Potentiometers That Make Sense for Sensing

Despite their perceived simplicity, potentiometers can still be an appropriate option in today’s ever-complicated automation industry. Fundamentally a variable resistor, modern potentiometers also offer more traditional outputs such as voltage and current which are common to more expensive sensors.

MEMS Inclinometer Specifications

Inclinometers, also called tilt sensors, clinometers, or slope sensors, are designed to measure the angle of an object with respect to the force of gravity. These tilt or level meters determine the pitch and/or roll angle and output these values via the appropriate electrical interface.

How-to: 2 Point Operation of an Open Collector Switch Output

In this example, the switch point has been set to ‘Full Alarm’. By setting the switch point to 90% with an 80% hysteresis, the switch will come on at 90% and switch off at 10%.

Wiegand Effect Energy Harvesting

The “Wiegand effect” was discovered almost fifty years ago and has been used successfully in several specialized applications. However, its full potential for energy harvesting and signal generation has received only limited recognition. With recent enhancements to the energy output from Wiegand devices and the emergence of a new generation of ultra-efficient electronic chips for wireless communications, the technology is showing significant promise, especially in the exciting new area of the Internet of Things (IoT). UBITO, a member of the FRABA Group of technology companies, is leading research and development projects aimed at fulfilling this promise.