Until the invention of X-ray technology, doctors had no way of determining what was happening inside a patient without the use of surgical tools. X-ray still is one of the first steps toward identifying many body ailments. However, determining if a blockage, restriction, stone, hemorrhage, cancer or other abnormality is present also involves many other […]
Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)
How do sensors make a smart crane safer?
Watching a crane operator elevate and transport a heavy load over a significant distance to a precise location with an articulated crane is always a fascinating and thought-provoking activity. With today’s concerns about job safety, how is safety handled in this process? Safety begins with the skill of the crane operator but today’s sensors and […]
How do you make an RF energy harvester even better?
For Powercast, whose Powerharvester receiver (PCC110) has been deployed in industrial and commercial systems for seven years, today’s answer is reduce the footprint and volume. The company’s new PCC114 receiver chip’s footprint (1 x 0.6 x 0.3 mm) is seven times smaller than the PCC110 (2 x 2.1 x 0.9 mm) and has 20 times […]
What is the future of engineering education?
Whether you have interest for a family member or friend that you would like to pursue engineering as a career choice or are just concerned about how future engineering students will be educated, the answer(s) to this question are extremely relevant. Of course, you could do a web search to see what has already been […]
What do you get when you combine 3D scanning and computed tomography (CT)?
If you are in the field of analyzing ancient Egyptian mummies, something really cool and informative. In the Sherit mummy project, researchers benefited from adding the results from a 3D scanner to a CT scan. Sherit is a mummified Egyptian child who died 2,000 years ago. Even though the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum in San Jose, […]
What is the current status of energy harvesting for wireless sensing systems?
Energy harvesting (EH) has been an exciting potential source to power wireless sensing nodes for well over a decade. As in many new technology areas, the hype frequently exceeds the capability of the technology, especially within the short term. While some projections have changed within the last few years, EH still has great potential for […]
How can sensing help a railroad company manage thousands of miles of track?
Part of the Union Pacific Railroad’s answer is in a Precision Measurement Vehicle (PMV). To develop and improve the company’s infrastructure, the PMV is used to provide accurate locations and detailed descriptions of all facilities that can be seen and measured from the track. Global Positioning System (GPS) data from the PMV provides the location […]
Fly inside a building with the help of vibration sensors
Due to gravity, when skydivers jump out of an airplane, they immediately fall toward the earth, falling several thousand feet in less than a minute before opening their parachutes. For indoor skydiving, where you float less than 100 feet above ground level, there is no parachute and a rather sophisticated process is involved that uses […]
What advanced sensing techniques are used to find lost treasures? Part 5: LiDAR
This series has previously addressed magnetometry, electromagnetic induction , ground penetrating radar and resistivity measurements. LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is another sensing technique frequently used by archeologists and treasure hunters to find objects. While it can be used alone, it is often combined with electromagnetic induction, magnetometry and/or electrical resistivity measurements. LiDAR data analysis […]
What advanced sensing techniques are used to find lost treasures? Part 4: Resistivity measurements
This series has previously addressed magnetometry, electromagnetic induction and ground penetrating radar. Another sensing technique frequently used by archeologists and treasure hunters to find objects involves resistivity measurements. Unlike other sensing techniques, resistance measurements involve inserting metal probes into the ground rather than non-invasive surface measurements. Since electrical currents are conducted through the soil by […]
