Sensors Expo: Sensor networks large and small
Sensors Expo and Conference, June 9-11, Rosemont, IL, www.sensorsexpo.com.
Martin Rowe, Senior Technical Editor -- Test & Measurement World, 6/13/2008 1:34:00 PM
ROSEMONT, IL—What was once a conference and show for sensor and data-acquisition equipment manufacturers has turned into an event that includes wireless sensors, data converters, microcontrollers, RF interface ICs, and wired interface ICs. The change has come about because sensors are no longer used in just industrial monitoring and control systems, and they no longer need to be wired to vehicles or aircraft. Wireless sensor networks now monitor agricultural fields, oil wells, power plants, and many other facilities.
On a smaller scale, IC sensors mount on circuit boards and connect to microcontrollers with integrated analog-to-digital converters or to data converters and digital signal processors. These systems measure temperature, weight, strain, position, and other parameters in vehicles, machines, and other equipment. “Sensors Expo is no longer just about sensor manufacturers improving on specifications,” said sensors marketing consultant Roger Grace, who chaired an all-day session on MEMS sensors. “It’s much more applications focused now.” Applications include energy monitoring, for the rising cost of energy has forced large and small businesses to monitor and control their energy usage.
This year’s conference also drew praise from attendees for being more comprehensive and technical than previous conferences. Topics included digital data acquisition, sensor technologies, power management, standards, and wireless sensing.
Austria Microsystems touted their power management and sensor products. PCB Piezoelectronics announced several accelerometer-related products. The series 3391 and 3993 MEMS-based accelerometers mount on PCBs. The Model 410B01 force sensor signal-conditioning module works with strain sensors. It mounts on rails and produces an output of 0-10 V. The company’s automotive division introduced a line of microphones designed for automotive testing when engineers need to make measurements of wind noise, road noise, brake squeal, and sound quality. The company also introduced an automotive accelerometer preamplifier for high-temperature areas such as power train.
Analog Devices introduced a motion sensor with six degrees of freedom. The ADIS16365 module mounts on a PCB and it contains three linear motion sensors and three rotational sensors. It includes digital signal processing and a digital output. It offers 50% better bias stability and uses 20% less power than previous models. Texas Instruments demonstrated several bus transceivers that run on 3.3 V. “Microcontrollers run at 3.3 V” said new product definer Steve Corrigan. “Running interface devices at 3.3 V instead of 5 V means you can save a voltage regulator and that cuts power consumption.” The company also demonstrated its CAN bus interface devices and low-power RF ICs for developing wireless sensor networks.
Millennial Net exhibited their wireless sensor protocol called MeshScape, which creates a wireless mesh network that runs over a 2.4-GHz link. Other companies such as Crossbow Technology also demonstrated a proprietary wireless mesh network protocol for its line of accelerometers and tilt sensors.
While these two companies use proprietary wireless mesh network protocols, Solidica uses IEEE 802.15.4 (ZigBee) low-speed wireless and others use IEEE 802.11 wireless Ethernet.
“Wireless is just another instrumentation bus,” said National Instruments’ product manager Jared Aho. Because several technologies are used for wireless sensor networks, National Instruments has developed LabView drivers that let you use the programming language to collect data wirelessly. Support includes IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.15.2 (ZigBee), Bluetooth, and proprietary protocols. The company also demonstrated a module that lets you use its C series data-acquisition modules over wireless Ethernet.
Other test-equipment companies were on the show floor as well. Pico Technology exhibited its Model 5000 USB 1-GHz oscilloscope and the Model 9201, a 12-GHz USB sampling oscilloscope. Given the emphasis on energy consumption, Yokogawa demonstrated is new WT500 power analyzer. The company also exhibited its SB5310 automotive serial-data-bus analyzer, a mixed-signal oscilloscope, the GS610 source-measure unit, and the DL750 ScopeCorder, T&MW’s 2008 Test of Time winner. Lambda exhibited its Genesys line of rack-mounted power supplies with GPIB and LXI interfaces. OriginLab demonstrated its Origin8 data-analysis and plotting software.
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