Report Finds Demand for Sensors Is Rising
May 10, 2010 by admin
Filed under Industry News, Market Research
The rising demand for multifunctional personal electronics devices and intuitive applications has revved up the demand levels for sensors.
Large-scale deployment of sensors is being witnessed in mobile devices, media players, game consoles, and cameras. New opportunities are unfolding for innovative applications, including gesture recognition, motion sensing, location sensing, and fingerprint biometrics.
Gesture-based interfaces have triggered a surge in applications in the mobile gaming and personal devices sectors, and are set to change the way user interfaces are designed. These interfaces are likely to transform mass advertising solutions in the retail business.
New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (technicalinsights.frost.com), Opportunities for Sensors in Consumer Electronics, finds that the demand for complex scenarios that provide intuitive gaming experiences is on the rise, and the industry is cashing in on this market. The availability of 3D depth sensors and state-of-the-art accelerometers and gyroscopes is ensuring that the money is flowing into the industry.
If you are interested in a virtual brochure for this study, please send an email to Sarah Saatzer, Corporate Communications, at sarah.saatzer[.]frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company email address, company website, city, state and country.
Location data from all possible inputs such as cars, buses, taxis, mobile phones, cameras, and personal navigation devices that are network-connected with positioning technologies, including ground positioning system (GPS), wireless fidelity (WiFi), and cell tower triangulation, provides an ocean of information. Making sense of this data is especially becoming useful to consumers and businesses that utilize location-enabled devices for services, locating friends and family, navigating, asset- and pet-tracking, dispatching, sports, games, and hobbies.
Although the outlook for the market is upbeat, some challenges are restraining market progression. Privacy issues have emerged as a critical concern in location-based sensing. Considering the massive amount of personal information available online, the risk of susceptibility to crimes such as stolen identity is greatly amplified.
Dealing with these complexities would necessitate further research in the desired application areas. Standardization with regard to sensors would take longer as the applications are wide and varied, and the onus is on the end user to facilitate such processes. Advances in nanosensors can be used to develop portable lab-on-foil and lab-on-chip, along with developments in printing technologies. These low-cost, miniature sensors can be developed for quick chemical and threat detection in mobile, portable personal electronics.
Going forward, several technologies are poised to shape the consumer electronics space in the near future. Accelerometers and gyroscopes have conventionally been the forte of the automotive and aviation industries; however, the uptake of these sensors is likely to pick up steam in the consumer electronics space. Gyroscope manufacturers would be wise to target the high-volume cell phone market. Gyroscopes can open up new applications and interfaces with mobile phones, and if successful, a significant drop in unit cost owing to economies of scale will result.
In the long term, the convergence of various types of sensor technologies will pave the way for more comprehensive solutions that ensure optimized end-user experiences socially.
Opportunities for Sensors in Consumer Electronics, a part of the Technical Insights subscription, provides an insight into the recent advances in the field of sensors for consumer electronics along with the emerging application areas for the same. Further, this research service includes detailed technology analysis and industry trends evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.
Technical Insights is an international technology analysis business that produces a variety of technical news alerts, newsletters, and research services.
Differential Pressure Sensor for Wet Media & Low Pressure Ranges
American Sensor Technologies, Inc. (AST) has recently created the 
AST5100 Wet / Wet differential pressure sensor (also termed differential pressure transducer or transmitter) for differential pressure measurement ranges as low as 0 to 5 inches of water column (0 to 0.18 PSI) and up to 0 to 15 PSID.
AST uses a Macro Sensors LVDT (Linear Variable Differential Transformer) to measure the movement of bellows and digitally amplifies the signal with new AST electronics. The LVDT is known throughout the sensor industry as a measurement device with accurate, repeatable measurements as low as a few millionths of an inch. The AST5100 is compensated from 0 to 55°C (30 to 130°F) using the same advanced electronics as the AST20HA pressure transducer. With its advanced linearity correction and thermal compensation, the AST5100 series meets the demanding performance characteristics industrial applications require.
The AST5100 is available with 1/8″ NPT female pressure ports and two mounting holes for easy installation. With an optional 4-20mA or 0-5V output signal, the AST5100 is compatible with most PLC’s and controllers. Each product is packaged with an M12x1 Eurofast electrical connection. AST also supplies the mating cable assembly in either a four foot or ten foot length.
Built to withstand a line pressure up to 200 PSI, the AST5100 series is designed for a variety of applications including; filter monitoring, flow calculation across an orifice and level measurement. By positioning the high pressure side (or upstream side) of the AST5100 before the filter and the low pressure side (or downstream side) after the filter, the cleanliness of the filter can be measured. As the pressure decreases, the output signal will increase. Pneumatic systems for clean rooms or water filtration equipment commonly utilize this type of device. With the use of an orifice, the AST5100 series can be used to measure flow rates of liquids or gases based on the size of the orifice. Level measurement of sealed tanks can be measured by mounting the high pressure side to the bottom of the tank, with the low pressure side connected into the top of the tank. The AST5100 series can also be used as a gauge pressure sensor. By leaving the low pressure side of the differential pressure sensor open to atmosphere, the AST5100 series will measure the differential pressure between the high side and atmosphere.
