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April 2002
VOL. 19 NO. 4 Table of Contents |
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EDITORIAL
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A Big, Transformative Impact
Barbara G. Goode
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SENSOR
TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN
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MICA: The Commercialization of Microsensor Motes Miniaturization, integration, and customization make it possible to combine sensing, processing, and communications to produce a smart, network-enabled wireless sensor. Here’s how it works. Mike Horton et al.
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Line Scanners: Thermal Imaging for Industrial Applications For many industrial applications, a combination of IR line-scanning technology and application-specific software provides thermal imaging capabilities not possible with more expensive IR imagers or IR cameras. Alan Young
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PUTTING SENSORS
TO WORK
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Navy Pilots Catch Their Breath with a New Oxygen Regulator Fighter pilots routinely push both the aircraft’s performance envelope and their own physical limits. The CRU-103 oxygen regulator, with its low-spring-rate electrodeposited nickel bellows, helps give them an extra edge. Paul Hazlitt
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Intelligent Systems
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Brains and Brawn—The Power of Smart Batteries Legions of wireless products and industrial appliances have built-in rechargeable batteries. Embedded intelligence can minimize user intervention, reduce charge time, and dramatically increase battery life by optimizing power management. Are you designing a battery-powered product? It’s easier than ever to make it battery friendly and hassle free. Perry S. Marshall
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How to Add Web Access to Your Smart Device You can turn your product into an Internet appliance with an embedded modem. Perry S. Marshall
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ONLINE EXCLUSIVES |
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A Certified-Emissivity Blackbody for Calibrating Infrared Thermometers As a practical matter, most commercial infrared thermometers are calibrated with “homemade” blackbodies of unknown and uncertified emissivities. This design for a water-immersible certified-emissivity blackbody is intended to provide a simple and inexpensive, but accurate reference for emissivity, referenced to recognized standards and proven mathematical constructions. Francesco Pompei
Digital Correction of Capacitive Signals With a new capacitance-to-voltage converter and a few external components, it is possible to assemble complex systems for various ranges of accuracy and a multitude of applications. Roland Fischer |
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DEPARTMENTS
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Business Sense
Research and Developments
Web Picks
Literature Showcase
Wish List
Advertiser Index
ABOUT THE COVER
Wireless sensors; handheld sensing, data acquisition, and control devices; and laptop computers have all cut the tether that connects them to their power sources, freeing them from expensive and cumbersome hard-wired infrastructures and achieving greater mobility. But now they have to rely on batteries for their power. Making these power sources predictable is what smart battery technology is all about. With the help of sophisticated electronics and sensors, smart batteries monitor their own states, keeping track of how many minutes of power they have left and managing charge and discharge rates. These batteries can also communicate their status to a host device. And while you might hope that such a battery could be charged instantly, sustain an infinite number of charge cycles, and be environmentally friendly, no battery on the market is that good. But embedded intelligence is moving battery performance closer to these ideals. This month's cover story tells you all about it.
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