With the market for wearable devices projected to reach more than 100 million units annually by 2016 according to ABI Research, many companies are pursuing new products to take advantage of consumer interest. Collaboration of three companies, Maxim Integrated, Clearbridge VitalSigns, and Orbital Research, has produced the Fit shirt for preventive medical care that could reduce […]
Position
Sensor Provides 4 Nanometer Resolution for Manufacturing Measurements
With its redesigned contact-free IPRM 12 inductive sensor, Baumer now offers measurement resolution of 4 nm. In addition to high resolution, the IPRM 12 has a measuring speed of 1 mm/s. The contact-free sensor provides an alternative to complex measuring systems and will not leave scratches or pressure points on delicate finished products. Housed in […]
Wireless Sensing Applied to Rollercoaster Testing
Measuring the inertial force on a person when riding a roller coaster is an interesting challenge, especially when the coaster has a downhill drop of more than 45m and eight inversions. That is exactly what the Dragon Khan of PortAventura in Europe offers riders. To measure the inertial force on this and the Shambhala, a […]
MEMS IMU Offers 10 DoF
Inertial measurement units (IMUs) with 10-degree-of-freedom (DoF) measurements provide greater accuracy for orientation sensing in platform stabilization, navigation and instrumentation applications. However, in addition to a tri-axis gyroscope, tri-axis accelerometer, tri-axis magnetometer and a pressure sensor, the sensor must also have a sensor fusion algorithm to combine the readings from each device. With its ADIS16480, […]
Magnetic Encoder Adds Option to Positioning Measurements
Designers who use Hall-effect sensors or optical encoders should check out the full capabilities of the Measurement Specialties, Inc. KMA36 universal magnetic encoder. Using anisotropic magneto resistive (AMR) technology to measure the magnetic field angle of an external magnet, the contactless sensor operates over a rotation of 360° as well as incremental positions along a […]
Gyro Enables the First Motion-Activated Screwdriver
Black & Decker’s GYRO 4V MAX Lithium-ion Rechargeable Screwdriver is the first of its kind product to use gyroscope technology. The gyro provides as a motion-enabled interface so users only have to rotate their wrist one quarter turn to the right for forward or left for reverse to automatically tighten or loosen screws. To get […]
Easily Interface Position Transducers to Control Systems
By adding a Synchronous Serial Interface (SSI) to its Micropulse Generation 7 linear position transducer line, Balluff simplifies interfacing to popular control systems. Manufacturers that use the SSI include Allen-Bradley, Delta Computer, Siemens, Bosch Rexroth, and others. The SSI-output products have features including: Stroke lengths from 25 mm to 7620 mm Pressure rated to 600 bar; […]
Photoelectric Sensor Solution Integrates Radio and Battery
With a radio and battery included, Banner Engineering’s SureCross Q45 wireless photoelectric sensor provides a first of its kind turnkey solution for position measurements. Developed specifically for industrial automation, the sensor can operate up to five years on two replaceable AA Lithium batteries thanks to its proprietary power management. With a communication range of up […]
Use 12-bit Resolution Sensor in Either Linear or Rotary Position Sensing Systems
Melexis uses its proprietary Triaxis technology in the MLX90365 position sensor to measure the properties of a magnetic field in all three dimensions. The sensors are offered in SOIC and TSSOP surface mount packages and use passive protection components mounted on the PCB. Consequently, 12-bit resolution devices can be used in either linear or rotary […]
Detect All Metals at Same Distance Without Adjustments
Pepperl+Fuchs NRB/NRN series inductive proximity sensors detect all metals at the same operating distance. Adjusting an air-core coil system ensures that target detection is independent of the metal characteristics. This provides large operating distances and makes the sensors insensitive to interference from frequency converters or strong magnetic fields created in welding operations. The sensors are […]