A position sensor is any device used for measuring the distance traveled by the body starting from its reference position. It measures linear or angular position in reference to a fixed point or arbitrary reference.
Inductive sensors are designed based on the needs of proximity sensor technology, to detect metallic or conductive parts without physical contact or where access is difficult.
A photoelectric sensor is an instrument designed to detect the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter such as an infrared, and a photoelectric receiver. It is also referred to as photo eye.
An interferometer is a device used to measure various parameters of light by dividing the light into several light beams.
Most of the sensors carry out switching action through solid-state circuits. The connections between load devices and power supplies are made through two or more wires, and the entire setup is known as the electrical interface circuit.
Motion capture, which is also referred to as motion tracking, is the method of recording movements of people and objects.
A new generation of intelligent or smart sensors is fast replacing basic sensors across the spectrum of industries. An intelligent sensor comprises a sensing element, an analog interface circuit, a bus interface, and an analog-to-digital converter fitted inside a single housing.
Image sensors are instruments used for converting optical images into electronic signals. The global image sensors market has grown immensely due to technological advancements in the last decade. This has stimulated diversification in image sensor applications. Image sensors have been placed on board NASA’s Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (IRIS) spacecraft to capture the first images of the Sun.
Nicéphore Niépce is widely attributed as being the inventor of photography, but he may not have envisioned how far camera technology would advance. Printable image sensors are one such development that has offered manufacturers huge benefits in flexibility, scalability and cost.
By Stuart Milne
22 Aug 2014
Cynophobics may soon be able to avoid the anxiety of being sniffed by the canine police at airports thanks to the development of a nanosensor by a team of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley. The new technology, which uses light based plasmon sensors, can identify the smallest and most difficult to detect explosives and so could be employed at airport security in the near future.
By Alessandro Pirolini
23 Jul 2014