can be used in energy harvesting applications. RF wireless power transmitted by the PowerSpot transmitter is received by two receiver sticks with LEDs. The TX91503 PowerSpot transmitter broadcasts an RF signal in the unlicensed 915 MHz industrial, scientific and […]