Functional safety has become a requirement in many applications with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) defining safety integrity levels (SILs) from 1 up to 4 based on the IEC 61508, with SIL 1 being the least dependable and SIL 4 being the most dependable. With safety in mind, HEIDENHAIN Corporation RCN Series of absolute angle encoders […]
Position
User-Control for Accelerometer Power and Noise
Battery-powered applications of accelerometers require the lowest power consumption for increased battery life. However, getting the lowest noise is also important to obtain desired performance. For standard accelerometer products, manufacturers always have these values set at predetermined levels. Kionix Inc. now provides flexibility for users of its latest accelerometers, including the KX022 (2x2mm) and KX023 […]
Sensing Shaft Position in Environments that Require Sealed Packaging
Food processing, as well as many industrial machinery applications, requires sensors with packages sealed to meet the international IP69K standard and avoid problems with liquids, dust and dirt. Novotechnik U.S. RFD4000 Series of 7 mm flat angle sensors target these specific uses. The sensor employs a Hall effect sensing technique with a microprocessor to detect […]
TURCK QR24 Rotary Position Sensor Provides Contactless Position Detection
TURCK introduces the new QR24 rotary position sensor. Designed from the company’s rotary inductive sensor technology, the QR24 provides contactless position detection and wear-free performance in a variety of industrial applications ranging from solar energy plants and harvesters to crane vehicles and AGVs. Rotary feedback is critical in nearly every installation, and most rely on […]
Miniature Altimeter with 10 mBar to 2000 mBar Pressure Range
Measurement Specialties (NASDAQ: MEAS) has released the low-power MS5806, a compact digital barometric pressure sensor module that operates over an extended pressure range of 10 mBar to 2000 mBar. The new sensor’s altitude resolution of up to 20 cm makes it ideal for use in altimeters and variometers. Measuring only 6.4 mm x 4.0 mm […]
Sensors + Sensor Fusion + Hub = Low-power Solution
Rather than connect sensors directly to an application (app) processor, a sensor hub provides a means to offload processing from the app processor to improve data processing and reduce power consumption. For its KMX61G Micro-Amp Magnetic Gyro, Kionix partnered with microcontroller supplier Atmel. Kionix’ KMX61G sensor fusion software runs on Atmel’s 32-bit AVR UC3 and […]
Robotics Webinar: The Challenges of Robotic Design
Certainly one of the challenges of robotic design is the choice and number of sensors. For example, ClearPath Robotics’ TurtleBot 2, a lab robot platform, has a 3D vision sensor, bumper sensors, a factory-calibrated gyro, encoders for position and velocity feedback and the Microsoft Kinect sensor as well as user connectors to power more sensors. […]
Small Size Sensors Increase Application Opportunities
Many companies are addressing the need for smaller sensors. Check out: It’s a Small World: Sensing in Tight Spaces. However, Balluff has a particularly strong effort in this area with miniature sensors that use inductive, photoelectric, magnetic, capacitive and ultrasonic operating principles. In addition to increased design freedom from limited space constraints, the sensors do […]
Hermetically Sealed Vs. Vented LVDT Linear Position Sensors
The LVDT Linear Position Sensor is a robust sensing device applicable for use in a range of position measurement applications. Constructed of stainless and with no moving parts, LVDTs are often the best linear feedback technology in terms of reliability and longevity. When applications require position sensors to operate in extreme environments with high temperatures […]
Performance Increased for 3-axis MEMS Accelerometer
In addition to a large full-scale range of up to ±18g combined with high bandwidth, STMicroelectronics’ newest 3-axis MEMS accelerometer boasts low noise, and high mechanical and thermal stability. Combining high data rate with low-noise operation, the LIS344AHH enables monitoring of small-amplitude displacements. The full-scale, user-selectable range up to ±6g or ±18g provides improved performance […]