Sensors Magazine articles from July 2004

Sensors Magazine archives from July 2004

Positive rewards.(Editorial)(Editorial)
July 1, 2004... Awards are fun to give, fun to receive, a source of helpful information, and, at best, inspiring. With the Best of Sensors Expo awards at Sensors Expo & Conference, Sensors' editors honor new products on display that we think will have the...

Sensors for security.(Business Sense)
July 1, 2004... The Los Angeles Times has reported that the U.S. government will spend at least $7 billion this year alone for high-tech efforts to shore up defenses against terrorist attack using biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons. The Department of...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
July 1, 2004... Securing the Wild Wireless World: Solutions for the WLAN Security Crisis--Webinar July 13, 1 p.m. EDT www.wina.org Measurement Control Seminar August 10-11, Toronto, Canada August 17-18, Detroit, MI August 19-20,...

Wireless grows and cars are nodes!(Business Sense)
July 1, 2004... Ford Motor Co. (www.ford.com) and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (www.dot.state.mn.us) are turning cars into wireless network nodes. The two entities have partnered to construct an intelligent transportation system wherein cars will...

The importance of being sensored.(Business Sense)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Every two years, the National Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (NEMI, Herndon, VA, www.nemi.org) maps the future manufacturing needs of the global electronics industry. Why? To produce the NEMI Roadmap--which identifies key technology and...

Teeny batteries serve medical implants.(Research & Developments)
July 1, 2004... A new ultraminiature battery is powering tiny, implantable devices that could help millions who suffer from a variety of neurological disorders, such as urinary urge incontinence or stroke. These devices, called bionic neurons, or Bions, can be...

What's your engine really putting into the air?(Research & Developments)
July 1, 2004... Using a unique laser-based, soot-heating technique, a team led by researchers at Sandia National Laboratories' Combustion Research Facility has demonstrated the ability to measure "real-world" particulate emissions from a vehicle under actual...

Microwave displacement sensor monitors the hot, dirty, big machines.(Research & Developments)
July 1, 2004... Taking down a huge piece of rotating machinery for periodic maintenance and repair can run to $500,000 in parts and labor. But there's strong incentive to do it. If, say, a gas turbine in an electric generating plant goes down on its own, the...

III-V materials get married to silicon.(Research & Developments)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Engineers at Ohio State University and MIT have collaborated on making virtually defect-free hybrid materials that could greatly advance LEDs, photoelectric cells, and computer chips. Their work focused on III-V thin-film semiconductors made...

Short takes.(Research & Developments)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A few recent reports have encouraged us to think the Hubble might be saved after all. NASA's Sean O'Keefe has issued a call for proposals (the deadline is July 16) to send a robotic mission to the telescope with the intention of bringing it out...

Two (no, three!) in one.(AppSnaps)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Mitsubishi Electric has added a tiny MEMS thermal accelerometer to its newest cell phone, the V401D (developed for Vodafone Japan), to provide a range of convenience and functionality features. Here's one that's astonishingly useful: The...

The aerial advantage.(AppSnaps)
July 1, 2004... The farther you can get from the subject of an IR survey while maintaining the needed spatial resolution and thermal sensitivity, the more useful the data. This, says Gregory Stockton, is the aerial advantage. Stockton is president of...

A nose for air quality.(AppSnaps)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... PureChoice, Inc., which won the inaugural American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Innovation Award for indoor air quality (IAQ) technology, has a nose for HVAC applications. To wit: the company offers...

Securing wireless networks: As more companies go wireless with industrial sensor or commercial WiFi-based networks, data security is increasingly important. Here's a symmetric, private-key-based encryption and authentication technique for wireless security.(Intelligent Systems)(Open System Interconnection )
July 1, 2004... Public and private key encryption and authentication techniques are both used in real-world systems. For wireless security, symmetric-key encryption is a fundamental building block in both IEEE 802.11i and IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee), which together...

Improving ultrasonic transit time calculations: smart sonic engineers are emulating bat echolocation to better determine transit time and improve noise rejection.(Sensor Technology and Design)
July 1, 2004... For ultrasonic ranging instruments, tank level gauges, flowmeters, and other sonic and ultrasonic devices to give accurate readings, the transit time of each ultrasonic pulse launched at or through the medium of interest must be precisely...

Piezoelectric fiber composites for ultrasound transduction: piezoelectric fiber composites exhibit superior properties for ultrasound transduction in nondestructive testing, sonar, and biomedical applications.(Sensor Technology and Design)
July 1, 2004... The growing migration from monolithic ceramics to piezoelectric fiber composites in the ultrasound industry is a noteworthy trend. Advanced piezoelectric fiber composites (see Figure 1, page 28) incorporate fiber elements embedded in epoxy in a...

The Sensor Fish--making dams more salmon-friendly: an instrumented package traveling with real fish through hydroelectric dams collects data on the often hazardous conditions that migrating salmon smolt encounter.(Sensor Technology and Design)
July 1, 2004... Young endangered salmon on their migration from upriver spawning grounds on the Snake and Columbia rivers may pass through up to 12 federal hydroelectric dams as they journey to the Pacific Ocean. A better understanding of what the fish...

Improving indoor weather with carbon dioxide sensors: modern HVAC systems do far more than just blow warm or cool air around.(Putting Sensors to Work)
July 1, 2004... The idea of using carbon dioxide (C[O.sub.2]) measurements to regulate demand-control ventilation systems has been batted around for years--some would say it's been more analyzed than actually exploited. Yet the principle is straightforward:...

Gap sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AEC-America, Columbus, IN, offers the PU-015, PU-02A, and PU-03A miniature gap sensors, which fit into small, narrow spaces and can be used to measure displacement, rotation, and return. The PU-015 has a 1.5 mm probe diameter, 0~300 [micro]m...

Early condensation detector.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The EE45 from E+E Elektronik GmbH, Engerwitzdorf, Austria, provides early detection of condensation on ducts and plain surfaces where temperatures are close to dew point, such as cooled ceilings and surfaces in HVAC and industrial applications....

Networking gateways.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... HMS Industrial Networks Inc., Chicago, IL, offers the AnyBus-X Gateway family of more than 120 products designed to connect most combinations of two industrial networks. The family supports 15 Fieldbus networks, such as Profibus, DeviceNet,...

Closed-loop current sensors.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The CSNX Series magnetoresistive current sensor from Honeywell Sensing and Control, Freeport, IL, combines an ASIC and a magnetoresistive magnetic sensor and features offset drift of 3.2 ppm/[degrees]C from -40[degrees]C to 85[degrees]C....

Predictive maintenance monitor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The efector Octavis vibration monitor from IFM Efector Inc., Exton, PA, mounts permanently on plant equipment and continuously monitors a machine's operating condition through vibration analysis, detecting rolling element bearing failures and...

Industrial Tactile Sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Pressure Profile Systems (PPS), Inc., Los Angeles, CA, offers the user-configurable Industrial Tactile Sensor (ITS) that lets you quantify high-pressure measurements in industrial and elevated-temperature environments. Depending on your...

High-sensitivity GPS receiver.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The 25000Q from QinetiQ, Farnborough, U.K., is a software-configurable GPS baseband acceleration engine which, when combined with a suitable low-noise RF front end, forms a complete GPS receiver. The module's -185 dBW sensitivity enables...

Process emulation software.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... MEMulator software from Coventor Inc., Cary, NC, offers 3D modeling options for semiconductor and MEMS processes and can automatically create complicated virtual prototype models from mask and process description inputs, for single die to whole...

Engine diagnostic sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The FirstLook Model ADS ES 100 from SenX Technology LLC, Midland, MI, lets a mechanic display a complete picture of core automotive engine performance without major engine disassembly. Typically, the sensor is placed in the exhaust pipe or...

Loop-powered level sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Scientific Technologies, Inc. (STI), Automation Products Group, Logan, UT, offers the LPU-2127 ultrasonic sensor designed for tank/bin continuous level measurement and environmental monitoring. The sensor is unaffected by target...

Displacement transducer.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Placed in crash test dummies to measure chest deflections caused by side and frontal impacts, the IRTRACC (IR telescoping rod for assessment of chest compression) from Denton ATD, Inc., Milan, OH, uses a set of telescoping sections extending...

Power, output accessory.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Python Power from Hyde Park Electronics LLC, a Schneider Electric Co., lets you install a DC sensor in locations where only AC power is available. It consists of a universal inline AC/DC power supply and TRIAC output switch. The TRIAC output...

Level transmitters.(Product News)(Sensor Technik Sirnach )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Sensor Technik Sirnach (STS) AG, Sirnach, Switzerland, offers pressure transmitters to measure level in water storage facilities; sewage treatment plants; desalination plants; and ship-building, chemical, and petrochemical industries. Pressure...

Electronic inclinometer.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Spectrotilt RS232 from Spectron Glass and Electronics, Hauppauge, NY, combines a single-axis electrolytic tilt sensor with digital electronics and software. Onboard linearity and temperature correction enable an absolute accuracy of [+ or...

Luminescence sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The STEALTH-UV from Tri-Tronies Co., Inc., Tampa, FL, senses the presence of invisible fluorescent materials, allowing you to detect clear tamper-proof seals, clear labels, and invisible registration marks; verify the presence of adhesives; and...

Hall effect position sensor.(Product News)(Wolf Controls Corp.)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Wolf Controls Corp., Winter Haven, FL, offers the ASM Series Hall effect position sensor that is 2.2 mm in dia. and 3.5 mm long and is designed to operate in the automotive underhood environment. It resists temperature extremes, chemicals,...

TV-format IR detector.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Scorpio from Sofradir, Chatenay Malabry, France, is a 640 X 512 (TV format), 15 [micro]m pitch IR detector that uses mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) material and operates in the 3-5 [micro]m band. The mid-wave IR focal plane assembly (MW...

Analog output option.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A 4-20 mA output option is now available for the MSI-9000 CellScale from Measurement Systems Intl. (MSI), Seattle, WA. The option provides a programmable current output for direct and/or wireless remote connection to PLCs and DA equipment,...

Low-cost DA modules.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... DI-158 Series DA modules from DATAQ Instruments, Inc., Akron, OH, feature 4 fixed-differential 12-bit analog inputs, built-in channel gain scan list, 2 D/A outputs, 4 digital I/O, and USB or Ethernet interface. The DI-158-U provides selectable...

Thermal scanning cameras.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... FlexCam Series rugged, lightweight, ergonomic cameras from Infrared Solutions, Inc., Minneapolis, MN, use uncooled microbolometer detectors and let you perform thermal scans for predictive maintenance, condition monitoring, NDT, roof...

Light-to-frequency converter.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The TSL237 from Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions (TAOS), Inc., Plano, TX, can sense light levels down to 0.00002 lux and features low dark-signal circuitry for a typical dark frequency of 0.1 Hz, eliminating the need for dark offset...

Noncontact voltage detector.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Lascar Electronics Inc., Erie, PA, offers the AC Voltage Stick, which lets you sense a live AC source from 90-240 VAC. The pen-shaped detector has a visible red LED and buzzer alarm to let you know when an AC voltage is present. The detector is...

HART multiplexer.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The MUX2700G from Pepperl+Fuchs Inc., Twinsburg, OH, provides 32 channels to connect smart transmitters or control devices while supporting HART standard digital communication. The channels function at RS-485 communication speed, with standard...

Test data management software.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Arendar 2.2 from VI Technology, Inc., Austin, TX, is designed to help test engineers manage test application data in the lab and factory, and across the enterprise. The latest version features expanded database and OS support for legacy systems...

Digital pyrometers.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Mikron Infrared, Oakland, NJ. offers the Series 140 pyrometers that replace the Series 120; the MI-S140, MI-GA140, and MI-P140 offer temperature ranges from 50[degrees]C-3500[degrees]C, response times to 500 [micro]s, and spot sizes to 0.25 mm....

Programmable filter IC.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The MSRAHF from Mixed Signal Integration, San Jose, CA, is a resistor-programmable, continuous, active, high-frequency filter IC that can be configured for either a low-pass, band-pass, high-pass, all-pass, or notch filter. You can implement...

High-temperature RTD elements.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... DWM & Associates, Inc., North Brunswick, NJ, U.S. and Canadian distributor for Heraeus Sensor Technology (originally Heraeus Sensor-Nite), Germany, offers the HA Series of Pt RTD elements designed for the automotive industry and demonstrating...

DOS controller.(Product News)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The picoFlash from JK microsystems, Davis, CA, is a programmable, compact 186-compatible SBC with Ethernet, equipped for DA, industrial control, and communications applications. Standard units feature a 40 MHz RDC R8822 microprocessor,...

Piezoelectric material.(Readers' Choice)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Morgan Electro Ceramics (MEC), Bedford, OH, offers PZT-508-HD piezoelectric material for demanding sensor and transducer components. The material is designed to achieve low porosity and a uniform microstructure for use in industrial automation...

New-S17BNCSYS.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Simple Intensity[TM] ICP[TM][.sup.(PCB)] powered Acoustic Intensity Survey probe. Utilizing two 7052SYS Type 1.5[TM] Titanium diaphragm microphone systems, the S17BNC probe is fully adjustable from 12.5 mm to 100 mm, permitting optimum...

DASYLab V8.0--no programming required.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The latest release of this easy-to-use software package for Windows-based data acquisition continues to provide powerful data acquisition, analysis and control features without programming. DASYLab Lite, Basic, Full and Pro editions include...

Delta F oxygen analyzers.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Six pages describe Delta F Corp. and the manufacturing of trace and percent oxygen analyzers with ranges from 0-25% to 0-1 ppm, available with up to 75 parts per trillion (PPT) sensitivity. Also described are advancements in nondepleting sensor...

Force & pressure measuring systems.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Cooper Instruments & Systems provides a range of measurement products: load cells, pressure transducers, LDVT's, torque transducers/gages, electronic/mechanical force gages, crane scales, and test stands. We also provide a full range of...

New isolated analog signal conditioning catalog.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... New 230 page catalog of high quality isolated analog and digital I/O modules to protect and condition critical industrial data acquisition and control signals from RTDs, Thermocouples, and other sensor devices. Includes Instrument Class[R] DIN...

Fluid sensor with relay contact.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... George Risk Industries, Inc. manufactures a full range of fluid sensors that will detect any conductive non-flammable liquid. All models have relay contacts for output control of an external device and are triggered by a moisture bridge across...

Honeywell Magnetic Sensors.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... New catalog features Honeywell's family of Magnetometers and Magnetic Sensors. Sensitive and reliable, these magnetoresistive sensors provide cost-effective solutions in many applications: navigation systems, compassing, current sensing,...

Jewell inclinometers/accelerometers for tilt applications.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Jewell DC-Operated Gravity-Referenced Tilt Sensors are solving more tilt/acceleration problems than ever. Jewell applies engineering know-how and develops innovative new products to provide customized solutions. Fully self-contained reliable,...

Reduce costs with FREE measurement and control designer CD.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Up to 64 percent of your test and measurement application costs are spent on configuration and development time. In addition to hundreds of development resources, this FREE CD helps you select the best software and hardware for your system...

Honeywell pressure transducers and barometers.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... New catalog details Honeywell's complete family of precision pressure products. Featuring high accuracy and stability, these products offer application solutions for: avionics, flight testing, meteorology, engine test cells, flow and pressure...

TMS 9000--non-contact programmable measurement system.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The TMS 9000 Series is a rotary transformer sensor with three integral components. Computer controlled, the TMS 9000 has three micro-sensors integrated in the system. The software controls operations--no dip switches or potentiometers. The TMS...

Introducing new Data Loggers for temperature and humidity.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Colorful brochure features NEW 175/177 Digital Data Loggers for both ambient and process monitoring situations where temperature and/or humidity documentation-verification is required. Large, easy-to-read display shows values with the push of a...

Non-contact rotary torque sensor.(Literature Showcase)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Based on a revolutionary new technology using SAW (Surface Acoustic Wave) strain sensing elements, TorqSense offers a superior solution to non-contact rotary torque or viscosity measurement in industrial applications. Optional RPM Pickoff...

Mel's picks.
July 1, 2004... Do you want to learn more about how photoelectric sensors work and how to use them effectively? Thanks to Banner Engineering and its Web site, you can do this at your desk, at your own pace. The company has a series of online training modules...