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| | Microcontrollers' not so micro impact... | | Microcontrollers are hidden everywhere you look. Billions of the tiny computers were manufactured in the last year and each now lies at the heart of an electronic device somewhere in the world.... |
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| | Making MEMS accelerometers work in motion control... | | MEMS (micro electromechanical system) inertial sensor technology provides a major structural shift in mechanical sensing. When the performance meets their needs, system developers welcome trading complicated mechanical mounting schemes... |
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| | New sensor and MCU technology are key to nextgen robots... | | Constructing a robot back in the "good old days" was a difficult, error-prone and time-consuming process. Sensing the environment was achieved with devices built from discrete components, many of which were never designed to effectively function toge... |
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| | Quadrature-Encoded Position and Beyond... | |
This month, Don wraps up techniques for determining angular position and turns the
discussion to sensorless control.
For some time now I've been writing about motion control and digital signal processing (DSP). Throughout our dis... |
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| | Cummins Centinel... | |
Managing the addition of oil to a diesel engine's fuel-oil mix turns out to be a tricky problem. Here's one design that worked well.
Welcome to the first edition of Inside Look, a periodic column that takes an in-depth look a... |
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| | Auto makers wield technology to reduce collisions... | |
PARK RIDGE, Ill. — Auto makers and suppliers have unveiled a technology that could launch a new era in safety for the auto industry. The technology not only detects imminent danger, but could one day override the driver and actively... |
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| | Axia Eyeplate The Card-Camera Connection... | |
Fujifilm's Axia Eyeplate highlights the incremental march toward paper-thin imaging products. How small has the Eyeplate taken the digital camera? Visualize a 6-mm-thick credit-card-size camera, and the picture is complete-literally.
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| | MEMS: amazing little machines... | |
Developments in the field of semiconductors are leading to integrated circuits with three-dimensional features and even moving parts. Such devices, called microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), can resolve many problems that a microproces... |
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| | IC makers gear up for new tire pressure monitor rule... | |
PARK RIDGE, Ill. — The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could be on the verge of issuing a regulation that would put a microprocessor in every new tire, paving the way for semiconductor makers to provide automakers with 80 m... |
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| | Smart helmets monitor football injuries... | |
PARK RIDGE, ILL. — Every year at this time, as visions of sugarplums give way to bone-crushing bowl game tackles, college athletic trainers fret about the effects of head injuries to football players.
This year, however, Virginia Tech U... |
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| | Victor tire gauge: analog under pressure... | |
Sometimes, our simplest gadgets provide a world of convenience. For those who love to keep their cars running right—and I admit to being a fanatic here—tire pressure is a critical element of performance and more practically, goo... |
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| | Airbags inflate need for a parts redesign... | |
Chicago — It will take new types of processors and a better breed of sensors to meet the demands of a proposed National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standard that addresses side-impact car crashes. Manufacturers of automotive... |
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| | Low-cost wireless mouse pays... | |
While the ubiquitous computer mouse is hardly something that screams leading edge, the product's sheer necessity and volume have quietly driven some fantastic technology developments in this sometimes-overlooked peripheral. Longtime PC users... |
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| | Sensors and single-wire LINs rev up Auto IQ... | |
Sensors to measure such quantities as pressure, temperature and acceleration have been a staple of automotive electronics for many years. But the myriad systems required for such functions as emissions control, fuel economy and safety (inclu... |
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| | Interconnects-Keys to the New Car Sensors... | |
As the automobile's electronic content continues to increase, the need for low-cost, reliable sensing systems becomes even more important. While there are many challenges to overcome to meet those needs, advances in interconnect architecture... |
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| | CANopen safety chip simplifies safety-related development... | |
Safety-related devices are increasingly being networked together. Expensive safety controllers and safety monitors are available already, but the number of simple and inexpensive safety-related devices is still low. Networked safety technology... |
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| | Smart club has that swing... | |
I've done a lot of teardowns over the years. One of the fun parts about doing these articles is that I get to use the product for a short time before I dismantle it. I can honestly say that I had more fun "using" this product than any other I'... |
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| | A Framework for Considering Security in Embedded Systems... | |
The need for security in many embedded systems is not always readily apparent, and too many embedded systems designers are paying too little attention to the subject, despite the increased wired and wireless connectivity of such designs and po... |
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| | Analog adds 3-Axis MEMS Accelerometer with low power... | |
Analog Devices, Inc. has added the ADXL330 three-axis accelerometer to its iMEMS family of motion devices featuring a power consumption of only 200 microamps at 2.0 V.
Designed for handheld and embedded consumer electronics and mobile phone... |
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| | Accelerometer touts sensitivity, low cost... | |
Gaithersburg, Md. — Wilcoxon Research has introduced a new low-cost, general-purpose accelerometer with a sensitivity of 100 mV/g and a tight +10 percent tolerance.
The new 788A sensor is said to combine the optimum combination of price... |
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| | $60 blood pressure monitor... | |
Personal health steps into a seldom-seen spotlight in this space as we examine the Omron IntelliSense HEM-711AC blood pressure monitor. The unit accomplishes some sophisticated metrology for a surprisingly low price, and comes in a package t... |
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| | Flash microcontrollers handle automotive applications... | |
NANTES, France—Atmel Corporation announced four AEC Q100-qualified AVR® Flash microcontrollers dedicated to the automotive segment. The devices are designed to enable performance and cost effective automotive solutions for sensor and ... |
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| | Sun's SPOT, Squawk VM and wireless embedded sensor devices... | |
At the 2006 Java One in San Francisco, Calif., in mid-May, Sun
Microsystems revealed more details on a long-term wireless sensor
effort it calls the Small Programmable Object Technology (SPOT)
project.
The introduction was almost unnoticed a... |
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| | Commentary- Brushless motors: What's not to like?... | |
To say "it's about time" would be an understatement regarding the steady, growing, newfound popularity for brushless motors. These cleaner, smaller, lighter-weight wonders are steadfastly gaining ground on their century-old brethren, brush mot... |
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| | Encoder modules designed for brushless DC motors ... | |
San Jose, Calif. — Avago Technologies has released its first series of small
6-channel optical incremental C-shaped encoder modules for brushless DC (BLDC) motors used in industrial automation applications. The AEDB-9340 series modules, w... |
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| | Analog chips save power over DSPs in microsensor role ... | |
Sunnyvale, Calif. -- Taking a cue from the movie Back to the Future, designers at startup GTronix Inc. have developed analog signal-processing circuits that deliver higher performance at lower power levels and much smaller silicon areas than most ... |
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| | DC-LVDT position sensors designed for easy integration... | |
Pennsauken, N.J. — Macro Sensors has developed a line of 24-V DC-operated LVDT position sensors with true zero to 10-V output for easy field integration with PLCs, digital indicators, A/D converters, computer-based DAQ systems, and QC data coll... |
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| | 3-axis accelerometer ICs spin smaller, smarter designs... | |
Lexington, Mass.—STMicroelectronics' first two devices in its LIS302 family of low-g linear accelerometers tout extremely small form factor and low power consumption for a variety of motion-sensor applications.
These 3-axis devices measure jus... |
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| | MEMS bids to crack consumer space... | |
Munich, Germany -- Emerging consumer applications combined with strides in manufacturing, testing and packaging could transform microelectromechanical systems from last year's trendy technology into a viable market.
There is little agreement on ... |
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| | Extreme automotive environment challenges sensor design... | |
Sensor applications in the automotive electronics field run a wide gamut from pressure sensors for manifold and exhaust systems to magnetic sensors for gear tooth and valve position. Regardless of the specific application, most automotive sensor mod... |
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| | Low-cost setup minds the house... | |
To view an on-demand seminar featuring Motorola's wireless monitoring system, click here.
Motorola Inc.'s consumer arm has rolled out a product that watches over homes, businesses or other places and records events when triggered by a variety of ... |
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| | Accelerometers deliver zero-g detect for mobile devices... | |
Austin, Tex. — Freescale Semiconductor has unveiled three highly sensitive XYZ-axis accelerometers for smart mobile devices at the Consumer Electronics Show 2007 in Las Vegas. The MMA7360L, MMA7340L and MMA7330L triple-axis accelerometers provi... |
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| | Linear potentiometer delivers 10 million cycle life... | |
Grass Valley, Calif. — Spectrum Sensors and Controls offers a linear potentiometer with a 0.5-inch diameter and 2.5-inch length. Featuring ball rod ends, the linear potentiometer may be used in aerospace applications including as an aircraft ac... |
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| | Improve Hall sensor rotor-position measurements: Part 1... | |
The presence of semiconductors in automobiles is increasing geometrically, in part due to automotive systems developers' desire for electronic motor control to address consumer requirements for safer, more efficient cars. Part of this growth in auto... |
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| | Improve Hall sensor rotor-position measurements: Part 2... | |
Part 1 of this article described the design task required and various sources of electric motor rotor position error.
Concept overview
Let's assume a motor with three Hall sensors, but what follows can be applied to whatever number of Hall sensors.... |
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| | 3-axis accelerometer miniaturizes motion sensing... | |
Geneva, Switzerland — STMicroelectronics has added a power- and cost-optimized 3-axis accelerometer to its family of ultra-compact low-g linear accelerometers. Targeting customer demand for miniaturized motion sensing in portable electronic dev... |
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| | 3-axis accelerometer miniaturizes motion sensing... | |
Geneva, Switzerland — STMicroelectronics has added a power- and cost-optimized 3-axis accelerometer to its family of ultra-compact low-g linear accelerometers. Targeting customer demand for miniaturized motion sensing in portable electronic dev... |
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| | PWM control IC touts input voltage range up to 75-V... | |
El Segundo, Calif.—International Rectifier introduced the IR3651, a synchronous PWM control IC designed for high-performance synchronous DC/DC buck applications with an input voltage range up to 75-V.
With programmable switching frequency up ... |
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| | Auto MEMS maker shifting gears... | |
Infineon Technologies' first microelectromechanical system was a pressure sensor developed for its Automotive, Industrial and Multimarketing group. Now well known for its MEMS side-air-bag and tire-pressure sensors, Infineon AIM has branched out i... |
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