Sensors Magazine articles from February 2003

Sensors Magazine archives from February 2003

Wireless Deja Vu. (Guest Editorial).(Editorial)
February 1, 2003... My eyes and legs don't work as well as they used to, and my hair--well, where'd it go? The main factor mitigating this creeping obsolescence is my memory. And I am thankful for it because it lets me recognize trends and predict outcomes...

Lion Precision. (Agreements, Acquisition Etc.).(forms Lion Precision Inductive)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Lion Precision (St. Paul, MN, www.lionprecision.com), known for its capacitance sensors, has formed a new product group specializing in inductive displacement sensing. Lion Precision Inductive, located in Colorado Springs, CO will focus on eddy...

Lockheed Martin Corp. (Agreements, Acquisition Etc.).(gives its STAR Supplier Perfect Product award to BEI Technologies, Inc)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Lockheed Martin Corp. has given BEI Technologies, Inc. (San Francisco, CA, www.beisensors.com), manufacturer of electronic sensors, motors, actuators, and motion control products, its STAR Supplier Perfect Product award. This award recognizes...

Konarka Technologies, Inc. (Agreements, Acquisition Etc.).(wins the first National Clean Energy Venture Competition at the 15th National Renewable Energy Laboratory Industry Growth Forum)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Winner of the first National Clean Energy Venture Competition at the 15th NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory, www.nrel.gov) Industry Growth Forum, Konarka Technologies, Inc. (Lowell, MA, www.konarka.com), beat out 45 other competitors...

ELAnO. (Agreements, Acquisition Etc.).(developing software )(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... The German consortium ELAnO, composed of several manufacturing companies, software developers, and university research institutes, is aiming to improve materials usage by developing software to perform precise shape and topology optimization...

Ansys Inc. (Agreements. Acquisitions, Etc).(has been named to Forbes' 200 Best Small Companies)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Ansys Inc. (Canonsburg, PA, www.ansys.com), creator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development, has been named to Forbes' 200 Best Small Companies, a list composed of financially strong small-cap...

Frost & Sullivan. (Agreements. Acquisitions, Etc).(Kaman Instrumentation wins award)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Frost & Sullivan (San Antonio, TX, www.sensors.frost.com) has awarded Kaman Instrumentation's (Colorado Springs, CO, www.kamansensors.com) smart sensing system, k[micro]DA, its 2002 Technology Innovation Award. Frost & Sullivan selects award...

Endevco Corp. (Agreements. Acquisitions, Etc).(signs CRADA with Sandia National Laboratories)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... Endevco Corp. (San Juan Capistrano, CA, www.endevco.com), supplier of instrumentation for vibration, shock, inertial motion, and dynamic pressure measurements, has signed a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Sandia...

NIST has awarded Piezo Technologies. (Big Deals).(Piezo Technologies receives a grant from National Institute of Standards and Technology)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2003... NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) has awarded Piezo Technologies (Indianapolis, IN) a grant to develop "High Power Piezoelectric Ceramics and Novel Ultrasound Therapeutic Devices for Minimally Invasive Surgery." The grant...

MEMGen Corp. (People).(appoints Kang Sun as vice president of business development)
February 1, 2003... MEMGen Corp. (Burbank, CA, www.memgen.com), known for microdevice and microsystem fabrication, has appointed Kang Sun, Ph.D. as vice president of business development. Previously, Sun was vice president of business development and...

Filter-based analyzer detects bacterial contamination of platelets. (Research & Developments).
February 1, 2003... Bacterial contamination of platelets is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality from a transfusion-transmitted infection. The contamination rate from various strains of bacteria is estimated to be from 1 in 2000 to 1 in 3000 per platelet...

Fiber-in-Gas technology could open your door to the world. (Research & Developments).
February 1, 2003... HDTV, streaming video, telemedicine, virtual education, interactive video conferencing, optical computing--we want it all. But we don't want our road dug up again, and we sure don't need more stuff on the phone and electric poles. If your home...

Gait recognition enters biometrics field. (Research & Developments).
February 1, 2003... In the Very Short Film category, one of the best known and most controversial is the footage of Sasquatch, the Pacific Northwest's answer to Yeti. There he goes, covered with long hair and moving swiftly along at a bipedal lope. In addition to...

Gentlemen, start your engine tests. (App Snaps).(Power Test Inc. dynamometers used for engine testing use Sentra Systems Inc. pressure transducers)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2003... To ensure engine quality, performance, torque, and environmentally correct emissions, engine testers must run an engine under road conditions. Power Test, Inc. (Menomonee Falls, WI), manufactures dynamometers for the diesel industry for...

Encoders move mountains. (App Snaps).(RWE Rheinbraun AG installs optical encoders from TWK-Electronik)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2003... In the Rhineland region to the west of Cologne lies one of the largest lignite mining areas in Germany. There, huge bucket-wheel excavators--measuring nearly 800 ft. long and about 325 ft. high--rule the earth. And for nearly 30 years these...

Fast train data. (App Snaps).(SmartSignal monitoring software used in train engine sensing processes)(Brief Article)(Advertisement)
February 1, 2003... Today's locomotives are sophisticated, each with about 200 sensors and an onboard computer. The sensors monitor conditions in the diesel engine (turbo charger speeds, boost pressures, lubrication oil pressures and temperatures, engine coolant...

An overview of MEMS inertial sensing technology. (Sensor Technology and Design).
February 1, 2003... MEMS-scale accelerometers, geophones, and gyros--thanks to their small size and weight, modest power consumption and cost, and high reliability--are replacing some of their standard-size precursors as well as establishing new markets of their...

Circuit protection for automotive networks. (Putting Sensors to Work).
February 1, 2003... As electronic entertainment and information devices migrate from the home to the vehicle, automotive multimedia networks and supporting electrical and electronic systems must be protected against over current and over temperature damage....

Low-pass filtering for vibration sensors. (Sensor Technology and Design).
February 1, 2003... Vibratory signals can reveal a great deal about a machine's health, but not when extraneous noise corrupts the data. Adding the right filter to your accelerometer can clean that signal right up. Vibration and acoustic sensors are often used...

Wireless mesh networks: providing industrial-strength connectivity, this technology delivers self-configuring, scalable, and self-healing networks. And it's aimed right at distributed data acquisition and control. (Intelligent Systems).
February 1, 2003... Wireless systems for industry have mostly used cellular-phone-style radio links, using point-to-point or point-to-multipoint transmission. But research at MIT's Media Lab in Cambridge, MA, indicated that traditional wireless formats have...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2003... Figure 4(A) was incorrect in the January 2003 issue of Sensors (page 41). The corrected version is given here. [FIGURE OMITTED]

Small TEDS accelerometer. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The Model 27A11/12 from Endevco Corp., San Juan Capistrano, CA, features a built-in digital memory chip that stores information in the form of a transduccr electronic data sheet (TEDS). Designed for measuring vibration on miniature structures...

Picoammeter/voltage source. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The 5 1/2-digit Model 6487 from Keithley Instruments, Inc., Cleveland, OH, applies a voltage stimulus as high as 500 V, measures currents as low as 20 fA, and accepts overloads up to 505 VDC. It also provides direct readout of resistance...

Liquid process monitor. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... Suited for process control, filter breakthrough, and color measurement, the Messenger liquid monitoring system from Monitek, a Metrisa Co., Bedford, MA, features a compact, Windows-compatible, wall-mount transmitter and up to 4 inline sensors....

Smart Sensor Development tools. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... National Instruments, Austin, TX, offers its TEDS library for LabVIEW and its Plug & Play Sensors Development Kit for enabling integration of IEEE P1451.4 smart transducer electronic data sheet (TEDS) analog sensors into computer-based DA...

Network-enabling Module. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The SB72IO Module from NetBurner, Inc., San Diego, CA, lets you add network control and monitoring of communication assets to your products; it features a Web-based control interface; can send and receive e-mail; and has a full 32-bit...

PLC software. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... PLC Pilot application software from Pacific Microinstruments, Inc., Pasadena, CA, enables monitoring and control of PLCs from Palm-powered mobile devices; it is also available as an OEM software component. The device is compatible with...

Embedded Linux camera. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... Based on the ELINOS embedded version of Linux, the miniHiPerCam from American ELTEC, Inc., Las Vegas, NV, is no larger than a small surveillance camera and is available with a color or black-and-white CMOS image sensor. Both sensors operate at...

On-site Sensors. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The Sensor Box from Applied Sensor Technologies, a div. of United Electric Controls, Watertown, MA, is a modular system of sensor elements, accessory parts, and tools to let you build replacement temperature sensor assemblies on site in...

1-axis accelerometer. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The hermetically sealed AS8310 Series with capacitive readout from Austriamicrosystems USA Inc., Raleigh, NC, senses single-axis acceleration with very low transverse sensitivity in automotive, consumer, healthcare and industrial applications....

3D laser measurement. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The Ranger M50 from IVP Integrated Vision Products, Linkoping, Sweden, and IVP Inc., Woodinville, WA, measures 3D shapes at rates up to 10,000 profiles/s. Combining a linear laser and a camera, the system calculates the third dimension using...

Single-gas detector. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The battery powered [Pulsar.sup.+] from MSA Instrument Div., Pittsburgh, PA, detects CO, [H.sub.2]S, or [O.sub.2] and has a large display and replaceable battery and sensor. It is suited for confined space monitoring as well as for use in the...

Water-quality sensor. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The Six-CENSE inline sensor from Dascore Inc., Jacksonville, FL, uses thick and thin film electrochemical layers printed on a ceramic substrate to measure up to 6 parameters (free chlorine, monochloroamine or DO, pH, conductivity, ORP/redox,...

Distributed control. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... Matrix Total Control from Standard Automation, Houston, TX, combines software and hardware to create a distributed process automation system for regulatory, sequential, and batch control applications. Its centralized project development...

DO Monitor. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... With [+ or -]0.1 mg/l accuracy, the OTD-Diver optical sensor from Van Essen Instruments, a Sehiumberger Co., Delft, The Netherlands, continuously monitors the dissolved oxygen concentrations in groundwater or surface water. The sensor's coating...

Wireless transceivers. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... AMI Semiconductor (AMIS), Pocatello, ID, adds the ASTRX2 single-chip 433.92 MHz narrow-band RF link to its low-power CMOS system-on-chip transceivers; the transceiver wakes up on a programmable RSSI amplitude to conserve power. Suited for...

RH sensors. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... HIS-06 Series miniature humidity sensors from HDK America, Inc., Barrington, IL, use a precision resistive element to sense humidity over a 20%-90% RH range (l0%-90% RH is optional) in the surrounding air. Housed in a 7 by 4 by 10.5 mm...

Photoelectric level sensor. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... To monitor multiple liquid levels in baths, tanks, and drums, the TK-010N2 from Celerity Croup, Inc., Milpitas, CA, mounts outside the flow path on any transparent or semitransparent tubing measuring up to 1 in. dia. The 1.1 by 1.97 by 1.0 in....

Motion sensor interface IC. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The LS6511 from LSI Computer Systems, Inc. (LSI/CSI), Melville, NY, is a low-current, mixed-signal CMOS silicon gate IC that interfaces with a PIR sensor to produce a cost-effective intrusion detection module for security systems. The LS6511...

DA card with DSP. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The DT9841 Fulcrum II Series DA card from Data Translation, Inc., Marlborough, MA, combines a Texas Instruments floating point TMS3206711 DSP, two 24-bit A/D and D/A converters, digital I/O, clock timer, and trigger to process real-time...

Embedded vision PC. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... A compact embedded vision system based on standard PC technology, the LVmPC from Leutrek Vision Inc., Burlington, MA, works with digital, analog, color, monochrome, USB, USB 2, Firewire, and CameraLink cameras by using the standard interfaces...

Compact accelerometers. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... Rieker Electronics Inc., Folcroft, PA, introduces the B Series static accelerometers for 0-550 Hz measurements and BD and BDK Series dynamic accelerometers for 1 Hz to 1.5 kHz measurements. The small capacitive spring mass-based units have...

High slew rate op amps. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The ALD2724E/ALD2724 dual-precision CMOS op amps from Advanced Linear Devices, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA, feature 5 V/ps slew rate and 2.1 MHz bandwidth. 'The ALD2724E has a guaranteed input offset programming range of [+ or -]5 mV and permits user...

Integrated MEMS gyroscope. (Product News).
February 1, 2003... The iMEMS ADXRS g0yroscope from Analog Devices, Inc., Norwood, MA, integrates both an angular rate sensor and signal processing electronics onto a single piece of silicon. Mounted inside a 7 by 7 by 3 mm BOA package, the gyro operates over a...

Scirus. (Web Picks).
February 1, 2003... Another entry in the specialist search engine category, Scirus is a science-specific search engine launched by Elsevier Science that lets you search science-related Web sites as well as various journal sources. Results are ranked in order of...

The Computer Vision Homepage. (Web Picks).
February 1, 2003... Established at Carnegie Mellon University in 1994, the Computer Vision Homepage collects links to Web sites relating to computer vision research. The site is split up into various sub-pages for vision research groups, hardware (both research...

South Park character using the South Park Studio. (Web Picks).
February 1, 2003... For some (very) light relief, you can create your own South Park character using the South Park Studio. It uses flash, so the usual caveats apply. The instructions are in German (oddly, the button labels are in English), but it's pretty...

Which type of design software do you use most? (Quick Poll).(Illustration)
February 1, 2003... www.sensorsmag.com Quick Poll www.sensorsmag.com Which type of design software do you use most? Quick Poll appears on the Sensors Online site and is updated every two weeks. At left you can see how Sensors Online visitors...