Nine-Axis MEMS Motion Sensing

At the 2012 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, David Borison of InvenSense demonstrates the capabilities of nine-axis motion sensing using the company’s newly introduced MPU-9150 nine-axis (gyro + accelerometer + compass) MEMS MotionTracking device. The multi-axis sensor incorporates MotionFusion and run-time firmware that simplifies motion sensing in end products. To further simply the design-in process, a development dongle is available.

To watch the video, click here.

For more information about InvenSense MPU-9150, click here.

Three-axis Gyroscope Offers Small Size and Low Power

At the 2012 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, Juha Lahtinen of VTI Technologies demonstrates the capabilities of the company’s newest three-axis, low power (2.5 mA) gyroscope, the CMR3100, as well as sensor fusion capabilities. VTI’s Sensor Fusion is a 9-axis 6 DOF solution for Android devices.

To watch the video, click here.

For more information about VTI Technologies’ CMR3100, click here.

Sensing in an Armband Health Monitor

Nick Wilson of BodyMedia discusses the sensing and capabilities of the company’s two health monitoring devices at the 2012 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas.

To watch the video, click here.

For more information about BodyMedia FIT Armbands, click here.

Sensors Enable Portable Healthcare Innovations

Sensors as well as communication ICs and microcontrollers provide the enabling technologies for several new innovations in healthcare. A Kalorama Information Dec. 1, 2010 report estimates that the global market for medical mobile apps hit $84.M in 2010, increasing more than 2X its 2009 level of $41M. This is just the downloadable software portion of the market enabled by wireless sensing.

In spite of the difficulties in obtaining medical approvals for hardware, some companies are making definite progress in applying these advanced technologies.

Proteus Biomedical has developed a U.S. FDA 510K cleared and European Union CE Mark-certified personal patch-based wearable sensors for continuous physiologic sensing and monitoring. Proteus’ personal monitoring technology uses multiple sensors to monitor parameters including heart rate, physical activity, and sleep patterns. The figure shows an example of the types of measurements and monitoring system the company has developed.

This is just one example of how the pace is accelerating for healthcare monitoring. Lifecomm, a mobile health and wellness venture of Hughes Telematics, Qualcomm’s Health & Life Sciences Division, and American Medical Alert are working together to launch a 3G personal emergency response service (PERS) at the end of 2011. Lifecomm’s solution will include motion sensors and automatically initiate a call for help in the event of a fall.

Track Calories Burned and More with Body Monitoring System

BodyMedia FIT Armband BW, a wearable body monitoring system, uses four sensors to track thousands of data readings and display them to show users their calories burned, steps taken, physical activity and sleep duration and efficiency. Using Bluetooth wireless technology, the results can be sent to an app on the user’s smartphone (iPhone or Android) for real-time updates.  A dashboard shows the user’s results for the day and allows tracking of food intake through a database of over 30,000 items.

For more information on the BodyMedia FIT Armband BW click here.

Motion Sensing Demoed in Visteon Concept Vehicle

The center console (dashboard) could change dramatically in future vehicles with controls located closer to driver. This frees up space for other options. Visteon demonstrates one possibility using motion sensing to Sensor Tips senior editor Randy Frank at CES 2011.

To view the video, click here.

To find out more about instrument panel technologies from Visteon, click here.

Highly Integrated MEMS-Based Motion Sensing

Motion sensing is at the heart of several new features in consumer products including cell phone, tablet PCs and games. InvenSense has been a major player in these applications but its newest product family makes motion sensing even easier to design and manufacturer. MPU-6000 product family integrates a 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer on the same silicon die together with an onboard Digital Motion Processor (DMP). The DMP can process the complex 9-axis sensor fusion algorithms required for motion sensing. Offered in a 4x4x0.9 mm QFN package, the MPU-6000’s sensor fusion algorithms utilize an external magnetometer output through its master I2C bus to provide dead reckoning functionality.

For more information on InvenSense MPU-6000 product family, click here.

Software Simplifies Motion Sensing

Motion sensing is one of the hottest sensing areas. Using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based accelerometers and gyroscopes, systems designers are adding motion sensing to smart phones and other handheld products, as well as games, movies and even medical applications. To simplify the use of its MEMS sensors, Kionix has developed a software engine called Gesture Designer. This tool allows developers to easily create, evaluate and implement motion-based gestures based on the algorithms built into the company’s KXTF9 tri-axial accelerometer. With the algorithms, users can access12 tap-enabled, application-specified functions.

For more information about the Gesture Designer, you need to talk to Kionix. (607-257-1080). Kionix Website.

For more information about Kionix KXTF9 accelerometer, click here.