Sensors Magazine articles from October 2006

Sensors Magazine archives from October 2006

Sensors, site by site.(goode sense)
October 1, 2006... Sensors Expo (www.sensorsexpo.com) is the show I build my annual schedule around; nowhere else can you find so many sensing and support products in action. But these days, ISA Expo (October 17-19, www.isa.org/expo) is in the #2 position on my...

What's new in biosensors.(MILITARY/HOMELAND SECURITY)
October 1, 2006... Plenty of engineering work is inspired by nature, and some of it--biosensor development, for instance--actually incorporates biological components. In one example, the cities of New York and San Francisco have installed Intelligent Automation...

Power provision improvements.(mPhase Technologies )
October 1, 2006... Power generation has made intriguing progress recently. Photonic Power Business Unit of JDSU says it has achieved a world record: its 3 V and 5 V gallium arsenide photovoltaic power converter produces optical-to-electrical conversion efficiency...

Changes in temperature sensor use.(PRODUCT TRENDS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... A new research study by Flow Research finds several important shifts occurring in the temperature sensor market. The study, "The Market for Temperature Sensors in the Americas," 2nd Edition, says one important technology change is a transition...

Paros wins award for sensor technology.(ENVIRONMENTAL, PROCESS, AEROSPACE, R & D)
October 1, 2006... Jerome M. "Jerry" Paros, president and chairman of Paroscientific, has won ISA's Albert F. Sperry Founder Award for developing quartz crystal resonator sensor technology. Quartz crystal resonator sensors--technology first introduced by Paros in...

Shark patrol.(MEDIA WATCH)
October 1, 2006... Perth's Post newspaper reports that, under a "world first" plan by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), shark alarms will protect swimmers next summer. CSIRO scientists fit sharks with...

WSJ's technology awards.(MEDIA WATCH)(Wall Street Journal's 2006 Technology Innovation awards )(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The Wall Street Journal's 2006 Technology Innovation awards list includes one winner in each of 12 categories: AuthenTec won in the IT Security and Privacy category for its fingerprint sensor technology, AxonX won in the Security (Facilities)...

The benefits of MEMS technology include small size and low production cost. Does it matter to you whether the products you use incorporate MEMS?(microelectromechanical systems)(Statistical table)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... The benefits of MEMS technology include small size and low production cost. Does it matter to you whether the products you use incorporate MEMS? No, I don't pay attention to the technology; only to 21% the end product Yes, I...

Calendar.(Calendar)
October 1, 2006... Get an updated list of sensor-relevant industry events: www.sensorsmag.com/events

Small pressure sensor.(Bosch Sensortec)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Bosch Sensortec, Reutlingen, Germany, offers the SMD500 micromachined pressure sensor designed for consumer electronics. The piezoresistive sensor has a monocrystalline membrane and is supplied in a ceramic housing in a 5 X 5 X 1.6 mm LCC...

Magnetostrictive position sensors.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... Series PCST25 POSICHRON position sensors from ASM Sensors Inc., Elmhurst, IL, are magnetostrictive devices designed for use in mobile hydraulics applications, such as off-road construction equipment. The absolute, contact-free position sensors...

CCD-based spectrometer.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... Laser Components IG Inc., Hudson, NH, is distributing m-u-t's TRISTAN Series spectrometers for research and OEM markets. The spectrometers are based on the back-thinned 2048-pixel CCD sensor Hamamatsu S9840 for increased sensitivity in the...

Wireless network manager.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The SmartMesh-XT PM1230 embedded manager from Dust Networks, Hayward, CA, works with M1030 wireless motes to create a self-configuring, reliable, wireless mesh network. The PM1230 purpose-built SBC provides configuration, management, and...

Load sensors.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... CS Series capacitive load sensors from Loadstar Sensors Inc., Mountain View, CA, are small, thin, rugged, and have built-in signal conditioning electronics. The sensors accept a 5 VDC input and output an analog 0-5 VDC signal proportional to...

Triaxial accelerometer.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The SMB365 from Bosch Sensortec, Reutlingen, Germany, is a triaxial MEMS accelerometer designed for consumer electronics applications. The sensor is 4 X 4 X 1.2 mm, draws 600 [micro]A and 5 [micro]A in standby mode. Features include...

Dew point monitor.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The RHB-CAC1S2 from Omega Engineering Inc., Stamford, CT, is a NIST-traceable, compressed-air dew point monitor that uses a chilled-mirror sensor. The ruggedized aluminum NEMA 12, IP55-rated enclosure houses the sensor and control circuitry and...

IR natural gas sensor.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... PerkinElmer Optoelectronics, Fremont, CA, offers its dual-channel IR natural gas sensor as part of its GasDetect IR family. The NDIR sensor combines a robust IR source with a reliable pyroelectric dual-channel detector and is RoHS- and EN 50...

Temperature sensor.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The Model DF01 from Precision Linear Systems Inc., Cupertino, CA, combines a rugged solid-state temperature sensor and a 4-20 mA transmitter manufactured on the same flexible circuit substrate and connected by traces on the flex. The sensor can...

MEMS gyroscope.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The VSG-4 MEMS vibrating-structure gyroscope from Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd., Plymouth, U.K., uses a tiny vibrating silicon ring to detect angular velocity through the Coriolis effect. The sensor's digital closed-loop control of ring...

Real-time USB DA module.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... Data Translation Inc, Marlboro, MA, offers the DT9841-VIB, a real-time DSP DA Sleek Box that can accept 8 simultaneous IEPE sensor inputs. The USB module has a built-in DSP and provides excitation, signal conditioning, and anti-aliasing...

High-accuracy angle encoders.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... Heidenhain Corp., Schaumburg, IL, has expanded its range of ERA 4000 angle encoders to include the ERA 4x80, ERA 4x81, and the ERA 4x82, available in 7 diameters, from 52.65-331.31 mm o.d. and grating periods of 20, 40, or 80 [micro]m. The ERA...

Pressure sensor.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... Kavlico Corp., Moorpark, CA, offers the P6000 pressure sensor for dry media medical applications, such as respirators, oxygen concentrators, and CPAP equipment. The

Ethernet position sensor.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... The R Series EtherCAT sensor from MTS Systems Corp., Sensors Div., Cary, NC, is a position sensor with industrial Ethernet-based communications for high-speed data transfer between the plant floor and office. The sensor can also synchronize to...

Ultrasonic level sensors.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... USR Series ultrasonic level sensors from Madison Co., Bran-ford, CT, are for short-range level measurement in process and industrial applications. There are five models, each with a factory-set sensing range. Microprocessor-based circuits...

Safety laser scanners.(HANDY NEW PRODUCTS)
October 1, 2006... SICK Inc., Minneapolis, MN, offers the S3000 short-range safety laser scanner and S3000 Professional CMS safety laser scanner for safety and mobile vehicle applications, respectively. The S3000 short-range offers a 4 m safety field and a...

Light-detecting sphere.(ADVANCING SENSOR TECHNOLOGY)(Massachusetts Institute of Technology)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... MIT researchers led by Yoel Fink have developed an optical system made of webs of light-detecting fibers. The meshes are currently able to measure the light direction, intensity, and phase. The investigators expect that in time the system will...

Sensitive nanoflowers.(SHORT TAKES)(Harbin University)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... At China's Harbin University, researchers have created an alcohol detector that requires heating only to 140[degrees]C, as opposed to the 300[degrees]C for conventional sensors made of zinc oxide. They achieved this by building zinc oxide...

NDT without magnets.(SHORT TAKES)(non-destructive testing)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Southwest Research Institute engineers have developed multilayer thin films and combined them with magnetostrictive sensors to nondestructively detect and monitor defects in aircraft components. The technique, which requires no external...

Tiny battery, big charge.(nanobattery developed at Tel Aviv university)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Tel Aviv University researchers under the direction of Menachem Nathan, Emanuel Peled, and Dina Golodnitsky have developed a fast-charge nanobattery that might protect handheld devices from power source related fire hazards. The nanobattery,...

What really happened.(National Institute of Standards and Technology)
October 1, 2006... In an effort to put to rest the various conspiracy theories that arose after the World Trade Center towers were attacked, NIST has prepared a fact sheet explaining how it has found no corroborating evidence for hypotheses suggesting that the...

Drop without danger: Engineer of the Year 2006 winners make a clever sensor application to solve a vexing portable electronics problem.(SPECIAL REPORT)
October 1, 2006... Inspired by the tragic loss of a young engineer whose life and potential were cut short (sidebar, Honoring Eamonn), Sensors last year announced the launch of its Engineer of the Year award. After reading and weighing the relative merits of all...

Wireless signal congestion: whatever happened to peaceful coexistence? Faced with an exhibit hall teeming with wireless devices, the authors decide to see how well all these gizmos coexist.(INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS)
October 1, 2006... We all know that there are many flavors of wireless (Figure 1, page 19); different frequencies, different data rates, different power requirements, different prices. This shouldn't be a problem when there's a lot of room, so we decided to...

A review of your flow sensing options: of the nine flow sensor technologies outlined here, one is certain to satisfy your application.(SENSOR DESIGN AND TECHNOLOGY)
October 1, 2006... Flow sensors are used to measure both gas and liquid flows in many monitoring and control applications. Flow can be variously defined (e.g., mass, volume, laminar, turbulent). The amount of a substance flowing (mass flow) is usually the one of...

Improving pharmaceutical production with through-the-wall level sensing: a two-mode liquid level sensor works where others don't. Find out how.(SENSORS AT WORK)
October 1, 2006... In the pharmaceutical industry, it's not uncommon for raw materials to have volatile properties not easily managed by standard manufacturing components. Case in point: a glass cylinder containing a liquid pharmaceutical that can be activated by...

Microsoft's integration environment--.NET.(ENTERPRISE INTELLIGENCE FROM YOUR SENSORS)(Microsoft Corp)
October 1, 2006... As with many of the tools for data integration in industrial settings, Microsoft .NET relies on technologies that are platform- and programming language-agnostic to achieve its objectives. Based on Web services, XML, and proprietary software...

Synchronous detection.(HANDS-ON SENSOR ENGINEERING)
October 1, 2006... Last month I touched on some of the issues related to handling small signals. This month I will describe a technique called synchronous detection that can be used to recover very small signals buried in lots of noise. Consider the case of...

Wet'n hairy.(SNAPSHOTS FOR APPLICATION INSPIRATION)(Wet'n Wild Water Park using Signet 2550 insertion magmeters)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... We're mammals and we shed. We know this, plumbers know this, and the technical operators at the Wet'n Wild Water Park in Orlando, FL, definitely know this. The water amusement park has lots of water slides, among other amusements, and the...

Tracking cows.(SNAPSHOTS FOR APPLICATION INSPIRATION)(ZigBeef makes new tracking device for cows)
October 1, 2006... Beef is big business, more than $50 billion/year, in fact. So, it goes without saying that tracking cows is important, especially in the wake of BSE (bovine spongiform encephalopathy a.k.a. mad cow disease) and other animal diseases. The USDA...

Automotive news service.(RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ODDMENTS)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Trying to stay current on the latest news in the automotive industry? Take a look at Automotive Digest online. Here you'll find news and analysis on a variety of automotive topics, including vehicle safety, manufacturers, and...

Online MEMS library.(RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ODDMENTS)(Microelectromechanical systems)(Brief article)
October 1, 2006... Thank you to Mehran Mehregany from Case Western Reserve University for telling me about the university's MEMS World Online MEMS-specific digital library. You can search for experts in specific MEMS-related fields; search abstracts from...

Movie reenactments.(RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ODDMENTS)
October 1, 2006... Should you find yourself with snippets of free time, wander over to Angry Alien Productions and view some of the movie reenactments on offer. All of them are 30 seconds long and acted by cartoon bunnies. The quality is a bit uneven, but some of...

Russell Baker.(RECOMMENDED RESOURCES AND ODDMENTS)
October 1, 2006... Inanimate objects are classified scientifically into three major categories--those that don't work, those that break down and those that get lost. --Russell Baker (1925-)

"Planning Algorithms".(NEW TO BOOKSHELVES)(Brief article)(Book review)
October 1, 2006... Planning Algorithms Author: Steven M. LaValle Publisher: Cambridge University Press ISBN: 0-521-86205-1 Page count: 826 While this book is written primarily for advanced-undergraduate- or beginning-graduate-level students...