You've probably heard of or even owned a computer that automatically turns off its hard drive when it senses shock or heavy vibrations. That is an example of sensitive human-machine intimacy. Another example I like is tilting the iPhone to use it as the driving bar for my racing games. Well, that nifty human-to-computer interaction is about to go to whole new level.
HP announced Thursday a new inertial-sensing technology that enables the development of digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers that are up to 1,000 times more sensitive than those in high-volume products currently available.
A MEMS accelerometer is a sensor that can be used to measure vibration, shock, or change in velocity. When implemented, this allows the device to "feel" the environment it is in.
According to HP, the new sensing technology--the result of HP's 25 years of nano-sensing research--includes multiple detectors as part of a complete sensor network and therefore is capable of real-time data collection, management evaluation, and analysis. This information enables users to make better, faster decisions, and take subsequent action to improve safety, security, and sustainability.
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(Credit:
University of Missouri)
Scientists at the University of Missouri are developing a small nuclear battery that they say can hold a million times more charge than standard batteries.
The radioisotope battery, being developed by Jae Kwon of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and other researchers, is the size and thickness of a penny.
That makes it smaller than nuclear batteries used in space and military applications. Kwon says it might shrink to less than the thickness of a human hair if the right materials are used.
The battery is designed to drive micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS). Such devices include labs on a chip, and biological and chemical sensors.
The nuclear battery produces power from charged particles released by radioactive decay. It also uses a liquid semiconductor material, rather than a solid one, to minimize damage to the battery.
Kwon said the technology is safe. "Nuclear power sources have already been safely powering a variety of devices, such as pacemakers, space satellites and underwater systems," he noted.
The team has applied for a provisional patent on the battery.
Spectators at the Olympics will get a chance to touch the flame-bearing torch--a replica of it, that is. Instead of fire, the torches have a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), an accelerometer, and lines of LEDS embedded within.
(Credit:
Crave Asia)
By waving the torch, an internal sensor will determine the left and right points, while the MEMS measures the degree of movement and transmits the information to a microchip that activates the LEDs to display "in the air" preprogrammed words or images relevant to the Olympics.
This idea is not novel, and you've probably seen similar products in gift shops. But what's impressive is that each visitor to the Games will probably get one in his or her goodie bag. This roughly translates to hundreds of thousands of torches being manufactured, and that doesn't include those for sale in the souvenir shops.
So what kept the production cost low? It's reported that a former MEMS engineer came up with technology that enabled the devices to be produced along any CMOS chip manufacturing line, thus driving the cost down and giving spectators a little something to bring home and remember the Olympics by.
(Via Crave Asia)
Click here for CNET News' package of stories on tech and the Beijing Olympics.
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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world, will crank up its MEMS foundry business. Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology is used in Apple's iPhone and the Nintendo Wii.
Nintendo Wii uses MEMS technology for motion detection
(Credit: Nintendo)MEMS typically have a microprocessor and other components such as microsensors. For example, MEMS technology is used in the iPhone and Wii to allow these devices to detect motion and changes in orientation.
In the iPhone, a device called an accelerometer detects when the user rotates the iPhone from portrait to landscape modes, then automatically adjusts the display, so the entire width of a web page or a photo can be seen in its proper aspect ratio.
Hewlett-Packard also uses MEMS technology for its inkjet print-head that combines integrated electronics with microfluidic channels to control ink droplets when printing.
TSMC will provide manufacturing services such as surface micromachining and manufacturing processes for CMOS-MEMS integration and packaging, according to Nikkei's Tech-On. (CMOS stands for complementary metal oxide semiconductor, a common class of integrated circuits used in microprocessors.)
MEMS technology, which in the past was limited mainly to in-house manufacturing or automotive products, is now being applied to a raft of consumer devices and mobile phones, the Tech-On report said.
The MEMS industry was estimated to be worth US$5.95 billion in 2007 and it is expected to exceed US$10.771 billion in 2011, the report said.
TSMC will detail the company's MEMS business plan at a technical seminar in Tokyo on May 15, the report said.
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