Sensors Magazine articles from May 2005

Sensors Magazine archives from May 2005

Antidote to communications chaos.(EDITORIAL)
May 1, 2005... According to Robert L. Mayberry, vice president of Sensor and Actuator Solutions at IBM, we're in danger of creating "a digital Tower of Babel" with an increasing number of sensors needing to communicate their data. This was the gist of my...

Noteworthy in MEMS and nano.(Business Sense)(MicroElectroMechanical Systems )
May 1, 2005... Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISSYS, www.memsissys.com), has won a Small Business Innovation Research contract from the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive Armaments Command. The six-month project, titled "Microlubricity Test System for Fuel...

Calendar.(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... MEMS Packaging Trends: From Prototype to Production May 18, Santa Clara, CA www.meptec.org Sensors Expo & Conference co-located with SUPERCOMM June 6-9, Chicago, IL www.sensorsexpo.com Leaderships Skills for...

Wireless by land--and by sea.(Business Sense)(SmartPilot S1000)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Raymarine (www.raymarine.com), developer and manufacturer of electronic equipment for the recreational boating and light commercial marine markets, debuted at the 2005 Miami International Boat Show the industry's first wirelessly controlled...

To your health.(Business Sense)(PillCam)
May 1, 2005... Given Imaging (www.givenimaging.com) has introduced a new PillCam, the swallowable diagnostic device that takes photos as it passes through a patient's system; the device has received FDA approval and is available immediately. New CMOS sensors...

Modbus-IDA/CiA mapping spec standardized.(Business Sense)(licencing agreements of Modbus-IDA)(licencing agreements of CAN in Automation)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Modbus-IDA (www.modbus-ida.org) and CAN in Automation e.V. (CiA, www.can-cia.org) have made a licensing agreement, resulting in a specification that provides standardized mapping of CANopen data for transport on Modbus TCP networks. In the...

Mind over matter--for real.(Research & Developments)(BrainGate neural interface system )
May 1, 2005... Even devotees of classical science fiction, with its blue-sky descriptions of marvels to come, must be awed by current research into devices that will allow quadriplegics to manipulate objects with signals from their brains. One of these,...

Capnography set to take to the field.(Research & Developments)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... First responders to a medical emergency immediately check the patient's airways to see if there's any action. Of additional interest would be a determination of the level of exhaled C[O.sub.2], a reliable indicator of pulmonary function....

F-0 weighing should please haulers.(Research & Developments)
May 1, 2005... After a few false starts, weigh-in-motion technology is on the move again--to the certain delight of long-distance haulers who don't like idling in line at conventional weigh stations. I* Sense is a multisensor system based on fiber-optic...

Short takes.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Too young to remember the 1970 voyage of Apollo 13? Then you must have seen--or you sure should get around to it--the 1995 white-knuckle movie about this dance with disaster. When an explosion caused a C[O.sub.2] scubber to fail on that...

Weather watching in the wilds of Chad.(AppSnaps)(product information of All Weather, Inc)(automated weather observation system)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Pumping crude oil tends to take place in some pretty inhospitable locales. Esso Exploration and Production Chad Inc. (operator of a consortium that also includes Petronas Carigali [Chad EP] Inc. and Chevron Petroleum Chad Co. Ltd.) uses a...

Zippy 3D measurements.(ActiCM)(AdventCR)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... One of the challenges faced by automakers is the need to measure and inspect car bodies when they come off the production line to make sure they've been assembled correctly and fall within specifications. Typically, using a conventional...

Creating a smart iron.(LauraStar)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Did you know that there are entire realms of high-tech ironing equipment out there? There are, and the Swiss company LauraStar manufactures them. Recently, the company teamed up with Cambridge Consultants, a Boston, MA-based design and...

The principles of acceleration, shock, and vibration sensors: whenever a structure moves, it experiences acceleration. Measuring this acceleration promotes an understanding of the dynamic characteristics that govern the object's behavior. The data can be used to modify response, enhance ruggedness, improve durability, and/or reduce noise and vibration.(SENSOR TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN)
May 1, 2005... Accelerometers are sensing transducers that provide an output proportional to acceleration, vibration, and shock. The piezoelectric accelerometer is the most popular class of these devices; other types are based on piezoresistive, capacitive,...

It's nothing personal.(EDITORIAL)(M2M technologies )
May 1, 2005... Whether or not you know what M2M stands for, you already understand the concept it represents: automation. In usage, the term refers to automation accomplished on behalf of humans (but without their involvement) based on sensor data...

Expectations quantified.(SIGNALS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Sensicast Systems (www.sensicast.com) recently teamed up with B & B Electronics (www.bb-elec.com) to conduct an online survey of end users and systems integrators in the industrial automation marketplace. Sensicast provides wireless sensor...

ZigBee: certification formalized, platforms blessed, development done.(ZigBee Alliance)
May 1, 2005... The ZigBee Alliance (www.zigbee.org), an association of companies working to enable wirelessly networked monitoring and control based on an open global standard, has formalized its certification process. The Alliance's testing approach is...

Battery-free wireless light switches.(Enocean GmbH)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... EnOcean GmbH (www.enocean.com), a spinoff from Siemens AG known for its energy-harvesting wireless sensor solutions, has announced battery-free wireless switches. The switches scavenge minute amounts of energy when a light switch is pressed,...

New hosted service.(SIGNALS)(RAEShare)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... RAE Systems Inc. (www.raesystems.com), a global provider of rapidly deployable, multisensor chemical and radiation detection monitors and networks, has launched RAEShare, a hosted service that provides first responders and security officers...

Active RFID is redefining wireless infrastructure: active RFID tags, mesh networking, and wireless sensors add up to a new wireless infrastructure that reduces concern about cost and power consumption, and enhances several applications.( TempTale RF radio frequency-enabled unit )(Sentinel)
May 1, 2005... RFID tags, mesh networking, and wireless sensors. Together, they deliver greater value and functionality than any one alone could offer. So much so that the combination is redefining wireless infrastructures--and in the process, changing the...

Sensors Expo & Conference.
May 1, 2005... Conference: June 6-9, 2005 Expo: June 6-8, 2005 McCormick Place Chicago, Illinois Sensors--Essential, Everywhere! Sensors are everywhere in our day-to-day lives, making us healthier, safer, and more comfortable; and...

Smart dust applied.
May 1, 2005... Crossbow Technology Inc.'s first annual Smart Dust Challenge was designed as a showcase for killer apps of a technology so exotic that the industry hasn't yet settled on a name for it. Crossbow (www.xbow.com) calls its version "MICA" smart dust...

New hope for pervasive computing: making pervasive computing a reality involves figuring out how to make very large networks work. Here's how OrderOne Networks is addressing the problem.(INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS)(Pervasive computing )
May 1, 2005... Pervasive computing is the holy grail of computer and network technology. It promises a world where communications and computation are everywhere, instantly available, virtually free, and capable of almost anything. Why doesn't pervasive...

Building large-scale ZigBee systems with Web services: Web services promise to help developers create applications for large sensor networks.(INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS)(ZigBee-based sensor network)
May 1, 2005... Creating applications for large, diverse sensor networks is difficult due to the volume and varying longevity and dynamics of the sensor nodes. When node volume and sensor/actuator diversity increases, the complexity of the entire system...

The chilled mirror hygrometer: how it works, where it works--and where it doesn't; Chilled mirror hygrometers, with their simple principle of operation, wide measuring span, high level of precision, and inert construction, are widely used in industrial control systems.(SENSOR TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN)
May 1, 2005... The chilled mirror hygrometer (CMH) has been used as a NIST-referenced humidity transfer standard in metrology laboratories for the past four decades. Its principle of operation is simple and elegant. Its totally inert construction, wide...

Temperature, process controllers.(Product News)(Kaif Digital)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Kaif Digital, Scottsdale, AZ, offers the wMPC Series of 4- or 7-zone wall-mount temperature and process controllers. Controllers accept a range of temperature and process inputs with inputs individually configurable for each zone. Scaling and...

UV sensor for adhesive dispensing.(Product News )(UVX-300G from EMX Industries Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The UVX-300G from EMX Industries, Inc., Cleveland, OH, is a UV luminescence sensor designed to detect glue and adhesives in assembly and manufacturing processes. As feedback to a control system, the sensor can measure the amount of applied glue...

Industrial pH probe.(Product News)(SensIrOx, Inc)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... SensIrOx, Inc., Columbus, OH, offers the INpHO probe for pH measurement in extreme temperature and pressure conditions. The sensor has a stable response over a wide pH range, achieved by an oxide layer deposited on an iridium indicator...

L-shaped throughbeam.(Product News)(Buyers Guide)
May 1, 2005... The BWL from Balluff Inc., Florence, KY, combines a prealigned IR emitter and receiver in a rugged, zinc-plated steel L-shaped housing and resists multiple impacts without loss of function. The IR light can cut through heavily contaminated air....

Wireless remote monitoring system.(Product News)(Sensaphone Inc.)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Skymetry wireless remote monitoring device from Sensaphone, Inc., Aston, PA, monitors critical fluid storage flowmeters, water levels, timers, temperature, power levels, and alarms at industrial and chemical plants and other facilities....

Multichannel RF ICs.(Product News)(SmartRF 04 CC2500 )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Chipcon AS, Oslo, Norway, offers its SmartRF 04 CC2500 multichannel RF transceiver and CC2550 multichannel RF transmitter, which operates in the 2.4 GHz ISM band and are designed for use in wireless mice, keyboards, game controllers, headsets,...

Inspection sensor.(Product News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The efector dualis from IFM Efector Inc., Exton, PA, uses contour evaluation to monitor for missing or good/bad parts, correct orientation, and right part/wrong part. The sensor is used with an IR light source to provide pass/fail indication....

Industrial pressure transducer.(Product News)(Setra Systems Inc. introduces Model 209 )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The Model 209 from Setra Systems, Inc., Boxborough, MA, is 1.62 in. dia. X 2.24 in. long and is suitable for use in various applications, including hydrogen fuel-cell development, OEM, industrial, and HVAC. The transducer has a SS/Valox...

Wireless Ethernet module.(Product News)(PPM-Wireless PC/104-Plus module)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... WinSystems, Inc., Arlington, TX, offers the PPM-Wireless PC/104-Plus module, which provides a high-speed 802.11b and 802.11g industrial data network based on MiniPCI wireless modules and Ethernet communications. The module contains interface...

Wireless mesh router.(Product News)(EnRoute 400 )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The EnRoute 400 from Sensoria Corp., San Diego, CA, is a COTS wireless mesh router that provides wireless broadband for emergency response, homeland security, military, and industrial applications. The router uses the company's WirelessFabric...

Wireless M2M network system.(Product News)(rf2IP system )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The rf2IP system from eDevice SA, Merignac, France, is a wireless local network connected to the Internet that enables remote wireless communication with probes, relay controls, electricity meters, or other electronic installations. Each device...

Motion ICs with CANBus interface.(Product News)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Magellan motion processors from Performance Motion Devices (PMD), Inc., Lincoln, MA, are offered in single-IC/single-axis or 2-IC/multiaxis versions and directly support a CANbus interface. The processors are designed for distributed control...

Vibration calibration system.(Product News)(Scantek, Inc. introduces MMF VC-110)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... The MMF VC-110 from Scantek, Inc., Columbia, MD, provides full, traceable calibration of accelerometers for both sensitivity and frequency response. The system measures frequency response and features a built-in signal conditioner with...

USB Sensor Link.(Readers' Choice)
May 1, 2005... The Model 90386 USB Sensor Link from Sensor Developments Inc., Lake Orion, MI, is a USB-compatible interface for strain gauge-based sensors. The device powers and converts a strain gauge-based sensor input into a USB 2.0-compatible signal. In...

Mel's picks.
May 1, 2005... I've mentioned Sensorland.com before, but it's added a lot of stuff since the last time I visited! I'd like to highlight the site's How They Work section. Here you'll find a positive cornucopia of information on the different types of sensors...