NASA Lunabotics Challenge

Nearly fifty University Teams recently gathered in Florida for the NASA Lunabotics Challenge. The robots are tasked with driving, digging, and depositing regolith—the fragmented rock material that covers the moon’s surface—in a lunar simulant. Beyond robotics and mechatronics, the program teaches team work, project management and industry collaboration.

Improved Encoder Accuracy Brings Hidden Benefits

Capacitive rotary encoders such as those from Netzer Precision are known for their low profile, high noise immunity and excellent accuracy. As a result, they are an excellent choice for applications such as camera systems, radar, slip-rings and robotic joints. Often times in these tasks the encoder is used for velocity feedback, ensuring a smooth […]

Inductosyn: End of an Era, New Opportunities or Both?

Recently, obtaining the Inductosyn and components for maintenance has become more difficult. For decades the Inductosyn from Farrand Controls / Ruhle Companies sat near the top of the rotary sensor hierarchy. Providing sub 2 arcsec (0.5 mdeg) accuracies, it combined the robustness of a resolver with the performance of the best optical encoders. Despite its shortcomings, it found plenty of customers, from airborne infrared and radar systems, to telescopes, satellite communication antennae (SATCOM), machine tooling and low-pressure vacuum chambers.

Safety First – Selecting the Right Position Sensors for Safety-Related Motion Control

POSITAL has introduced an inexpensive and flexible alternative for safety-critical motion control systems. When combined with functional safety PLCs, these devices are suitable for applications that are required to conform to Performance Level/ PL d, Cat. 3, according to ISO 13849.