If you want to track a snail, you need a tiny instrumentation package. How do you create an entire data acquisition system, including sensors, memory, data processing and a power supply, small enough ...

Everyone is familiar with pinwheels, and few of us haven’t crafted one from a square of paper, a stick, and a pin. Pinwheels are pretty optimized from a design standpoint, and are so cheap and easy to ...

A typical reflective object sensor consists of an infrared light emitter diode (IRED) and an NPN silicon phototransistor mounted side-by-side on parallel axes in a compact black plastic housing. The ...

Sensors help microprocessor-based systems find their bearings. Where would embedded systems be without them? Sensors provide the windows through which microprocessor-based systems can observe their ...

TT Electronics has announced its OPB735 series Reflective Object Sensors for challenging industrial automation and safety applications. This reflective sensor features hermetically sealed components ...

Light-based proximity sensors for use in robots and 3D printers must not be fooled by transparent or black surfaces, says Gabriele Fulco A surprising number of systems depend on the ability to ...

Inductive sensors are non-contact proximity sensors that detect ferrous targets, ideally ones made of mild steel thicker than one millimeter. They consist of four major components: a ferrite core with ...

Figure 1a shows a slotted optical switch. An LED is mounted in a plastic housing, facing a phototransistor, but separated by a gap. If something moves into the gap, it blocks the light path between ...