Sensor networks large and small
Sensors Expo and Conference, June 9-11, Rosemont, IL, www.sensorsexpo.com.
-- Test & Measurement World, 7/1/2008
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 came 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 marketing consultant Roger Grace, who chaired an all-day session on MEMS sensors. “It’s much more applications focused now.”
On the exhibit floorPCB Piezotronics announced several products, including the series 3991 and 3993 MEMS-based accelerometers that mount on printed-circuit boards. The company’s Model 410B01 force sensor signal-conditioning module, which works with strain sensors, mounts on rails and produces a 0 to 10-V output. PCB Piezotronics’ automotive division introduced a line of microphones designed for automotive testing that help engineers measure wind noise, road noise, brake squeal, and sound quality. The company also introduced an automotive accelerometer preamplifier for high-temperature areas such as power trains.
 Microphones from PCB Piezotronics connect to a data-acquisition system to record noise in a vehicle door. Courtesy of PCB Piezotronics. |
Analog Devices introduced a motion sensor with six degrees of freedom. The ADIS16365 module mounts on a PCB and contains three linear motion sensors and three rotational sensors. It includes digital signal processing and a digital output. Texas Instruments demonstrated several bus transceivers that run on 3.3 V. The company also demonstrated its CAN bus interface devices and low-power RF ICs for developing wireless sensor networks.
Millennial Net exhibited MeshScape, a wireless sensor protocol that creates a wireless mesh network that runs over a 2.4-GHz link. Crossbow Technology also demonstrated a wireless mesh network protocol for its accelerometers and tilt sensors. While these two companies use proprietary 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 802.15.4, Bluetooth, and proprietary protocols. The company also demonstrated a module that lets you use its C series data-acquisition modules over wireless Ethernet.
Pico Technology exhibited its Model 5000 USB 1-GHz oscilloscope and the Model 9201, a 12-GHz USB sampling oscilloscope. Yokogawa displayed its new WT500 power analyzer, its SB5310 automotive serial-data-bus analyzer, a mixed-signal oscilloscope, the GS610 source-measure unit, and the DL750 ScopeCorder. Lambda exhibited its Genesys line of rack-mounted power supplies with GPIB and LXI interfaces. OriginLab demonstrated its Origin8 data-analysis and plotting software.
