Murata Manufacturing showed off a running shoe embedded with clear piezo film devices and a Bluetooth smart module. Five small patches of piezo film placed on the sole can detect friction and foot movement inside the "smart" shoe, allowing it to measure and help regulate the user’s walking or running habits.
Nice slide show, Junko. It offers a peek into the future. On the plant level, companies are using sensor technology for safety and optimization. Quite amazing what's going on with sensors.
Junko, in the aersospace world this is called multi-sensor fusion, and has been dealt with for decades.
The slide show has some interesting applications. It is interesting that Japan is planning its own GPS type system. A country with that much debt might want to limit such projects.
Rob, I agree. These slides were quite interesting regarding the seamless applications sensors are being used in. I was quite intrigued with Renesas Electronics analog front end system to tune sensors aided by a microcontroller. I was trying to determine how the robotic mobile platform demonstrated this unique sensor tuning feature.
I disagree with that perspective. If Toyota didn't take a chance with hybrid development while Japan was in crisis in the 90's, we wouldn't have a viable alternative vehicle market today.
Historically, Japan has spent money on projects to improve quality of life. As an island nation, they're impacted by non-sustainable practices very quickly. Solar power usage there has expanded greatly over the last two decades. It's a loss leader but will positively impact future generations.
I think all countries with that muc debt should look at the future in the same way.
Although the technology isn't new, it's great to see modern abd creative uses in on place. I love the LED bicycle. With a strong bike-culture and longer nights coming, I wish those were on the roads here in San Francisco.
I really appreciated the interactive digital signage. I can see where signage technology will become more and more interactive and use sensors to further identify the viewer in order to provide more target marketing ads to each individual.
I agree Nadine. Networked sensors have been deployed in plants for years. They're getting more and more intelligent. Younger plant engineers are turning to the sensors to read the health of the plant. The older boomer engineers still depend on listening to the hiss and pops of the plant.
Charles, I'm thinking that it is more of a screening tool. Back in my grade school years they used to do the screening in school by using an overhead project to put a grid on the persons back and then send them to the doctor if they thought anything was out of the ordinary. I was thinking that this was a more high-tech version of that.
New disc magnet motors fit into the design trend of stepping up to closed loop performance while maintaining the cost advantage of stepper motor technology.
At the Design News webinar on June 27, learn all about aluminum extrusion: designing the right shape so it costs the least, is simplest to manufacture, and best fits the application's structural requirements.
A new battery design, which replaces lithium with abundant and low-cost elemental sulfur, is still in its nascent stages but shows real promise for giving batteries more energy potential.
The push to achieving more intelligent, integrated manufacturing is putting a strong focus on networking and connectivity as key enabling technologies.
From Dell / Intel® New Paradigms in Design Work Scott Hamilton, vertical market strategist for Dell Precision workstations, 5/2/2013 5
Early in my career, I worked as a draftsman and remember the days of drawing on vellum with numbered pencils and Mylar with plastic lead. This was a fun experience in the sense that I ...
I've been using workstations for more than 10 years and love finding ways to get more performance from my system. With demanding professional applications that require more power each ...
A lasting memory from my first job as an engineer in an auto assembly plant is standing on hard concrete at six in the morning, vending-machine coffee clutched in hand, listening to ...
For industrial control applications, or even a simple assembly line, that machine can go almost 24/7 without a break. But what happens when the task is a little more complex? That’s where the “smart” machine would come in. The smart machine is one that has some simple (or complex in some cases) processing capability to be able to adapt to changing conditions. Such machines are suited for a host of applications, including automotive, aerospace, defense, medical, computers and electronics, telecommunications, consumer goods, and so on. This radio show will show what’s possible with smart machines, and what tradeoffs need to be made to implement such a solution.
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