Motion Design, and Sensor Technology: Welcome To Your Digital Edition of Tech Briefs

Welcome to your Digital Edition of Tech Briefs
Motion Design, and Sensor Technology
Included in This June Edition:
Tech Briefs Motion Design Sensor Technology

June 2020 www.techbriefs.com Vol. 44 No. 6
June 2020
June 2020
Simulating Magnetic
Couplings for Virtual
Prototypes Tiny MEMS Sensors
Can Measure
Special Heart Rate
Mars Wearables to Help
2020 You Get Quality Zzzzs
Issue MEMS — Smart

Sensors for the IoT
Robots “Eat” Metal for Energy

SPECIAL SECTION:
Boosting Performance in Hydraulic Systems
Technology Leaders
Don’t Blame it on the Bearings in Sensors
Last Chance to Enter!
See page 8
Supplement to Tech Briefs
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June 2020 • Vol. 44 No. 6
Contents
Features 10
10 Products of Tomorrow
16 Special Section: Mars 2020 – Perseverance to the

Red Planet
76 Facility Focus
80 NASA Spinoff: Space Station Masks for Earth

Firefighters
Tech Briefs 62
56 Electrical/Electronics
56 Wearable Device Monitors Health
56 Cut-to-Length Electrical Cable Cuts Costs
58 Graphene Device with Superconducting, Insulating, and

Magnetic Properties
59 Improving Data Speeds with Laser-Activated Magnets
60 Materials & Coatings
60 Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices Through

Clothing
60 Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout

Stretchable Material
61 Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds
62 Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Electrical and 70

Thermal Characteristics
63 Metals Change Surfaces in Response to Heat
66 Optics
66 Device Modulates Light and Amplifies Tiny Signals
67 Process for Producing High-Quality, Lightweight Mirrors
68 Optically Reconfigurable Charge-Transfer Liquid Crystals
69 Environment
76
69 Carbonated Cement for Production of Concrete with Improved
Properties
69 “Artificial Leaf” Produces Clean Gas
70 Essential Oils Inhibit Mold on Wood
70 Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

(continued on page 6)
4 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, June 2020

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Contents
Departments Product of the Month

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2020 mission, we highlight Perseverance’s goals, how it
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UP
FRONT Linda Bell
Editorial Director
Last Chance to Create Persevering from Home

When NASA’s Mars 2020 mis-
the Future! sion began seven years ago,
The 2020 Create the women and men working
the Future Design on what would become the Per-
Contest closes for severance rover knew they’d
entries on July 1. encounter unexpected chal-
Your design idea lenges on their way to Mars.
could win $20,000 But they could not have antic-
and global recog- ipated a global pandemic
nition. If you have would happen just months
not already submitted your idea, visit before the expected launch.
www.createthefuturecontest.com. With the launch period
opening on July 17, 90% of
the team is teleworking. Like
What’s New on Techbriefs.com many Americans, they are per-
severing from home.
Did you know that But for some critical space- The underside of Perseverance is visible, along with the
Ingenuity helicopter attached (lower center). The outer ring
Perseverance (“Percy”), craft tasks, a physical presence is the base of the back shell, while the bell-shaped objects
the latest Mars rover, got in a laboratory setting is re- covered in red material are covers for engine nozzles on the
its name from a seventh- quired; for example, mission- descent stage. The wheels are covered in a protective mate-
rial that will be removed before launch. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
grade space enthusiast? essential staff at Jet Propul-
Or that the rover has a sion Laboratory (JPL, Pasa-
“SuperCam” designed to dena, CA) successfully completed the assembly and cleaning of the sample tubes that
vaporize rocks? Percy is being prepared for will hold Martian sediment and rock for return to Earth on a future mission. Other
its journey to Mars and on techbriefs.com, mission-essential personnel will continue to go to JPL, running assessments on criti-
we have all kinds of news about the Mars cal rover systems and computer programs that must be completed before launch.
2020 mission. JPL instituted procedures — based on the guidance of occupational safety medical
Our latest story features an interview personnel — to ensure those working there are social-distancing, wearing protective
with Stanford University researcher equipment, and have ready access to hand sanitizer and other cleaning supplies.
Mathieu Lapôtre, who explains why a river “NASA has determined that Perseverance is the science program that has the
delta near the rover’s landing site is one of agency’s highest priority and the project has responded superbly to this challenge,”
our best bets for finding signs of past life said Michael Watkins, Director of JPL. “When we realized the pandemic would affect
on Mars. To learn more, go to lab access, we were quick to define the chief objective as being workplace safety for
techbriefs.com/blog. team members and their families, and then built a plan around that, providing the
Send your comments and suggestions to clearest path to the launch pad.”
me at billy@techbriefs.com. Another 80 mission-critical team members are performing final processing and
checkout of the spacecraft components at Kennedy Space Center (Florida). On March
31 and April 1, six Perseverance senior engineers watched from their home offices in
Next Month in Tech Briefs California as a technician in the rover’s cleanroom at Kennedy maneuvered his smart-
phone into every accessible nook and cranny of the rover. The walkdown’s video feed
The July issue of Tech Briefs will include gave them the confidence that their part of Perseverance was ready to go.
special coverage on Wearable Tech- “While we still have our sights set on Mars, our feet are firmly planted here on
nologies. Find out how selecting the prop- Earth,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “We see the strain this pandemic is
er electronics and circuits ensures the placing on our families, our healthcare workers, and our livelihoods. We hope that
safety and reliability of wearables such as when we leave Earth this summer, and when the Perseverance rover lands on Mars
virtual reality glasses, fitness trackers, and next February, our collective efforts to persevere through these challenging times will
smart watches. inspire the nation.”
We hope you get inspired by this issue’s special section on the Mars 2020
Perseverance mission that begins on page 16.
Connect with Tech Briefs
facebook.com/TechBriefsMagazine linkedin.com/company/tech-briefs-media twitter.com/TechBriefsMag

Antenna design optimization is crucial
to launching the Internet of Space.
Visualization of the electric field, power flow, and sharp far-field

radiation pattern of a parabolic reflector antenna.
The wired and wireless networks that currently connect

people around the world cannot reach everywhere on
Earth. To solve the problem, engineers are turning their
eyes toward space. The goal is to form a suborbital high-
data-rate communications network to revolutionize how
data is shared and collected. Before this Internet of Space
can be built, design engineers need to optimize their
antenna designs.
The COMSOL Multiphysics® software is used for simulating
designs, devices, and processes in all fields of engineering,
manufacturing, and scientific research. See how you can
apply it to advanced antenna designs.
comsol.blog/IoS

This column presents technologies that have
Products of applications in commercial areas, possibly creating the

products of tomorrow. To learn more about each
technology, see the contact information provided for
Tomorrow that innovation.
Superelastic Tire
NASA Glenn Research
Center designed the Su-
Nature-Inspired perelastic Tire, a non-
Green Energy pneumatic, compliant tire.
Technology Developed for future Moon and Mars missions, it is
Researchers at Law- a viable alternative to pneumatic tires on Earth.
rence Berkeley National The novel use of shape memory alloys capable of
Lab developed an artifi- undergoing high strain as load-bearing compo-
cial photosynthesis system, made of nanosized nents, instead of typical elastic materials, results in
tubes, that can generate the kinds of fuel that can a tire that can withstand excessive deformation
power homes and vehicles. The system has the without permanent damage. The tire eliminates
potential to generate large sources of completely both the possibility of puncture failures and run-
renewable energy using the surplus CO2 in the ning under-inflated, thereby improving automo-
atmosphere. The individual units of the system are bile fuel efficiency and safety.
small, square “solar fuel tiles” — with several inches
on a side — containing billions of the nanoscale Contact: Glenn Research Center
tubes sandwiched between a floor and ceiling of Phone: 216-433-3484
thin, slightly flexible silicate, with the tube open- E-mail: grc-techtransfer@mail.nasa.gov
ings piercing through these covers. Building a solar https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/LEW-TOPS-99
fuel farm out of many individual tiles could pro-
ceed quickly.
Contact: Aliyah Kovner

Phone: 510-486-6601
E-mail: akovner@lbl.gov
Supercapacitors for Wearable Devices

Duke University researchers have engineered a supercapacitor that remains fully
functional even when stretched to eight times its original size. It does not exhibit any
wear and tear from being stretched repeatedly and loses only a few percentage points
of energy performance after 10,000 cycles of charging and discharging. The superca-
pacitor could be part of a power-independent, stretchable, flexible electronic system for applications such as wear-
able electronics or biomedical devices. This approach has been used for regenerative braking in hybrid cars,
where energy is generated faster than it can be stored.
Contact: Ken Kingery

Phone: 919-660-8414
E-mail: ken.kingery@duke.edu

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Q&A
Tactile Robot Finger with No Blind Spots
Matei Ciocarlie, zle; the actuation (the motors), kinemat-
Associate Professor ics, and controller all have to work in
of Mechanical Engi- concert.
neering at Columbia
University, has devel- Tech Briefs: How did you arrive at a
oped, with his team, pattern of two LEDs side by side?
a robotic finger that
has a sense of touch Ciocarlie: We tried to get a nice, even
that can be localized coverage of the entire finger. Two LEDs
with high precision over a large, multi- side by side is equivalent to a single
curved surface. LED with a larger surface area. That
makes the signal richer and more con-
Tech Briefs: How did this project tinuous. It’s also why our photodiodes
evolve? are relatively large. We wanted big ones
so we could get varying levels of occlu-
Matei Ciocarlie: I’m a roboticist and sion, which gives us a nicely modulated
I’ve always been interested in manipula- signal.
tion in robot hands. It’s a remarkably
complex task to manipulate objects. In Tech Briefs: Could this ever be used
robotics, we’re surprisingly far from as a prosthesis?
being able to replicate such motor
skills. We began to try to build a robot Ciocarlie: There is a possibility. Pros-
finger that had good capabilities and thetics is a very interesting problem. If
very rich tactile data with no blind you make the prosthesis more complex, it
spots. We had the idea to use LEDs and often is more fragile and more difficult to
photodiodes — light bouncing around use. We’d love to one day show a prosthe-
the inside of the finger was the signal sis with a sense of touch, both for a static
that we were sensing deformation and hand to react autonomously to what it’s
touch. touching or maybe even to convey the
The finger we have now has very rich sense of touch back to the user.
data, telling us something about what
the finger is touching. It’s nicely pack- Tech Briefs: What are some other
aged with no hard edges or corners that applications?
are not covered. It’s easy to integrate
into a hand with a 14-wire FFC connec- Ciocarlie: The goal is dexterous ma-
tor that interfaces to the finger. We use nipulation — a robot able to do assem-
machine learning and train neural net- bly and disassembly and pick and place
works to extract information from the in very cluttered environments. In logis-
data. tics and e-commerce, there are applica-
tions for robots doing sorting, picking,
Tech Briefs: How does feedback and packing. We’d also like to use it for
from the finger make a robotic healthcare. We have so much manual
hand dexterous? labor right now in healthcare that’s
done by nurses and other clinical staff
Ciocarlie: It’s one of the components even though it is way below their skill
that makes the hand dexterous. It’s used level. These days, we’re seeing how
as part of a feedback loop based on much value there is in a person being
touch. The human hand is so difficult to able to do remote work — to assist other
copy, maybe you’re better off not even people without putting themselves in
trying. The exact shape and configura- danger.
tion of the hand is still a big part of it. Read the full transcript of this Q&A at
The sensing is just one piece of the puz- www.techbriefs.com.
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-781 www.techbriefs.com Tech Briefs, June 2020

M I C R O F L U I D I C S.
MACRO
CAPABILITIES.
REDUCING THE SIZE AND WEIGHT
O F F L U I D C ON TR O L .
Designing systems to safely put a man on the moon is difficult
enough. But factor in the need to keep components as small
and light as possible, and you’ve got a real challenge.
Fortunately, you’ve got a real solution. The Lee Company.
For more than 70 years, we’ve been engineering state-

of-the-art precision fluid control components with diam-
eters as small as 0.10 in. and weighing as little as 0.1g,
but able to withstand pressures up to 8,000 psi.
And because every one of our designs originates

out of an application need, and is scrutinized with
100% testing and inspection, we’re found in
just about every mission-critical fluid control
challenge you could imagine – from
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If you require precise fluid control, and

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5 Who
Ws of Bacteria-Killing
Metal Surfaces
Anyone concerned with eliminating bacterial pathogens including superbugs like MRSA.
What
Bacterial pathogens can live on surfaces for days. What if frequently touched surfaces, such as doorknobs, could
instantly kill them off? A one-step laser-texturing treatment was developed that could potentially turn any metal
surface into a rapid bacteria killer just by giving the metal’s surface a different texture. The technique allows the
surface of copper to immediately kill off superbugs such as MRSA. Metals such as copper normally have a very
smooth surface, which makes it difficult for the metal to kill bacteria by contact. The technique might apply to
metallic alloys that also are known to have antimicrobial properties. The technique uses a laser to create
nanoscale patterns on the metal’s surface. The patterns produce a rugged texture that increases surface area,
allowing more opportunity for bacteria to hit the surface and rupture on the spot. The laser-texturing has a dual
effect: The technique not only improves direct contact but also makes a surface more hydrophilic. Giving ortho-
pedic implants an antimicrobial surface would prevent the spread of infection and eliminate antibiotic resistance
because there wouldn’t be a need for antibiotics to kill off bacteria from an implant’s surface. For implants, such
a surface allows bone cells
to more strongly attach,
improving how well the im-
plant integrates with bone.
Where
Purdue University,
West Lafayette, Indiana
Why
Bacterial pathogens can live
on surfaces for days. This
technique instantly kills them
off on common surfaces such
as doorknobs. Due to the
simplicity and scalability of
the technique, it could easily
be translated into existing
medical device manufactur- A laser prepares to texture the surface of copper, enhancing its antimicrobial properties. (Purdue
ing processes. University photo/Kayla Wiles)
When
The team is testing this technology on the surfaces of other metals and polymers that are used to reduce risks of bacterial
growth and biofilm formation on devices such as orthopedic implants or wearable patches for chronic wounds. It is not yet
tailored to killing viruses such as the one responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, which are much smaller than bacteria.
Watch a demo of the technique on Tech Briefs TV at www.techbriefs.com/tv/bacteria-killer. For more information, contact
Rahim Rahimi, Assistant Professor of Materials Engineering, at rrahimi@purdue.edu.

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Perseverance
to the Red Planet
N
ASA’s Mars Exploration Program tecture including its Curiosity rover and pared to other times when Earth and
has enabled robotic explora- proven landing system. The new rover, Mars are in different positions in their
tion of the Red Planet for the Perseverance, will address high-priority orbits. It is expected to land on Mars on
past 20 years. Each Mars mis- science goals for Mars exploration includ- February 18, 2021 at the site of an
sion is part of a continuing chain of ing key questions about the potential for ancient river delta in a lake that once
innovation, each relying on past mis- life on Mars. The mission not only seeks filled Jezero Crater.
“
sions for proven technologies while signs of habitable conditions on Mars in
contributing its own innovations to the ancient past but also will search for
future missions. This chain allows signs of past microbial life itself.
Mars 2020 is
NASA to push the boundaries of what The mission is timed for a launch a very exciting
is currently possible while still relying opportunity between July 17 and August mission that
”
on proven technologies. 5, 2020 when Earth and Mars are in I anticipate will
The next Mars robotic mission, Mars good positions relative to each other for
2020, is based on NASA’s successful Mars landing on Mars; that is, it takes less
rewrite textbooks.
Science Laboratory (MSL) mission archi- power to travel to Mars at this time, com- NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine

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Getting to
Mars
T
he Mars 2020 mission duplicates Entry, Descent, and Landing tions. No one has ever “seen” the sky-
most of Curiosity’s entry, descent, The EDL phase begins when the crane maneuver — a parachute open-
and landing (EDL) system and spacecraft reaches the Martian atmos- ing in the Martian atmosphere, the
much of its rover design. The phere about 125 kilometers (about 78 rover being lowered down to the sur-
mission advances several innovations miles) above the surface and ends with face of Mars on a tether from its
that include sensors to measure the the rover safe and sound on the surface descent stage, the bridle between the
atmosphere, cameras, and a micro- of Mars. two being cut, and the descent stage
phone. Perseverance will have the abili- Memorable videos depicting this flying away after rover touchdown. In
ty to land in more challenging terrain “Seven Minutes of Terror” for the 2012 addition to providing engineering
than Curiosity, making more rugged landing of Curiosity went viral online data, a suite of cameras and a micro-
sites eligible as safe landing candidates. but used computer-generated anima- phone will give people on Earth a dra-

The heat shield (left) and back shell
(below) comprise the aeroshell for
NASA’s Mars 2020 mission. Both
components are nearly 15 feet (4.5
meters) in diameter. The aeroshell will
encapsulate and protect the Mars 2020
rover and its descent stage both during
their deep space cruise to Mars and
during descent through the Martian
atmosphere, which generates intense
heat. (Image: Lockheed Martin Space)
matic sense of the ride down to the sur- as the rover descends to the surface. turn its head, or the heat pumps that
face of the Red Planet. Sounds could include friction of the keep it warm — could be audible.
Like Curiosity, the Mars 2020’s guided atmosphere, the winds, and the sounds
entry, descent, and landing system proof dust displaced as the rover lands. Range Trigger
vides the ability to land a very large, Engineers are optimizing this micro- It’s hard to land on Mars, and even
heavy rover on the surface of Mars in a phone for space from easily available, harder to land a rover close to its prime
more precise landing area than was pos- store-bought hardware. It is unlikely it scientific target. Previous rovers have
sible before Curiosity’s landing. will work beyond landing. If it does sur- landed in the general vicinity of areas
Perseverance carries a microphone vive, the sounds of the Martian winds targeted for study but precious weeks
with which to record the sounds of and sounds of the working rover — such and months can be used up just travel-
descent. This microphone records audio as the wheels turning, the motors that ing to a prime target. The Mars 2020
Tech Briefs, June 2020 www.techbriefs.com 19

This artist’s concept shows the skycrane maneuver
during the descent of NASA’s Curiosity rover to the
Martian surface. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
mission team has a strategy to put the to the exact spot in the landing area that tial landing area (the landing ellipse)
rover on the ground closer to its prime scientists most want to study. The tech- had to be free of hazardous slopes and
target than was ever before possible. nology reduces the size of the landing rocks to help ensure a safe landing.
The key to the new precision landing ellipse (an oval-shaped landing area tar- Terrain-Relative Navigation helps
technique is choosing the right mo- get) by more than 50%, allowing the Perseverance land safely on Mars, espe-
ment to pull the “trigger” that releases mission team to land at some sites cially when the surface below is full of
the spacecraft’s parachute. A capability where a larger ellipse would be too risky hazards such as steep slopes and large
called Range Trigger on Mars 2020 will because of more hazards on the surface. rocks. In prior missions, the spacecraft
time the parachute’s deployment. Ear- It could shave off as much as a year carrying the rover estimated its location
lier missions deployed their parachutes from the rover’s commute to its prime relative to the ground before entering
as early as possible after the spacecraft work site. Another potential advantage the Martian atmosphere, as well as dur-
reached a desired velocity. of Range Trigger is that it would reduce ing entry, based on an initial guess from
Instead of deploying as early as possi- the risk of any future Mars sample radiometric data provided through the
ble, Range Trigger deploys the para- return mission because it would help Deep Space Network. That technique
chute based on the spacecraft’s position that mission land closer to samples had an estimation error prior to EDL of
relative to the desired landing target. cached on the surface. about 0.6 to 1.2 miles (about 1-2 kilome-
That means the parachute could be ters), which grows during entry.
deployed early or later, depending on Terrain-Relative Navigation Using Terrain-Relative Navigation,
how close it is to its desired target. If the It takes two things to reduce the risks Perseverance will estimate its location
spacecraft were going to overshoot the of entry, descent, and landing: accurate- while descending through the Martian
landing target, the parachute would be ly knowing where the rover is headed atmosphere on its parachute. That
deployed earlier. If it were going to fall and an ability to divert to a safer place allows the rover to determine position
short of the target, the parachute would when headed toward tricky terrain. relative to the ground with an accuracy
be deployed later, after the spacecraft Until now, many potential landing sites of about 200 feet (60 meters) or less.
flew a little closer to its target. with hazardous terrain have been off- Here’s how it works: First, orbiters cre-
The Range Trigger strategy could limits due to the risks of landing. For ate a map of the landing site, including
deliver Perseverance a few miles closer past Mars missions, 99% of the poten- known hazards. The rover then stores the

MARS 2020 ROVER
NEW LANDING TECHNIQUE
1 Take descent photos
2 Compare to orbital map
3 Divert if necessary
mars.nasa.gov
Using Terrain-Relative Navigation, Perseverance will estimate its location while descending through the Martian atmosphere on its parachute. That
allows the rover to determine its position relative to the ground with an accuracy of about 200 feet (60 meters) or less.
map in its computer. While descending the heat shield; MEDLI2 on Mars 2020 is adding several cameras to document
on the parachute, the rover takes pictures collects data from both the heat shield EDL in even greater detail. They will shoot
of the approaching surface. To determine and afterbody. full-color video of Mars 2020 throughout
where it’s headed, the rover quickly com- This data helps engineers validate their its descent to the Martian surface.
pares the landmarks it identifies in the models for designing future EDL systems. Some of what the cameras see on the
images with its onboard map. If it’s head- Atmospheric data from MEDLI2 and way down will help mission planners
ing toward dangerous ground up to about MEDA — the rover’s surface weather sta- decide on the rover’s first drives. This
985 feet (300 meters) in diameter (about tion — can help scientists and engineers equipment will help engineers under-
the size of two professional baseball fields understand atmospheric density and stand what happens when Perseverance
side by side), the rover can change direc- winds. The studies are critical for reduc- lands, how much sand and rock gets
tion and divert itself toward safer ground. ing risks to both robotic and future blown into the atmosphere by the retro
human missions to Mars. rockets, and how the wheels and legs
MEDLI2 respond when Perseverance finally puts
This next-generation sensor suite for Cameras all its weight down on Mars.
EDL collects temperature and pressure Mars 2020 has a suite of cameras that The Mars 2020 camera suite includes
measurements on the spacecraft. The can help engineers understand what is parachute up-look cameras, a descent-
original instrument — MSL Entry, happening during EDL, one of the riskiest stage down-look camera to view the rover
Descent, and Landing Instrumentation parts of the mission. For the Mars 2020 from above, a rover up-look camera to see
(MEDLI) — only collected data from Perseverance rover, the engineering team the descent stage in operation as it lowers
the rover from the skycrane, and a rover
down-look camera to view the ground.
Mars 2020 will provide a front-row seat
in a Mars landing for the first time in the
history of space exploration.
Resources
Jezero Crater Flyover
www.techbriefs.com/tv/landing
RANGE TRIGGER
FOR SMALLER, MORE ACCURATE LANDING ELLIPSES
Proposed landing ellipse (25×20 km)
Range Trigger ellipse (~10 km diameter)

Kilometers
0 10
Landing Mars 2020
www.techbriefs.com/tv/navigation
(Curiosity’s landing region shown as an example) Primary region of interest

Navigation and position management
Digital data collection

Software defined radios
Star trackers
Communications
Attitude control systems
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Looking for Life
there was water at all. And for Curiosity, astrobiology and we are directly seeking
we wanted to understand whether there signs of ancient life.
was water but also how long that water We’re doing that very explicitly.
had been there and the chemistry of that Where MSL has some great capabilities
water. MSL [Mars Science Laboratory] to detect signs of life if it encountered
was very successful doing that, starting in some, it is not as much of a core focus of
Yellowknife Bay early in the mission. the mission. Curiosity’s mission was real-
ly about determining for the first time if
Tech Briefs: What are the four core there were habitable environments.
objectives for Perseverance? With Mars 2020, we’re looking for evi-
dence of past life in a way that I think
Williford: The first one is determin- hasn’t really been done since Viking.
ing if life ever existed on Mars, the sec-
T
ond one is astrobiology, the third is geol- Tech Briefs: Tell us about the sample
he Mars 2020 mission addresses ogy, and the fourth is preparing for collection process. What makes a sam-
high-priority science goals for human exploration. ple scientifically compelling?
Mars exploration including learn- The first one is understanding if there
ing more about the potential for was one or more habitable environ- Williford: As you can imagine, there’s
life on Mars. Tech Briefs spoke with ments in our exploration area using an a lot to that. Right after we land, the first
NASA’s Ken Williford, Mars 2020 Deputy approach very similar to what MSL did thing we’re going to do is try to under-
Project Scientist, to learn more about and asking those same questions: Were stand in a basic sense what that environ-
the science capabilities of Perseverance. there different types of habitable envi- ment was. Of course, we chose the site
ronments? Were there different habit- because we’re fairly sure that there was a
Tech Briefs: Perseverance will be able sub-environments? Was the shore of lake there in the crater. We’re going to
landing at Jezero Crater, where it will the lake different from the middle of the start to use the tools of field geology to
explore a site that is likely to have been lake where there’s some surface habit- understand right where we are.
habitable. How does this focus build on able environments? After asking all If those rocks had water and then got
the “follow the water” theme that guid- those questions, we take the next step in hit with a giant rock from space, all that
ed previous Mars Exploration missions? energy would have set up what we call
impact-generated hydrothermal systems.
Ken Williford: The focus for this mis- The water would start to flow through
sion is more complicated than that. It’s fractures in the rocks and dissolve differ-
about determining evidence for habit- ent minerals, setting up little micro envi-
ability in a way that went beyond the sim- ronments where microbes could possibly
ple “follow the water” for Spirit and survive. That’s a type of habitable envi-
Opportunity, where we were charged ronment. Given the environment, the
with just looking for a confirmation that conditions under which a rock formed,
Perseverance will use its drill to core rock and soil

samples that will be collected and stored on the Mars
surface for future missions to retrieve and return to
Earth. NASA and the European Space Agency are
solidifying concepts for a Mars sample return mission.

and given what we think we know based Mars sample return is much bigger than On the other side of the turret, SHER-
on the evidence we see, we’ll understand astrobiology. It gives us our first opportuni- LOC uses a UV laser of the same spot size
more about the history of that rock. ty to scientifically choose samples from (100 micrometers). It is a fluorescence
Many things happened to that rock another planet and study them. Our only and Raman spectrometer. It hits the sur-
in the billions of years since it was other opportunity to study pieces of extra- face with that laser across the same area
deposited and all of those things have terrestrial bodies came from either sam- that PIXL does. But now instead of meas-
an impact on that rock. All the process- ples brought back from the Moon or uring the elemental composition, it
es have affected whether any signs of meteorites that fell on Earth. It’s incredi- measures the light color composition.
life could be preserved — whether bly valuable to understand the evolution The molecules that are being measured
they’re organic molecules or inorganic of the solar system in various ways. can be minerals or organic matter.
concentrations of biologically impor- A great thing about Mars is that it pre- SuperCAM uses laser-induced break-
tant elements, relationships between serves rocks from a time when most of down spectroscopy that involves shoot-
biologically important minerals, and the rocks there have been destroyed. On ing a laser at a rock that can be up to 7
other sorts of things. Earth, it’s extremely rare to find rocks meters away. It’s really a telescope with a
older than say, three and a half billion laser beam coming out of the middle of
Tech Briefs: So, the environment of years. On Mars, many of the rocks on the it. That telescope mirror is collecting all
Mars has a lot to do with the types and surface are older than that including the the light that comes back. It has a spec-
quality of samples. rocks we’ll explore with Perseverance. trometer that provides elemental com-
That’s a time when life was starting to position of the rock, similar to PIXL, but
Williford: The environment, of course, take hold on Earth. The ability to just from a longer distance away.
has to be habitable for there to be signs of understand what the geology was like
life but then on top of that, we need to and what the conditions were like on the Tech Briefs: What environmental infor-
analyze and preserve those signs of life. surface of another terrestrial planet dur- mation will Perseverance be looking for
And there are certain things working ing that time is a huge bonus. that could affect future human explo-
against us, like the harsh radiation envi- ration of Mars?
ronment. Mars lost its atmosphere a very Tech Briefs: Perseverance will house
long time ago, so the surface of Mars is science instruments for mineralogy, Williford: In addition to the desire of
much more hammered by cosmic rays environmental measurement, and chem- the scientific community to just better
and other kinds of radiation that tend to ical measurement. How will they be understand the current weather on
destroy signs of life. used to investigate Mars’ geologic Mars, every time we get to the surface
The locations we choose are the ones record? with weather instruments, it really im-
that would have the best chance of pre- proves our dataset about speeds and
serving signs of ancient life. As we com- Williford: There are two main instru- temperatures. That is very important to
bine all those things, we look for little ments on the rover’s turret. PIXL is a future human exploration and under-
niches where habitability is maximized. micro-focused x-ray fluorescence spec- standing those conditions.
We want to know that the rocks have been trometer that sends an x-ray beam that
protected from some of the processes can focus on rock features as small as a Tech Briefs: What’s next for Mars
that destroy biosignatures and those spots grain of salt and builds a map of the ele- exploration after this mission?
make the best samples. mental composition of the rock.
Williford: The next giant step is Mars
sample return. We’re collecting samples
that will be returned to Earth; however,
none of those follow-up missions are offi-
cially fully funded yet. We still talk about it
as a plan and a hope, but it’s being taken
very seriously and NASA and ESA [Euro-
pean Space Agency] are cooperating on
plans to get the samples back to Earth.
This image shows a concept model of NASA’s orbiting sample container, which will hold tubes of
Martian rock and soil samples to be returned to Earth through a Mars sample return campaign. At
right is the lid; at bottom left is a model of the sample-holding tube. The sample container will
keep contents at less than about 86 ˚F (30 ˚C) to preserve the Mars material in its most natural
state. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

The Science of Mars
2020
An artist’s rendering of the SuperCam instrument. SuperCam fires a laser at mineral targets that are beyond the reach of the rover’s robotic arm and
then analyzes the vaporized rock to reveal its elemental composition. (NASA)
N
ASA’s Mars Exploration Pro- ence strategies that provide continuity
gram has a long-term, systemat- in Mars science exploration themes. Call it a rock vaporizer if you really want to.
But SuperCam is much more than that. One
ic exploration plan for the Red The science strategy for the proof the science instruments onboard Per -
Planet. Mars missions build on gram is to seek signs of life. The Mars severance, SuperCam is set to find rocks of
each other, with discoveries and innova- 2020 mission’s Perseverance rover con- interest on Mars and look for signs of life.
See the Tech Briefs interview with SuperCam
tions made by prior missions guiding tributes to this strategy as well as to the inventor Roger Wiens at www.techbriefs.
what comes next. Mars missions are program’s four long-term science com/blog.
guided by evolving, discovery-driven sci- goals.

Goal 1: Determine Whether Life Goal 2: Characterize the Climate may have been favorable for microbial
Ever Existed on Mars of Mars life. Throughout its investigation, it will
The mission of the Perseverance rover Past Martian climate conditions are a collect samples of soil and rock and
focuses on surface-based studies of the focus of Perseverance’s mission. The cache them on the surface for potential
Martian environment, seeking preserved rover’s instruments are looking for evi- return to Earth by a future mission.
signs of biosignatures in rock samples dence of ancient habitable environ- Science instruments will be used to ana-
that formed in ancient Martian environments where microbial life could have lyze the chemical, mineral, physical,
ments with conditions that might have existed in the past. and organic characteristics of Martian
been favorable to microbial life. It is the rocks.
first rover mission designed to seek signs Goal 3: Characterize the Geology
of past microbial life. of Mars Goal 4: Prepare for Human
Perseverance will explore a site likely Perseverance is designed to study the Exploration
to have been habitable. It will seek signs rock record to reveal more about the geo- The rover will demonstrate key tech-
of past life, set aside a returnable cache logic processes that created and modified nologies for using natural resources in
with the most compelling rock core and the Martian crust and surface through the Martian environment for life sup-
soil samples, and demonstrate technolo- time. Each layer of rock on the Martian port and fuel. It will also monitor envi-
gy needed for the future human and surface contains a record of the environ- ronmental conditions, so mission plan-
robotic exploration of Mars. Leveraging ment in which it was formed. The rover ners understand better how to protect
discoveries from past Mars missions seeks evidence of rocks that formed in future human explorers. The mission
about water and habitability on Mars, water and that preserve evidence of organ- also provides opportunities to gather
Perseverance represents a shift toward ics, the chemical building blocks of life. knowledge and demonstrate technolo-
directly seeking signs of past microbial The rover will investigate a region of gies that address the challenges of
life. Mars where the ancient environment future human expeditions to Mars.
The SHERLOC instrument is located at the end of the robotic arm on NASA’s Mars 2020 rover. SHERLOC (short for Scanning Habitable Environments
with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) is a spectrometer that will provide fine-scale imaging and use an ultraviolet laser to deter-
mine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds on Mars. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)

Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) is loaded into the chassis of Perseverance. MOXIE will demonstrate a way that future
explorers might produce oxygen from the Martian atmosphere for propellant and for breathing. MOXIE does this by collecting carbon dioxide from
the Martian atmosphere and electrochemically splitting the carbon dioxide molecules into oxygen and carbon monoxide molecules. The oxygen is then
analyzed for purity before being vented back out to the Martian atmosphere along with the carbon monoxide and other exhaust products. (NASA/JPL-
Caltech)
These include testing a method for pro- powerful zoom lens. Like the Mastcam MOXIE — Carbon dioxide makes up
ducing oxygen from the Martian atmos- cameras on Curiosity, Mastcam-Z con- about 96% of the gas in Mars’ atmos-
phere, identifying other resources sists of two duplicate camera systems phere. Oxygen is only 0.13%, com-
(such as subsurface water), improving mounted on the mast that stands up pared to 21% in Earth’s atmosphere.
landing techniques, and characterizing from the rover deck. The cameras are The Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource
weather, dust, and other potential envi- next to each other and point in the same Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) will
ronmental conditions that could affect direction, providing a 3D view similar to demonstrate a way that future explorers
future astronauts living and working on what human eyes would see — but bet- might produce oxygen from the Martian
Mars. ter. They also have a zoom function to atmosphere for propellant and for
see details of faraway targets. breathing. The car-battery-sized instru-
Science Instruments MEDA — The Mars Environmental ment collects carbon dioxide from the
The science instruments on Persever- Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA) makes Martian atmosphere and electrochemi-
ance are state-of-the-art tools for acquir- weather measurements including wind cally splits the carbon dioxide mole-
ing information about Martian geology, speed and direction, temperature, and cules into oxygen and carbon monox-
atmosphere, environmental conditions, humidity and also measures the amount ide molecules. The oxygen is then ana-
and potential biosignatures. and size of dust particles in the Martian lyzed for purity before being vented
Mastcam-Z — This pair of cameras atmosphere. Sensors are located on the back out to the Martian atmosphere
takes color images and video, three- rover’s mast and on the deck, front, and along with the carbon monoxide and
dimensional stereo images, and has a interior of the rover’s body. other exhaust products.

PIXL — The Planetary Instrument SHERLOC uses spectrometers, a laser, Sensor for Operations and eNgineering
for X-ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) uses and a camera to search for organics and (WATSON) is a near-field-to-infinity
X-ray fluorescence to identify chemical minerals that have been altered by imaging component. WATSON is a
elements in target spots as small as a watery environments and may be signs build-to-print camera based on Curios-
grain of table salt. It has a Micro- of past microbial life. ity’s Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI).
Context Camera to provide images to SuperCam — The SuperCam on Per- Integration is enabled by existing elec-
correlate its elemental composition severance examines rocks and soil with a tronics within SHERLOC. On the arm of
maps with visible characteristics of the camera, laser, and spectrometers to seek the turret on Perseverance’s robotic arm,
target area. organic compounds that could be relat- WATSON captures the larger-context
RIMFAX — The Radar Imager for ed to past life on Mars. It can identify the images for the very detailed information
Mars’ Subsurface Experiment (RIM- chemical and mineral makeup of targets that SHERLOC collects on Martian min-
FAX) uses ground-penetrating radar as small as a pencil point from a dis- eral targets. Since WATSON can be
waves to probe the surface under the tance of more than 20 feet (7 meters). moved around on the robotic arm, it also
rover. It can detect ice, water, or salty SuperCam fires a laser at mineral targets provides other images of rover parts and
brines more than 30 feet (10 meters) that are beyond the reach of the rover’s geological targets that can be used by
beneath the surface, depending on robotic arm and then analyzes the vapor- other arm-mounted instruments; for
materials. It is the first radar tool sent to ized rock to reveal its elemental composi- example, it can be pointed at MOXIE to
the surface of Mars on a NASA mission. tion. Like the ChemCam on Curiosity, help monitor how much dust accumu-
SHERLOC — Scanning Habitable SuperCam fires laser pulses at pinpoint lates around the inlet that lets in Martian
Environments with Raman & Lumines- areas and its camera and spectrometers air for the extraction of oxygen.
cence for Organics & Chemicals’ then examine the rock’s chemistry.
(SHERLOC) main tools are spectrome- When the laser hits the rock, it creates
ters and a laser but it also uses a macro plasma, which is an extremely hot gas Resources
camera to take extreme closeups of the made of free-floating ions and electrons. Mars 2020 Science Goals
areas that are studied. This provides con- An onboard spectrograph records the www.techbriefs.com/tv/science-goals
text so scientists can see textures that spectrum of the plasma, which reveals
might help tell the story of the environ- the composition of the material. Sample Collection
www.techbriefs.com/tv/sampling
ment in which the rock formed. WATSON — Essentially SHERLOC’s
Mounted on the rover’s robotic arm, second eye, the Wide Angle Topographic
Tech Briefs, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-739 29

The Anatomy of
Perseverance
R
obots have replicated much of the last of the five senses yet to be
the human sensory experience exercised on the Red Planet.
NASA/JPL-Caltech
on Mars. Cameras have given When Perseverance arrives at Mars,

us sight; robotic hands, arms, it will have two microphones, making
and feet have supplied touch; and it possible for the rover to not only
chemical and mineral sensors have let touch and taste, but finally hear the
us taste and smell on Mars. Hearing is sounds of Mars.

+\UOHT9PKNL)L]LYS`4( ࠮ ࠮^^^/HYTVUPJ+YP]LUL[
Harmonic Drive is a registered trademark of Harmonic Drive Systems. Empower Your Robot is a registered trademark of
Harmonic Drive LLC. Images Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech.
SOME DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
NASA’S MARS 2020 AND CURIOSITY ROVERS
AFT CROSS-BEAM
Stabilizes the rover during launch
SAMPLE CACHING SYSTEM (inside)
Collects rock cores drilled by robotic arm
TURRET
Holds heavier science tools
CAMERAS
WHEELS 23 cameras, most in color
New dimensions & tread design
NASA's Mars 2020 rover looks virtually the same as Curiosity but there are a number of differences. One giveaway to which rover you're looking at is
2020's aft cross-beam, which looks a bit like a shopping cart handle. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Body and Brains The bottom and sides of the body are planes and spacecraft. In addition, the
Perseverance is car-sized — about 10 the frame of the chassis — the top is the RCEs have a special purpose: to direct
feet long (not including the arm), 9 feet Rover Equipment Deck and the bottom interfaces with all of the rover instru-
wide, and 7 feet tall. But at 2,260 is the belly pan. To accommodate a new ments for exchange of commands and
pounds, it weighs less than a small car. Sampling and Caching interior work- science data.
The rover’s body — the warm elec- space, the belly pan is dropped soon Just like the human brain, the rover
tronics box (WEB) — is a strong, outer after the rover lands. This exposes the computers register signs of health, like
layer that protects the rover’s computer workspace to the Martian atmosphere temperature and power levels, along with
and electronics (which are basically the and makes more room for sample han- other features that keep the rover “alive.”
equivalent of the rover’s brain and dling operations within that workspace. This main control loop constantly checks
heart, respectively). The rover body Unlike people and most animals, the systems to ensure that the rover is both
keeps its vital organs protected and tem- rover’s brain — its computer — is in its able to communicate throughout the sur-
perature controlled. boxy body. There are actually two identi- face mission and that it remains thermal-
The WEB is closed on the top by the cal computers, or Rover Compute ly stable (not too hot or too cold) at all
Rover Equipment Deck (the rover’s Elements (RCEs), in the body so there is times. It does so by periodically checking
“back”), which turns Perseverance into always a spare brain that can be awak- temperatures, particularly in the rover
a convertible, allowing a place for the ened to take over control and continue body, and adjusting temperature control
rover mast and cameras to sit out in the the mission. accordingly. It then records power gener-
Martian air, taking pictures with a clear The RCE interfaces with the engineer- ation and power storage data throughout
view of the terrain as the rover travels. ing functions of Perseverance over two the Mars sol (a Martian day) to decide
Its main job is to carry and protect the networks that follow an aerospace indus- what new activities can be started or com-
computer, electronic, and instrument try standard designed especially for the pleted. Finally, it schedules and prepares
systems. high-reliability requirements of air- for communication sessions with Earth or

with local Mars orbiters. Activities such as Measurement Unit (IMU) that provides robust due to the wear and tear the
taking pictures, driving, and operating 3-axis information on its position, Curiosity rover wheels endured while
the instruments are performed under which enables the rover to make pre- driving over sharp, pointy rocks.
commands transmitted in a command se- cise vertical, horizontal, and side-to- Perseverance’s wheels are narrower
quence to Perseverance from the flight side (yaw) movements. The device is than Curiosity’s but bigger in diameter
team back on Earth. used in rover navigation to support safe and made of thicker aluminum.
Perseverance generates constant en- traverses and to estimate the degree of Perseverance has six wheels, each
gineering, housekeeping, and analysis tilt the rover is experiencing on the with its own individual motor; the two
telemetry and periodic event reports surface of Mars. front and two rear wheels also have
that are stored for eventual transmis- individual steering motors. This steer-
sion once the flight team requests the Arms and Legs ing capability allows the vehicle to
information from the rover. Engineers also redesigned Persever- turn in place a full 360 degrees. The
The rover’s driving software gives ance’s wheels — its “legs” — to be more four-wheel steering also allows the
Perseverance greater independence
than Curiosity had. This allows Perse-
verance to cover more ground without
consulting controllers on Earth so fre-
quently. Also, engineers have added a
“simple planner” to the flight software.
This allows more effective and auton-
omous use of electrical power and other
rover resources. It allows the rover to
shift the time of some activities to take
advantage of openings in the daily oper-
ations schedule.
The rover’s “nerves” for balance and
position are supplied by an Inertial
(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Rover Has 10 Million

“Passengers”
NASA’s “Send Your Name to Mars”
campaign invited people around the
world to submit their names to ride Get ready to fly to Mars
aboard Perseverance. Some
For the first time ever, NASA is sending a small helicopter
10,932,295 people did just that. The
to the Red Planet – together with the new Perseverance
names were stenciled by electron rover. Our drive systems will play an important role in this
beam onto three fingernail-sized next mission. They withstand vibration, impacts, and
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aluminum plate on Perseverance. The Benefit from maxon’s systems critical expertise. Our
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This image, taken in the Spacecraft Assembly Facility’s High Bay 1 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, on July 23, 2019, shows a
close-up of the head of Perseverance’s remote sensing mast. The mast head contains the SuperCam instrument (its lens is in the large circular opening).
In the gray boxes beneath the mast head are the two Mastcam-Z imagers. On the exterior sides of those imagers are the rover’s two navigation cam-
eras. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
rover to swerve and curve, making arc-

ing turns.
Perseverance uses a similar “rocker-
bogie” suspension system that was used
on previous Mars rovers. The suspen-
sion system is how the wheels are con-
nected to the rest of the rover and con-
trol how the rover interacts with the
planet’s surface. When driving over the
uneven Martian terrain, the suspension
system maintains a relatively constant
weight on each of the rover’s wheels.
The suspension also minimizes rover tilt
as it drives, keeping it more stable;
Perseverance is designed to withstand a
tilt of 45 degrees in any direction with-
out tipping over.
By Earth vehicle standards, Persever-
CURIOSITY PERSEVERANCE ance is slow. By Martian vehicle stan-
dards, however, Perseverance is a stand-
out performer. The rover has a top
Illustrated here, the aluminum wheels of NASA’s Curiosity (left) and Perseverance rovers. Slightly speed on flat, hard ground of 4.2 cen-
larger in diameter and narrower — 20.7 inches (52.6 centimeters) versus 20 inches (50.8 centime-
ters) — Perseverance’s wheels have twice as many treads and are gently curved instead of chevron- timeters per second, or 152 meters per
patterned. (NASA/JPL-Caltech) hour. This is a little less than 0.1 miles

per hour. For comparison, a 3-mile-per- that may accumulate on rover surfaces. measurements, photos, and collect rock
hour walking pace is 134 centimeters The new cameras can also take pictures and soil samples. When driving, the
per second, or 4,828 meters per hour. while the rover is moving. rover stops frequently to take new stereo
In the case of exploring Mars, however, Perseverance carries six new Hazard images of the path ahead to evaluate
speed isn’t the most relevant quality. Detection Cameras (HazCams) — four potential hazards.
The rover’s energy-efficient pace con- on the front and two on the rear of the Two sets of color stereo Navigation
sumes less than 200 watts, compared rover body. HazCams detect hazards to Cameras (NavCams) help engineers
with a 200-horsepower car engine that the front and back pathways of the rover navigate Perseverance safely, particular-
consumes nearly 150,000 watts. such as large rocks, trenches, or sand ly when it operates autonomously, mak-
The 7-foot-long robotic “arm” on dunes. The front HazCams can see ing its own navigation decisions without
Perseverance can move a lot like a where to move the robotic arm to take consulting controllers on Earth.
human arm: it has a shoulder, elbow,
and wrist “joints” for maximum flexibil-
ity. The arm lets the rover work as a
EXTEND
human geologist would, by holding and
using science tools with its “hand” or
turret. The rover’s own hand tools
extract cores from rocks, take micro-
BEARING LIFE
scopic images, and analyze the elemen-
tal composition and mineral makeup of
Martian rocks and soil.
A new addition to Perseverance’s arm
is a rotary percussive drill designed to
extract rock core samples from the sur-
face of Mars. A suite of interchangeable
bits includes coring bits, regolith bit,
and an abrader. The rover’s drill will
penetrate into the Martian surface to
collect samples. The coring and regolith
bits are used to collect samples directly
into a clean sample collection tube,
while the abrader bit is used to scrape
off the top layers of rocks to expose
fresh, unweathered surfaces for study.
In the future, another space mission
could potentially pick up about 30 of
the sample tubes and bring them to
Earth for detailed analysis. At a time
and place of the team’s choosing, the
samples will be deposited on the sur-
face of Mars at a “sample cache depot”
SINGLE-TURN WAVE SPRINGS
that will be well documented by land-
marks and coordinates from orbital
measurements. The cache of Mars sam- REDUCE
ples remains at the depot, available for Axial and radial play
pickup and potential return to Earth.
Eyes MINIMIZE
Perseverance has several cameras Thermal misalignment and wear
focused on engineering and science
tasks. Some serve as the rover’s “eyes” on
the surface, enabling it to drive around. ELIMINATE
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operators on Earth drive the rover more
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Mars 2020
SuperCam
(Remote Micro-Imager)
Mastcam-Z Mastcam-Z
Navcam Navcam
SHERLOC
(WATSON)
PIXL
Rear Hazcams (Micro-Context
Camera)
Front Hazcams Total cameras: 23
Engineering cameras: 9
Science cameras: 7
Entry, descent and landing cameras: 7
This image presents a selection of the 23 cameras on Perseverance. Many are improved versions of the cameras on the Curiosity rover, with a few new
additions as well. (NASA/JPL-Caltech)
Located up high on the rover’s mast, “voice” and its “ears” and are located on head. The orbiters then use their much
these two sets of black-and-white stereo the rover’s back. Having multiple an- larger antennas and transmitters to
cameras can see an object as small as a tennas provides operational flexibility relay that data on the long-distance link
golf ball from 82 feet (25 meters) away. and backup options just in case they are back to Earth.
Before Perseverance “drives blind,” the needed. Most often, Perseverance will The high-gain antenna is steerable so
NavCams initially help ensure a safe use its ultra-high frequency (UHF) it can point its radio beam in a specific
path. Blind-drive mode occurs when antenna (about 400 megahertz) to com- direction. The benefit of having a steer-
engineers command the rover to drive municate with Earth through NASA able antenna is that the entire rover
a certain distance in a certain direc- orbiters around Mars. Because the doesn’t need to change position to talk
tion, and the rover’s computer calcu- rover and orbiter antennas are within to Earth, which is always moving in the
lates distance from wheel rotations close range of each other, they act a lit- Martian sky. Like turning your neck to
without looking or checking for wheel tle like walkie-talkies compared to the talk to someone next to you instead of
slippage. long-range telecommunications with turning your entire body, Perseverance
The new CacheCam is a single cam- Earth provided by the low-gain and can save energy and keep things simple
era that looks down at the top of the high-gain antennas. by moving only the antenna.
sample cache. It takes pictures of sam- It generally takes about 5 to 20 min-
pled materials and the sample tubes as utes for a radio signal to travel the dis-
they are being prepared for sealing and tance between Mars and Earth, depend- Resources
caching. This helps scientists watch over ing on planet positions. Using orbiters
the samples as they are being obtained to relay messages is beneficial because Behind the Spacecraft
www.techbriefs.com/tv/next-rover
and keeps a record of the entire process they are much closer to Perseverance
for each sample collected. than the Deep Space Network (DSN) Building the Mars 2020 Rover
antennas on Earth. The rover can www.techbriefs.com/tv/building-rover
Voice and Ears achieve data rates of up to 2 megabits The Next Mars Rover
To communicate, Perseverance has per second on the relatively short-dis- www.techbriefs.com/tv/rover-design
three antennas that serve as both its tance relay link to the orbiters over-

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Building
Perseverance
T
he Mars improved our capability to zero in on stage as it’s touching down on the
Perseverance a very interesting place for our scien- ground. We’ve got a lot of questions
rover incorporates new tists but to do it in a way that we can about what happens with the thrusters
design advances since Curiosity deliver the system safely to that site. used by the descent stage. There’s been
landed on the Red Planet, including a a lot of concern about the thrusters kick-
Mars Helicopter. Tech Briefs spoke with Tech Briefs: New cameras could pro- ing up a lot of dust and rocks as well as
NASA’s Keith Comeaux, Deputy Project vide the first-ever view of a Mars land- potentially damaging the rover.
Chief Engineer, to learn more about ing. What do you expect to see — what Finally, there are three parachute up-
these new technologies. questions do you hope to answer? look cameras at the top of the back shell.
When the parachute is deployed, these
Tech Briefs: The Mars 2020 spacecraft Comeaux: MSL had 17 different cam- cameras are rotated in position in the
will employ an entry, descent, and land- eras — one of which was a landing cam- ring around where the parachute is
ing (EDL) process similar to Curiosity’s era — that took some images as we were ejected from, providing three different
but with some new technology. How will descending. Most of what you saw was a angles of the parachute inflating at
this technology improve EDL? simulation but there are a few snapshots Mars. That’s a very interesting engineer-
of the videos of the heat shield falling ing problem because there are very few
Keith Comeaux: We have a new algo- away. Those were taken from a camera occasions that we get to actually record a
rithm — a software change — that the called MARDI [Mars Descent Imager]. A supersonic parachute inflating. We’ve
autopilot uses to decide when to open landing camera, which is in the same done some high-altitude tests to under-
the parachute. On MSL, we opened the position as MARDI was, will be used to stand that better but this will be the first
parachute when we were in the right take images as the spacecraft is coming time we actually get to record it at Mars.
velocity range independent of where we down. An entirely new camera system — We might have to wait a while for it
were respective to our target. This time, a commercial camera system called EDL because it’s a pretty high data volume
we’ll open the chute right when we’re Cams — includes a rover down-look cam- that’s going to get stored in the memory
approaching our target so we get a more era, which is on the bottom of the rover banks and it’ll take a while to downlink
accurate chute opening where we want looking down at our landing site, and an it all. But the engineering return on
to land. That’s going to shrink our land- up-look camera on the top deck of the those cameras is going to be pretty
ing ellipse quite a bit. The second rover looking up at the descent stage. incredible.
improvement is including the lander When the spacecraft starts the sky-
vision system, which has a map of our crane maneuver, we’ll see the rover drop Tech Briefs: Let’s talk about Perse-
landing site onboard that is pre-populat- away from the descent stage, we’ll see verance. Again, it’s very similar to
ed with risky zones and safe zones. the descent stage pop off the rover, and Curiosity but heavier and with some
The rover is going to take some pic- we’ll see it move away. We also have a major differences, including a new, more
tures as its coming down on the para- descent stage down camera, which is on capable wheel design.
chute and correlate those pictures to the the bottom of the descent stage. When
map it has in its brain and choose one of skycrane starts, the rover will fall away Comeaux: Yes, we designed the wheels
the safe sites that we’ve pre-designated. from the descent stage and we’ll capture for Curiosity with what we knew about
By studying the landing side for years a video of that as well as the content of how to design wheels to support the size
now, the team has done a very detailed the landing site. With that camera in of the rover but Mars threw us a
risk analysis of where those safe sites are particular, I’m very interested in seeing curveball. The terrain included rocks
within our landing site. So, those two the results because it’ll show the rover that were embedded in the bedrock and
technologies in particular have really from the point of view of the descent kicked up by the wind, creating very sharp

This artist's concept shows
the Mars Helicopter Ingenuity on
the Martian surface. More than 1,500
individual pieces of carbon fiber, flight-
grade aluminum, silicon, copper, foil, and
foam went into the Mars helicopter. (Credit:
NASA/JPL-Caltech)
points. When Curiosity rolled over that they want the rover to get stay focused on
them, they didn’t break or move out to. The rover will take pictures the helicopter and may-
of the way. The rover put all its as it goes and do the onboard be do some science on the side — the
weight on those points and punctured processing of those stereo images to real objective will be operating the heli-
the wheels. And over time, there were determine where the obstacles are and copter. The two months spent on Per-
enough punctures that cracks started navigate a path around those obstacles severance is basically to allow us time to
to develop and grew into pretty big to get through to the destination. The check out the rover and then find a
holes. The wheels actually still work just Rover Compute Element interfaces good spot for helicopter operations.
as well as they were designed to at the engineering functions of Perseverance During that period, the helicopter
start of the mission. with the same computer we’re using for stays tucked underneath the rover on
Over time, the mission operators the lander vision system during entry, rover power because its battery is really
learned how to avoid the terrain that descent, and landing. But once we’re on not powerful enough to operate on its
causes degradation of the wheels. We the surface of Mars, we have an extra own for a long period of time. Once we
know we’ve got plenty of life left in the computer, so we chose to put it to use in deploy Perseverance, it will drive off
Curiosity wheels but for Perseverance, we helping us navigate the surface. All of and Ingenuity will deploy from under-
wanted to do better. Now we have wheels the images taken with the cameras up on neath the rover. Perseverance will need
that are slightly narrower, just a tiny bit the mast — the NAVCAMs — will get to drive away from the helicopter the
larger in diameter, and most importantly, piped to that computer and processed to same day so that the Sun can get on the
there is more tread with a little bit of a choose a path through the obstacles. solar panels above the helicopter
wave in it — a little curve if you look at blades. We can recharge the battery and
them closely — that gives them stiffness Tech Briefs: One of the new aspects be ready for the overnight cold — it will
to prevent crack propagation and punc- of the rover is the addition of the Mars have to use the heaters to stay warm
turing in the first place. We tested them helicopter, Ingenuity. Why does the heli- overnight. During the day, it’ll charge
just as we did the Curiosity wheels and we copter remain under Perseverance’s up. And then when the conditions are
concluded that these design features power for two months after landing and right during the daytime in terms of
meet the need if we again face the same what are the goals for the helicopter Sun, wind, and temperature, we’ll start
type of terrain we saw with Curiosity. once it is deployed? helicopter objectives.
Basically, Ingenuity is a technology
Tech Briefs: What enhancements were Comeaux: The mission operation demonstration to show that we can oper-
made to improve navigation and hazard plan is to choose a safe site to deploy the ate a flying machine on Mars, which is
avoidance? helicopter once we’ve landed. The extra pretty incredible. We’ll take pictures of
time on the rover allows us to do all of the helicopter as well as from the heli-
Comeaux: There’s a lot of onboard our initial checkouts of the rover and copter looking down at Mars.
software that allows us to detect hazards then navigate to a flat place where we
as we’re driving across Mars including can drop off the helicopter and begin its Visit the Mars 2020 mission web site
an algorithm that enables the Mars driv- operations. We’ll be operating the heli- at mars.nasa.gov/mars2020.
ers on the ground to actually select sites copter in a 30-day period in which we’ll

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E-mail: sales@omnetics.com space missions ranging from LEO to deep space exploration.
http://www.omnetics.com • Mars Curiosity:
Omnetics provided over a dozen .025" pitch (.64mm) Nano
connectors used within two Miniature Inertial Measurement
Units (MIMU) aboard Curiosity. These components were vital in
About Our Company
terms of ensuring a safe landing for the rover on the red planet.
• Cassini-Huygens:
Omnetics is a privately held, world-class micro-miniature Hi-
Cassini-Huygens was the first robotic spacecraft sent to orbit
Rel connector design and manufacturing company.
to study Saturn as well as its complex system. Omnetics provid-
Omnetics’ Space-Grade connectors are designed for low
ed Nano Strip connectors that are particularly suited to appli-
weight, high density, rugged interconnection applications used
cations where rugged light weight is critical, such as in
within the space modules. Pin counts and type are varied to
unmanned aerial vehicles.
meet specific electrical and signal needs of the circuit.
• TXMission:
Materials used in the designs are certified and have proven use
TXMission modules offer very high data rate communication
for LEO to deep space travel using low outgassing materials as
modems for transmission directly to ground-based computers
well as anti-radiation susceptibility.
for data capture and processing. Multiple Omnetics Bi
Miniature cabling and connector elements are selected from
Lobe/Nano-D SMT connectors route data from the processor to
military type connectors to meet the rigorous demands of space
and from sensors and the transmission portion of the satellite.
travel. Connectors are often used to route high speed signals
Omnetics also participated in:
from LIDAR type sensors to position control and tracking infor-
• Mars Scout • Swiss Cube • RAISE
mation. Ion plasma thrusters can be activated to maintain atti-
Phoenix • TerraSAR-X • ROKVISS
tude as satellites are in orbit or being moved to new locations.
• Iridium & Iridium • OPTOS • GLAST
Our products are designed and assembled at our plant in
Next • MASCOT • H3 Rocket
Minneapolis, Minnesota for more than 30 years.
• Bepi Columbo • VIBNASS • JUICE
• Solar Orbiter • CubeSat • Start Trackers
• ExoMars • APS Star Tracker • LCT
• SAR • SHEFEX II
TXMission Communications Processor
Space sealed Nano connectors
http://www.omnetics.com

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2 Pettipaug Rd.
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Phone: 860-399-6281
E-mail: inquiry@theleeco.com
www.theleeco.com
About Our Company
Since its beginning in 1948, The Lee Company has pioneered

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ation launch vehicles, spacecraft and satellites. The Lee

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Crane Aerospace & Electronics is proud to supply Interpoint

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About Our Company stand up to the
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Crane Aerospace & Electronics delivers mission-critical and and vibration
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TECHNOLOGY LEADERS RF & Microwave Electronics
RF Innovations Give Batteries New Life
T
he market for smart, automated, underlying need is to have more and more The underlying reason for the massive
and cloud-connected products connected devices and sensors installed power consumption is that the IQ radio
continues to grow year-on-year, across all aspects of our personal lives, architecture in most of today’s wireless
with IHS Markit forecasting the offices, and manufacturing locations. devices has not changed much in the past
number of worldwide Internet of Things 25 years. The IQ radio processes the wire-
(IoT)-connected devices reaching 62 bil- The Challenge less signal into in-phase and quadrature
lion by the end of 2023. Many new prod- Although it may seem straightforward components, allowing it to be graphed
uct types are being enabled by innovative to install these devices to make this new much like using x and y coordinates to
sensor technology developments and world possible, there are significant graph a data point on a Cartesian graph.
drastic improvements in processing capa- challenges. Often, the best location for The RF transceiver consists mainly of
bilities. Consumers are adopting smart installing these devices is not always the analog circuits to transcode the analog
devices that promise to simplify their most convenient for accessing power or radio signals to digital IQ components.
lives with smart locks or smart thermo- Internet connectivity. Battery operation Unfortunately, analog circuits are not as
stats while businesses generate more pro- seems like the most obvious solution but efficient as digital circuits. They also do
ductivity with smart warehousing and a problem arises when considering how not reap the benefits from CMOS
asset tracking. Manufacturers can reduce to obtain Internet connectivity for this process technology enhancements like
downtime with predictive maintenance type of device. devices based on digital circuits such as
solutions, and medical providers can be Wireless communication is a natural microprocessors. The IQ radio architec-
more effective through patient monitor- solution for Internet connectivity in bat- tures were developed long before the
ing and hospital efficiency optimization. tery-based systems since it allows for a great need for battery-based wireless devices
These devices become even more pow- amount of freedom in device location; was conceived; hence, a new approach is
erful when connected to the Internet to however, the downside to wireless commu- required.
add feature enhancements through cloud nication is that the radio consumes a
services. The introduction of machine tremendously disproportionate amount of The Solution
learning and artificial intelligence can power and most often, more than all the A new wireless platform created by
bring to light previously unforeseen other components in the IoT device. This InnoPhase introduces a digital polar
insights. Anticipatory technology offers a necessitates changing batteries frequently radio that solves the power issue. The
world where things happen based on pre- or simply makes the product not feasible radio design uses patented digital cir-
vious actions or expected needs. The from an operational point of view. cuits to extract the data from the RF sig-
InnoPhase Talaria TWO Smart Lock Example

Wireless Connectivity & Security Electro-Mechanical & Power
Cloud Connectivity
CLOUD • MQTT
PWM Motor
• TLS1.2
Driver
Motor
GPIO LED LED

Direct-to-Cloud Driver Array
Connection Wi-Fi INNOPHASE
Talaria TWO™ ADC (Battery Monitoring)

BLE5.0 Wi-Fi / BLE / MCU Batteries
12C
PWM Accelerometer
BLE based Provisioning System Security
and Setup
• Secure Boot Buzzer
• eFuse, PUF SMART LOCK SYSTEM
By optimizing the Wi-Fi idle connected current consumption with the new radio chipset, the smart lock that once operated six months on batteries can now last more
than a year.

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Smiths Interconnect
5101 Richland Avenue
Kansas City, KS 66106
Phone: 913-342-5544
Fax: 913-342-7043
E-mail: info.us@smithsinterconnect.com
www.smithsinterconnect.com
Company Description Products/Services Offered
Smiths Interconnect is a leading provider of technically dif- Smiths Interconnect offers proven quality and innovative
ferentiated electronic components, subsystems, microwave and connectivity solutions, constantly adapting our products to
radio frequency products that connect, protect and control crit- tomorrow’s needs while meeting our customers’ requirements.
ical applications in the commercial aviation, defense, space, We leverage our application specific expertise to design and
medical, rail, semiconductor test, wireless telecommunications, manufacture superior RF components, connectors, interposers
and industrial markets. and cable assemblies that ensure optimal performance, durabil-
Smiths Interconnect has 25 Sales, R&D and Manufacturing ity and safety.
locations in 12 countries, including Canada, US (California, Our technically differentiated solutions provide our cus-
Florida, Massachusetts, Kansas, and Maryland), Mexico, Costa tomers with a competitive advantage when tackling the chal-
Rica, France, Germany, Italy, UK, Tunisia, India, China, and lenges of higher power, higher data rates, wider bandwidth, and
Singapore. greater connectivity all within a smaller footprint.
Smiths Interconnect is part of Smiths Group, a global leader We are an approved vendor for international space agencies
in applying advanced technologies for markets in threat and including ESA, ISRO, JAXA and NASA, and have proudly deliv-
contraband detection, energy, medical devices, communica- ered failure-free performance in numerous spaceflight pro-
tions and engineered components. Smiths Group employs grams. We work globally with our customers and space agen-
around 22,000 people in more than 50 countries. cies to design the next generation of solutions for launchers,
satellites, manned space flight and ground systems support.
Target Markets www.smithsinterconnect.com
Aerospace, Space, Defense, Communications, Semiconductor

Test, Medical, Rail, Industrial

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS RF & Microwave Electronics
NEW!
4 AXIS SERVO
from
2.25”
InnoPhase Talaria TWO™ Module 1010 (left) and 1011.
nal using polar rather than IQ coordi- lock that once operated six months on
nates. Amplitude and phase are used batteries can now last more than a year.
instead of in-phase and quadrature and Other products once inconceivable
the architecture is highly digital-based can now be a reality. New smart home
instead of analog. This provides a automation products with cloud connec-
tremendous improvement in power con- tivity and motorized functionality can be
sumption for wireless radios. implemented and powered using batter-
In a modern OFDM scheme, a polar ies. Remote sensors that gather data
- brushed or bldc motors radio is more efficient at processing RF about a workplace environment and
signals. In the transmit section of the usage can be battery-powered and placed
- 5 amps per axis radio specifically, the polar transmitter is in the most useful location rather than
- 16 analog inputs 3 dB more efficient than an IQ transmit- close to line power. New sensors to cap-
ter (or conversely, an IQ transmitter is ture machine vibration patterns can be
- 16 on/off drivers 50% less efficient than a polar transmit- mounted directly at the point of concern,
- home and limit in ter). And the efficiency gains are similar providing the most beneficial informa-
in the receiver section with the digital tion. Furthermore, these battery-based
- live tech support polar radio. products will not require a network hub
- made in the USA Wi-Fi is a wireless protocol that uses to transfer from one radio protocol to
OFDM for its radio signal encoding. It another; for example, Zigbee or BLE to
was included in the original 802.11g stan- Wi-Fi. They will be able to communicate
See the dard and continues to be used in each directly with standard Wi-Fi routers and
new protocol update. The digital polar make a direct connection to the Internet.
EZQUAD SERVO radio has been adapted to the Wi-Fi stan- The most interesting point about the
in action! dard, implemented in its Talaria TWO
SoC, and proven to reduce current con-
Talaria TWO is that it uses what most
would consider an old CMOS process
sumption for Wi-Fi-connected clients by technology, yet it competes head-to-head
50% or more. This is a major break- on Wi-Fi power consumption with chipsets
through for products such as smart locks that use much more modern CMOS tech-
where the device sits idly connected to nology. This validates the impact of the
WWW.ALLMOTION.COM the Wi-Fi network a vast majority of the

time and only occasionally receives a
digital polar radio, which can put radio
technology in line with Moore’s Law so it
message to lock or unlock the door. can experience the same type of improve-
(510) 471-4000 In certain smart lock scenarios, it is
entirely possible for the Wi-Fi radio to
ments seen within other digital CMOS
products. The low-power radio design
30097 Ahern Avenue consume as much as 75% of the overall will enable the acceleration of new con-
battery charge. Many assume, incorrect- nected IoT products for consumer, com-
Union City, CA 94587
ly, that running the motor circuit would mercial, industrial, and medical markets.
Te c h n i c a l S u p p o r t
consume most of the power in this sys- This article was written by Rob McCormick,
(408) 460-1345 tem; however, by optimizing the Wi-Fi director of marketing at InnoPhase, San
idle connected current consumption Diego, CA. For more information, visit
with the new radio chipset, the smart http://info.hotims.com/76504-123.

Beyond Connectivity
New high-performance RF & MW components
CEX Series - Chip Equalizers

Surface mount chip equalizers optimized for
gain variation over frequency
Frequency offering up to 40 GHz supporting
a wide array of markets and applications
Planar X Series - RF Filters

Bandpass, bandstop, lowpass and highpass
configurations up to 18 GHz (Ku-Band) offering
premium performance in a small package
Ideal solutions for pick and place and harsh
environment applications
SpaceNXT™ MWC Series

Space tested and qualified multi-way
isolated splitters in high-frequency Ku-bands,
operating from 10.7 to 12.8 GHz
Compact and low mass structure featuring
field replaceable connectors
CRH Series - Outriggers
Patented resistive product designed to handle
more power than the conventional flip chip
resistor
Multiple footprint configurations, resistance
values and power handling options are available
to support a wide array of applications
more > smithsinterconnect.com

Electrical/Electronics
Wearable Device Monitors Health
The flexible device harvests heat energy from the body to monitor health.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
E ngineers have demonstrated a flexible

device that harvests the heat energy
from the human body to monitor health.
it significantly improves the thermal engi-
neering of the previous version, while
increasing the density of the semiconduc-
The device surpasses other flexible har- tor elements responsible for converting
vesters that use body heat as the sole ener- heat into electricity. One of the improve-
gy source. ments is an improved silicone elastomer
The harvesters use heat energy from the — essentially a type of rubber — that
human body to power wearable technolo- encapsulates the EGaIn interconnects.
gies — such as smart watches that measure The key is using a high-thermal-conduc-
your heart rate, blood oxygen, glucose, and tivity silicone elastomer doped with
other health parameters — that never need graphene flakes and EGaIn. The elas-
to have their batteries recharged. The tech- tomer provides mechanical robustness
The improved theromoelectric generator demon-
nology relies on the same principles gov- strates efficiency and flexibility. (Photo courtesy against punctures while improving the
erning rigid thermoelectric harvesters that of Mehmet Ozturk, NC State University) device’s performance. Using this elas-
convert heat to electrical energy. tomer allowed researchers to boost the
Flexible harvesters that conform to the device is significantly better than other flex- thermal conductivity — the rate of heat
human body are highly desirable for use ible devices reported to date and is transfer — by six times, allowing improved
with wearable technologies. Superior skin approaching the efficiency of rigid devices. lateral heat spreading.
contact with flexible devices, as well as the The proof-of-concept TEG originally One strength of the technology is that it
ergonomic and comfort considerations to employed semiconductor elements that eliminates the need for device manufac-
the device wearer, are core reasons behind were connected electrically in series using turers to develop new flexible, thermo-
building flexible thermoelectric genera- liquid-metal interconnects made of EGaIn electric materials because it incorporates
tors (TEGs). — a non-toxic alloy of gallium and indi- the very same semiconductor elements
The performance and efficiency of flex- um. EGaIn provided both metal-like elec- used in rigid devices. Future work will
ible harvesters, however, currently trail well trical conductivity and stretchability. The focus on further improving the efficien-
behind rigid devices, which have been entire device was embedded in a stretch- cies of these flexible devices.
superior in their ability to convert body able silicone elastomer. The upgraded For more information, contact Mehmet
heat into usable energy. The new flexible device employs the same architecture but Ozturk at mco@ncsu.edu; 919-515-9594.
Cut-to-Length Electrical Cable Cuts Costs

Electrical cables are used in services such as power delivery, automation signaling, and
communications.
AutomationDirect, Cumming, Georgia
F or equipment such as shop-built OEM

machinery or field-installed systems
installed in a manufacturing facility, de-
or results in leftover cables on stockroom
shelves — both money-wasters. For these
reasons, many end users, machinery
all be addressed. Many standards and
codes come into play.
Designers invest a lot of effort selecting
signers must make many technical selec- OEMs, and system integrators are switch- the right cables for their applications. If
tions for cables and wiring based on electri- ing to cut-to-length cable to quickly and they choose a specific cable for every situ-
cal characteristics and other specified cost-effectively get exactly what they need. ation, they may end up with dozens of part
parameters. Products improve and stan- Electrical cables are used in many serv- numbers. On the other hand, if they stan-
dards are updated, so there are many cases ices such as power delivery, automation dardize on fewer cables, it usually means
where designers would want to use newer signaling, and communications. Specifiers some parts of the installation will have an
cable technologies with increased perform- must consider electrical characteristics oversized or more expensive cable than
ance; however, users may find themselves such as conductor ampacity, insulation needed. When designers need to try out
constrained by what they already stock. materials, shielding from electrical noise, new and improved cable options, buying a
Standardizing on cables helps with and more. Physical conditions such as flex- whole spool is cost-prohibitive.
ordering and stocking but sometimes ibility and resistance to extreme tempera- Cut-to-length cable suppliers offer an
pushes users to select over-specified cables tures, sunlight, water, and chemicals must option for end users addressing these

issues. To be successful, a cut-to-length ing are available, and UL Certification for ensure cut-to-length suppliers are certi-
supplier must ensure that a wide range of respooling cable is met. fied by Underwriters Laboratory (UL) for
products is offered, stock is carefully Cost and delivery are always prime con- the respooling and traceability process
maintained, quick delivery and good pric- cerns for end users but it is important to defined by UL as “Processed Wire —
Respooled.” This quality assurance prac-
tice enables all cables to be tracked back
to the master reel.
Installation crews are already familiar
with laying out their work to determine
how much cable is needed based on
routing. Typically, they would then
check stock, order more material if
needed, and then begin setting up their
reels. Using cut-to-length methods, the
installers do the same takeoff but then
place an order for exactly what is speci-
fied by the designer. The order is deliv-
ered to the jobsite within a day or two, so
the cable supplier acts as a virtual stock-
room and this process saves work for
field personnel.
Specifying cut-to-length cables from
certified suppliers provides a better solu-
tion than traditional approaches by
helping end users and OEMs get exactly
the products they need in the most eco-
nomical manner.
Certified cut-to-length cable suppliers act as a virtual stockroom for end users and OEMs, saving For more information, visit http://info.
time and money. hotims.com/76504-122.
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Electrical/Electronics
Kaman’s family of
high-precision sensors
utilize eddy current
Graphene Device with
technology to accurately Superconducting, Insulating, and
position targets
without environmental
Magnetic Properties
The multitasking device could advance development of an
contamination. electric circuit for faster, next-generation electronics like
quantum computing technologies.
Uncontaminated Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California
Measurements T hinner than a single strand of DNA yet

200 times stronger than steel, graph-
materials simultaneously showing all three
properties have been very rare since it is
ene is an excellent conductor of electricity difficult to induce magnetism in graphene
and heat and it can conform to any num- because it is typically not magnetic.
ber of shapes, from an ultrathin 2D sheet The magnetic materials used in elec-
to an electronic circuit. tronics today are made of ferromagnetic
Researchers previously developed a metals such as iron or cobalt alloys.
multitasking graphene device that switch- Ferromagnetic materials, like the com-
es from a superconductor that efficiently mon bar magnet, have a north and a south
conducts electricity, to an insulator that pole. When ferromagnetic materials are
resists the flow of electric current, and used to store data on a computer’s hard
back again to a superconductor. The cur- disk, these poles point either up or down,
rent device provides three properties: representing zeros and ones — called bits.
superconducting, insulating, and a type of Graphene, however, is not made of a mag-
magnetism called ferromagnetism. So far, netic metal — it’s made of carbon.
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Schematic of the double-gated trilayer graphene/boron nitride device. The inset shows the moiré
superlattice pattern between the trilayer graphene and the bottom boron-nitride layer. (Credit:
Guorui Chen/Berkeley Lab)

The researchers engineered an ultra- the device to circle in the same direction, resistance. Such properties characterize
thin device, just 1 nanometer in thickness, like tiny cars racing around a track. This a rare class of insulators known as
featuring three layers of atomically thin generated a forceful momentum that Chern insulators. The graphene device
graphene. When sandwiched between 2D transformed the graphene device into a has not just one, but two conductive
layers of boron nitride, the graphene lay- ferromagnetic system. edges, making it a “high-order Chern
ers — trilayer graphene — form a repeat- The graphene system’s interior not insulator,” a consequence of the strong
ing pattern called a moiré superlattice. only becomes magnetic but also insulat- electron-electron interactions in the tri-
By applying electrical voltages through ing, and despite the magnetism, its layer graphene.
the graphene device’s gates, the force outer edges morphed into channels of For more information, contact Theresa
from the electricity prodded electrons in electronic current that move without Duque at tnduque@lbl.gov; 510-495-2418.
Improving Data Speeds with Laser-Activated Magnets

Mini-magnets could enable cloud computing systems to process data up to 100 times faster
than current technologies.
University of Edinburgh, Scotland
A new magnetic material could boost

the storage capacity and processing
speed of hard drives used in cloud-based
be controlled by shining rapid pulses
from a laser on it. Data could be stored
and accessed on the magnets using laser
lectively emit as much carbon as the avi-
ation industry.
Existing hard drives store data using a
servers. This could enable users of cloud pulses lasting one millionth of a bil- magnetic field generated by passing an
data systems to load large files in sec- lionth of a second. This could enable electric current through a wire, which gen-
onds instead of minutes. hard drives fitted with the magnets to erates a lot of heat. Replacing this with a
The material — a single-molecule process data up to 100 times faster than laser-activated mechanism would be more
magnet — is composed mainly of man- current technologies. The development energy-efficient as it does not produce heat.
ganese. A chemical bond that gives the could also improve the energy efficiency For more information, contact press.
compound its magnetic properties can of cloud computing systems, which col- office@ed.ac.uk; +44 (0)131 650 9547.
ROBOTIC END - EFFECTORS
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Materials & Coatings
Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices
Through Clothing
The rainproof, stainproof technology turns clothing into self-powered remotes while turning
away bacteria.
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
A new technique transforms existing

cloth items or textiles into self-
powered e-textiles containing sensors,
using simple embroidery without the
need for expensive fabrication pro-
cesses requiring complex steps or ex-
keeps the wearer safe from viruses and
bacteria.
The textiles protect wearers from
music players, or illumination displays pensive equipment. The fabric also rain, stains, and bacteria while harvest-
ing the energy of the wearer to power
textile-based electronics. The self-pow-
ered e-textiles also constitute an ad-
vancement in the development of wear-
able machine-human interfaces that
can be washed many times in a conven-
tional washing machine without appar-
ent degradation.
Waterproof, breathable, and antibac-
5 cm terial self-powered clothing is based on
omniphobic triboelectric nanogenera-
tors (RF-TENGs) that use simple em-
broidery and fluorinated molecules to
embed small electronic components
and turn a piece of clothing into a
0.5 (s) play mechanism for powering devices. The
pause RF-TENG technology is like having a
wearable remote control that also keeps
0.02 (dB) odors, rain, stains, and bacteria away
from the user.
The fabric provides a seamless com-
munication with machines and the
Internet of Things.
Waterproof, breathable, antibacterial, self-powered clothing is based on omniphobic triboelectric For more information, contact Chris
nanogenerators. (Purdue researchers) Adam at cladam@prf.org; 765-588-3341.
Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout

Stretchable Material
Inspired by the octopus, the structure senses, computes, and responds without any centralized
processing.
North Carolina State University, Raleigh
S oft tactile logic was developed that can

make decisions at the material level
where the sensor is receiving input, rather
also has significant neuronal structures
throughout its arms. This raises the possi-
bility that the arms can make decisions
cone form. That pigmented silicone
contains channels that are filled with
metal that is liquid at room tempera-
than relying on a centralized, semiconduc- based on sensory input, without direct ture, effectively creating a squishy wire
tor-based logic system. The resulting device instruction from the brain. nervous system. Pressing or stretching
is not quite a robot and not quite a com- At the core of the soft tactile logic pro- the silicone deforms the liquid metal,
puter but has characteristics of both. totypes is a common structure: pigments which increases its electrical resistance,
The approach was inspired by the octo- that change color at different tempera- raising its temperature as current passes
pus, which has a centralized brain but tures, mixed into a soft, stretchable sili- through it. The higher temperature trig-

gers color change in the surrounding
no inputs 1 input 2 inputs temperature-sensitive dyes; the overall
structure has a tunable means of sensing
touch and strain.
The researchers also developed soft tac-
tile logic prototypes in which this same
action — deforming the liquid metal by
touch — redistributes electrical energy to
other parts of the network, causing materi-
al to change colors, activate motors, or turn
on lights. Touching the silicone in one spot
creates a different response than touching
in two spots; in this way, the system carries
out simple logic in response to touch.
Touching the silicone in one spot creates a different response than touching in two spots; in this For more information, contact Michael
way, the system carries out simple logic in response to touch. Dickey at mddickey@ncsu.edu; 919-513-0273.
Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds

A novel plate-cell architecture reaches the theoretical limit of performance.
University of California, Irvine
R esearchers have architecturally de-

signed plate-nanolattices — nano-
meter-sized carbon structures — that are
of closely connected, closed-cell plates
instead of the cylindrical trusses common
in such structures over the past few
chanical properties. The new design has
been shown to improve on the average
performance of cylindrical beam-based
stronger than diamonds as a ratio of decades. Previous beam-based designs architectures by up to 639% in strength
strength to density. The material consists have not been efficient in terms of me- and 522% in rigidity.

1 ISO 13
900 48
5
O
IS
AS 9100 With wall thicknesses of about 160 nanometers, a closed-cell, plate-based nanolattice structure is
the first experimental verification that such arrangements reach the theorized limits of strength
and stiffness in porous materials. (Image: Cameron Crook and Jens Bauer/UCI)
Perfection The material is fabricated through a heated to 900 °C in a vacuum for one
in Tubing 3D laser printing process called two-
photon lithography direct laser writing.
hour. The end result is a cube-shaped
lattice of glassy carbon that has the
As an ultraviolet-light-sensitive resin is highest strength scientists ever thought
You may think that added layer by layer, the material possible for such a porous material.
since our name is Eagle becomes a solid polymer at points Another goal of this work was to ex-
where two photons meet. The tech- ploit the innate mechanical effects of
Stainless that we only nique is able to render repeating cells the base substances. As a material’s size
that become plates with faces as thin as is dramatically decreased to 100 nano-
work with stainless 160 nanometers. meters, it approaches a theoretical crys-
steel. However, Eagle The researchers included tiny holes tal with no pores or cracks. Reducing
in the plates that could be used to these flaws increases the system’s over-
is also a distributor of remove excess resin from the finished all strength.
material. As a final step, the lattices go For more information, contact Brian Bell
aluminum tubing in a through pyrolysis, in which they’re at bpbell@uci.edu; 949-824-8249.
variety of alloys.
Carbon Nanotube/Polymer
Composites with Electrical and
Thermal Characteristics
These composites could improve how unmanned vehicles
dissipate energy.
Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland
M aterials used for military personal

protection gear may also be tough
enough for vehicles, potentially improv-
including coatings, foams, and solid elas-
tomers. As film adhesives, for example,
they are commonly used as bonding
Eagle Stainless ing how unmanned vehicles dissipate agents between layers of glass and as
Tube & Fabrication, Inc. energy. Researchers are studying the polymer back layers in transparent glass
Franklin, Massachusetts use of the polymers as matrix material or plastic composites such as vision
Phone (800) 528-8650 for incorporation into lightweight com- blocks on side windows in tactical vehi-
www.eagletube.com posites in unmanned vehicle systems. cles. In particular, high-performance
Polyurethanes are versatile materials segmented PUU polymers exhibit versa-
used in a broad variety of applications tile physical and mechanical properties.

THE AUTHORITY
IN MEASUREMENT
NON CONTACT
DISPLACEMENT
MEASUREMENT
New carbon nanotube/polymer structural materials for unmanned vehicle systems, such as the RQ-
7B Shadow shown here, are less susceptible to corrosion, are lightweight, and have higher electri- Laser sensors
cal conductivity. (Photo: Master Sgt. Matt Hecht)
Eddy current sensors
Hierarchical composites are a promis- interface without any filler surface Capacitive sensors
ing area of research for Army vehicles as modification. Confocal sensors
they are less susceptible to corrosion, Future Army vehicles could see an
leading to early component death. In improvement in their structural materials
contrast to traditional thermoset com- since they are less susceptible to corrosion,
posites, performance poly(urethane- lightweight, and have higher electrical
urea) elastomers are far less brittle and conductivity than traditional elastomers.
offer better control over material archi- The materials also show great potential to COLOR SENSORS
tecture. Carbon nanotube/polymer com- protect vehicles against static buildup and
posites have desirable electrical and discharge, and lightning strikes.
Universal color sensors
thermal characteristics that exhibit Military vehicles such as Army helicop- Color sensors for
behaviors superior to conventional fiber ters must withstand intense vibration special surfaces
materials. and fatigue and the conductive nature
LED analyzers
Chemical modification of nanofillers of these materials could lead to a greater
is nontrivial and typically diminishes level of multifunctionality. The materials
their properties by changing their also could provide real-time structural
structure and chemistry; for example, health monitoring through embedded
the Young modulus could be lower. The strain sensing and damage monitoring
team’s results strongly indicate the ef- for safe and accurate assessment of the
fectiveness of incorporation of aligned remaining life in vehicle components.
carbon nanotubes for microstructure For more information, contact the Public
optimization of hierarchical PUU poly- Affairs Office at public_affairs@arl.army. IR TEMPERATURE
mers in the matrix as well as at the mil; 301-394-3590.
MEASUREMENT
Online sensors
Metals Change Surfaces in Response Thermal imagers
Hand held devices
to Heat
Heat predictably and precisely changes the surface structure
of a particle of liquid metal.
Iowa State University, Ames CONTACT US
J ust like a chameleon changes its skin

color in response to its environment,
engineers have found a way for liquid
liquid metal alloys with heat causes
them to roughen their surfaces with
tiny spheres or nanowires.
www.micro-epsilon.com
MICRO-EPSILON
metal — and potentially solid metal — The technology could enable design Raleigh, NC 27617 / USA
to change its surface structure in of smart alloy systems that evolve the sur- Phone +1/919 787 9707
response to heat. Treating particles of face patterns and their composition with me-usa@micro-epsilon.com
Tech Briefs, June 2020 www.techbriefs.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-764

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This illustration shows how a particle of “chameleon metal” reacts to
higher and higher temperatures by sequentially changing its surface
structure. (Image by Andrew Martin)
www.hunterproducts.com
temperature (or analogous stimuli) for applications ranging
from sensing to catalysis.
The research team started with a liquid metal alloy of galli-
um, indium, and tin synthesized into particles covered with a
smooth oxide shell that was chemically stabilized. As the parti-
cles are heated, the surface thickens and stiffens, and begins to
behave more like a solid.
Eventually, the surface breaks, allowing the liquid metal inside
to come to the surface. The most reactive — gallium — breaks
through first. More heat brings indium to the surface. And the
highest heat — about 1,600 °F — brings out florets of tin.
MICRO-METALLIZER PLATING PENS MIL & QQ
This movement from the under-layer to the surface allows a
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tain level of heat and releasing a specific element based on
Environmentally friendly, these low-cost disposable applicators temperature, just as a chameleon responds to the color of its
permit instantaneous selection from a variety of plating environment, but the particles respond to heat, not to color as
possibilities without the preparation of solutions. Specially the reptile does.
formulated compounds and can be used for contact repair, The metal particles respond to a very controlled environ-
prototype development work, electronic instrument repair, ment — time, temperature, and oxygen levels are carefully
medical instrument repair etc. controlled by the researchers. That allows them to predict and
program the exact surface texture of the particles. The tech-
Hunter Products, Inc. nology could be used to fine-tune a metal’s performance as a
36 Madison Ave catalyst or its ability to absorb compounds.
Flemington, NJ 08822 The technology will work with other metal alloys since it is a

behavior of metals in general. Other metals subject to the same
hunter@hunterproducts.com treatment should do the same.
For more information, contact Martin Thuo, Materials Science
and Engineering, at mthuo@iastate.edu; 515-294-8581.
64 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-769 Tech Briefs, June 2020

Optics
Device Modulates Light and Amplifies Tiny Signals
This system can amplify a faint signal from a neighboring system even when that signal’s
amplitude is as small as ten trillionths of a meter.
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland
T he miniscule movement of a single par-

ticle only one-tenth the diameter of a
bacterium can induce sustained vibrations
cal oscillators, improve communication
systems that depend on the modulation of
light, dramatically amplify extremely weak
cle acts as a single plasmonic structure
that has a natural, or resonant, frequency
that varies with the size of the gap, just as
in an entire mechanical device that is 50 mechanical and electrical signals, and cre- tuning a guitar string changes the fre-
times larger. Using the interplay among ate ultra-sensitive sensors for the tiny quency at which the string reverberates.
light, electrons on the surface of metals, motions of nanoparticles. When a light source — in this case,
and heat, researchers created a plasmome- The device consists of a gold nanopar- laser light — shines on the system, it caus-
chanical oscillator (PMO), so named ticle, about 100 nanometers in diameter, es electrons in the resonator to oscillate,
because it tightly couples plasmons — the embedded in a tiny cantilever made of sil- raising the temperature of the resonator.
collective oscillations of electrons at the icon nitride. An air gap lies sandwiched This sets the stage for a complex inter-
surface of a metal nanoparticle — to the between these components and an change among light, heat, and mechani-
mechanical vibrations of the much larger underlying gold plate; the width of the cal vibrations in the PMO, endowing the
device in which it is embedded. gap is controlled by an electrostatic actu- system with several key properties.
The entire system, no bigger than a red ator — a thin gold film that sits atop the By applying a small, direct-current volt-
blood cell, has myriad technological cantilever and bends toward the plate age to the electrostatic actuator that
applications. It can miniaturize mechani- when a voltage is applied. The nanoparti- squeezes the gap shut, the optical frequen-
cy at which the resonator vibrates and the
intensity of the laser light the system
reflects were altered. Such optomechani-
cal coupling is highly desirable because it
can modulate and control the flow of light
on silicon chips, and shape the propaga-
tion of light beams traveling in free space.
A second property relates to the heat
generated by the resonator when it
absorbs laser light. The heat causes the
thin gold film actuator to expand. The
expansion narrows the gap, decreasing
the frequency at which the embedded res-
onator vibrates. Conversely, when the tem-
perature decreases, the actuator con-
tracts, widening the gap and increasing
the frequency of the resonator.
Crucially, the force exerted by the ac-
tuator always kicks the cantilever in the
same direction in which the cantilever is
already traveling. If the incident laser
light is powerful enough, these kicks
cause the cantilever to undergo self-sus-
taining oscillations with amplitudes thou-
sands of times larger than the oscillations
of the device due to the vibration of its
own atoms at room temperature.
If the electrostatic actuator delivers a
small mechanical force to the PMO that
varies in time while the system under-
goes these self-sustaining oscillations,
Schematic of the plasmomechanical oscillator (PMO. The orange-white ovals represent the local- the PMO can lock onto that tiny vari-
ized plasmon oscillations. The cantilever, containing the gold cuboid nanoparticle, lies in the center. able signal and greatly amplify it.
The series of white curves represents the electrical field applied to the cantilever. Data at right indi-
cates that the device can lock onto and greatly amplify weak signals that oscillate at frequencies For more information, contact Ben P. Stein
close to those of the PMO. (B. Roxworthy/NIST) at benjamin.stein@nist.gov; 301-975-2763.

Process for Producing High-Quality,
Lightweight Mirrors
The process provides a cost-effective solution for applications
SEAL and
DELIVER
in space-based imaging systems, military reconnaissance, and
satellite and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
V irtually all conventional lightweight

mirrors are made by optically grind-
ing and polishing an already lightweight-
ation or high heat dissipation is required.
SCS lightweight mirrors typically weigh
about one-fourth that of a solid quartz
ed blank. Mirrors made this way always blank of the same size, making them use-
risk print-through to the optical surface. ful for a variety of instruments where
In some cases, this can be removed by a weight is a concern
zero-pressure process, such as ion-beam The SCS technology provides a cost-
polishing, although these processes tend effective solution for applications includ-
to be slow and costly. Lightweighting ing space-based imaging systems, mili-
after optical polishing is not an option tary reconnaissance, satellite and un-
for conventional materials as their inho- manned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and fast-
mogeneous qualities and internal stress- scanning or -steering mirrors.
es cause the lightweighting to distort the Each mirror is a monolithic structure
optical surface. consisting of a face sheet with a highly
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center polished front optical surface. In the new
created a process that helps significantly process, the optical surface is formed in
reduce the risk, time, and costs associated a solid SCS blank either by conventional
with producing lightweight mirrors for grinding and polishing or by diamond Don’t Get Caught In a
demanding instrument applications. The turning. The blank is then lightweighted Labyrinth of Bad Seals
method employs a solid disc of single-crys- using Computer Numerical Control
tal silicon (SCS) and calls for most of the (CNC) grinding. For critical applica-
polishing to be completed before light- tions, post-lightweighting polishing can
weighting. Due to the extraordinary be performed to further improve the Our Patented Centrifugal
homogeneity of SCS, the distortion optical surface. Due to the very small Pressure Seals:
caused by traditional lightweighting pro- amount of material removed during this Keep lubricants in
cesses is significantly reduced. step, it produces no quilting or print-
& contaminants out
Goddard’s technology is ideal for use through of the lightweight support struc-
in environments in which cryogenic oper- ture. At several points during the pro- Reduce downtime
Support horizontal &
vertical applications
Prevent friction &
overheating with a
non-contact design
Create a dynamic
pressurized barrier
Support extremely
low-viscosity fluids
A Carlyle Johnson Company

centritecseals.com
860-643-1531
A single-crystal silicon mirror.
Tech Briefs, June 2020 www.techbriefs.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-733

Optics
M AT E R I A L S C H A N N E L cess, the mirror is heated to near its melting point to remove

small crystalline defects caused by the fabrication process.
Sponsored by
Each resulting SCS mirror features a homogeneous composi-
tion free of internal stress. These parameters inhibit distortion
when cooling the mirror to cryogenic temperatures. Under such
conditions, the mirrors maintain their optical figure to 1/50 wave
root mean square (RMS) or better. At room temperature, SCS
has a thermal conductivity about the same as aluminum and a
thermal coefficient of expansion about equal to Pyrex glass. So
SCS mirrors are extremely resistant to thermal shock and ideal
for applications where high heat dissipation is required.
NASA is actively seeking licensees to commercialize this technology.
For more information, contact the Goddard Strategic Partnerships
Office at techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov or 301-286-5810. Follow this
link for more information: https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
GSC-TOPS-75.
Optically Reconfigurable
Charge-Transfer Liquid
FEATURED SPONSOR VIDEO: Crystals
How Do You Use an LED Curing Adhesive?
Learn how to properly apply and cure an LED curable adhesive system
These re-writeable materials have applications
using a portable LED light source in this demo. in data storage and encryption, energy
www.techbriefs.com/tv/LED405Med transducers, optical display technologies, and
smart-tagging and authentication.
Expandable Foam Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque,
Supersizes 3D-Printed New Mexico
Objects
UC San Diego scientists have
introduced a foam that can be
expanded after printing to
produce parts up to 40 times
S ince the rise of liquid crystal displays (LCDs), organic liquid
crystals have emerged as a versatile class of molecular mate-
rials with applications such as display technology, smart authen-
larger.
tication, and data storage and retrieval. Most modern-day appli-
www.techbriefs.com/tv/
expandable-foam cations employ calamitic-type LCs; however, a sub-class of colum-
nar phase liquid crystals, also known as charge-transfer (CT) liq-
uid crystals, exhibits intense and broadly tunable charge-transfer
Antimicrobial Metal absorbance in the visible near-infrared reflectance.
Surfaces Researchers have leveraged the directional nature of charge
Purdue University engineers are transfer absorbance in CT liquid crystals to develop and demon-
developing a laser treatment that strate a new class of multifunctional, optically re-writeable
could turn any metal into a
bacteria-killer by giving the (ORW) materials. By exploiting the molecular alignment-depen-
metal’s surface a different texture. dent CT absorption of assembled films, researchers demonstrat-
ed that laser-directed write/rewrite can be used to generate both
ordered and disordered phase regions through the modification
metal-bacteria of heating and cooling dynamics of the constituent DACLCs film.
This mechanism provides for simple tuning of chemical
alignment properties and can be used to directly write optically
Electrospinning Better active messages and complex patterns with micron-scale accura-
Cell Scaffolds cy. The laser-directed assembly, combined with the self-healing
Engineers at Michigan properties of DACLCs, provides for limitless rewriting. The
Technological University are using
electrospun synthetic polymers to organic ORW system is compatible with hard and flexible sub-
build scaffolds for cancer strates and responds to commercial DVD writers. The tunability
research, removing the need for and layering capabilities of CT absorption have promise for
animal testing.
multi-color laser processing of films and additional functional
properties such as photoconductivity, ferroelectricity, and
cell-scaffolds ambipolar charge conduction.
For more information, contact Sandia National Laboratories,
Intellectual Property Office, at ip@sandia.gov, or visit https://
www.techbriefs.tv ip.sandia.gov.
68 Tech Briefs, June 2020

Environment
Carbonated Cement for Production of Concrete with
Improved Properties
This technology supports CO2 emissions reduction in cement manufacturing.
Marshall Space Flight Center, Alabama
N ASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

has developed a new cement com-
position and manufacturing method
compositions with enhanced properties
can be attained.
The innovation employs a chemical re-
or disposal of the waste carbon captured
from CO2 emissions.
Test evaluations at the bench scale
that enables carbon dioxide (CO2) action, known as the Bosch process, that have provided encouraging indications
emissions reduction in cement manu- uses hydrogen gas and catalysis to of enhanced mechanical properties for
facturing while also providing a ce- reduce the CO2 to solid carbon and the carbon-containing cement materials.
ment with improved performance water. Cement manufacturing is unique- In particular, the findings suggest that
capabilities. Building off of expertise ly suited to the use of the Bosch process the carbon in the concrete might delay
in life-support oxygen-control systems for as it requires high temperatures and har- the environmental breakdown of con-
spacecraft, researchers have demon- nessing this excess heat limits the total crete due to the blocking effect of the
strated a process whereby carbon is energy required to maintain a Bosch carbon on harmful ions (e.g., chlorine).
reduced to solid form from captured process at a cement plant. Also, cement NASA is actively seeking licensees to com-
CO2 emissions and becomes an inher- contains iron, a metal shown to be an mercialize this technology. Please contact
ent component of the cement prod- exceptional catalyst for the Bosch pro- Sammy Nabors at sammy.nabors@nasa.gov
uct. The technical viability of the inno- cess. Thus, the cement product itself can or 256-544-5226 to initiate licensing discus-
vation was demonstrated with labora- be used as the catalyst for the reaction, sions. Follow this link for more information:
tory testing indicating that, in addition also serving as a carbon sink. This elimi- https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/MFS-
to reduced CO2 emissions, cement nates any requirements for the storage TOPS-68.
“Artificial Leaf” Produces Clean Gas

This method of producing clean syngas could be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel
alternative to gasoline.
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
S yngas is currently made from a mix-

ture of hydrogen and carbon monox-
ide and is used to produce a range of
commodities such as fuels, pharmaceuti-
cals, plastics, and fertilizers. Producing it
sustainably could be a critical step in
closing the global carbon cycle and
establishing a sustainable chemical and
fuel industry.
Researchers have developed an “artifi-
cial leaf” that uses only sunlight, carbon
dioxide, and water to directly produce
syngas in a sustainable manner. Rather
than running on fossil fuel, the artificial
leaf is powered by sunlight, although it
still works efficiently on cloudy and over-
cast days. And unlike the current indus- The artificial leaf uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce syngas. (Credit: Virgil Andrei)
trial processes for producing syngas, the
leaf does not release any additional carbon dioxide into food. On the artificial cobalt. When the device is immersed in
bon dioxide into the atmosphere. leaf, two light absorbers, similar to the water, one light absorber uses the cata-
The device is inspired by photosynthe- molecules in plants that harvest sun- lyst to produce oxygen. The other car-
sis — the natural process by which plants light, are combined with a catalyst made ries out the chemical reaction that
use the energy from sunlight to turn car- from the naturally abundant element reduces carbon dioxide and water into

Environment
carbon monoxide and hydrogen, form- perovskite light absorbers that provide a Syngas is already used as a building
ing the syngas mixture. The light ab- high photovoltage and electrical current block in the production of liquid fuels.
sorbers work even under the low levels to power the chemical reaction by which Rather than first making syngas and
of sunlight on a rainy or overcast day. carbon dioxide is reduced to carbon then converting it into liquid fuel, the
Other similar devices have been devel- monoxide, in comparison to light ab- team aims to make the liquid fuel in one
oped but they usually only produce sorbers made from silicon or dye-sensi- step from carbon dioxide and water.
hydrogen. The new device produces syn- tized materials. Cobalt also was used as For more information, contact Sarah
gas sustainably through a combination the molecular catalyst instead of plat- Collins at sarah.collins@admin.cam.ac.uk;
of materials and catalysts. These include inum or silver. +44 (0)1223 765542.
Essential Oils Inhibit Mold on Wood

This method can be used to protect stored building materials and to remediate in-service
wood and wood products.
Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Washington, DC
M oisture management remains the

most important critical factor for
controlling mold growth on wood and
Another aspect of the invention is a
method of treating wood or cellulose-
containing material to inhibit growth of
wood products during storage, construc- mold fungi by surface-treating the cellu-
tion, and in service. Potential health lose-containing material with an essen-
risks caused by mold growth in houses tial oil such as geranium Egyptian,
and non-residential wooden structures thyme, or a combination thereof.
have been a major concern for home- This technology can be used to protect
owners, building contractors, and insur- stored building materials and to remedi-
ance companies. ate in-service wood and wood products.
Chemical fungicides commonly used Taking advantage of recent advances in
to control the growth of mold on wood green technology, the essential oils used
(Left) No mold growth on the thyme and dill-
are not appropriate for many indoor weed oil-treated wood; (right) untreated wood in this invention are naturally occurring
applications. Natural alternatives that had mold growth. and can be used by the lumber industry,
are user-friendly and demonstrate low wood preservation industry, commercial
toxicity to humans are desirable for ing material to inhibit growth of mold and residential construction industries,
indoor applications. Essential oils are fungi comprising the steps or acts of sur- home users, or other uses requiring the
known for their natural, non-toxic com- face-treating cellulose-containing mate- treatment of wood for fungal decay as well
ponents including monoterpenes, diter- rial with a composition comprising in as prevention of termite damage.
penes, and hydrocarbons with various the range of greater than 10% volume to For more information, contact the US
functional groups. 100% volume thyme oil, and in the Forest Service, Research & Development,
One aspect of the invention is a range of 0% volume to less than 90% at 800-832-1355; https://www.fs.fed.us/
method of treating a cellulose-contain- volume organic diluent. research/.
Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

This green process produces pristine graphene in bulk using waste food, plastic, and
other materials.
Rice University, Houston, Texas
A new process turns bulk quantities of

just about any carbon source into
valuable graphene flakes. The “flash
waste, plastic waste, petroleum coke,
coal, wood clippings, and biochar are
prime candidates. A concentration of as
amount of carbon dioxide generated in
concrete manufacture.
Flash Joule heating for bulk graphene
graphene” process can convert a ton of little as 0.1% of flash graphene in the improves upon techniques like exfolia-
coal, food waste, or plastic into graphene cement used to bind concrete could tion from graphite and chemical vapor
for a fraction of the cost used by other lessen its massive environmental impact deposition on a metal foil that require
bulk graphene-producing methods. by a third. The process essentially traps much more effort and cost to produce
Flash graphene is made in 10 milli- greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide just a little graphene. The process pro-
seconds by heating carbon-containing and methane that waste food would duces “turbostratic” graphene, with mis-
materials to 3,000 Kelvin (about 5,000 have emitted in landfills and converts aligned layers that are easy to separate.
°F). The source material can be nearly those carbons into graphene. Adding The flash process happens in a cus-
anything with carbon content. Food that graphene to concrete lowers the tom-designed reactor that heats mate-

A sample of carbon black is prepared for conversion through the flash
graphene technique. (Jeff Fitlow/Rice University)
Waste is converted into turbostratic graphene via a process that can be

scaled up to produce industrial-scale quantities. (Rouzbeh Shahsavari/C-
Crete Group)
rial quickly and emits all noncarbon elements as gas. Ele-

ments like oxygen and nitrogen that exit the flash reactor
can all be trapped as small molecules because they have
value. The flash process produces very little excess heat,
channeling almost all of its energy into the target — the
heat is concentrated in the carbon material and none in a
surrounding reactor.
The researchers hope to produce a kilogram (2.2 pounds)
a day of flash graphene within two years, starting with a proj-
ect funded by the Department of Energy to convert US-
sourced coal.
For more information, contact Mike Williams at mikewilliams@
rice.edu; 713-348-6728.

New on the
MARKET
Product of the Month
Omron Automation Americas, Hoffman Estates, IL, released the K6PM thermal condition monitor that pro-
vides continuous, remote thermal monitoring of critical components such as high-voltage control panels, trans-
formers, hydraulic equipment, bearings, gearboxes, motors, test cells, and power generation systems. It utilizes a
DIN rail-mount controller with a built-in temperature display and a remote thermal image camera that detects
temperatures from 32 to 392 °F (0 to 200 °C). The device monitors abnormalities resulting from overload, vibra-
tion, condensation, or other causes. Features include three level temperature alarms, Ethernet IP/Modbus TCP
communication, Push-in Plus terminals, and free PC monitoring software.
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Industrial PC CAD/CAM Software

Matrox® Imaging, Montreal, QE, Canada, OPEN MIND Technologies, Needham, MA, in-
announced Matrox Supersight Uno, an ex- troduced hyperMILL 2020.1 CAD/CAM software.
pandable mid-range industrial PC with seven Corner Rest Machining for 3D and 5-axis tech-
PCIe® slots accepting full-height, full-length cards. It offers direct niques provides benefits in complex machining
interfacing with GigE Vision® and USB3 Vision® cameras. Supported applications including mold and die. An additive
camera and video interfaces include Camera Link®, CoaXPress®, manufacturing feature supports 3D printing/additive processes and
DisplayPort, HDMI, and SDI. The PC has a 4U rack-mount chassis and provides hybrid processing with simultaneous additive and subtractive
supports both horizontal and vertical mounting. machining on one machine tool.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-100 For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-108
Inspection Software Thermally Conductive Adhesive

High QA, Hazlet, NJ, released Inspection Elecolit® 6607 adhesive from Panacol, Taunus,
Manager Version 5.0 quality control automation Germany, is thermally conductive and can be
software that features Quality 4.0 standards and oven-cured at temperatures as low as 80 °C. The
increased automation. Designed and built as a database (MS SQL)- epoxy resin-based adhesive filled with aluminum
driven software, the program integrates applications including inspec- oxide is a one-component adhesive applied by dispenser, screen print-
tion planning, data collection and organization, in-process shop floor ing, or spatula. After curing, the light gray adhesive insulates electrically
inspection results, and user-access security management control. and provides heat dissipation. It is particularly suitable for bonding
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-101 metal components and heat sinks to electronic circuit boards.
PLC Controllers
Generation 2 PFC200 PLC controllers from Data Acquisition Software
WAGO, Germantown, WI, are designed to work Measurement Computing Corp., Norton,
in harsh environments and in extreme conditions. MA, released DASYLab 2020 data acquisition
The 750-8212/040-010 and 750-8213/040-010 XTR software that allows users to interactively devel-
controllers have two configurable M12 Ethernet ports op and deploy applications by connecting func-
and an onboard SD card slot for additional data storage for tional icons. It offers a number of analysis, control, and visualization
program updates. Features include -40 to 70 °C operating tempera- modules for creating applications. By combining various function
ture, 5g vibration and 25g shock, and EMC protection. modules, users can turn a computer into an oscilloscope, multimeter,
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-103 or data logger and analyze different signal types.
Vision Kit
Basler, Exton, PA, introduced an AI Digital-to-Analog Converter
Vision Solution Kit with Cloud Connection The AD5674/AD5674R/AD5679/AD5679R fam-
that includes software components that ily of digital-to-analog converters from Analog
enable flexible access to cloud services. The Devices, Norwood, MA, operates from a single 2.7
kit enables developers to use, train, and deploy machine learning mod- V to 5.5 V supply range and are monotonic by
els provided in the cloud on the edge device. The kit’s embedded design. They are available in a 28-lead lead frame chip-scale package.
hardware consists of dart BCON for MIPI camera with a resolution of Features include 16 channels, 40 mA short-circuit current, offset error
13 MP. The processing board is an AI-optimized board that houses an of ±1.5 mV maximum, and operating temperature range from -40 to
NXP i.MX 8M Mini SoC and an AI accelerator. +125 °C.

P R O D U C T SPOTLIGHT
30, 50, & 100 MULTIPHYSICS
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ers. We can provide an alternative for the discontinued tion applications. Add-on products provide tools for
Agilent 8114A or HP214! www.avtechpulse.com electromagnetics, structural, acoustics, fluid flow, heat
transfer, and chemical simulations. Interfacing prod-
ucts offer a unified workflow with all major technical
Processor Blade computing and CAD tools. COMSOL Compiler™ and
VadaTech, Henderson, NV, introduced the COMSOL Server™ are used for deploying simulation
ATC128, an ATCA processor blade featuring Avtech Electrosystems Ltd. applications to colleagues and customers.
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dual 24-core Intel® Xeon®
processors, each with six COMSOL, Inc.
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front panel micro USB (RS-232), USB 3.0 and UV resistance, SOURI- The Krohn-Hite Model 526 DC Source/Calibrator is
AU’s TRIM TRIO® connec- used in thermocouple simulation as well as many other
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an onboard FPGA that allows secure boot of interchangeable and intermateable connectors fea- be output with a stability of ±5ppm along with currents
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Power Modules
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Upcoming...
Webinars
Back to the Future of Video Compression
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
Compression is needed to enable transport over Ethernet, Internet, Wi-Fi, cable, and satellite. It’s also needed to limit storage size.
These restrictions have been met in part by compromises in image quality, increased latency, introduction of artifacts, and obliteration
of fine details. This 60-minute Webinar discusses JPEG XS, a pioneering technology that improves image quality, eliminates artifacts
and missing details, and greatly reduces latencies.
Speaker:
Paul Hightower,
President and CEO,
Instrumentation Technology Systems
Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar043
Mars 2020: The Legacy Continues for

NASA Space Robotics
Thursday, June 18, 2020 at 12:00 pm U.S. EDT
Scheduled for launch in the summer of 2020, the latest NASA rover will continue the legacy
of its predecessors — Sojourner, Spirit, Opportunity, and Curiosity — by taking the next
step in space robotics. With innovative instruments, new science goals, and improved tech-
nologies, the Mars 2020 rover will help prepare for future human exploration of Mars. This
60-minute Webinar from the editors of Tech Briefs Media focuses on the design of the robot-
ic system and other important systems for testing, motion, power, and sample extraction.
Speakers:
Keith A. Comeaux, Ph.D., Roger Wiens, Mathieu Lapôtre,
Mars 2020 Deputy Chief Principal Investigator, Assistant Professor,
Engineer, SuperCam Laser Instrument, Geological Sciences,
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Los Alamos National Laboratory School of Earth, Energy &
Environmental Sciences,
Stanford University
Linking FMEA, FMEDA, and FTA for Safety Analysis

and Hardware Metrics for Functional Safety
Tuesday, June 23, 2020, at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
FMEAs traditionally have only incorporated single-point faults. This 30-minute Webinar examines a groundbreaking methodology used
to conduct safety analysis and hardware metrics for functional safety using linked FMEA, FMEDA, and FTAs. This Webinar will also dis-
cuss how the FMEA, FMEDA, and FTA are all linked documents, as well as how the FMEDA and FTA can provide single-point fault, multi-
point fault, and the “Probabilistic Metric for random Hardware Failures” (PMHF) metrics in a consistent manner.
Speakers:
Greg Gruska, Chad Kymal,
Functional Safety Champion, CTO,
Omnex Inc. Omnex Inc.

Producing Optimal High-Speed Images for
Automotive and Industrial Engineers
Wednesday, June 24, 2020 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
Whether you’re an engineer who analyzes high-speed images or you’re a photographic technician who is responsible for capturing those
images, a solid understanding of high-speed imaging fundamentals will help you efficiently create quality images for automotive and
industrial applications. This 30-minute Webinar explores some of the imaging essentials that can help you develop more beneficial pho-
tographic practices for automotive crash tests and other industrial applications.
Speaker:
Phil Taylor,
Imaging Specialist and
Field Applications Engineer,
Vision Research Inc.
Additive Manufacturing Moves into

High-Precision Applications
Thursday, June 25, 2020 at 2:00 pm U.S. EDT
This 60-minute Webinar compares Projection Micro Stereolithography (PμSL) with traditional micro-fabrication methods and other addi-
tive manufacturing technologies. In addition, the Webinar includes a technology comparison by CEO John Kawola of Boston Micro
Fabrication, and a review of the results of a market/technology assessment by Managing Director Phil Reeves of Reeves Insight.
Speakers:
John Kawola, Phil Reeves, Ph.D.,
CEO of Global Operations, Managing Director,
Boston Micro Fabrication Reeves Insight
The Keys to Choosing Passive Components

for DC/DC Converters
Monday, June 29, 2020 at 11:30 am U.S. EDT
The work designing in a DC/DC regulator to power electronic systems doesn’t stop with your
choice of switcher. All the careful work done to select the perfect device can be undone by
poor passive component choices. This 60-minute Webinar looks at the choices, tradeoffs,
and tools to help in the selection process.
Speaker:
Wilmer Companioni,
Senior Technical Marketing Manager,
KEMET Electronics

FACILITY FOCUS
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
F ounded in 1824 and located in
Troy, NY, Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute (RPI) is America’s first
technological research university.
RPI advances research in a wide
range of fields, with an emphasis
on biotechnology, nanotechnology,
computational science and engi-
neering, data science, and the
media arts and technology. RPI has
an established record of success in
the transfer of technology from the
laboratory to the marketplace, ful-
filling its founding mission of
applying science “to the common
purposes of life.”
School of Engineering
Rensselaer Engineering focuses
on solving the “grand challenges”
facing humanity including human
health and mitigation of diseases,
energy and the environment, and
infrastructure resilience, steward-
ship, and sustainability. The facul-
ty, students, and staff are solving
these grand challenges by per- A robot named Pepper is able to pick up on nonverbal cues — such as body gestures, facial expressions,
forming cutting-edge research in and body poses — using enhanced vision developed at RPI.
five focal areas:
Engineering for Life Sciences is the interface of engineering, ed health, human-automation interaction, and advanced
biotechnology, and life sciences through research in bio- manufacturing.
imaging, synthetic and computational biology, microbiome, Rensselaer School of Engineering’s notable alumni include:
stem cells/tissue engineering, neural engineering, biopro- • Steven Sasson, inventor of the first digital camera
cessing and bio-manufacturing, metabolic engineering, and • Howard Isermann, inventor of sunscreen lotion
predictive medicine. • Dr. Jay Baliga, inventor of the insulated gate bipolar transis-
Advanced Materials form the basis of new discoveries in life sci- tor
ences, energy, and all facets of sustainable infrastructure. This • Allen B. Du Mont, inventor of the first commercially practi-
areas includes new polymers, glass/ceramics, two-dimensional cal cathode ray tube for television
materials, carbon and inorganic nanomaterials, biomaterials, • Lois Graham, first woman in the U.S. to receive a Ph.D. in
and materials under extreme conditions for these applications. mechanical engineering
Big Data, Computation, and Cognitive and Immersive Systems • Marcian E. Hoff, father of the microprocessor
support all fields of science and engineering including new • David L. Noble, designer of the floppy disk
algorithms in exascale-path computing, uncertainty quantifi- • John F. Schenck, developer of the first clinically viable MRI
cation, biocomputing, multiscale modeling, materials and big scanner
data, data analytics, and physical modeling. • Raymond S. Tomlinson, inventor of e-mail
Energy, Sustainability, and Resilient Infrastructure covers energy
harvesting, conversion, and distribution; micro-grid and net- Technologies
works; energy efficient devices and systems; novel propulsion Rensselaer researchers continually develop materials, tech-
systems; materials for sustainability; and transportation. nologies, and processes with significant commercial potential
Systems, Automation, and Control research is focused on including those mentioned here.
resilient infrastructure and transportation, systems biology, Enhanced Robot Vision — A robot named Pepper is able to
distributed communication, sensing and actuation, connect- pick up on nonverbal cues — such as body gestures, facial

how many people are in a room, scan an
area to look for a particular person, esti-
mate an individual’s age, recognize
facial expressions, and maintain eye co-
ntact during an interaction.
Internet of Airplanes — Researchers
envision a future in which airplanes in
flight share sensor data across an
“Internet of Airplanes” to improve
safety and efficiency. But when nodes
in the network move at the speed of
flight, achieving that vision requires a
data-sharing framework adapted to the
challenges and needs of the environ-
ment. RPI scientists developed the
Virtual Sky platform to fuse and ana-
lyze flight sensor data correctly, reli-
ably, and quickly. Virtual Sky, like the
infrastructure of the Internet, will have
basic protocols and basic ways to trans-
mit data, on top of which applications
will be built.
Battling Space Debris — Rensselaer
built the Obsolete Spacecraft Capture
and Removal (OSCaR), a semi-auton-
Researchers are developing a new bioactive foam that can be used to replace skull bone lost to omous trash collector for space. OSCaR
injury, surgery, or birth defect. can inexpensively be sent into space
aboard larger vehicles and then re-
leased to nearly autonomously seek
out, capture, and then de-orbit space
debris.
OSCaR is a three-unit CubeSat. One
unit houses the “brains” including GPS,
data storage, and communication, as
well as the power and thermal manage-
ment systems. Another holds propel-
lant and the propulsion module and
the third contains four gun barrels,
nets, and tethers to physically capture
debris, one piece at a time. OSCaRs
could be routinely carried aboard
space-bound craft as part of an ongoing
cleanup effort.
Refueling Satellites in Space — RPI
researchers are working with NASA on
a solution that could keep satellites
operating longer: a robot that could
capture a satellite in space and pull it in
to dock, where it would refuel. Com-
plex algorithms and simulations are
being tested, both computationally and
RPI is working with NASA on a robot that could capture a satellite in space and pull it in to dock, physically, at RPI. For physical simula-
where it would refuel. tions, the team uses an air bearing
setup (an air hockey table, essentially)
expressions, and body poses — using enhanced vision devel- where a small satellite model can float along the surface, sim-
oped at RPI. Pepper can perceive human action and naturally ulating a zero-gravity environment. A smaller robotic arm
interact with humans through these nonverbal behaviors. The models the movement that will need to take place in space.
researchers mapped the human face and body so that comput- Aqueous Lithium-Ion Battery — As the lithium-ion batter-
ers, with the help of cameras built into the robots and ies that power most phones, laptops, and electric vehicles
machine-learning technologies, can perceive nonverbal cues become increasingly fast-charging and high-performing, they
and identify human action and emotion. Pepper can count also grow increasingly expensive and flammable. RPI engi-

Facility Focus
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(212) 490-3999 FAX (646) 829-0800
Chief Executive Officer...................................Domenic A. Mucchetti
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Digital Development Manager...................................Peter Bonavita
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Credit/Collection ..........................................................Felecia Lahey
Virtual Sky fuses and analyzes flight sensor data, creating an “Internet of Airplanes” to improve
Accounting/Human Resources Manager.......................Sylvia Bonilla
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neers used aqueous electrolytes instead in place. Once implanted in the skull,
of typical organic electrolytes to assem- specially coated pores within the foam TECH BRIEFS ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES
MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada ...............................Ed Marecki
ble a substantially safer, cost-efficient attract bone cells, naturally regenerat- .................................................................................(401) 351-0274
battery that still performs well. For ing bone to replace the foam, which CT ............................................................................Stan Greenfield
emerging applications such as portable dissolves over time. ..............................................................................(203) 938-2418
electronics, electric vehicles, and grid NJ, PA, DE.....................................................................John Murray
................................................................................ (973) 409-4685
storage, the ability to pack the maxi- Technology Transfer Southeast, TX .............................................................Ray Tompkins
mum amount of energy into a limited Scientists at Rensselaer are among .................................................................................(281) 313-1004
volume becomes critical. the most productive in the nation when NY, OH.......................................................................Ryan Beckman
.................................................................................(973) 409-4687
3D-Printed Living Skin — RPI devel- it comes to turning research dollars
MI, IN, WI ..........................................................................Chris Kennedy
oped a way to 3D-print living skin, com- into marketable technology. Research is .........................................................................(847) 498-4520 ext. 3008
plete with blood vessels. It is a signifi- focused, purposeful, and designed to MN, ND, SD, IL, KY, MO, KS, IA, NE, Central Canada................Bob Casey
cant step toward creating grafts that meet the technology needs of industry ................................................................................ (847) 223-5225
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are more like the skin our bodies pro- and society.
(408) 779-0005
duce naturally. Two types of living The Office of Intellectual Property S. Calif., AZ, NM, Rocky Mountain States........................Tim Powers
human cells are made into bio-inks, and Tech Transfer at RPI supports re- .................................................................................(908) 892-2838
which are then printed into a skin-like searchers in protecting intellectual Europe — Central & Eastern .......................................Sven Anacker
..............................................................................49-202-27169-11
structure. property and bringing inventions into
Joseph Heeg
This 3D bioprinting can be used in the commercial marketplace. 49-621-841-5702
precision medicine, where solutions can Technologies are available for licens- Europe — Western .........................................................Chris Shaw
be tailored to specific situations and ing through the Rensselaer Office of ...............................................................................44-1270-522130
886-4-2329-7318
eventually to individuals. More work Technology Commercialization. The
Integrated Media Consultants....................................Patrick Harvey
needs to be done to address the chal- office works to promote the introduc- ................................................................................ (973) 409-4686
lenges associated with burn patients, tion of RPI technology into the com- Angelo Danza
which include the loss of nerve and vas- mercial marketplace by building rela- .................................................................................(973) 874-0271
Scott Williams
cular endings. tionships with a diverse group of quali- .................................................................................(973) 545-2464
Moldable Scaffold for Bone — Re- fied companies, from start-ups to multi- Rick Rosenberg
searchers are developing a new materi- national corporations. .................................................................................(973) 545-2565
Todd Holtz
al that can be used to replace skull For more information on licensing ................................................................................ (973) 545-2566
bone lost to injury, surgery, or birth RPI technologies, contact Bruce Hunter, Christian DeLalla
defect. The bioactive foam is malleable Director of the Office of Intellectual (973) 841-6035
Casey Hanson
when exposed to warm saline, allowing Property and Technology Transfer, at (973) 841-6040
surgeons to easily shape it to fit irregu- otc@rpi.edu. Visit RPI on the Web at Reprints...........................................................................Jill Kaletha
lar defects in the skull, where it hardens rpi.edu. .................................................................................(219) 878-6068

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Allied Electronics ..........................................Cover 4 ................................................alliedelec.com

Motion Design
AllMotion, Inc. ..............................................54 ........................................................allmotion.com
Aerotech, Inc...............................................15........................................................aerotech.com
Arnold Magnetic Technologies ......................57....................................www.arnoldmagnetics.com
ATI Industrial Automation..............................59 ....................................................www.ati-ia.com AutomationDirect........................................Cover 2 ..................................automationdirect.com
AutomationDirect..........................................15 ............................................automationdirect.com Broadcom ............................................13 ............................................broadcom.com
Avtech Electrosystems Ltd. ............................73 ..........................................www.avtechpulse.com Create The Future Design Contest................Cover 3 ..........................createthefuturecontest.com
Belden..........................................................73 ..................................................www.belden.com FAULHABER MICROMO ..............................7 ........................................................faulhaber.com
Carl Stahl Sava Industries ..............................21, 40 ................................................savacable.com
Master Bond Inc. ................................24................................www.masterbond.com
Centritec Seals – A Carlyle Johnson Co. ........67 ..................................................centritecseals.com
MOCAP ......................................................11 ................................................www.mocap.com
COMSOL, Inc. ........................................9, 41, 73 ..............................www.comsol.com
NBK America LLC ........................................19 ............................................www.nbk1560.com
Cotronics Corp. ............................................49................................................www.cotronics.com
OMS Motion, Inc.........................................Cover 4 ..................................www.omsmotion.com
Crane Aerospace & Electronics ......................29, 50............................www.craneae.com/interpoint
Create The Future Design Contest..................Cover 3 ............................createthefuturecontest.com Pyramid Incorporated ..................................1 ..................................................pyramidbelts.com
Dewesoft ......................................................11, 42 ........................................www.dewesoft.com R+W America L.P. ......................................17 ..................................................rw-america.com

Digi-Key Electronics ..............................Cover 2, 43 ....................................digikey.com Renishaw Inc. ............................................3................................................www.renishaw.com
Eagle Stainless Tube......................................62..............................................www.eagletube.com Tech Briefs TV..............................................22 ..................................................techbriefs.com/tv
Harmonic Drive LLC ......................................31, 44 ..................................www.harmonicdrive.net
Heilind Electronics ........................................73 ..................................................www.heilind.com
Hunter Products, Inc. ....................................64 ......................................www.hunterproducts.com Sensor Technology
Insaco Inc. ....................................................6 ....................................................www.insaco.com Alluxa ........................................................3..............................................................alluxa.com
John Evans’ Sons, Inc. ..................................61 ......................................www.springcompany.com
ATI Industrial Automation............................2......................................................www.ati-ia.com
Kaman Precision Products ............................58 ................................................kamansensors.com
Create The Future Design Contest................Cover 3 ..........................createthefuturecontest.com
Krohn-Hite Corporation ................................73 ............................................www.krohn-hite.com
Digi-Key Electronics ............................1 ..................................................digikey.com
L-com ..........................................................3................................................................l-com.com
Kaman Precision Products............................13 ..............................................kamansensors.com
Master Bond Inc. ..................................64, 73 ..........................www.masterbond.com
maxon ..................................................33, 50 ............................www.maxongroup.us Keller America Inc. ......................................Cover 4 ........................................kelleramerica.com
Micro-Epsilon................................................63 ........................................www.micro-epsilon.com Massa Products Corp...................................16..................................................www.massa.com

Minco Products, Inc. ....................................17, 45 ......................................................minco.com Master Bond Inc. ................................16, 24..........................www.masterbond.com
Novotechnik U.S., Inc. ..........................7, 46 ............................www.novotechnik.com Micro-Epsilon..............................................Cover 2 ..............................www.micro-epsilon.com
Omnetics Connector Corporation ..................23, 47 ........................................www.omnetics.com
Opal Kelly ..................................................11 ..............................................www.opalkelly.com
Optimax........................................................12, 51..................................................optimaxsi.com
PCB Piezotronics, Inc. ..................................7 ................................................................pcb.com
Photofabrication Engineering Inc. - PEI ..........1 ..............................................photofabrication.com
Tadiran Batteries..........................................5..............................................www.tadiranbat.com
Precision Filters, Inc.......................................73......................................................www.pfinc.com
R.M. Young Company ..................................71 ..............................................www.youngusa.com Technologic Systems ..........................19............................www.embeddedarm.com
Santest Co., Ltd.............................................71 ................................................www.santest.co.jp

Supplement to Tech Briefs: 2, 3
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Spinoff is NASA’s annual publication featuring
successfully commercialized NASA technology. This
commercialization has contributed to the development
of products and services in the fields of health and
SPINOFF medicine, consumer goods, transportation, public safety,

computer technology, and environmental resources.
Wool Mask Used to Fight Fires in Space Improves Fire

Equipment on Earth
Wool from special sheep keeps astronauts and emergency responders safe.
A stronauts on Orion, NASA’s first crew-

carrying space vehicle since the space
shuttle, will be equipped with emergency
fiber air filter for respiratory applica-
tions. Jacobs was looking specifically for
a prefilter that could fit over NASA’s
breathing devices designed to protect existing fire cartridge to increase the life
astronauts during a fire on the In- of the system for Orion. Lanaco then
ternational Space Station (ISS). But fire began to tailor its Helix filter for the
procedures on the two vessels will differ, so application.
NASA is looking to improve the respirator The particles that would fly around
for Orion by making it last longer. During in the event of a spacecraft fire —
a fire in space, astronauts are trained to including droplets of water used to
wear respirators while they extinguish the extinguish a blaze — are potentially
blaze. But any fire would almost certainly small and hot, and the existing technol-
release gases and particulates, so it could ogy is typically made of polymers with a
take hours of cleanup before the air is relatively low melting point. A product
breathable without a mask. like wool, which doesn’t promote a fire
The emergency breathing device or degrade rapidly under hot particles,
NASA designed for the ISS and other has clear advantages. The technology
spacecraft includes a one-size-fits-all-astro- enables the main filter to function in
nauts (the general population may have a the presence of hot particles and dan-
wider range of sizes) fire-resistant mask gerous gases. It works by removing the
that can be fitted with a filter cartridge bigger particles like water and toxic
developed specifically for fire. The fire components that could stop the main
cartridge has ten layers of filtering mate- filter from working.
rials, including black carbon, co-catalysts, For Orion, NASA is increasing the life of the Prior to the NASA contract, Lanaco
and rayon. Unlike on ISS — where in the emergency breathing device currently aboard had not been working directly in the
the ISS and pictured here during fire training at
event of a fire, astronauts would likely be NASA’s Johnson Space Center. (Image: European area of critical breathing applications.
able to move for a time to another of the Space Agency) Now, the company has some expertise,
numerous habitable modules — astro- with wool performing particularly well
nauts on Orion, a much smaller vehicle, “The deeper we dug into the science of in fire resistance and moisture manage-
could have to spend more time in a fire- wool and how it could perform in an ment.
contaminated space. industrial application, using new science, Lanaco has begun creating filters for
NASA contractor, Jacobs Engineering, the more we saw there was an op- Fire and Emergency New Zealand appli-
searched around the world for organiza- portunity,” he said. Wool is naturally cations by testing and prototyping the
tions that might have the technical ex- resistant to fire and bacteria and manages product with local fire personnel. The
pertise to extend the life of the current res- water well. Davenport wondered why this firefighting services appreciate the abili-
pirator. In May 2018, a call went out to extraordinary material wasn’t being used ty of the Helix filters to capture coarse,
Lanaco, a New Zealand company that for filtration around the world. They real- hot particles; filter well in high-moisture
develops and produces wool filter materi- ized air filter technology was focused on environments; and offer the lowest pos-
al, with a focus at that point on personal synthetic materials, overlooking this natu- sible resistance to breathing.
protective equipment in the workspace ral alternative. Davenport said the work will eventu-
and air pollution filtration. The Jacobs Davenport founded Lanaco and de- ally guide Lanaco’s science and breed-
team was especially interested in particle veloped his proprietary wool filter tech- ing programs as well. He believes it will
filtration. Lanaco founder Nick Daven- nology. The company amassed a spe- also continue to inspire consumer con-
port, a materials applications engineer, cialized commercial flock of sheep by fidence in the company’s existing mar-
knew wool was well suited to such an working with a top breeder to maximize kets, such as personal protective equip-
application. He and his colleagues had the qualities of wool that make good fil- ment, urban air pollution masks, and
noticed the interesting properties of wool ters and to reduce the material’s vari- air purifiers.
while working with polymers about a ability. They focused on the attributes Visit https://spinoff.nasa.gov/Spinoff2020/
decade earlier. needed to make the best all-natural ps_4.html.

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June 2020
Simulating Magnetic
Couplings for Virtual
Prototypes
Robots “Eat” Metal for Energy
Boosting Performance in Hydraulic Systems
Don’t Blame it on the Bearings

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FEATURES 20 Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots
2 Advanced Sensing Solutions for Cost-Effective Machine Building 21 Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily
Mass-Produced
6 Don’t Blame it on the Bearings
22 Solenoid Valve Health Monitor
9 Boosting Performance in Hydraulic Systems with Alternative
Coatings
DEPARTMENTS
APPLICATION 23 New Products
12 Magnetic Transmissions Increase Lifespan of Offshore

Wind Farms ON THE COVER
Magnetic couplings transfer power via magnetic force
rather than mechanical force. Developed by Den-
TECH BRIEFS mark-based Sintex, magnetic couplings are used by
16 Navigation Measurement Software their customers in wind farms, which require high reli-
ability in harsh environments. Sintex used COMSOL
16 Showing Robots How to Complete Complicated Tasks Multiphysics® software from COMSOL (Burlington,
MA) to generate 3D models, like the one shown, for
18 Small, Precise, Affordable Gyroscope Navigates Without GPS characterizing configurations and providing virtual
19 Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal for Energy prototypes of the coupling designs. Learn more on
page 12.
(Image courtesy of COMSOL)
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Motion Design, June 2020 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-702 1

IO-Link-enabled sensors can
provide much more data
beyond a simple on/off status
determination.
Advanced Sensing Solutions

for Cost-Effective Machine Building
The right sensors can cut machine building costs, improve flexibility, and boost customer satisfaction.
S
ensing technology has a major presence in manufacturing 1. Sensors with Remote I/O Blocks Minimize
machinery. It provides the foundation for maintaining con- Wiring and Machine Complexity
sistent quality and detecting any lapses in machine per- To collect as much data as possible on the quality of works-
formance. If subtle changes in the physical properties of a in-progress and the level of machine functionality, it helps to
machine can cause it to fail, then the sensors responsible for include numerous sensors on the machines. This poses a new
detecting those changes can save manufacturers lengthy down- challenge, however, since more sensors leads to more wires
time and repair costs. and an increase in wires leads to a more expensive machine
In addition to helping cut maintenance costs, sensors also design. Excess wires also add complexity, meaning that it will
present an opportunity to make the machines more cost-effi- take longer to commission a new machine and troubleshoot
cient. Whether through their resistance to harsh chemicals or any issues that arise.
their ability to reduce the overall machine footprint, the right Customers expect machines to offer greater performance
sensors can make a huge difference. In this article, we’ll dis- in a more compact design and they want those machines to
cuss several ways in which intelligently designed sensors can be delivered more quickly at attractive prices. Sensors with
make machine design more cost-effective. built-in networks or remote I/O blocks help control cabinet
2 Motion Design, June 2020

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size and reduce machine complexity
thanks to the resulting reduction in
wiring. With conventional sensors, it’s
necessary to run the wires all the way
back to the PLC.
Sysmac Studio 2. IP-Rated Sensors Ensure
Greater Longevity in
Challenging Environments
In industries like automotive manu-
Data facturing and food and beverage pro-
Collection duction, sensors face all sorts of poten-
Controller tially destructive chemicals and process-
es. Dairy production, poultry process-
ing, beef processing, and similar applica-
Setup tions use intense washdown treatments
to eliminate the growth of bacteria and
fungi. These washdowns incorporate
IO-Link harsh chemicals, high heat, and high-
Masters pressure sprays.
Sensors used in these industries need
to be rated IP69K for washdowns, both
for the sake of overall longevity and cost-
effectiveness and also because they —
like everything else on the production
line — must be cleaned regularly to pre-
vent dangerous levels of bacterial
growth. If sensors are too delicate to be
Omron’s newest time-of-flight photoelectric sensor, the E3AS-F, can provide measurement data via IO-Link. washed down, they’re more likely to be
damaged in the cleaning process, fail
prematurely, and cause manufacturers
to experience unplanned downtime that
would otherwise be avoidable.
In automotive applications and metal
pipe cutting, a common cause of sensor
breakdown is cutting oil. Oil-resistant
Other sensors that are rated IP67G provide
rugged durability for harsh environ-
causes ments, so manufacturers that use the
Voltage Cutting oil cutting fluids can eliminate oil ingress

by any path, which in turn will minimize
or noise unexpected machine downtime and
lower the cost of ownership of their
equipment. These sensors successfully
Dust, dirt, keep oil out by means of fluororesin
or spatter cable sheaths that provide extra-strong
resistance to deterioration and boost
protection at joints and moving sections.
Temperature Shock or 3. Smart Sensors Improve
vibration Predictive Maintenance and
Minimize Downtime
If a machine is starting to have prob-
lems functioning, the sensors will be the
first to know; that is, they’ll be the first to
Environmental Causes of Component Failures gather any abnormal data that could
(Based on June 2016 Omron investigation.) point to machine trouble. But if this
data isn’t properly communicated and
Cutting oil ingress is responsible for a large proportion of component failures, so cutting oil resistance is analyzed, the deteriorating machine
important for sensors. function could easily go unnoticed.

Smart sensors — considered to be a
major component of the Industrial
Internet of Things (IIoT) or Industry
4.0 — can help end users monitor
machine performance in real time.
Because they don’t need to send data
through an I/O point like conventional
sensors do, they can communicate more
complex data than a simple on/off sta-
tus. They can return runtime informa-
tion, approximate temperature, and out-
put data over time. This data can offer
insight into whether a part of the
machine might fail in the near future. Enhance
By giving clearer, more detailed in- sensing
sight into how the system is working,
smart sensors can make predictive main-
tenance much easier and much more
effective. Manufacturers can catch prob-
lems while they’re still relatively easy to
fix, thereby avoiding long periods of
downtime. In industries like automotive
manufacturing where downtime can
cost $10,000 to $12,000 per minute,
smart sensors can be an extremely cost-
effective solution.
4. IIoT-Ready Sensors
Improve Machine-to-Machine
Communication
The benefits of smart sensors go well
beyond predictive maintenance. With the
adoption of IIoT technologies increasing
worldwide, machines require greater
bandwidth. Ethernet is the new standard
for machine-to-machine communication
thanks to its numerous advantages in- Omron’s E2E NEXT family of proximity sensors can minimize sensor collisions by communicating when an
cluding easy scalability, faster speeds, and object or target is getting too close.
network simplification.
The foundation of IIoT is data; predictive maintenance. Sensors play a system the copious data that it needs
specifically, machine-level data that is significant role in every aspect of ma- for analytics.
collected at the sensor level. The high- chine functionality and resistance to • Make connected choices. The future
er-level analytics and benefits of an IIoT wear and tear. of manufacturing is in data, so it’s
solution depend upon the quality and Machine builders can employ the important to select sensors that will
versatility of the data that is collected at following strategies to keep their provide the data that customers may
the machine level. Smart sensors can machines cost-effective and reliable: need in the future.
help manufacturers reap the benefits of • Use smart sensors or sensors with Machine builders who take advantage
an IIoT solution, including lower costs remote I/O blocks to eliminate wires of the above strategies and consider
and reduced downtime, because they and reduce machine complexity while sensing technology to be an important
provide more data overall to the manu- collecting as much data as possible on focus for long-term cost-effectiveness
facturing execution system. machine function and work-in-prog- will receive much greater customer satis-
ress status. faction thanks to dramatic improve-
Putting It All Together • Select environmentally robust sen- ments in ease of use, flexibility, and over-
Efforts to make machine building sors if required to prevent premature all productivity.
more cost-effective should never over- ma chine failure and unplanned This article was written by Michael Hamoy,
look the sensors. When machine builders downtime. Choosing the wrong sen- Product Manager - Sensors, and Felix Klebe,
choose the right sensors for the needs of sor up front can cost a lot in the long Marketing Manager - Sensor and Advanced
their customers, they can ensure that run. Sensing, at Omron Automation Americas,
those machines will have greater longevi- • Improve predictive maintenance by Hoffman Estates, IL. For more information,
ty, a smaller footprint, and more effective employing smart sensors to give the visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-323.
Motion Design, June 2020 5

Don’t Blame it
on the Bearings
S
tamping a low-quality metal with a bearing and shaft or housing. This move- often used to provide extra support to the
high-quality machine tool probably ment is also known as creep. inner or outer ring if the bearing is sub-
wouldn’t result in success. But how jected to a very heavy load. In addition,
many operators, unaware of the low- The Right Fit tighter than standard fits are recommend-
grade material, would blame the ma- The shaft or housing must be ma- ed where accurate rotation is needed.
chine tool? This serves as a reminder chined to the correct tolerances to ensure Where a tight fit is used, the act of
that pinning the blame on the wrong a suitably tight fit to prevent this from pressing a bearing onto a shaft or into a
thing, in any scenario, simply isn’t help- happening. A tight shaft or housing fit is housing will smooth the surface of the
ful. But similar scapegoating takes also needed where a lot of vibration shaft or housing by removing a small
place with bearings. exists — this prevents the vibration amount of surface metal. This has the
As a bearing rotates, one ring usual- from causing the bearing to move effect of either making the shaft slightly
ly experiences load at all points of its within its mountings. Tight fits are also smaller or the housing slightly larger.
circumference. Depending on the ap-
plication, this could be the inner ring
or outer ring. In this case, the inner
ring will have a tendency to
rotate around the shaft, or
the outer ring will rotate
inside the housing and
cause wear to both
A steel miniature
bearing on tweezers.

Ground surfaces are affected less by reduction, the bearing may not be able Bearing manufacturers use air gauges
the pressing process. Turned — or to rotate after fitting and will fail quickly. to check bearing dimensions. These are
lathed — surfaces are affected more as In these cases, a larger internal bearing accurate to half of one-thousandth of a
the initial surface finish is rougher. A clearance — or radial play — should be millimeter or better. If the shaft or hous-
hollow shaft may be compressed more specified. A very tight fit in a housing ing manufacturer does not have measur-
easily, which means the resulting fit is has the same effect. ing equipment to the same accuracy, the
not as tight as with a solid shaft. A thin Temperature can also affect the shaft shaft or housing dimensions are likely to
housing will be stretched more easily or housing tolerance. A shaft may ex- be less accurate than the bearing dimen-
than a thick housing, so the resulting pand more than a bearing ring because sions and problems will likely occur.
housing fit may be looser with a thin the shaft material expands more at high Shaft and housing tolerances also con-
housing. All of these factors must be con- temperatures. This could happen with trol roundness. The roundness of a bear-
sidered by the bearing user before decid- an aluminum shaft and a steel bearing ing ring is closely controlled. If a bearing
ing on the shaft and housing tolerances. due to the differing material properties. is fitted to an out-of-round shaft or hous-
If a tight fit is required, the shaft or If this happens, the internal clearance is ing, the bearing ring could be distorted
housing tolerances must be carefully reduced just as it is with a very tight inter- from its initial round state and assume
checked against the internal clearance ference shaft fit. If the housing expands the poor roundness of the badly made
of the bearing; for example, an interfer- more than the bearing’s outer ring, the shaft or housing. A bearing relies on
ence shaft fit is where the shaft is actual- housing fit becomes looser. good roundness to run quietly so, when
ly bigger than the bearing inner ring. A this happens, the bearing becomes
lot of force is required to fit the bearing Case in Point noisy. The shaft or housing roundness is
onto the shaft, which stretches the inner Bearings are made to very close toler- even more important for thin section
ring around the shaft. This slight ances and where fitting problems occur, bearings, as the thinner rings are distort-
increase in the size of the inner ring it’s usually the shaft or housing toler- ed much more easily.
causes a reduction in the bearing’s inter- ances that are wrong. Bearings are This all demonstrates that shaft and
nal clearance. returned to the factory a number of housing tolerances are very important to
If the bearing’s internal clearance is times for inspection, only to find that bearing performance. If customers are
not large enough to cope with this they are within tolerance. aware of the effect that shaft and hous-

tion allows the bearing factory engineers
to recommend shaft and housing toler-
ances for best performance.
The design engineer would then need
to accurately check the shaft and hous-
ing tolerances to make sure they are to
specification. This should be done with
the most precise measuring equipment:
air gauges, ring gauges, or plug gauges.
While not all businesses will have an air
gauge on hand, outsourcing this parts
inspection to a third party could pay div-
idends in the long run, particularly as it
ensures the bearings are a perfect match
for the tool.
Removing Human Error

An air gauge is a high-resolution, non-
contact measuring system that uses air
jets to provide fast and accurate dimen-
sional measurements. It’s highly adapt-
able to measuring bearings and shaft
sizes to ensure both are made to the cor-
Plastic bearings offer reduced friction compared with steel and can reduce costs up to 25% because they use rect tolerance levels. Shaft and housing
less energy. suppliers may already use this equipment
in quality control but it is worth checking
ing tolerances have on the performance and reports that the bearings are well how measurements were obtained.
of a bearing, they will put more effort within tolerance. On receipt of the toler- The bottom line is that engineers
into making sure that these tolerances ance report, the customer re-checks the must choose their measurement meth-
are correct in the first place. When prob- shaft and housing tolerances and finds ods carefully. They should put as much
lems occur, they should consider accu- that they are not within specification. onus on shaft and housing tolerances
rately checking shaft and housing The problem is then corrected but sever- and roundness as they put on bearing
dimensions, material, and vibration lev- al weeks have been wasted. tolerances and roundness. If things do
els before blaming the bearing. If other components are not manufac- go wrong and it seems that bearing fail-
tured to the same levels of precision as ure has taken place, bearing manufac-
Measurement Matters the bearings, the bearings will not per- turers are happy to have bearing toler-
Imagine the following scenario: a form adequately in the final product. ances re-checked by the factory but it
design engineer is developing a new When the bearings inevitably fail, at no may save time if checks are also carried
power tool and decides on shaft and fault of the bearing manufacturer, it can out on other components and variables
housing sizes and tolerances, and sub- only be human nature to blame the in the system that may have contributed
mits an order for 500 bearings to suit bearings. to the failure.
these dimensions. The bearings arrive A design engineer must carefully de- That’s not to say it’s never the bearing
and are installed into the new power tool fine the tolerances of the shaft and hous- manufacturer’s fault. As with all product
and the design engineer has high hopes ing dimensions. The tolerances of each markets, some bearings aren’t made to
that this product will go to market within must be equally as tight as the tolerances high manufacturing standards. That’s
a year; however, these hopes are soon of the bearing. After all, even the most why it’s crucial to choose bearing brands
dashed, as testing trials of the product consistent and precise bearings will be carefully. If engineers take a more holis-
are not successful. The business con- unable to contend with inconsistent tic approach to bearing performance
cludes that the bearings caused the fail- shafts that have wide variation. when testing products, they should save
ure. The design engineer writes a strong- The bearing factory can give guidance valuable time and effort, especially if tri-
ly worded e-mail to the bearing supplier on shaft and housing tolerances. The als don’t go as planned. The use of im-
explaining that the batch of bearings is design engineer should be able to pro- provement measurement methodolo-
“no good” and they are disgruntled by vide relevant information such as radial gies can save time that would otherwise
the delays in bringing this product to load and axial load, which bearing ring be wasted on returning and reordering
market. rotates, rotating speed in rpm, which bearings in cases where other compo-
The bearing supplier sends a com- bearing ring is loaded at all points, nents are at fault.
plaint to the bearing manufacturer and installation and operating temperature, This article was written by Chris Johnson,
returns bearings for inspection. The fac- shaft and housing material (turned or Managing Director at SMB Bearings,
tory checks the bearing dimensions with ground), solid or hollow shaft, and the Oxfordshire, UK. For more information, visit
highly accurate measuring equipment thickness of the housing. This informa- http://info.hotims.com/76504-322.

Boosting Performance
in Hydraulic Systems with
Alternative
Coatings
Taking a holistic approach to sealing systems in hydraulic systems using
chrome alternatives helps engineers achieve optimum function.
I
n 2017, the REACH (Registration, Instead, a 3D approach is needed, tak- tains a piston connected to a piston
Evaluation, Authorization, and Re- ing into consideration the intersection of rod. Coatings are usually applied to the
striction of CHemicals) directive seals, fluid, and mating surface finish. piston rod to improve its friction char-
placed restrictions on the use of any Tribology — the science and engineering acteristics, maximizing performance
coating or plating using hexavalent chro- of interacting surfaces in relative motion and minimizing wear. Those coatings
mium (CR6) to protect humans and including the study and application of are finished to roughness recommen-
the environment from potentially harm- the principles of friction, lubrication, and dations from seal suppliers so that seals
ful chemicals. As a result, alternative wear — should be optimized. In this arti- achieve optimum function.
coatings are becoming more common cle, we’ll explain how to fully optimize Surface roughness describes devia-
for coating piston rods in hydraulic sys- the tribology effect within hydraulic sys- tions in the direction of the normal vec-
tems; however, most surface-finish guid- tems using chrome alternatives. tor of a surface from its ideal form. Large
ance from seal suppliers is still based on deviations mean a rough surface; small
2D finish characteristics for use with Understanding Roughness deviations indicate a smooth surface.
chromium layers. This can significantly and Surface Finishes The most commonly used roughness
affect performance and system life in Whether single- or double-acting, a parameter is the Ra, which is the arith-
hydraulic systems because the lubrica- hydraulic cylinder converts energy metic average of all absolute values of
tion within these systems is fundamen- stored in the hydraulic fluid into a the profile height deviations from the
tally affected by the surface finish of the force used to move the cylinder in a lin- mean — the average of a set of individ-
mating surfaces. ear direction. The cylinder barrel con- ual measurements of a surface’s peaks

Surface finish is a critical factor when it comes to seal
performance and life in hydraulic applications.
and valleys. Two other 2D measures are coatings have a fundamentally different carbide, chromium carbide, or nickel
also commonly used: Rz and Rz1max. topography. onto the rod in a thickness of about 0.1
Rz is the average measurement of the mm to 0.3 mm. The latter uses a laser to
vertical distance from the highest peak Alternative Coatings generate a molten bath on the existing
to the lowest valley in five sample The two main types of alternative surface into which one or more metal
lengths. The Rz1max takes the largest processes being used to coat piston rods powders is sprayed. Typical materials
of the five Rzi values from the five sam- are High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) sprayed onto the surface include nickel,
pling lengths over the total measured and laser metal deposition (LMD). The steel, and/or carbide blends. These
length. former uses the combustion of a gas materials coat the rod in thicknesses
The issue with continuing to use (e.g., oxygen) and a liquid fuel (e.g., between 0.2 mm and 4 mm and are often
these 2D measures is that alternative kerosene) to spray a layer of tungsten softer than HVOF or chrome layers.
Ra Rz Rpk Rvk Rmr*
Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max Min Max
Mineral Oil/HFC
0.05 0.3 0.6 2.0 0.05 0.30 0.05 0.8 50% 70%
PTFE Compound
Rods, hard chrome
Mineral Oil/HFC
0.05 0.4 0.6 2.0 0.05 0.40 0.05 0.8 50% 70%
Polyurethane (TPU)
Rods, Welded and Sprayed Overlays <45 HRC 0.05 0.3 0.6 2.0 0.05 0.30 0.10 0.8 70% 90%
Rods, HVOF, Ceramic Welded and Sprayed Overlays 45 HRC 0.05 0.2 0.3 1.5 0.03 0.15 0.05 0.3 70% 90%
Bores, Cylinders honed/grinded Mineral Oil/HFC 0.05 0.4 0.6 2.5 0.05 0.40 0.10 1.4 50% 70%
PTFE Compound,
Bores, Cylinders roller burnished Polyurethane (TPU) 0.05 0.4 0.3 2.0 0.03 0.30 0.10 1.4 60% 90%
Bores, Single accumulators honed/grinded 0.05 0.3 0.6 2.0 0.05 0.30 0.10 1.0 50% 70%
Bores, Single accumulators roller burnished 0.05 0.3 0.6 2.0 0.05 0.20 0.10 1.0 60% 90%
*Rmr determined at cut depth C = 0,25 x Rz, relative to reference line Cref = 5% for soft coatings and chrome
Cref = 2% for nitrated and hardened Cref = 0% for ceramic coating
Data from dynamic tests using a variety of sealing loads and materials in both rod and piston configurations.

The typography of both HVOF and LMD differ significant- Importantly, the system with Lubrication Management
ly from chrome in their Ra, Rz, and Rmax values, having sig- experienced reduced friction and up to four times less seal
nificantly fewer 2D profile height deviations. This means that wear on both the primary and secondary seals. This outcome
to ensure proper film formation, other surface finish param- effectively demonstrates how Lubrication Management can
eters must be considered. further extend system life; however, it’s important to under-
stand this can only be achieved with a surface finish recom-
Understanding Tribology mendation that allows the effective tuning of the tribology of
In hydraulic systems, tribology refers to proper tuning of the hydraulic system.
the seal, the hydraulic fluid, and the mating surface. To opti-
mize a hydraulic system using either HVOF or LMD, the suit- Summary
ability of the surface should be based on 3D parameters: the Detailed surface finish measurements have shown that
material ratio curve (Rmr), the reduced peak height (Rpk), the recommendations for chrome-plated surfaces do not com-
reduced valley depth (Rvk), and the core region (Rk). pletely characterize the necessary parameters for surfaces
This creates a roughness profile based on the average using alternative coatings. With an extended approach to
depth of the grooves projecting from the core area into the measurements and analysis, numerous tests have allowed for
material, the average height of the peaks protruding from the the benchmarking of proper surface finish recommenda-
material, and the depth of the roughness kernel profile. This tions for the full spectrum of surface coatings and hardware
is a much more accurate way of describing mating surfaces configurations.
than Ra alone or even Ra with Rz and Rmax. Furthermore, testing on these tuned surfaces has shown
To truly optimize system tribology, one must also take into that the current performance limits of sealing systems can be
consideration coatings, piston manufacturing methods, and considerably extended by adding Lubrication Management
piston type. This requires evaluating the run-in behavior of technology, thus producing an even higher degree of robust-
the seal and mating surface by measuring the surface topog- ness than tribologically assessed mating surfaces alone.
raphy with different depths of cut, with a cutting reference of This article was written by Beth Figliulo, Fluid Power Segment
0%, 2%, and 5%. This will allow the different wear behaviors Manager, and Michael Cook, Fluid Power Technical Specialist, at
of each surface coating to be considered. Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, Schaumburg, IL. For more information,
visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-321.
Holistic Analysis
By differentiating in terms of coating, manufacturing
process, and distinction of piston rod or piston tube, an
extended approach for describing mating surfaces can be
created. This includes the standard measurements of Ra and
Rz and extends them to include Rpk and Rvk along with Rmr
at various percentage cutting references based on the coat-
ing. Additionally, upper and lower limits can be set to prop-
erly describe the full topography of the various surfaces.
Extensive dynamic tests using a variety of sealing loads
and materials in both rod and piston configurations were
conducted to provide the data for the table on the opposite
page. The leakage of the system and the wear behaviors of
both the seals and mating surface ultimately determined
the limits for each parameter.
Lubricant-Optimized Hydraulic Sealing

Systems
Although surface topography plays a critical role in system
life, as emphasized above, it’s not the only factor that can
affect how long equipment performs at optimum levels. An
increased understanding of surface finish and tribology can
be combined with Lubrication Management technology to
realize a fully optimized hydraulic sealing system.
Lubrication Management involves using a tandem sealing
arrangement where the primary seal has a rounded contact
surface that enables an ideal lubrication film to be formed
that also extends to the secondary seal. This phenomenon
has been proven through side-by-side testing on laser-clad pis-
ton rods with identical surface topography based on the pre-
viously highlighted recommendations. The results showed
significant reductions in surface smoothing for the system
employing Lubrication Management.

Magnetic Transmissions Increase Lifespan of
Offshore Wind Farms
W hether it’s an automotive engine, a

wind turbine, or something as
straightforward as a wristwatch, torque
is too high, the coupling will limit exces-
sive amounts from being applied to the
shaft. This limit prevents the shaft from
conversion and the transmission of rota- undergoing torque values greater than
tional power are important for various what it was designed for, thus assuring
technological applications. operation in its intended conditions.
Traditionally, transmission is achieved Sintex’s noncontact magnetic cou-
through a series of collinear mechanical plings are ideal for their customers in
gears or shafts that transfer torque and offshore wind turbines and industries
thus power. But mechanical transmission that employ complex pumping systems.
has inherent limitations — namely, a sus- Offshore wind farms are becoming
ceptibility to friction, wear and tear, and increasingly integral with their genera-
overload because of the continual con- tion of electricity but require high levels
tact. As the scope of technology continues of reliability in their components be-
to expand into more hostile and unforgiv- cause of how difficult these parts are to
ing environments, these limitations can repair. In individual turbines, magnetic
be of extreme detriment. In places of lim- couplings transfer energy from the
ited accessibility and harsh conditions, Figure 1. Schematic of a magnetic coupling. motor to water pumps that cool the elec-
replacing failed transmissions is a chal- trical components 24 hours a day. As
lenging and tremendously costly task. improving the lifetime of the transmission these offshore systems involve such
system. Power is transmitted through a remote installations, preventative main-
Power Transfer Without torque coupling between concentric tenance or repairs are burdensome and
the Friction arrays of permanent magnets (Figure 1). expensive, making the reliability of mag-
Engineers at Sintex (Hobro, Denmark) A power source causes one drive to rotate, netic couplings invaluable. In addition,
have developed an innovative alternative while the coupling of the magnetic fields the air gap between drives easily accom-
that provides robustness and reliability: between the drives causes the other to modates the insertion of a separator can
magnetic couplings. The essence of these rotate with the same speed. This system (Figure 2), allowing for media separa-
couplings is that the power transfer is allows rotational power to be transferred tion and closed systems for use in chem-
achieved via magnetic forces, rather than just as in mechanical transmissions but ical and food industries. Pumping sys-
mechanical forces, therefore removing without the friction and risk of overload. tems that are completely devoid of leak-
contact and wear and tear and drastically If the torque transferred from the motor age are critical for the transport, mixing,
Inner iron
Can
Outer iron
Outer magnets
Inner magnets
Figure 2. (Left) Front cross-sectional view of a magnetic coupling. (Right) 3D model of a magnetic coupling (the temperature distributions of the magnets, magnetic
flux densities through the iron, and mesh are shown).

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technologies such as capacitive and magnetic isolators do not perform anywhere
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Copyright © 2020 Broadcom. All Rights Reserved. Broadcom, the pulse logo, and Connecting everything are
among the trademarks of Broadcom. The term “Broadcom” refers to Broadcom Inc. and/or its subsidiaries.

power along an axis, the torque transfer
is the most defining characteristic;
therefore, it is calculated in multiple
ways including Maxwell’s stress tensor,
postprocessing integral methods, and
the Arkkio method. The analysis is veri-
fied through experimentation and has
yielded errors as small as 1%, speaking
volumes to the accuracy of the model.
During the development process of a
new design, the model can be used to
maximize the torque transferred in a
specific configuration.
Since permanent magnets and their
Figure 3. Standard magnetic couplings. fields give rise to numerous secondary
effects, Bendixen makes a substantial
effort to model them. In metals, such as
the steel can in this coupling, eddy cur-
rents are generated by the external mag-
netic fields, resulting in electrical losses.
“The shifting north and south poles create
voltages across the steel; it conducts elec-
tricity and this dissipates energy from the
system,” explained Bendixen. These are
referred to as can losses, which are simulat-
ed with post-processing tools in the soft-
ware and need to be reduced as much as
possible. The team also recently devel-
oped a machine that experimentally tests
the can losses of designs and confirms the
accuracy of their model to a few percent.
“We are dedicated to capturing the
truly nonlinear nature of magnetism,
Figure 4. This portion of the simulation app models the induced eddy current density in the can and calculates and COMSOL allows us to do just that,
the resulting energy loss. assuring optimal magnetization of the
array,” said Bendixen. By employing
stirring, and grinding of chemicals and mary tool of the past decade. “One of the highly nonlinear hysteresis curves and
toxic materials. big advantages of COMSOL from my utilizing their own material temperature
point of view is that you can do many dependences for magnetic loading, the
Magnetic Couplings Across kinds of simulations; you can include simulations (shown in Figure 2) help
Industries many kinds of physics and these physics prevent the permanent magnets from
Sintex’s magnetic couplings are em- can interact with each other,” he said. His reaching their critical temperature and
ployed in a diverse range of applications team has a plethora of thorough and becoming irreversibly demagnetized,
and must be individually tailored based complex models and because of the which is paramount to assuring the reli-
on given constraints, which can include intense verification and validation the ability of their products. “It is very
weight or material requirements and models undergo, the team now places important to know the temperature that
geometric restrictions. During the de- full trust in them. This not only saves time the magnets can withstand and I can cal-
sign process, engineers need to be able but also reduces the price for customers culate this quite precisely,” Bendixen
to interchange shapes and materials of and allows a greater emphasis to be added. “If the magnets get too hot, they
magnets to meet their customers’ placed on the finer details. can become partially demagnetized.”
requirements without having to build Bendixen takes further advantage of the
physical prototypes, as magnetic proto- Eliminating Risk with New flexibility of multiphysics simulation,
typing is costly and time-consuming. Designs having imported Sintex’s library of mag-
In order to save time, Sintex uses mul- Using multiphysics simulation, Ben- netic materials, allowing for a vast array
tiphysics simulation to characterize con- dixen studies the interactions between of custom magnetic configurations.
figurations and provide virtual prototypes the drives of a magnetic coupling and
of designs. Flemming Buus Bendixen, a calculates the torque transmission from The “Easy” Button for
senior magnet specialist at Sintex, has the outer drive to the inner drive. As the Simulation Expertise
used finite element analysis for 20 years, primary purpose of magnetic couplings Once Sintex was comfortable with the
with COMSOL Multiphysics® as his pri- is to transmit maximum torque and level of complexity in their models, the

next step was to broaden their usage and tact magnetic transmission of torque, customization. And with simulation apps
make them more accessible to non-simu- these gears can alter the speed or torque involving more people in the analysis
lation experts. Previously, when sales rep- between drives, allowing for mechanical process, Bendixen can spend more time
resentatives and other colleagues who advantages to be created with fixed gear- making consistent improvements to all
were not versed in simulation tech- ing ratios. In a unique design feature, of Sintex’s magnetic technologies.
niques needed to run tests on designs, these gears will incorporate a single per- This article was contributed by COMSOL,
they went to Bendixen to have all of the manent magnet with a magnetization Inc. (Burlington, MA). For more informa-
calculations done. parallel to the shafts, greatly simplifying tion, visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-
Bendixen created simulation apps assembly and enabling a high degree of 324.
based on his multiphysics models and
found productivity and convenience of
simulation at an all-time high. Sintex cur-
rently employs ten different simulation
CAN YOUR LONG-TRAVEL

apps with up to 20 different users. The
apps are created directly in COMSOL
Multiphysics through the Application
Builder tool and can then be accessed via
a web browser by connecting to COM-
dPD¨Ë0lwÈ0¨LPɚ
SOL Server™. The simplified user inter-
face and straightforward deployment PRO-SV is the only long-travel lift
provide ease of use to all of their employ- stage that can move up to 60 kg
ees. Select customers are even given of mass, while providing excellent
access to these apps and their computa- payload accessibility and dynamic
tional power. “I built the apps because SHUIRUPDQFHΖWDOVRR΍HUVWKH
some of my colleagues are not so skilled longest travel range available at
in simulation software and would like to the shortest height. And PRO-SV
do some system testing and simulations is the most precise, screw-driven,
by themselves, and the apps enable them lift stage available (min. step size
to easily do this,” Bendixen said. 10 nm).
Simulation apps allow the user to
Ideal for any height-restricted
vary parameters without having to alter
applications or situations when
the underlying computational model.
multiple positioning stages are
“Salespeople can change dimensions
stacked, PRO-SV supports:
and perform simulations while they’re
on the phone with clients to verify • Beamline/synchrotron
agreement with their specifications sample positioning
within minutes,” said Bendixen. But and manipulation
despite the simplicity of the interface,
• Water inspection
there is still extensive flexibility to be
innovative with design iterations. Sin- • Surface metrology
tex’s apps let the user adjust both geo-
metric and magnetic parameters. The
model then calculates the critical tem-
peratures of the magnets, remanence See how PRO-SV can raise
distributions, magnetic field flux densi- your expectations at
ties, torque, and can losses. Figure 4 is aerotech.com/prosv.
an example of an app that simulates the
eddy currents generated in the separa-
PRO165SV is shown lifting a 5-gal (18.9 l)
tor can. These currents can then be
water jug, which is 41.7 lbs (18.9 kg).
used to calculate the resulting power
loss. Now, people at all stages of devel-
opment can contribute to the design
process and help maximize reliability in
their products.
Looking Ahead aerotech.com • 412-963-7470

Sintex is also developing a novel mag-
netic reluctance gear, which will expand
the application range of gears in general. AH0120B
In addition to offering reliable, noncon-

Navigation Measurement Software
This program provides a relative navigation capability for spacecraft, remotely operated
terrestrial vehicles, and machine vision.
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
N ASA Goddard Space Flight Center

has developed FlashPose, a relative
navigation measurement software and
system or within a custom development
application on a Linux workstation. The
algorithm is based on the classic
In addition to 6-degrees-of-freedom
(DOF) pose estimation, FlashPose also
provides a range and bearing estimate
VHDL for spaceflight missions requiring Iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. relative to the sensor reference frame.
vehicle-relative and terrain-relative navi- Basically, the algorithm takes in a This estimate is based on a simple algo-
gation and control. FlashPose processes range image from a 3D imager, filters rithm that generates a configurable
real-time or recorded range and intensity and thresholds the image, and converts histogram of range information and
images from 3D imaging sensors, such as it to a point cloud in the Cartesian coor- analyzes characteristics of the his-
LiDARs, and compares them to known dinate system. It then minimizes the dis- togram to produce the range and bear-
models of the target surfaces to output tances between the point cloud and a ing estimate. This can be generated
the position and orientation of the model of the target at the origin of the quickly and provides valuable informa-
known target relative to the sensor coor- Cartesian frame by manipulating point tion for seeding the FlashPose ICP
dinate frame. All algorithmic processing cloud rotation and translation. algorithm as well as external optical
takes place in the software application, This procedure is repeated a number pose algorithms and relative attitude
while custom FPGA firmware interfaces of times for a single image until a prede- Kalman filters.
directly with the Ball Vision Navigation fined mean square error metric is met; NASA is actively seeking licensees to com-
System (VNS) LiDAR and provides at this point, the process repeats for a mercialize this technology. For more infor-
imagery to the algorithm. new image. The rotation and translation mation, contact the Goddard Strategic Partner-
FlashPose is a combination of software operations performed on the point ships Office at techtransfer@gsfc.nasa.gov or
written in C and FPGA firmware written cloud represent an estimate of relative 301-286-5810. Follow this link for more
in VHDL. It is designed to run under the attitude and position, otherwise known information: https://technology.nasa.gov/
Linux OS environment in an embedded as pose. patent/GSC-TOPS-102.
Showing Robots How to Complete Complicated

Tasks
By observing humans, robots learn to perform complex tasks such as setting a table.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Tthoseraining interactive robots may one

day be an easy job for everyone, even
without programming expertise.
Roboticists are developing automated
robots that can learn new tasks solely by
observing humans. At home, domestic
robots could learn how to do routine
chores; in the workplace, robots could
be shown how to perform many duties.
Making progress on that vision,
researchers have designed a system that
lets these types of robots learn compli-
cated tasks that would otherwise hinder
them with too many confusing rules.
One such task is setting a dinner table
under certain conditions.
At its core, the Planning with Un- Roboticists are developing automated robots that can learn new tasks solely by observing humans. At home, a
certain Specifications (PUnS) system domestic robot could be shown how to do routine chores. (Image: Christine Daniloff, MIT)

gives robots the humanlike planning that enables robotic reasoning about yielded a probability distribution over 25
ability to simultaneously weigh many current and future outcomes. The different LTL formulas. Each formula
ambiguous — and potentially contradic- researchers defined templates in LTL encoded a slightly different preference
tory — requirements to reach an end that model various time-based condi- — or specification — for setting the
goal. In doing so, the system always tions such as what must happen now, table. That probability distribution
chooses the most likely action to take, must eventually happen, and must hap- becomes its belief.
based on a “belief” about some probable pen until something else occurs. The In simulations asking the robot to set
specifications for the task it is supposed robot’s observations of 30 human the table in different configurations, it
to perform. demonstrations for setting the table only made six mistakes out of 20,000
The researchers compiled a dataset
with information about how eight
objects — a mug, glass, spoon, fork,
knife, dinner plate, small plate, and
bowl — could be placed on a table in
various configurations. A robotic arm
first observed randomly selected human
demonstrations of setting the table with
FOR SMOOTH
the objects. Then, the arm was tasked
with automatically setting a table in a RUNNING
specific configuration in real-world
experiments and in simulation, based
on what it had seen.
To succeed, the robot had to weigh
many possible placement orderings,
even when items were purposely re-
moved, stacked, or hidden. Normally,
all of that would confuse robots but the
researchers’ robot made no mistakes
over several real-world experiments and
only a handful of mistakes over tens of
thousands of simulated test runs.
Robots are good planners in tasks with
clear specifications that help describe
the task the robot needs to fulfill, con-
sidering its actions, environment, and
end goal. Learning to set a table by
observing demonstrations is full of
uncertain specifications. Items must be
placed in certain spots, depending on
the menu and where guests are seated
and in certain orders, depending on an
item’s immediate availability or social
conventions. Present approaches to
planning are not capable of dealing with
such uncertain specifications. A popular
approach to planning is “reinforcement
learning,” a trial-and-error machine- ELASTOMER COUPLINGS
learning technique that rewards and Backlash free
penalizes them for actions as they work
to complete a task. But for tasks with Precision machined
uncertain specifications, it’s difficult to Readily available
define clear rewards and penalties. In
short, robots never fully learn right from
wrong.
PUnS enables a robot to hold a
“belief” over a range of possible specifi- THE COUPLING.
cations. The belief itself can then be
used to dish out rewards and penalties. RW-AMERICA.COM
The system is built on “linear temporal
logic” (LTL), an expressive language

tries. In real-world demonstrations, it the table without the item. Then, when behavior based on verbal instructions,
showed behavior similar to how a the fork was revealed, it would set the corrections, or a user’s assessment of the
human would perform the task. If an fork in the proper place. robot’s performance.
item wasn’t initially visible, for instance, Next, the researchers hope to modify For more information, contact Abby
the robot would finish setting the rest of the system to help robots change their Abazorius at abbya@mit.edu; 617-253-2709.
Small, Precise, Affordable Gyroscope Navigates

Without GPS
An inexpensive gyroscope could help drones and autonomous cars stay on track without a
GPS signal.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
R esearchers have developed a small,

highly accurate gyroscope that is
10,000 times more accurate but only 10
times more expensive than gyroscopes
used in typical cellphones. Most smart-
phones contain gyroscopes to detect the
orientation of the screen and help fig-
ure out which way the user is facing but
their accuracy is poor. They are the rea-
son why cellphones often incorrectly
indicate which direction a user is facing
during navigation. In another example,
a driverless car could get lost quickly
with a loss of Global Positioning System
(GPS) signal. And better backup naviga-
tion equipment could help soldiers find
their way in areas where GPS signals
have been jammed or speed up ware-
house robots.
The device that enables navigation
without a consistent orienting signal is
an inertial measurement unit (IMU). It
is made up of three accelerometers
and three gyroscopes, one for each axis
The new gyroscope with the vacuum package open, revealing the resonator inside. The resonator is almost per-
in space. But existing IMUs are very fectly symmetrical, made of nearly pure glass. This enables it to vibrate for long periods, similar to the ringing
pricey, even for equipment as expen- of a wine glass. (Image credit: Najafi Group)
sive as autonomous vehicles.
The key to making the affordable, The glass resonator vibrates in a cer- heat the glass and then mold it into a
small gyroscope is a nearly symmetri- tain pattern. If it is suddenly rotated, Bundt-cake-like shape known as a “bird-
cal mechanical resonator that looks the vibrating pattern wants to stay in its bath” resonator since it also resembles
like a Bundt pan crossed with a wine original orientation. So, by monitoring an upside-down birdbath. Then, they
glass, made one centimeter wide. the vibration pattern, it is possible to added a metallic coating to the shell
With wine glasses, the duration of the directly measure rotation rate and and placed electrodes around it that
ringing tone produced when the glass angle. The way the vibrating motion initiate and measure vibrations in the
is struck depends on the quality of the moves through the glass reveals when, glass. The whole thing was encased in a
glass but instead of being an aesthetic how fast, and by how much the gyro- vacuum package about the footprint of
feature, the ring is crucial to the gyroscope spins in space. a postage stamp and half a centimeter
scope’s function. The complete de - To make their resonator as perfect as tall that prevents air from quickly
vice uses electrodes placed around possible, the team started with a nearly damping out the vibrations.
the glass resonator to push and pull perfect sheet of pure glass, known as For more information, contact Nicole
on the glass, making it ring and keep- fused-silica, about a quarter of a mil- Casal Moore at ncmoore@umich.edu; 734-
ing it going. limeter thick. They used a blowtorch to 647-7087.

Scavenger Technology Allows Robots to “Eat” Metal
for Energy
This type of energy source could be the basis for robots that seek out and “eat” metal,
breaking down its chemical bonds for energy like humans do with food.
University of Pennsylvania, University Park
W hen electronics need their own power sources, there are

two basic options: batteries and harvesters. Batteries
store energy internally but are therefore heavy and have a lim-
operate in certain conditions and can’t turn that energy into
useful power very quickly.
Researchers are bridging the gap between these two funda-
ited supply. Harvesters, such as solar panels, collect energy mental technologies for the first time in the form of a metal-air
from their environments. This gets around some of the down- scavenger (MAS) that gets the best of both worlds. The MAS
sides of batteries but introduces new ones — they can only works like a battery in that it provides power by repeatedly
breaking and forming a series of chemical bonds. But it also
PTFE coated Pt/Carbon electrode Load
works like a harvester in that power is supplied by energy in its
(cathode) O2
O2 Cathode reaction environment; specifically, the chemical bonds in metal and air
e- 2H2O + O2 + 4e- 4OH-
surrounding the MAS. The result is a power source that has 10
times more power density than the best energy harvesters and
13 times more energy density than lithium-ion batteries.
OH- Anode reaction (M = metal)
e- M + nOH- M(OH)n + ne- The technologies that make up robots’ brains and the tech-
nologies that power them are fundamentally mismatched when it
comes to miniaturization. As the size of individual transistors
Hydrogel face
l sur shrinks, chips provide more computing power in smaller and
electrolyte Meta
de)
, ano
urce
l so
(fue
MAS starts with a cathode that’s wired to the device it’s powering. Underneath
the cathode is a slab of hydrogel that conducts electrons between the metal sur-
face and the cathode via the water molecules it carries. With the hydrogel acting
as an electrolyte, any metal surface it touches functions as the anode of a battery,
allowing electrons to flow to the cathode and power the connected device.
Rotation
Beam
Wicking Paper
Water Reservoir
Metal Plate
(Fuel source, anode)
The technology can power robots, vehicles, and electronics by being dragged
across metal surfaces.

lighter packages. But batteries don’t ben- electronics that are off the grid or where a microscopic layer of rust in its wake.
efit the same way when getting smaller; batteries cannot be changed easily. They The MAS vehicle drove in circles on an
the density of chemical bonds in a materi- have low power density, meaning they aluminum surface. The vehicle was out-
al are fixed, so smaller batteries necessari- can’t take energy out of the environment fitted with a small reservoir that continu-
ly mean fewer bonds to break. This invert- as fast as a battery can deliver it. ously wicked water into the hydrogel to
ed relationship between computing per- Like a traditional battery, the MAS prevent it from drying out. The MAS
formance and energy storage makes it starts with a cathode wired to the device vehicles also were tested on zinc and
very difficult for small-scale devices and it’s powering. Underneath the cathode stainless steel. Different metals give the
robots to operate for long periods of time; is a slab of hydrogel, a spongy network of MAS different energy densities, depend-
for example, there are robots the size of polymer chains that conducts electrons ing on their potential for oxidation.
insects that can only operate for a minute between the metal surface and the cath- This oxidation reaction takes place
before their battery runs out of energy. ode via the water molecules it carries. only within 100 microns of the surface,
Adding a bigger battery won’t allow a With the hydrogel acting as an elec- so while the MAS may use up all the
robot to last longer; the added mass takes trolyte, any metal surface it touches readily available bonds with repeated
more energy to move, negating the extra functions as the anode of a battery, trips, there’s little risk of it doing signifi-
energy provided by the bigger battery. allowing electrons to flow to the cathode cant structural damage to the metal it’s
The only way to break this frustrating and power the connected device. scavenging.
inverted relationship is to forage for To demonstrate the technology, the Watch the MAS in action on Tech Briefs
chemical bonds rather than to pack researchers connected a small motorized TV at www.techbriefs.com/tv/MASrobot.
them along. Harvesters like those that vehicle to the MAS. Dragging the hydro- For more information, contact Katherine
collect solar, thermal, or vibrational ener- gel behind it, the MAS vehicle oxidized Unger Baillie at kbaillie@upenn.edu; 215-
gy are often used to power sensors and metallic surfaces it traveled over, leaving 898-9194.
Soft Hardware for More Flexible Robots

Combined muscles and sensors made from soft materials allow for adaptable robots.
University of Tokyo, Japan
R obots can be made from soft materi-

als but the flexibility of such robots is
limited by the inclusion of rigid sensors
Soft robots can be more adaptable and
resilient than more traditional rigid
designs. The team used machine learn-
and machine learning. The relationship
between machine learning and robotics
is not just limited to the behavioral con-
necessary for their control. Researchers ing techniques to create their design. trol of robots but is also important for
have created embedded sensors that Automation is an increasingly impor- their design and core functions. A robot
replace rigid sensors and offer the same tant subject and central to this concept that operates in the real world needs to
functionality but with greater flexibility. are the often paired fields of robotics understand its environment and itself in
order to navigate and perform tasks.
If the world was entirely predictable, a
robot would be fine moving around with-
out the need to learn anything new about
its environment. But reality is unpre-
dictable, so machine learning helps ro-
bots adapt to unfamiliar situations.
Although this is theoretically true for all
Rubber tube Braided cords robots, it is especially important for soft-
bodied robots as the physical properties
of these are intrinsically less predictable
than their rigid counterparts.
Take, for example, a robot with pneu-
matic artificial muscles (PAM) and rub-
ber and fiber-based, fluid-driven systems
that expand and contract to move. PAMs
inherently suffer random mechanical
noise and hysteresis, which is essentially
material stress over time. Accurate laser-
based monitors help maintain control
No pressurization Pressurized
through feedback but the rigid sensors
In the pneumatic artificial muscle, a soft tube expands and contracts to create movement. (© 2020 Nakajima et al.) restrict a robot’s movement.

The team sought to model a PAM in The electrical resistance of PAM mate- possible. This could include robots
real time and maintain good control; rial changes, depending on its shape, that work with humans — for example,
however, given the ever-changing nature during a contraction. The data is passed wearable rehabilitation devices or bio-
of PAMs, this is not realistic with tradi- to the network so it can accurately medical robots — as the extra-soft
tional methods of mechanical modeling. report on the state of the PAM. Since touch means interactions with them
So, the team turned to a powerful and ordinary rubber is an insulator, carbon are gentle and safe. Reservoir comput-
established machine learning technique was incorporated into the material to ing could be used in applications such
called reservoir computing in which more easily read its varying resistance. as remote sensing that requires real-
information about a system — in this The system emulated the existing laser- time information processed in a decen-
case, the PAM — is fed into a special arti- displacement sensor with equally high tralized manner.
ficial neural network in real time, so the accuracy in a range of test conditions. For more information, contact Kohei Na-
model is ever changing and thus adapts Thanks to this method, a new gener- kajima at k_nakajima@mech.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp;
to the environment. ation of soft robotic technology may be +81-035-841-0674.
Surfaces That Grip Like Gecko Feet Could Be Easily

Mass-Produced
The new method produces strips of rubbery material that can pick up and release objects.
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta
R esearchers have developed a method

of making gecko-inspired adhesive
materials that is more cost-effective than
and then removing it from the mold. But
the method is expensive and time-consum-
ing. Also, there are issues with getting the
template, which can disturb the quality of
the attachment surface.
The new method formed those walls
current methods. It could enable mass gecko-like material to release from the by pouring ingredients onto a smooth
production and the spread of the versa-
tile gripping strips to manufacturing
and homes.
Polymers with “gecko adhesion” sur-
faces could be used to make versatile
grippers to pick up very different
objects, even on the same assembly line.
With the exception of things like Teflon,
the polymer can adhere to anything.
This is an advantage in manufacturing
because the gripper does not need to be
prepared for specific surfaces to be lift-
ed. Gecko-inspired adhesives can lift flat
objects like boxes, then turn and lift
curved objects.
Current grippers on assembly lines —
such as clamps, magnets, and suction
cups — can each lift limited ranges of
objects. Grippers based on gecko-
inspired surfaces, which are dry and
contain no glue, could replace many
grippers or just fill in capability gaps left
by other gripping mechanisms.
The adhesion comes from protrusions a
few hundred microns in size that often
look like sections of short, floppy walls run-
ning parallel to each other across the mate-
rial’s surface. Up to now, molding has pro-
duced these mesoscale walls by pouring
ingredients onto a template, letting the Flexible walls (in blue) a few hundred microns high emulate the surface of a gecko’s foot to make the same
mixture react and set to a flexible polymer, kind of adhesive force but much stronger than that of the animal’s paw. (Georgia Tech/Varenberg lab)

MOTION CONTROL CHANNEL
surface instead of a mold, letting the polymer partially set,
Sponsored by then dipping rows of laboratory razor blades into it. The mate-
rial set a little more around the blades, which were then drawn
out, leaving behind micron-scale indentations surrounded by
the desired walls.
For more information, contact Ben Brumfield at ben.brumfield@
comm.gatech.edu; 404-272-2780.
Solenoid Valve Health

Monitor
This system remotely monitors the health of
solenoid valves to predict failures before they
occur.
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Yaskawa Compass Shows New Direction for
G-code Interface
See how Yaskawa America’s new Compass user interface software for
G-code automation applications makes 3D printing and shape cutting
applications easier and more effective.
Tvalves,
he Solenoid Valve Health Monitor System (SVHMS) was
developed to remotely monitor the health of solenoid
lowering operational costs and increasing reliability by
www.techbriefs.com/tv/G-code predicting valve failures before they occur. The system meas-
ures and analyzes steady state and transient components of the
Multi-Segment Robot magnetic field and indirectly, the electric current in a solenoid
Finger with Precise valve during normal operation. It enables continuous monitor-
Control ing of the integrity and operational status of solenoid valves
Harvard researchers have without the need for interrupting their operation to conduct
demonstrated that soft robotic frequent inspections.
fingers should be designed with
at least two independently
The system monitors solenoid performance by comparing
actuated serial segments. the electrical current profile of each solenoid actuation to a
www.techbriefs.com/tv/ typical current profile. The sensor exploits the fact that unique
two-segment characteristics (signatures) of the solenoid current — especial-
ly current transitions when the solenoid is turned on or off —
are affected by electrical and mechanical deterioration of the
Controlling Robots solenoid and its valve parts. Current signatures include charac-
and Drones with teristic peaks and valleys that repeat at well-defined times dur-
Gestures
The “Conduct-a-bot” system from
ing every operating cycle and have well-defined magnitudes
MIT detects a user’s gestures from and shapes. As electrical or mechanical deterioration occurs,
wearable motion sensors. Watch a the peaks and valleys change both in time and magnitude;
user remotely pilot a drone these changes can indicate potential trouble.
through hoops.
The SVHMS learns what a good signature looks like from
control-robots good solenoid valves in specific applications. When future sig-
natures are collected, they are compared against the archived
good signatures and the current valve’s condition can be deter-
Soft, 3D-Printed mined and reported, based upon its learned behavior and pro-
Robots — Made Fast prietary algorithms.
Inspired by insect exoskeletons, The complete system contains the health-monitoring soft-
which combine softness and
rigidity for movement and ware, smart current signature sensors, and modules for signal
support, UC San Diego engineers acquisition, signal conditioning, power supply, and calibra-
have introduced “flexoskeletons.” tion. The technology may be utilized in any application that
employs solenoid valves. In addition, the transducer is non-
intrusively attached to the solenoid valve for handheld
insect-robots recording.
For more information, contact NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
at 321-867-8480 or visit https://technology.nasa.gov/patent/
www.techbriefs.tv KSC-TOPS-12.

Positioning System Linear Actuator
H2W Technologies (Santa Clarita, Moticont (Van Nuys, CA) released the XYZ-10
CA) offers the SRT-030/360-026-01 three-axis XYZ linear actuator. The X and Y axes
two-axis X-Theta positioning system each have a 0.97" (24.6 mm) of travel and the Z axis
for motion control applications that has a stroke of 0.500" (12.7 mm). The high-speed, zero
require coordinated linear and rotary cogging, brushless voice coil motor provides 6.3 lbs.
positioning. The system consists of a (28.2 N) of force and peak forces of 20.0 lbs. (89.9 N) at
rotary DC servomotor with encoder a 10% duty cycle for the X and Y axes. The Z axis linear actuator has a
mounted to a moving brushless linear motor-driven positioning stage. continuous force of 21.2 oz. (5.9 N) and 67.0 oz. (18.6 N) peak force.
The linear axis uses a brushless linear motor to generate a continuous The actuator can be integrated into new and existing applications and
force of 26 lb. and a peak force of 78 lb. with a stroke length of 30". is suited for assembly, pick-and-place, testing, inspection, sampling,
The non-contact, 1-micron-resolution linear encoder is guided by a and probing applications, especially in confined spaces.
pair of recirculating linear ball bearings. Customer cables can be For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-304
routed within the cable carrier. Other features include a reference
mark, end-of-travel limit switches, combined linear and rotary dis- Swing Piston Pump
placement, a rotary axis capable of full 360-degree rotation, and a KNF (Trenton, NJ) offers the NPK 06 swing piston
rotary axis that can be easily removed if needed. micro gas pump that delivers high-flow and high-pres-
sure performance. It measures 1.85" (47 mm) wide and
produces free flow up to 8 L/min. and pressure up to 80
Robot and Controller psig (5.5 barg). The pump is suited for various medical device
The IP67-rated IRB 1100 robot and and diagnostic applications such as cryotherapy, ophthalmology, clinical
OmniCore™ C90XT controller for chemical analysis, compression therapy, and respiratory care. Additional
harsh environments are available applications include environmental and security monitors, inkjet print-
from ABB (Cary, NC). The robot’s ing and color printers/plotters, lab equipment, and fuel cell technology.
electrical components are sealed The pump is available with 2- or 4-wire brushless DC motors. Standard
against contaminants. The robot is offerings include PTFE, FPM, and PPS wetted components.
available in two variants: one with a 4- For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-305
kg payload with 475-mm reach and the other with a 580-mm reach.
The controller features full IP54-rated protection, enabling it to be Resolvers
installed in close proximity to dirty, wet, and dusty processes. It also TE Connectivity (Darmstadt, Germany) introduced size
offers extra internal space to support process-related equipment for 21 T7X resolvers for angular position accuracy in a range
communication, conveyor tracking, and external axis. of industrial servomotors. They are available in most com-
monly used hollow shaft diameters. Angular accuracy
ranges from typical ±08 or ±10 arcmin to high-precision
Isolation Valves ±04 arcmin products. The resolvers are available from speed
Clippard (Cincinnati, OH) intro- 1 to speed 4, covering 4-kHz to 10-kHz applications. Different electrical
duced the Eclipse stepper-controlled versions are available to support a majority of existing servo drives and
proportional valve for use in critical servo drive settings. They can be used in environments with temperatures
applications such as liquid and gas deliv- ranging from -55 °C to 150 °C and angular speed up to 20,000 rpm.
ery, medical, analytical, and industrial For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-306
automation. Features include a ceramic
sliding seal, liquid and air capabilities, Measurement Systems
flow resolution of 0.19 ml/min water and 0.007 l/min air maximum at
New Scale Robotics (Victor, NY) intro-
30 psig, zero dead volume, linearity of <4% of full scale, and repeata-
duced Q-Span™ automated small-part
bility of <0.5% of full travel. measurement systems for quality control
in high-mix, small-batch manufacturing
environments. They combine robotic
Rodless Cylinders pick-and-place with automated measure-
NITRA® L-Series rodless cylinders ment of small parts and integrate into existing workflows, automating
from AutomationDirect (Cumming, GA) the manual process of measuring parts with digital calipers. The systems
offer the same stroke as rodded cylinders pick up small parts, measure multiple dimensions, make in-process
in a smaller space. The cylinders have decisions based on measurements (for example, pass/fail or sort by
the piston connected to a carriage that range), and place each part in the appropriate tray or bin. All data can
rides outside the extruded cylinder wall, be recorded to a PC for later analysis and statistical process control. The
reducing overall length and making them suitable for small or tight system can pick small parts weighing up to 3.5 ounces (100 grams) and
locations. The cylinders have magnetic pistons and are double-acting. measuring up to 3.94" (100 mm). Measurement resolution is 0.0001"
The cylinders have front and rear adjustable cushions and tapped end (2.5 μm) with better than 0.0002" (5 μm) repeatability and 0.0006" (15
caps for mounting. Four bore sizes from 16 mm to 40 mm and seven μm) accuracy. Each workstation solution includes up to three grip-
stroke lengths from 100 mm to 1,000 mm are available. Accessories pers/calipers with part-specific metrology fingertips, modular trays for
include sensor support brackets, end mounting brackets, and center parts-in and parts-out, a measurement fixture and zero-reference fix-
support brackets for longer cylinders. ture with gauge block (NIST-traceable artifact), and a work table.

Extrusion Head Robotic Grippers
Guill Tool & Engineering (West Warwick, OnRobot (Odense, Denmark) introduced the Gecko
RI) introduced the 500 Series crosshead with Single Pad compact, no-mark adhesive gripper for automa-
mechanically assisted gum space (MAGS) tion applications with small footprints and lower payload. The
adjustment designed grippers are available in three sizes — SP1, SP3, and SP5 —
for the flow charac- indicative of the gripper’s payload in kilos. They can lift a
teristics of elasto- range of flat, smooth, shiny, or perforated surfaces as well as
meric compounds. printed circuit boards, aluminum mesh, or head gaskets.
This feature allows The grippers use millions of micro-scaled fibrillar stalks that adhere to a surface using van der
the operator to Waals forces and require no compressed air or external power. They have no wires or air supply
make an adjust- and require little or no programming.
ment from a sin- For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-316
gle point using a
socket wrench. A Desktop Robots
visual indicator on KOGANEI International America (Fremont, CA) offers Cell
the core tube allows the operator to see how Master DTRB Series 3-axis desktop robots with an A4 size foot-
far the gum space has been moved, making print. They are accurate to ±0.02 mm (0.001 in.) and are portable,
those adjustments repeatable. The hardware- weighing 5.5 Kg (12 lbs.). The robots feature a 210 × 300 mm
free cam lock design eliminates unbolting footprint, operation with a teaching box or DTRB Editor, RS-
and re-securing of fasteners for disassembly 232C connection to an external computer, step motor actuators
and re-assembly. The rubber/silicone cross- with microstepping controller, and the option for a fourth axis.
head features a cast aluminum liquid-fed Nine models with various configurations are available including 2-
cooling sleeve that allows the user to switch and 3-axis Cartesian or gantry models.
out the cooling jacket in the event of a line For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-317
obstruction. A flow inlet channel reduces the
shear and heat generated as materials are
High-Viscosity Pumps
being processed.
For Free Info Visit Tacmina USA (Schaumburg, IL) introduced ultra-high-viscosity
http://info.hotims.com/76504-319 Smoothflow VPL series pumps that move difficult-to-transfer fluids.
They transfer high-viscosity materials up to and exceeding 300,000
centipoise viscosity at flow rates of up to 10 liters per minute. The
Two Part Adhesive with pumps are designed for low-shear handling of fluids with no damage
or separation of process material.
LOW THERMAL RESISTANCE For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-330
EP30TC Epoxy Passes

NASA Low Outgassing Tests Dynamometers
SAKOR Technologies (Owosso, MI) announced a
Low thermal resistance series of dynamometer systems for testing and verify-
7-10 x 10-6 K•m2/W ing the level of efficiency of electric motors in accor-
dance with a variety of national and international
Superb thermal conductivity
standards. They can be used to test from two- to
18-20 BTU•in/ft2•hr•°F eight-pole motors ranging from 10 watts to more
than 3 megawatts. The dynamometers are optimized
so that individual machines can test the widest possi-
ble range of motor sizes and still maintain necessary
accuracy tolerances.
Motor Controller
Beckhoff Automation (Savage, MN) offers the EP7402
EtherCAT Box, a compact controller that is a two-chan-
nel motor output stage for BLDC motors used in MDRs,
regardless of the conveyor or roller motor vendor. The
controller is designed for conveying tasks in intralogis-
tics, packaging, food and beverage, assembly, and many
other industries and does not require a protective enclo-
sure. It measures 174 × 60 × 36.5 mm, mounts in stan-
dard C-channel or L-brackets directly on the conveyor
frame, and supplies both EtherCAT communication and 24 V DC for roller motors and periph-
eral I/O. Users can daisy chain back to machine controllers. Hybrid B23 cables can carry 28A
+1.201.343.8983 • main@masterbond.com to distribute power to up to 16 MDRs.
www.masterbond.com For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-332
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-709 Motion Design, June 2020

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Tiny MEMS Sensors

Can Measure
Heart Rate
Wearables to Help
You Get Quality Zzzzs
MEMS — Smart
Sensors for the IoT
SPECIAL SECTION:
Technology Leaders
in Sensors

displacement · distance · length · position · profile · thickness · color· temperature
Contact Measurement 2D/3D Sensors

Draw Wire Sensors Laser-Line Scanner
Easy, fast and flexible mounting for true profile measurement
High reliability and long life time and 3D imaging
Maximum resolution and accuracy
Inductive Sensors (LVDT) Wear-free
Wear-free and maintenance-free High speed measurement
Compact sensor design
Environmentally immune Optical Micrometers
(dirt / moisture) with fixed optic
Maximum resolution and accuracy
Ideal for process control
Eddy Current Sensors IR Temperature Sensors

High precision and nano-meter Compact cameras for R&D, test and
resolution process control applications
Non contact and wear-free Widest range of sensor head styles
Suitable for fast applications and outputs from stock
Reliable in harsh applications Durable, robust and low cost OEM
Custom sensors with Embedded designs
Coil Technology (ECT)
Color Sensors Optical Displacement Sensors

For various objects and surfaces Confocal Sensors
Fiber color sensors Low-cost and high-end sensors
Fixed lens color sensors High resolution at long distance
for special targets Advanced Real-Time-Surface-Compensation
High Speed Photospectrometer
colorCONTROL ACS 7000 Laser Triangulation Sensors
Sensor systems for LED color Nano-meter resolution
and intensity tests For high precision on specular and
diffuse targets
Raleigh, NC 27617 / USA · Phone +1/919 787 9707 · me-usa@micro-epsilon.com
CONTACT US www.micro-epsilon.com
0
0 I C B U d 1
Contents
FEATURE DEPARTMENT
4 Can a Wearable Help You Get Quality Zzzzs? 23 New Products
TECHNOLOGY LEADERS IN SENSORS

9 MEMS — Smart Sensors for the IoT ON THE COVER
12 Biodegradable and Bio-Interfacing Flexible IoT Sensors Tim Brosnihan, Executive Director of the SEMI
14 Next-Generation Non-Contact Body-Temperature Monitoring MEMS & Sensors Industry Group (MSIG), gives us a
brief seminar on what MEMS are, how they work,
how they’re made, and how they’re used, followed
by an overview of MEMS industry trends. “We’re
APPLICATIONS seeing a lot of health care monitoring. An elderly per-
son can wear a bracelet or belt with sensors that will
17 Battlefield Navigation with MEMS alert someone if they have a fall, or maybe their heart-
19 Selecting Pressure Sensors for Autoclaves beat or breathing becomes irregular,” said Brosnihan.
To learn more, see page 9.
21 Seeables and Hearables for Fitness Feedback
(Image by Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock)
ROBOTIC END - EFFECTORS
Measure all six components of force

and torque in a compact, rugged sensor.
r
r.
Interface Structure
high-strength alloy provides IP60, High-Speed Electronics
IP65, and IP68 environmental interfaces for Ethernet, PROFINET,
protection as needed EtherNet/IP, Analog, USB, CAN
EtherCAT, Wireless, and more
Sensing
Sensin
Se
enssi Beams and Flexures
designed
deesignned for
fo high stiffness and over- Silicon Strain Gages
load
loaad protection
proteecttion without
prote
protec w compromising provide high noise immunity,
resolution
re utionn
resolutio
resolu accuracy, and high factor-of-safety,
standard on all F/T models
Engineered for high-performance and maximum stiffness,

with the highest resolution and accuracy available, it’s the
ultimate force/torque sensor. Only from ATI.
www.ati-ia.com
919.772.0115
2 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-713 Sensor Technology, June 2020

OPTICAL
COATINGS
REDEFINED
YOUR OPTICAL
COATING PARTNER
alluxa.com
Can a Wearable Help
You Get Quality Zzzzs?
Combining pulse oximetry with a heart-rate monitor improves sleep monitoring accuracy.
ow well did you sleep last night? Did you wake up for the quality side of the equation, the Foundation notes
H feeling truly rested, or somewhat groggy? Quality

sleep is essential for our health and well-being, but
with as many as one-third of American adults not
getting enough sleep regularly, it’s a problem that’s desper-
ate for solutions.
that good quality sleep in adults “means that you typically
fall asleep in 30 minutes or less, sleep soundly through the
night with no more than one awakening, and drift back to
sleep within 20 minutes if you do wake up.” The opposite
conditions denote poor quality sleep.2
Sleep deprivation can affect everything from one’s mood Typically, several times a night, we cycle through rapid eye
and ability to concentrate to risk levels for various chronic movement (REM) sleep and non-REM sleep stages. Longer
conditions. On a larger scale, sleep disorders can impact and deeper REM periods generally occur as we move toward
workplace productivity, trigger accidents, and lead to other the morning hours. The following is an overview of the
costly outcomes. Research published in the Rand Health stages.3
Quarterly examined the topic in five industrialized coun- • Stage 1: Shortly after falling asleep, the brain produces
tries: the U.S., the U.K., Japan, Germany, and Canada. The alpha and theta waves and eye movements slow down. This
2017 study, “Why Sleep Matters — The Economic Cost of light stage of sleep generally lasts up to seven minutes.
Insufficient Sleep,” found that up to $680 billion a year is • Stage 2: This is also a fairly light stage of sleep, when the
lost across these five countries because of insufficient sleep.1 brain produces sleep spindles, or sudden increases in
brain wave frequency. The brain waves then slow down.
How Is Sleep Quality Measured? • Stages 3 and 4: This is when deep sleep begins, with the brain
Actually, both sleep quantity and sleep quality are impor- producing slower delta waves. No eye movement happens
tant. The National Sleep Foundation recommends that here. It’s at these stages when the body restores itself, repair-
most adults get seven to nine hours of sleep each night. As ing muscles and tissues, stimulating growth and develop-
4 www.techbriefs.com Sensor Technology, June 2020

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Wearables
heart rate and HRV continuously during

Blood sleep. The combination of HRV plus
motion detection (actigraphy) provides
a relatively accurate picture of sleep
Skin quality. HRV is also tied to stress and
overall wellness, with more variation a
typical indication of good health. With
LED Photodetector sleep apnea, HRV can be altered. OSA
can result in increased absolute high-fre-
quency power in some cases, while cen-
Figure 1. The principle of reflective optical-pulse measurements. (Courtesy of Maxim Integrated) tral sleep apnea can result in reduced
very low frequency in some cases. This
ment, boosting its immunity, and build- • An electroencephalogram (EEG) to may be confusing as higher HRV is gen-
ing up energy for the following day. detect the brain’s electrical activity erally associated with good health.
• REM sleep: This period begins roughly • Electro-oculography (EOG) to meas- However, these methods alone aren’t
an hour and a half after falling asleep, ure eye movements enough to detect sleep apnea.
with each REM stage lasting up to an • Electrocardiography (EKG) to meas- An assessment of blood-oxygen satu-
hour. On average, adults have five to ure heart rhythms ration level (SpO2) in combination
six REM cycles each night. It’s at this • Electromyography (EMG) to measure with HRV measurements has, on the
phase when dreaming happens and movement of body muscles other hand, demonstrated an improve-
when the brain goes through the In addition, the PSG also utilizes a ment in sleep monitoring accuracy.
process of storing information from pulse oximeter to continuously measure Pulse oximetry, the tool used to meas-
the day in long-term memory. blood-oxygen levels, flow meters to ure blood oxygenation, hasn’t proven
measure air flow through the nose, and to be a valid apnea detector on its own,
What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea? audio and video recordings to assess but knowing the patient’s oxygen satu-
There are a variety of common sleep snoring, movements, and general sleep ration and data about RR intervals (the
disorders, including insomnia, narcolep- quality. The test can confirm an OSA intervals between successive heart
sy, sleep paralysis, and restless legs syn- diagnosis and also evaluate other sleep- beats) is much more telling. An SpO2
drome. In addition, there is sleep apnea, related disorders and conditions. value for most healthy people is more
which comes in various forms. Central While PSG is considered the gold stan- than 95%. However, for people with
sleep apnea happens when the brain dard for sleep monitoring, it also comes sleep apnea, the SpO2 values can drop
doesn’t send proper signals to the mus- with high cost in resources and is not to dangerously low levels and, if not
cles that control breathing. Obstructive accessible to everyone who may need it. treated in time, can lead to chronic
sleep apnea (OSA) is characterized by Given the preponderance of sleep insuf- health conditions.
brief, but repeated, interruptions of ficiency in the general population, not
breathing during sleep. to mention the associated costs of these Designing Sleep-Monitoring
OSA occurs when muscles in the back disorders, it would be invaluable to find Wearables with Greater Accuracy
of the throat do not keep the airway an accurate yet more efficient method to To accurately monitor SpO2 on wrist
open, even though the afflicted person monitor sleep. This is where wearable wearables, designers need to take into
is trying to breathe. According to the technology can help. account clinical standards, system
National Sleep Foundation, more than requirements, a proper optical design,
18 million American adults have sleep Vitals to Track for Assessing Sleep and smart algorithms to meet the clinical
apnea, which can cause fragmented Quality standards. However, before we delve into
sleep and low blood-oxygen levels.4 Over the last several years, a variety of each of these building blocks, it would be
Undiagnosed OSA can be considered a sleep monitoring solutions have hit the helpful to understand the technology
“hidden health crisis.” A Frost & Sullivan market, from smartphone-based sleep behind measuring pulse oximetry.
study commissioned by the American apps that track movement to sensors Wrist-based pulse oximetry uses the
Academy of Sleep Medicine highlighted integrated into mattresses and bed-side reflective approach, where a photodiode
the following costs associated with undi- monitors that track movement, respira- and an LED are placed adjacent to each
agnosed OSA.5 tion, and heart rate. Then there are the other and the photodiode collects light
• Workplace accidents: $6.5 billion wearable options, which provide a con- reflected from various depths under the
• Motor vehicle accidents: $26.2 billion venient, unobtrusive, and potentially skin.
• Lost productivity: $86.9 billion more accessible method. Pulse oximetry is based on two key
• Comorbid diseases: $30 billion The first generation of wrist wearables principles:
attempted to monitor sleep by tracking • The modulation of transmitted light
Monitoring Sleep Quality Through motion using an accelerometer, which caused by absorption of pulsatile arte-
Polysomnography was not entirely accurate. The next gen- rial blood. Pulsatile arterial blood
A traditional approach to assessing eration began assessing heart-rate vari- absorbs and modulates incident light
sleep quality involves spending the night ability (HRV) on the wrist. Analog front- that passes through tissue, forming the
at a sleep lab for a polysomnography end devices have come a long way in photoplethysmographic (PPG) signal.
(PSG) sleep study. A PSG study consists terms of lowering the overall system • Different absorption characteristics of
of the following: power, making it practical to monitor oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO2) and

deoxygenated hemoglobin (RHb) for dynamic range should be as follows to
different wavelengths of light. Sensor Type ARMS meet clinical-grade quality specifications.
A PPG signal is comprised of an AC
Transmittance,
component, representing the light ≤ 3.0% • PI of 0.02, dynamic range of 110 dB
absorbed by the pulsatile arterial wrap, and clip • PI of 0.05, dynamic range of 103 dB
blood, and a DC level, which captures • PI of 0.1, dynamic range of 97.5 dB
the effects of light absorbed by other Ear clip ≤ 3.5%
blood and tissue components. The PI is the ratio of the pulsatile blood
perfusion index (PI) is the ratio of the Reflectance ≤ 3.5% flow to the static blood in peripheral tis-
AC signal to the DC level. The AC and sue and indicates the strength of a per-
DC components of the received PPG Table 1. Typical ARMS specifications by sensor son’s pulse. The higher the value, the
signals differ for different LED wave- type. stronger the pulse. Blood perfusion
lengths. varies from individual to individual and
ARMS is calculated as follows: is also dependent on ambient considera-
Clinical Standards tions. The ability to meet the SNR
While wearables equipped with ARMS Error = ∑N
i RMSEi dynamic, is affected by the sensor
sophisticated algorithms and artificial N device’s optical architecture as well as
intelligence can uncover useful insights, parameters like skin tone, body location,
medical professionals won’t truly trust System Requirements ambient temperature, and the presence
that information unless it is from a When implementing SpO2 in wear- of tattoos or sweat. The lower the PI, the
device considered to be of clinical- ables, it is prudent to understand the sys- higher the dynamic range required to
grade quality. In other words, the data tem-level requirements both from signal capture an accurate signal.
collected must be of the same trusted quality and from power budget perspec- The analog front end (AFE) SNR
quality as that which is collected in a tives. One of the key parameters in requirements need to take into account
rigorously established clinical setting. enabling SpO2 on any location of the the PPG SNR requirements for algo-
For SpO2 monitoring, the U.S. Food body is the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). rithms, as well as SNR for the PI. The
and Drug Administration has specified The SNR requirements to service SpO2 AFE SNR versus PI shown in Figure 2
the average RMS errors (ARMS), based are noted in Figure 2. At a 3.5% error, the assumes that SpO2 algorithms require a
on sensor type, as shown in Table 1. perfusion index (PI) and corresponding PPG signal of 35 dB. For instance, for a
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Wearables
SNR, however, can provide a good

SpO2 Requirements enough signal quality for accurate, non-
SNR requirements to service SpO2 on wrist invasive SpO2 measurement.
130.0 Per FDA accuracy requirements for
SNR vs PI Requirement
wrist-based SpO2 measurements, the
120.0
Accuracy=3.5%
root mean square error (RMSE) must be
below 3.0% for transmissive pulse
@ 3.5% error
PI of 0.02 110dB
110.0 oximetry and below 3.5% for reflective
PI of 0.05 103dB pulse oximetry. The proprietary optical
PI of 0.1 97.5dB 100.0
architecture as well as algorithms devel-
SNR (dB)
oped by Maxim for this application

90.0
meets these clinical requirements, with
an average RMSE of 2.92% and an over-
80.0
all RMSE of 3.11% (validated by
Perfusion Index (%) Hypoxia Lab tests on 20 subjects).6
70.0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1 1.2
1 l Maxim Integrated
Summary
Figure 2. SpO2 on the wrist SNR requirements. (Courtesy of Maxim Integrated) Wearables designers can now take
advantage of sensor interfaces with
subject with a PI of 0.05% (66 dB), the Another method is to place the photo- advanced algorithms that provide accu-
AFE is expected to support an SNR of diode close to the LEDs. Though when rate optical pulse oximetry and heart-rate
101 dB (66 dB+35 dB) to calculate SpO2. placed too close, the photodiode sensing for their applications. For exam-
becomes saturated by the large non-pul- ple, with Maxim’s complete reference
Optical Design satile components that come from the design, MAXREFDES103, customers can
Since it’s the first stage in the receiving multiple scattering of incident photons validate SpO2 across a wider spectrum of
path of a wearable system, an optimal by certain layers of the skin. Increasing population. MAXREFDES103 includes
photodiode is one that provides high the distance between the photodetector the MAX86141 AFE sensor, which inte-
responsivity in detecting small heart-rate and the LEDs can generate a plethysmo- grates high-current LED drivers, a low-
signals at key operating wavelengths. Two gram with a larger pulsate signal compo- noise signal conditioning AFE, an ambi-
LEDs with different wavelengths are need- nent, but this approach requires a high- ent light cancellation circuit, and a “pick-
ed to measure SpO2.6 For the best PPG er LED driving current.6 et-fence” detect-and-replace algorithm.
signal, the LED illumination wavelength The graph depicted in Figure 3 shows The reference design also integrates
should be near the absorption peaks of the impact of optical spacing on PI Maxim’s optical design capabilities and
HbO2: 540 nm and 570 nm. However, (AC/DC), based on Maxim’s optical sim- the MAX32664 sensor hub MCU, helping
most commercial PPG sensors utilize ulation models. The PI for SpO2 is high- to reduce design time by half.
green LEDs emitting about 530 nm. est around 5 – 9 mm. MAXREFDES103 meets FDA require-
The spacing between the LED compo- ments for wrist-based SpO2 measurements.
nents and the photodiode plays an Algorithms Indeed, given the proper optical
important role in enabling detection of Algorithms take the raw PPG signal design, clinical-grade technologies, and
PPG signals, as does the LED driving cur- from the AFE in a wearable and convert sophisticated algorithms, wearable
rent. Using a large LED driving current it into an SpO2 number. Developers designers have the tools needed to devel-
increases the effective penetration have been able to accurately measure op accurate sleep-monitoring products.
depth of the incident light because of SpO2 from the fingertip and the earlobe These products, in turn, can be a key in
the higher light intensity. LED driving for quite some time, but accurate wrist- helping us get a better night’s sleep.
current is, however, typically limited by based measurements have been more
the manufacturer for a specified maxi- challenging to attain due to low blood Resources
1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/
mum power dissipation. perfusion in the area. AFEs with a high articles/PMC5627640/
2 https://www.sleep.org/articles/sleep-
quantity-different-sleep-quality/
3 https://www.sleep.org/articles/what-
Optical Spacing vs. PI
LED center to PD happens-during-sleep/
edge spacing (mm) IR PI (%) Red PI (%) 0.30%
4 https://www.sleepfoundation.org/sleep-
2.5 0.16% 0.11%
0.25% apnea
3.5 0.20% 0.12%
4.5 0.22% 0.14% 0.20%
5 https://aasm.org/resources/pdf/sleep-
5.5 0.26% 0.15%
apnea-economic-crisis.pdf
6.5 0.20% 0.18%
0.15%
6 https://www.maximintegrated.com/en/
7.5 0.22% 0.14% 0.10% design/technical-documents/app-
8.5 0.22% 0.15% notes/6/6846.html
0.05%
9.5 0.23% 0.15%
10.5 0.28% 0.19% 0.00% This article was written by Sudhir Mulpuru,
2.5 3.5 4.5 5.5 6.5 7.5 8.5 9.5
Director of Product Management, Healthcare
IR PI (%) Red PI (%)
Business Unit, Maxim Integrated (San Jose, CA).
For more information, contact Mr. Mulpuru at
Figure 3. Impact of optical spacing to PI (AC/DC), based on Maxim’s optical simulation models. sudhir.mulpuru@maximintegrated.com or visit
(Courtesy of Maxim Integrated) http://info.hotims.com/76504-160.

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS Sensors
MEMS — Smart Sensors for the IoT
T
o get an idea of the current state
of the MEMS industry and trends
for the future, I interviewed Tim
Brosnihan, Executive Director of
SEMI’s MEMS & Sensors Industry Group
(MSIG). Figure 2. VM1001 piezoelectric MEMS microphone from Vesper Technologies, Inc. (Boston, MA) provides IP57
rating — no external mesh is required for water and dust protection. (Credit: Vesper Technologies)
Tech Briefs: Could we start with a
brief seminar of sorts on what MEMS Brosnihan: MEMS are made in the Tech Briefs: Could you tell me how the
are, how they work, how they’re made, same way as every microprocessor or MEMS devices connect to the electronics.
how they’re used. It boggles my mind memory chip that’s built on a silicon
when I think of the sizes of these things. wafer — the MEMS industry pretty Brosnihan: MEMS and electronics can
much copied and leveraged those tech- coexist on the same wafer because the
Tim Brosnihan: That’s what fascinated niques. They’re called subtractive tech- mechanical element is fabricated using
me about this technology and drew me niques. For example, to make a resistor the same techniques as an IC. You can
to it. I’ve been doing this for about 25 you put down a layer of resistive materi- run a metal trace just like you would to
years. When I started, it was very new al, say some metal, that covers the whole connect one transistor to another using
and kind of miraculous that you could wafer. Light is then used with a photo- a metal line in an IC. We use those same
make these tiny little mechanical lithography mask that has micron or metal lines to connect the on-chip elec-
devices. I worked first with Analog sub-micron level dimensions. The light tronics to the mechanical elements.
Devices who was a bit of a pioneer in the exposes the mask so what is left behind That’s called an integrated process.
field — they produced some of the first protects the film and the pattern you What’s actually more common though
inertial sensors for airbag deployment. want. You use a dry or wet etch chem- is two chips: a stand-alone MEMS chip
Nowadays, almost every new car has istry to remove the material you don’t and a stand-alone circuit chip that are
MEMS accelerometers that deploy the want, and the IC is then built layer by then assembled together, either side-by-
airbag when a crash occurs. I’ve worked layer. The MEMS device is built up in side, wire-bonded together, or you can
at other companies, like Qualcomm, on the same way. The big difference is flip chips one onto the other and make
MEMS-based displays, and then at Cirrus there’s a final step where one of the vertical connections through vias.
Logic on MEMS microphones. There’s a underlying layers is removed. We call
whole variety of these little mechanical that the “release process.” That’s the key Tech Briefs: I can see the MEMS con-
structures. It’s amazing that you can magic — you take away an underlying veying information to the electronics.
have a mechanical device so small you layer, which leaves a suspended struc- Do the electronics ever activate the
can’t even see it. ture that can move. It can move in MEMS?
plane, out of plane, or twist. It all
Tech Briefs: How can that be made? I depends upon what type of mechanical Brosnihan: Absolutely, the way I like to
can see 3D manufacturing of microscop- motion you need. There’s a whole vari- think about it is that there are two cate-
ically small things, but I can’t imagine ety of sensors and actuators that utilize gories of MEMS: sensors and actuators
how you can make it moveable. all kinds of mechanical motion. — they’re two sides of the same coin.
Sensor Technology, June 2020 www.techbriefs.com 9

depending on the heat gradient

through the film. That’s the one used in
inkjet printing.
There’s also piezoelectric film. If you
have a voltage you apply to a piezoelec-
tric film, it will expand or bend and that
can work as a actuator.
Tech Briefs: What do you see as some

emerging growth areas for MEMS appli-
cations?
Brosnihan: Although it’s been grow-

ing for some time, there’s no sign of it
slowing down: the big market for MEMS
sensors is consumer electronics. The
first cell phone had one microphone —
my iPhone 11 has 16 sensors. For exam-
ple, when you put your phone up to
your head to speak, a proximity sensor
Figure 3. Using a real-time vibration analysis sensor to monitor automotive production machine. (Credit: shuts the screen off to save power. Some
Shutterstock/Zapp2Photo) of the more advanced phones have up to
four microphones. There are gyroscopes
A MEMS microphone is an example Tech Briefs: How do you implement to measure the rotation and jitter of
of a sensor. It has a moveable diaphragm an electrical input for an actuator? your phone because people are taking
that moves in response to sound pres- pictures and need dynamic stabilization.
sures created by your voice. Since that Brosnihan: It can be done with a mag- Every year they’re putting more sensors
moving membrane functions as one netic coil. Or you can have an electro- into the phones.
plate of a capacitor, it creates an electri- static actuator, with two parallel plates The other consumer electronics are
cal signal. separated by an air gap. When you apply following suit, especially with micro-
A speaker is an example of an actua- a voltage to one side, it attracts the other phones — now everybody wants to talk
tor. There, instead of a pressure input, side. That’s probably one of the most to their devices — they want to tell the
you have an electrical input — a signal common techniques. TV what they want to watch. In cars, peo-
representing a sound wave moves the Then there are thermal actuators, ple have to do hands-free driving now, so
speaker diaphragm, creating sound where a resistive element gets heated up voice activation is a growing market
pressure. and expands. It can bend or move there.
Another growth area is in machine
learning, which needs large amounts of
data in order to function. Large
amounts of data require a large number
of sensors, for example, to measure the
condition of factory machinery.
Tech Briefs: How about powering all

those MEMS sensors and actuators?
Brosnihan: That is certainly one of

the key features. Being small, and hav-
ing electronics integrated with them,
they use lower power than with tradi-
tional sensors — a coin cell battery can
power some sensors for years. A tem-
perature sensor in a smart building, can
typically last for three years. We try and
keep the power as low as possible. Even
for things you want to recharge, like
your phone. With 16 sensors in a
Figure 4. Wrist-based heartbeat monitor. (Credit: Shutterstock/Andrey_Popov) phone, nobody wants it to die partway

through the day. So, there’s continuous A third area, although it hasn’t been also important, is to park. We think that
pressure to reduce power. And it’s not growing as fast as we thought it would, is market is absolutely happening, but it’s
just so you don’t have to charge your electrified and self-driving vehicles. slower to be adopted, partly because it’s
phone many times a day, but so all of There are a huge number of sensors in government regulated. But we know
those sensors can remain on all of the electric and autonomous automobiles. that’ll be an explosion in sensor demand.
time. It used to be your microphone Autonomous cars need to sense the This article was written by Ed Brown,
was only on when you were making a environment to make sure that a car can Editor of Sensor Technology. For more infor-
call; now it’s always on so when you say drive down the street without hitting an mation, visit https://www.semi.org/en/MSIG
“Hey Siri” the phone wakes up (as mine obstacle or a pedestrian. Less critical, but or http://info.hotims.com/76504-163.
just did). Things are listening all the
time and that takes power, so the
demand to have a low-power micro-
phone, for example, is tremendous. If
you have to listen all the time, you can’t
burn a lot of power to do it.
Before MEMS came along, micro-
phones were analog electret micro-
phones. They had to house a separate
analog to digital converter (ADC) to cre-
ate a digital stream that you could process
with your audio processing software.
Now, a large percent of the microphones
on the market have already moved to dig-
ital, where it’s still an analog transducer,
but there is an ADC in the sensor pack-
age. So, when we put the microphone
device into your phone, it outputs the
digital bitstream that you want your
codec to process. And they’re working to
embed even more smarts right into the
microphone — like being able to detect a
trigger word to wake it up.
Tech Briefs: How about some other

areas?
Brosnihan: We’re seeing a lot of

health care monitoring. An elderly per-
son can wear a bracelet or belt with sen-
sors that will alert someone if they have
a fall, or maybe their heartbeat or
breathing becomes irregular.
There are also some that are just fun
— shoes are being instrumented with
sensors, and they can tell you about your
running style or about your basketball
play and feed back information on your
performance so you can get the most
out of your workout. For example, Fitbit
was the first with that massive option:
wear this thing on your wrist and it’ll tell
you how much exercise you’re getting.
Things that used to be daily activity are
now exercise because Fitbit deems them
so. That caught on and people want to
know: everything I’m doing, is it healthy,
am I making progress, am I doing better
than I did yesterday?

Biodegradable and Bio-Interfacing

Flexible IoT Sensors
B
io-interfacing and biodegrad- flexible circuits are not yet ready for out- Where possible, we use roll-to-roll print-
able flexible hybrid electronics of-the box interaction with biological ing to generate the device circuitry with
(FHE) devices can help tackle matrices. However, our mission at VTT efficiency of energy and material, and on
some of the world’s great chal- Technical Research Centre of Finland, a component level, we have optimized our
lenges including environmental degra- Ltd. (Espoo, Finland), is to anticipate and assembly process towards bare-die compo-
dation and food scarcity. develop the upscaling of process know- nent bonding to reduce the overall foot-
Body-interfacing electronics has existed how required for FHE devices that either print of non-biodegradable waste per
for decades. Developed in the 1970s, the interface with biological systems — or that device.
wireless heart rate monitor is a good exam- must themselves biodegrade.
ple. While continuous heart monitoring We’re also focusing on biodegradable Refining the Environmental Impact of
with a compact, inexpensive wearable electronics. Environmentally conscious Single-Use Tests
device is widely accessible technology, end-users and manufacturing compa- A prominent example of a single-use
other bodily parameters, such as hydration nies want biodegradable versions of test that generates a large amount of
levels or stress biomarkers, have not usual- energy-autonomous, label- or sticker-like waste is the digital pregnancy test. When
ly been captured with wearable devices. Internet of Things (IoT) sensors. breaking it down into components, you
However, establishing a baseline health Typically used for packaging, logistics, will find a rigid circuit board with a
state, and its deviations from this baseline, and environmental monitoring as well as microprocessor, a couple of coin cell
is a much more comprehensive approach. medical diagnostics applications, these batteries, a liquid crystal display, an LED
That’s where bio-interfacing comes in. sensors — which have a lifetime of a few light source and photodiode, and a large
Bio-interfacing devices can continuously days, weeks, or months, but used in large chunk of plastic packaging around it.
measure and analyze complex biogenic quantities — have become very popular. The materials and battery capacity of
substances such as sweat, breath, blood, Unless they are biodegradable, however, such a device would be sufficient to run
and urine. A smart patch for continuous they just add to landfill. hundreds of pregnancy tests — actually
sweat monitoring, for example, would In our Business Finland-funded “ECO- technical overkill. By using printed cir-
overcome several challenges in biological tronics” ecosystem project (www.ecotron- cuits on biodegradable substrates, bare-
testing. Data collection by a wearable ics.fi), we are working with research and die assembled components such as
patch combines sample collection and industrial partners to create recyclable ASICs, LED light sources, photo diodes,
transport, readout electronics, and data and compostable electronics and optics and thin film batteries as power sources
processing within a single device and that use renewable resources. For exam- and also device packaging composed of
reduces the amount of infrastructure ple, devices developed using substrate biodegradable plastics, the environmen-
around sample handling, contamination materials like paper, cardboard, or VTT’s tal footprint of single-use tests can be
avoidance, and sample disposal. in-house-developed nanocellulose films
While FHE in principle delivers the and biopolymer films for environmental
right building blocks and is an ideal form monitoring or skin patches, can be easily
factor for a wearable sweat analytics patch, recycled or even biodegrade naturally.
Figure 2. A prominent example of a single-use test that

Figure 1. Data collection by a wearable patch combines sample collection and transport, readout electronics, and generates a large amount of waste is the digital pregnan-
data processing. (Image credit: magic pictures/Shutterstock) cy test. (Photo credit: hartphotography/Shutterstock)

Kaman’s family of
high-precision sensors
utilize eddy current
technology to accurately
completely redefined. We are currently Infrastructure is essential for the devel- position targets
developing a toolbox to transform exist- opment of novel FHE devices and meth-
ing conventional tests into ECOtronic ods, but infrastructure is expensive. That’s without environmental
form factors. where our establishment of a roll-to-roll contamination.
pilot printing line to bridge the gap
Sweat Sensor between laboratory R&D and mass man-
Another exciting use case is a sweat sen- ufacturing has proved invaluable. We
sor that we developed collaboratively with can provide a unique worldwide upscaling
Uncontaminated
Ali Javey, Ph.D., professor of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Sciences, UC
infrastructure for advanced FHE devices,
with a strong focus on large-area roll-to-
Measurements
Berkeley, and the co-director of Berkeley roll processes and hybrid assembly. This
Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC). service removes our customers’ burden of
Together with his team, we created a wear- high infrastructure investment in the early
able electrochemical sensor for continu- development stages and it allows us to
ous sweat analysis during exercise. With guide customers along their development
the UC Berkeley group providing the path, from prototype to mass production.
chemistry to monitor N+, K+ ion and The success of FHE devices depends
hydration levels in sweat over the duration on several factors: It requires a high
of several hours, VTT delivered the under- degree of automation, well-optimized
lying sensor platform, featuring the print- processes, reliable supply chains, and per-
ed sensor electrodes and sweat harvesting haps most importantly, clear standards
microfluidic channels for fluid manage- and rules for designers to guarantee flaw-
ment and transport. It’s exciting to see less interoperability of all the different
what we can achieve by combining tech- elements on a flexible and hybrid circuit.
niques from different disciplines, in this The latest technologies and innova-
case electrochemistry, printing, packag- tions in microelectronics, MEMS, print-
ing, and microelectronics. ing, materials, and biosensors provide us
a toolbox for true innovation in the FHE
Scalability space. Now we need cross-disciplinary
As many FHE devices target large-vol- thinking and daring steps to combine
ume markets, scalability of manufacturing different manufacturing methods and
is key: How can I get from a working pro- skillsets. The ideal cross-disciplinary
totype to a handful of devices (a feasibility team might include:
study); to thousands (pilot manufactur-
ing); to a million (mass manufacturing);
• The printing engineer who knows how
to design contact pads for a bare-die IC
Unaffected by
without compromising the quality of the assembly.
system’s performance and reliability? • The biologist who knows about the
Oil, Dirt, Water,
thermal and mechanical stress in a
printing environment to design
Radiation & more
processes for bio-functionalization of
surfaces.
• The electronics engineer who knows For more information
how to optimize a circuit powered with
an enzymatic biofuel cell. about our full line of
eddy current sensors
Eyes on the Future
The number of sensors deployed on & measuring systems,
(or inside) our body, in our drinking contact us today!
water, in our cars, on our fields, in our
pets, and everyday products will surely
grow. Let us make sure they leave the 800-552-6267
smallest environmental footprint possible.
measuring@kaman.com
This article was written by Dr. Antti Vasara,
President & CEO of VTT Ltd., Espoo, kamansensors.com
Finland, (https://www.vttresearch.com/en/
ourservices/printed-intelligence). For more
Figure 3. VTT has developed a roll to roll process for information, visit http://info.hotims.com/
manufacturing sensor arrays. (Image credit: VTT Ltd.) 76504-162.
Sensor Technology, June 2020 www.techbriefs.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-718

Next-Generation Non-Contact
Body-Temperature Monitoring
A far infrared temperature sensor is small in size
but big in performance.
T
oday’s smartphones and wearable keeping track of other signs, such as body thermal conductivity, which combine to
monitors, such as smartwatches temperature, remain rather more diffi- mitigate the effects of rapid thermal gra-
and fitness bands, allow people to cult. Thermometers that remain in con- dients and shocks. However, these pack-
capture more and more data tact with the body are inconvenient and aged sensors are physically large and
about their lives, activities, and physical can be difficult to keep in place. On the heavy, and this mitigation strategy has its
condition. New services enabled by this other hand, non-contact far infrared limitations when faced with very dynamic
type of data are emerging, ranging from (FIR) sensors can be influenced by heat thermal environments. They are not well
online group fitness training to tele- from sources other than the object being suited to use in devices such as consumer
health and care for the elderly. monitored, causing temperature meas- wristwear and could preclude tempera-
urements to be inaccurate. ture monitoring as a feature in emerging
Demand for Better Temperature To overcome this, current state-of-the- products, such as hearables that are
Monitoring art non-contact FIR sensors are typically designed to be worn in the ear.
While monitoring vital signs like your provided in a TO-can package. The TO-
heart rate is now more user-friendly, can has significant thermal mass and high Non-Contacting Far Infrared Sensors
Continuous non-contact monitoring
of body temperature that is both conven-
ient and accurate has been a challenge.
FIR sensors are convenient but subject
to false readings because of heat from
sources such as adjacent components
like microprocessors or power transis-
tors. Melexis NV (leper, Belgium) has
met this challenge by taking a unique
approach. Although small sensors are
generally subject to unstable readings,
Melexis developed a non-contact FIR
sensor that is significantly smaller in size,
yet at the same time is stable and accu-
rate. Its temperature sensing element is
a thin, thermally isolated membrane
that has a low thermal mass and is there-
fore able to rapidly change its tempera-
ture when the amount of incoming heat
radiation changes.
Signal processing based on careful
modeling and characterization of differ-
ent heat disturbance scenarios, along with
sophisticated compensation algorithms, is
applied to remove unwanted thermal
effects from the output of the sensor. In
this way, active compensation implement-
ed by electronics and software can effec-
tively replace the effects achieved passively
using the metal TO-can.
The Melexis MLX90632 non-contact
FIR sensor comes in a 3×3×1 mm surface
Figure 1. Body-temperature sensors no longer need to be housed in large packages to ensure thermal stability. mount QFN package, which makes it
(Courtesy of Melexis) especially well-suited for wearables, hear-

ables, and portable medical body-temper-
ature monitoring. Despite its extremely
small size, it is highly accurate — the
medical grade version is optimized for
the normal human body temperature
range and calibrated in the factory to
ensure an accuracy of +/- 0.2°C. It is also
relatively stable in the presence of ambi-
ent heat-disturbance scenarios.
What’s Inside the Package?

The temperature sensing element is a
suspended membrane that is only a few
micrometers (μm) thick. The mem-
brane responds very quickly to heat radi-
ating to its surface. Although it is station-
ary, the membrane is built using an exist-
ing MEMS type process. It is specially
designed to have a very low thermal
mass and is thermally isolated from the
rest of the chip.
One of the advantages of this
approach, is that it can be mass pro-
duced using a well-established CMOS
backend process. A gate oxide, intermet-
al oxide, and passivation layers are
deposited on top of a silicon wafer. All of
these are CMOS compatible. The bulk
silicon is then removed, and the other Figure 2. Thermopile sensing and thermistor reference. (Courtesy of Melexis)
materials stay behind.
As shown in Figure 2, there is a ther- and functionality of the sensor, and the The sensor is calibrated by placing it
mopile, which is a group of series-con- results of each measurement and conver- in front of a super-stable “black-body”
nected thermocouples, in contact with sion are made available to the host system reference plate to calculate a calibration
the membrane at different points. The via an I2C connection. The host proces- coefficient for the absolute temperature
thermocouples in this sensor use P- and sor can readily calculate the target and reading. The coefficient is then written
N-doped silicon for the temperature-sens- sensor temperatures from the raw data. into the EEPROM for each sensor.
ing junction, allowing it to be produced
100
with large-scale standard CMOS process-
ing. The P-N junctions are connected in 90
series to improve the signal to noise ratio,
since each junction only produces an 80
analog output in the range of μV/°C.
70
The thermopile measures the tempera-
Sensor temperature (°C)
ture difference (T) between the mem- 60

brane and the surrounding chip materi- Measured sensor temperature
al. Since the membrane has an extremely 50
small thermal mass, it heats very rapidly.
The chip also contains a thermistor, 40
which serves as an absolute temperature

30
reference. Knowing the absolute temper-
ature and T, it is easy to calculate the 20
absolute membrane temperature.
The thermopile voltage signal is ampli- 10
fied, digitized, and digitally filtered
0
before being stored in RAM. The reading
0 0.5 1 1.5
from the on-board temperature refer-
Time (minutes)
ence is processed and stored in the same
way. A state machine controls the timing Figure 3a

TECHNOLOGY LEADERS
Sensors
50
45
Object temperature (°C, target 40°C)

40 Measured temperature
MLX90632
35
Measured temperature
30 with state-of-the-art
(TO-can) technology
25
20
0 0.5 1 1.5
Time (minutes)
Figure 3b
Window on the World

In the end, the device needs a package and a window to look
through to receive the radiation from the outside world. Since
silicon is transparent to heat radiation, it makes sense to use a
silicon window for the heat input. For the MLX90632, the win-
dow takes the form of a lens. This silicon lens helps to focus
more energy onto the membrane. If you focus more energy
you get more signal, thereby improving the signal to noise
ratio. It also helps restrict the field of view. If you look under a
small angle, you can see a smaller spot at a larger distance — a
critical function when measuring forehead temperature to
determine whether someone is ill.
Performance Comparison
Figure 3 compares the response of the MLX90632 and a
state-of-the-art TO-can sensor, both of them monitoring a ref-
erence source at a stable temperature of 40°C. A strong exter-
nal heat source was placed close to the sensors. Figure 3a
shows that the sensor temperature was around 2°C at the start
of the experiment, and the external heat source delivered a
thermal shock of approximately 60°C/min.
NASA LOW OUTGASSING APPROVED Figure 3b shows that, despite the thermal inertia due to the
TO-can package, the conventional sensor’s output is heavily
Per ASTM E595 standards
disturbed by the external heating. In contrast, the output of
the actively compensated MLX90632 deviates by no more than
0.25°C, demonstrating considerably better stability.
CRYOGENICALLY SERVICEABLE
A Uniquely Important Temperature Sensor for Our Times
Resists temperatures down to 4K With its small size and digitally optimized thermal response,
the MLX90632 is suited to use in wearables and hearables.
Moreover, it can also be used in portable medical devices for
THERMALLY CONDUCTIVE continuous body-temperature monitoring, which is often used
in preventive medicine to detect early critical health condi-
9-10 BTU•in/ft2 •hr•°F tions, as well as more classic devices such as forehead or in-ear
thermometers. Finally, it seamlessly fits the point-of-care trend
to move diagnosis from the lab closer to the patient.
This article was written by Joris Roels, Marketing Manager,
Temperature Sensors, at Melexis NV (leper, Belgium). For more infor-
Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA • +1.201.343.8983 • main@masterbond.com mation, contact Dr. Roels at jro@melexis.com or visit
http://info.hotims.com/76504-161.
www.masterbond.com
16 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-720 Sensor Technology, June 2020

Applications
Battlefield Navigation with MEMS
T he availability of low-cost GPS jam-

ming and spoofing technologies ren-
ders GPS-only solutions for location and
navigation an increasingly dangerous
choice for the dismounted soldier in a
battlefield environment. Therefore, it is
essential that a self-contained, non-infra-
structure-based location technology be
developed to maintain the optimal war
fighting capability of the modern US dis-
mounted soldier. However, inertial solu-
tions are very difficult to implement
properly even without the unique chal-
lenges particularly presented by human
motion dynamics. For example, on a bat-
tlefield, soldiers tend to dodge, dive,
duck, and run, thus creating motion
measurement challenges that would
cause tracking errors even in existing ve-
hicular inertial navigation units, which Figure 1. Soldiers patrolling in the desert. (Image by Getmilitaryphotos/Shutterstock)
are generally too large, heavy and con-
sume too much power for a soldier- based anchoring technologies — they for inertial navigation. Within a few
based application. can’t be jammed, spoofed, or led astray minutes, positioning errors of up to
by a bad actor manipulating the opera- hundreds or even thousands of meters
GPS tional environment. could accumulate, thus rendering their
For decades, GPS has been the go-to However, no IMU exists presently that inertial navigation efficacy unusable.
tracking and navigation solution for sol- can adequately allow for a true integra- However, they could be reasonably
diers on the battlefield. Unfortunately, tion of a user’s accelerations to track applied to location tracking through
most enemies now have access to very location, while at the same time not be dead reckoning.
cheap and widely available technologies thrown off course by the nature of a sol- In its simplest form dead reckoning
to jam GPS location signals. But even dier’s movements on the battlefield. By tracks a user’s position by measuring
more dangerous, not only can the GPS increasing sensitivity of the inertial sen- how far the user has traveled in a series
signals be jammed, they can also be sors to accurately measure small acceler- of directions. If the IMU can provide a
spoofed as well. In the worst cases, the ations produced by human locomotion, relatively accurate direction with respect
enemy could move soldiers into danger- the susceptibility to the other artifacts of to North (magnetic compassing) and
ously exposed positions, or could even human locomotion creates significant then measure how far the user has trav-
have the soldiers inadvertently calling errors on the opposing side of the sen- eled (step counting), a fairly accurate
supporting fire onto their very own posi- sors’ measurement spectra. That is, sat- position can be constructed. There are
tions. Needless to say, this is a major uration and other high-force and rapid- many challenges in producing an accu-
problem that needs a solution. movement induced errors create even rate and reliable MEMS dead reckoning
more significant errors, which makes system, but at least the application does
MEMS Navigation this kind of tracking so difficult to do. not push the performance boundaries
So, given such application require- Ideally, MEMS inertial sensors would of the sensors themselves.
ments, the answer lies in some form of be perfect for a dismounted soldier A MEMS gyroscope is a disc that is
inertial measurement solution. Many application because they’re small, light- micro-machined out of silicon that is excit-
Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) weight, low power and low cost. In other ed to vibrate at a rate that is significantly
already exist on the market, but none words, they have all the most desired higher than the bandwidth of the motion
can yet sufficiently solve the problem of characteristics of low SWaP-C (Size, to be measured. As the disc is being vibrat-
inertial pedestrian tracking. They are an Weight and Power-Cost). Every soldier ed along one axis, if there is a rotation
attractive part of the ultimate solution could easily carry one or more — on a along its sensitive axis, a Coriolis force will
because they only rely on measuring the wristwatch, in a backpack, on a helmet be produced that sends the vibrating force
forces generated by the user’s move- or mounted to a weapon. However, their into an orthogonal axis which is measured
ments but operate independently of performance in terms of sensitivity, and is proportional to the angular velocity
infrastructure technologies such as WiFi, noise, bias drift, and other related error of the rotation. The amplitude of the sig-
BLE beacons, or other RF or camera- modes, make them perform very poorly nal corresponding to that rotational rate is

Applications
quite small, however, and it is not a direct
measurement of displacement but of rate X
of displacement over time, which then
needs to be integrated into an angular dis- DIRECTION OF
TRAVEL
placement. However, it only requires a sin-
gle integration, not the double integration
needed to determine linear displacement
using an accelerometer.
The gyro is used solely to measure rela-
tive rotation with respect to an arbitrary
starting point. It is immune (or nearly so)
to linear acceleration, so it helps provide NEGATIVE
NEGATIVE
very precise rotational measurements, irre-
ROLL POSITIVE Y
spective of shock and vibration. Because of PITCH
AXIS POSITIVE AXIS
its measurement characteristics, it pro-
vides accurate angular displacement, with
very low latency and overshoot.
Z
From Point A to Point B Figure 2. PNI Sensor TRAX2 AHRS positive & negative pitch and roll definition. (Image courtesy of
The IMU can accurately determine PNI Sensor)
the direction of travel and thereby track
the path taken from the time a soldier The complexity of this approach is to eration vector, which means that it can
has left point A. An odometry function is determine the different stride lengths accurately determine the direction of
needed to measure how far they’ve trav- for walking, jogging, running and even down (towards the center of Earth). The
eled in any given direction as they crawling. There are several available gyro can accurately measure the X, Y, and
progress towards point B. An odometer approaches for determining the stride Z components of the angular velocity of
for a car is relatively straightforward. length fairly well — for instance, count- the Earth’s rotation at its given location.
There is a sensor that counts the num- ing steps in open sky while there is GPS Then, the latitude can easily be deter-
ber of partial and complete rotations of coverage and then dividing the distance mined by using these two measurements.
the car’s wheels and that number is mul- traveled by the number of steps taken
tiplied by the circumference of the between the two endpoints. In any case, Longitude
wheels to derive a fairly accurate dis- it is a solvable problem and just depends Longitude can be calculated by meas-
tance travelled. Modern odometers can upon what an acceptable procedure is uring the deviation angle between the
be accurate to within 0.1% of the actual for the specific use cases. measured geographic north and mag-
distance the car was driven. A similar netic north. The two are aligned along
function for people would simply be a Navigating in Combat different axes and so, there's always a
pedometer, or step counter. Step coun- The current generation of best-of- deviation in terms of direction between
ters have improved dramatically over the breed MEMS gyros can now track sol- them at your longitude. Since both
last five years due to activity devices, diers’ dynamic motion very well for up measurements are made in three dimen-
smart watches, and cell phones. It turns to 30 minutes without significant bias or sions (the axis of the Earth's rotation
out that people walk with fairly consis- scale errors. The only thing that the sys- and the flux lines generated from the
tent stride lengths, so multiplying the tem we developed can't do with them axis of the Earth's magnetic dipole), you
number of steps someone takes by their just yet, is to lock on to North using gyro- could convert the difference in three-
stride length can yield distance traveled compassing techniques, since their 1/f dimensional space between those two in
accuracies of 1% or better. noise is still about a factor of 50 too order to locate yourself longitudinally
high. MEMS are really good for tracking on the surface of a sphere, especially if
highly dynamic motion in a short period the latitude has already been deter-
of time like playing with your Wii con- mined by the previous measurements.
troller. But for applications where you An IMU with a high-grade gyro can
need low noise and high sensitivity, for locate true north via gyro-compassing (or
example measuring the Earth’s rate of North seeking), but it takes a magnetic
rotation of 15° per hour, which is a very compass to locate magnetic north.
small signal, it’s not quite there yet. However, even though there's a lot to be
said for a magnetic sensor giving you a
Finding the Coordinates direct reading to north, there are serious
Absolute geographical location can be problems with how fallible the measure-
pinpointed by the intersection of lati- ment can be. Aside from calibrating for
tude and longitude. hard and soft iron interference on the
user’s body, external magnetic distortions
Latitude are often present that are difficult to
Figure 3. PNI Sensor TRAX2 AHRS & digital
compass module. (Image courtesy of PNI The IMU’s accelerometer can directly account for. For example, if a soldier
Sensor) measure the direction of the gravity accel- walks by building wall with iron rebar, it

can create large errors in the magnetic measurement. And in an algorithms on the market. Based upon our TRAX2 attitude and
urban warfare environment, there are many additional sources heading reference system (AHRS), it employs a unique Kalman
of interference including vehicles, buildings, weapons, ordi- algorithm that intelligently fuses PNI’s reference magnetic sensors
nance, and many other structures a soldier is likely to encounter. with gyros and accelerometers. In addition, PNI Sensor has devel-
oped some of the most advanced pedometry functionality for use
PNI Sensor’s Solution in its tracking device for very high dead reckoning tracking per-
PNI Sensor (Santa Rosa, CA) is in the development stage of a formance for mission critical applications.
tracking device that combines the best elements of the newest This article was written by George Hsu, CTO, PNI Sensors (Santa
generation MEMS devices with an electronic compass that uses Rosa, CA). For more information, contact Mr. Hsu at
the most advanced magnetic anomaly detection and rejection george@pnicorp.com or visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-166.
Selecting Pressure Sensors for Autoclaves
P ressure sensors are a key component in the monitoring and

validation of steam temperature and other conditions in auto-
claves commonly used to sterilize medical and dental equipment.
tant attributes to be judged. The pressure and temperature
range of the sensor and its media compatibility compared to
the application’s pressure measurement and feedback needs.
Nominal conditions are around 2.1bar, 134°C (maximum pres- Pressure sensor accuracy is another important performance
sure is about 3.8 bar/55 psi) steam from pure distilled water. feature to review. Package size and power consumption are also
Some of the requirements for pressure sensors are typical of most critical in many space-constrained applications.
of today’s equipment calling for smaller form factor and cost-ef- The construction matters. Many of the latest MEMS-based
fective solutions. Autoclaves have additional application-specific harsh media pressure sensors are built using a stainless-steel
needs for pressure sensors in that they must deliver high accu- intermediate diaphragm and an oil filled cavity to prevent
racy, be able to support elevated operating temperatures, feature the steam from degrading the die bond on regular pressure
high pressure capabilities, and offer harsh media compatibility. sensors. A key consideration when evaluating board-level
pressure sensors is to look for designs based on an adhesive-
Autoclave Operation free die that is mounted using a eutectic die bond on ceram-
Autoclaves are typically built with an internal chamber that ic. This type of construction results in a robust structure
is filled with pressurized steam media and held at a specific
temperature necessary to sterilize medical and dental instru-
ments. The autoclave’s pressure and steam media need to be www.embeddedARM.com
TS-7100
directly monitored by a pressure sensor. Pressure sensors that
work here must be small, capable of 2.1 bar/30.46 psi, and
importantly continue to provide accurate readings after multi-
ple exposures to extreme steam temperatures and soakings.
Most standard PCB-level pressure sensors are specified for Our smallest single board computer measuring only
operating temperature ranges lower than those of the typical 2.4" by 3.6" by 1.7", with optional 2.8" touch LCD
autoclaving temperature of 134°C, therefore, they cannot be NXP i.MX6 UL 696MHz ARM CPU
used in the very hot and wet environment of an autoclave.
Specifying pressure sensors for an autoclave, designers look for
harsh media features that ensure they can operate reliably
throughout the following sterilization cycle phases.
Phase 1: Chamber pre-heating at startup — sends plant
steam to the jacket while the condensations are purged.
Phase 2: Vacuum performance — takes the air out from the
chamber and replaces it by pure steam injections. That opera-
tion could be done thanks to dilutions in order to reach a high
percentage of steam vs air.
Phase 3: Sterilization — according to the type of the materi-
als to sterilize and based on the bacteriological level on the
load, the right temperature and time needs to be determined.
Phase 4: Vacuum drying — evacuation of the steam by a vac-
uum pump and replacing it by sterile air. Dilution operations
could be performed as well.
Phase 5: Return to atmospheric pressure — must be per-
formed before the door can be opened.
Selecting the Sensor

Pressure sensors work by converting the pressure of the air,
gas, or liquid they are exposed to into an electrical signal.
When evaluating pressure sensors, there are a couple of impor-

Applications
capable of handling high pres- designed specifically for harsh
sure even at a temperature as environments. They are con-
high as 150°C. structed using only inert silicon,
It is desirable to combine the glass, Au/Sn, and ceramic materi-
adhesive-free design with back- als, which are resistant to many
side pressure measurement, aggressive liquids and gases.
which enables construction with Temperature
Pressure
a small number of media-resis- Accuracy
tive wetted materials. Backside Pressure sensors that are based
sensing is a type of pressure sen- on MEMS technology have been
sor design whereby the meas- shown to provide extremely accu-
ured media only touches the rate condition readings in a
Vacuum Phase Heating Sterilization Vacuum Drying
backside of the measurement miniature package size. The sens-
element. A distinct sensor accu- Figure 1. Sensors are typically tested for autoclave use by being ing element in MEMS-based sen-
racy benefit is that all electronic placed in a stainless-steel basket and subjected to steam tempera- sors is comprised of embedded
components and other sensitive tures up to 134°C at a pressure of 29 psi within a sealed autoclave. piezoresistive elements bonded
They are then soaked in this harsh condition for 30 minutes and
surfaces are automatically isolat- cooled to room temperature for 10 minutes. (Graphic courtesy of to a chemically etched silicon
ed from the media. Bourns, Inc.) diaphragm. The output is ampli-
Small form factor PCB- fied, compensated, and calibrat-
mount packaging is another desirable Harsh Media ed using an ASIC, which provides low
feature of this new generation of pres- Autoclaves are a good example of an TEB (total error band).
sure sensors that meet autoclave speci- application where severe conditions Using a piezoresistive element con-
fications. New construction tech- along with chemicals and temperature struction makes these pressure sensors
niques make it possible to integrate the can threaten its performance, reliability, more sensitive to temperature variations,
measurement functionality of stainless and longevity. Certain advanced pressure however. To compensate for tempera-
steel and media-isolated pressure sen- sensors have been designed with extend- ture errors, the sensors can be optimized
sors at the PCB level. This new sensor ed harsh media compatibility as defined for specific application temperature
brings measurement functions and from a very short list of “wetted” surfaces, requirements. By comparison, a standard
additional value into designs that were which are all materials that come in con- pressure sensor without a piezoresistive
either impossible or very difficult to tact with the measured media. Therefore, element that delivers 0.1 percent accura-
supply in the past. By adding more the wetted materials are most critical in cy at room temperature, would not be
functions to the PCB or into one hous- terms of media resistivity of the sensor. able to deliver the same degree of accu-
ing, today’s pressure sensors support For autoclave applications, this list is racy when used in an autoclave with tem-
miniaturization and contribute to comprised of Ceramic, Glass, Kovar®, peratures of up to 134 °C.
reduced wiring complexity. This also Au/Sn, and Silicon. These materials are Direct media sensing is the most accu-
lowers the risk of signal distortion compatible with the autoclave’s heated rate way of measuring the pressure in a
because of environmental noise and steam and it is the sensors’ harsh media system and the trend in many designs is
helps reduce the number of sealed compatibility, together with a wide tem- toward greater accuracy and integration.
electrical connections. These are all perature range, that allows for the heat-
important features and benefits to con- ed steam media to be measured directly. Critical Components for Data
sider when selecting the right pressure For example, sensors in the Bourns Collection
sensor for a harsh media application. BPS130 family of pressure sensors are Sensors are critical components for
accurate collection information in
autoclave steam applications. The need
for “real-time” data analytics is driving
even further evolution of these sensors.
Features such as self-diagnostics, net-
work compatibility, small form factors
and self-calibration will also help drive
usage. It is safe to say that dependable
sensors for every type of pressure and
environment that are also compatible
with high temperature operation will
continue to be in high demand in
applications across multiple market
segments.
This article was written by David Johnson,
Environmental Sensors Applications Engi-
Figure 2. Offering a wide operating temperature range (-40 °C to 150 °C), as well as harsh media neer at Bourns, Inc. (Riverside, CA). For
compatibility, the Bourns® BPS130 series features a sensor die design that protects the sensitive more information, contact Mr. Johnson at
components and surfaces from the harsh media and provides excellent stability over the life of the
sensor. The devices are also temperature-compensated over the entire operating range and have david.johnson@bourns.com or visit http://
amplified analog outputs with a total error band (TEB) of 2.5 % FS. (Image courtesy of Bourns, Inc.) info.hotims.com/76504-164.

Seeables and Hearables for Fitness Feedback
Seeables Sensors The IMU can detect all kinds of move-
Imagine being able to effortlessly Although a customer has the option ments, for example, If you are in a com-
track your fitness routine without hav- of assembling their own system, Bosch plex situation, say jogging, running, walk-
ing to look away or even think about it. has a standard sensor package that can ing, doing exercises — you’re turning
Bosch Sensortec GmbH (Reutlingen/ be mounted on the system PCB: around, you’re moving, there’s activity
Kusterdingen, Germany) has devel- • The BHI260AB includes a program- going on, sometimes you have your head
oped a “Light Drive” system to display mable microcontroller, a 6-axis IMU, or your hand in different positions. With
data from fitness and navigation sen- and preinstalled sensor fusion soft- the accelerometer, you can detect static
sors onto a lens of a pair of smart eye- ware. and dynamic acceleration, you can see
glasses that have transparency compara- • The BMP388 is an absolute barometric orientation in an earth gravity field and
ble to normal eyeglasses and that are pressure sensor. so on. Rotation can be measured by the
comfortable enough to be worn all day. • The BMM150 is a magnetometer. IMU gyroscope. The sensor fusion soft-
The data image is projected directly These sensors use very low levels of ware can incorporate the data from the
onto the wearer’s retina so that it is power, thus relieving some of the load IMU and magnetometer and provide pre-
always in focus and readable despite on your connected device. cise and reliable orientation information.
changing ambient light conditions. You
can get feedback while jogging, stair-
climbing, exercising, or bike-riding.
MEMS module
The Light Drive can interface with any
Bluetooth-enabled device such as a smart-
phone or fitness tracker. According to Dr.
Lucas Ginzinger, Head of Product Area
Optics, Bosch Sensortec, in the future the Laser module and
connection may be via 5G. beam shaping
How it Works
The components of the Light Drive System control/ASIC
are shown in Figure 1. The working prin-
ciples are illustrated in Figure 2.
The Bluetooth input data is trans-
ferred to a dedicated ASIC controller.
It, in turn, controls the laser module,
which consists of three colors of laser
diodes: red, green, and blue. The three Bluetooth®
beams they produce are aligned and communication
merged into a single beam. The con-
troller modulates the laser beam by
switching colors off and on, thereby Figure 1. Light Drive components. (Image courtesy of Bosch Sensortec)
painting a picture. The modulated laser
beam is focused onto a set of MEMS
mirrors. These mirrors are actuated by
the system controller to project the • A microelectromechnical
beam onto a holographic film molded system (MEMS) based Eyeglass lens
into the lens and to scan the image one collimated light scanner
line at a time. The film acts like a mir- inside the Bosch
ror that only reflects the three wave- Smartglasses light Drive Holographic Laser
lengths of the laser beam. All other module scans a optical element module
holographic element (HOE)
light passes through it. Although in
(HOE) that is embedded
principle, the functionality is like a mir- in the lens of the
ror, because the mirroring function is smartglasses. Micro
so limited, you still have 99% trans- mirrors
parency. That is done by what is called • This HOE redirects the
a volume-holographic film, which is a light beam onto the
micrometer in thickness. human retina surface,
The unique feature of the Light directly painting a
picture that is always in Human eye Frame
Engine is that the image produced by
focus.
the laser beam is reflected by the nearly
invisible holographic film directly into
your pupil. So, the image is created on
your retina, not inside the eyeglass lens. Figure 2. Light Drive working principles. (Image courtesy of Bosch Sensortec)

Applications
All of these functions are carried out
within the BMA456 itself, thus eliminat-
ing the need to wake up a power-hun-
gry application processor. These fea-
tures and its extremely low height of
0.65 mm make the BMA456 a perfect fit
for truly wireless stereo (TWS) headsets
and midrange hearables used for enter-
tainment and in everyday life.
Another feature is power manage-
ment. To limit power consumption, the
BMA456 accelerometer accurately dis-
tinguishes between motion and no-
motion, switching itself and the hearable
device to a low-power mode. In addition,
the accelerometer in combination with
other sensors such as optical proximity,
enables low-power in-ear and out-of-ear
recognition that could instantly pause
Figure 3. The Bosch Smart Glasses Light Drive system displays just-in-time hands-free information
in a minimalist format, making it ideal for applications such as navigation on bikes. (Image courtesy playback when the user removes the
of ArturVerkhovetskiy / Depositphotos.com) hearable from their ear and set the
entire system into sleep mode.
The BMA456 also includes a low-
power step detector and step counter
Power management specifically optimized for hearables. In
BMA465 combination with the sophisticated
To limit power consumption, the BMA456 activity recognition feature that detects
accelerometer accurately distinguishes between
motion and no-motion, switching itself and the walking, running, and standing still, the
device to a low-power mode. This significantly
extends the battery life of the entire system. BMA456 hearable variant is designed for
sports and activity-tracking hearables
that operate with smartphones or stand-
Wearable and hearable
applications alone.
A broad portfolio Manufacturers can flexibly configure
of sensing solutions the default parameter sets of these fea-
Gesture recognition, activity and tures to improve the performance of
position tracking as wel as calorie
counting: Motion, environmental and their devices. The sensor’s low noise of
smart sensors from Bosh Sensortech
enable these and many more 120 gHz, low offset of ±20 mg, and low
features in wearable and hearable
applications, enhancing people’s TCO of 0.35 mg/°K further improve the
lifestyles and well-being. accuracy of the device. Users thereby
benefit from an intuitive user experi-
ence, accurate activity tracking, and
extended battery life.
Figure 4. To limit power consumption, the BMA456 accelerometer, for example, accurately distinguish-
es between motion and no-motion, switching itself and the device to a low-power mode. This signif- In addition, the BHI260AB, BMM150
icantly extends the battery life of the entire system. (Image courtesy of Maridav/Depositphotos.com) and BMP388 can be integrated into
hearables as well.
The pressure sensor can sense next generation of hearables," said CEO
changes in altitude with enough abso- Dr. Stefan Finkbeiner. They have devel- Going from Here
lute accuracy, relative accuracy, and res- oped a new variant of their high-perfor- Hearables have been around for some
olution, in the range of 10 to 30 cm, to mance BMA456 accelerometer that time and seeables not so much. But both
detect steps if you are walking up the includes features optimized for hearable applications are on the cusp of a rapidly
stairs or lifting your legs doing exercises. devices to be integrated in a single sen- expanding market. While fitness moni-
The magnetometer can provide head- sor. Accelerometers enable sensing for tors are growing more and more popu-
ing information while you are walking, initiating voice assistant systems, head lar, the rapidly evolving ease of using
running or riding a bike. gesture control, body movement track- smart eyeglasses and wireless earbuds
ing, and more. are a big selling point. They are increas-
Hearables The new BMA456 accelerometer vari- ingly sophisticated, easier to use, and
Hearable devices are being increas- ant integrates hearable-specific ges- provide more information in unobtru-
ingly used in fitness applications. “Bosch tures for intuitive user interactions such sive ways than ever before.
Sensortec's many years of experience in as tap, double-tap, and triple-tap. This article was written by Ed Brown,
the areas of signal processing and ultra- Thereby, the user can, for example, Editor of Sensor Technology. For more infor-
low power MEMS sensor design are key conveniently control playback, manage mation, visit http://info.hotims.com/76504-
to helping manufacturers create the the volume, or accept and decline calls. 165.

New Products
Small Accurate Temperature Humidity Resistant Strain
Sensor Gage Sensors
Würth Elektronik (Waldenburg, Germany) The Micro-Measurements® brand of
is introducing a 2.0 ¥ 2.0 ¥ 0.5 mm tempera- Vishay Precision Group, Inc. (Raleigh,
ture sensor. Its accuracy in the measuring NC) has introduced the CHA Series of
range of -40 to 125°C is ±0.5°C, while in the range of -10 to 60°C it goes humidity resistant strain gage sensors. The
down to ±0.25°C. Applications extend from PCB temperature monitor- CHA Series offers better humidity performance compared with the CEA
ing and system monitoring for power supplies, heating, ventilation, air family, making it a good choice for the most demanding applications,
conditioning, and cold chain monitoring, to sensor technology in such as humidity conditioned composite materials. Built to improve per-
industrial controls, domestic appliances or wearables. formance under ASTM-5229 “Standard Test Method Absorption
The sensor is factory calibrated and can therefore be used without Properties and Equilibrium Conditioning of Polymer Matrix Composite
time-consuming remeasurements. The sensor’s 16-bit output signal can Materials” test conditions, they are currently available in several uniaxial,
be read out via an I²C interface with output data rates up to a maximum tee rosette, and rectangular rosette configurations.
of 200 Hz. An additional interrupt pin can optionally be used to indi- CHA features:
cate when a programmed temperature threshold value is exceeded. • Cast polyimide backing for flexibility and toughness
WSEN-TIDS is well suited for battery powered applications as it oper- • Larger integral copper coated tabs for easier lead wire connection
ates from 1.5 to 3.6 V and draws a current of only 1.75 μA. • Protective encapsulation film with enhanced moisture protection
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-170 • Strain range: ±3% for all gage lengths, 5% for gage lengths of 0.250
inch or greater
Barometric Pressure Sensor for • Fatigue life: ±1500 microstrain for 106 cycles
• Temperature range: –100° to +350°F (–75° to +175°C)
Smartphones, Wearable, and For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-173
Hearable Devices
Bosch Sensortec (Reutlingen/Kusterdingen, Low Torque Sensor With 50kHz
Germany) announces the BMP390, a barometric pressure sensor that Bandwidth
delivers high accuracy for altitude tracking in smartphones as well as
wearable and hearable devices. The new sensor can measure height The TorqSense ORT 230/240 low torque
changes below 10 centimeters thanks to improved resolution and is 50 sensor from Saelig Company, Inc.
percent more accurate than its predecessor. (Fairpoint, NY) offers precise dynamic measurement of rotary and stat-
Typical relative accuracy is 0.03 hPa, typical absolute accuracy is 0.5 ic torque from 10 mNm to 100 Nm for signal bandwidths up to 50kHz.
hPa. The sensor offers high temperature stability across its entire oper- It precisely measures bi-directional rotary or static torque and can be fit-
ating temperature and pressure ranges of 0 to 65° C and 700 to 1100 ted with speed sensors for monitoring dynamic applications, enabling
hPa respectively. Average temperature coefficient offset (TCO) is 0.6 direct measurements of transmitted power. The ORT transducers
Pa/K. Noise is 0.9 Pa typical, an improvement of 25 percent relative to require no external instrumentation and have their own built-in test
its predecessor, BMP380. capability. Their compact size makes them suited for use in applications
Accurate altitude detection helps localize people indoors, where GPS where there is little space for extra equipment. Analog voltage outputs
signals are not available. The addition of vertical-specific position to are standard, with current outputs available as an option. TorqView soft-
existing horizontal information enables first responders to determine ware, provided free, allows the ORT240 series to be connected to a PC
the floor level of smartphone users who trigger an emergency call. via USB (optional) or RS232 so that configurations can be changed,
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-171 and to display torque, speed, and power.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-174
Flow Sensor with Bluetooth

Oil Dipstick Thermocouple
AW-Lake Company (Oak Creek, WI) intro-
duces the new EDGE Flow Sensor with optional Temperature Probe
Bluetooth for use in flow meter applications Harold G. Schaevitz Industries LLC
requiring an analog, pulse, or Modbus signal to (Bloomfield Hills, MI) announces the new Oil
a PLC or other control system. Easily mounted Dipstick Thermocouple Temperature Probe.
on meters, it outputs a frequency or analog signal, which gives users Made in the USA, it is intended for use in research & development appli-
more installation flexibility, especially when unsure of readout equip- cations to measure engine fluid temperatures. This flexible probe slides
ment or a control room interface. With the ability to force the sensor to down the dipstick tube into the pan or reservoir and can be custom made
output a frequency or analog signal, connections to a user interface are to any length per the user’s specification. The probe’s compression fitting
verifiable without the need to run fluid flow. is adjustable, allowing the probe tip to be set at various depths.
Operators can configure, set parameters, fine-tune adjustments, and Oil Dipstick Thermocouple Temperature Probe Features:
troubleshoot the sensor remotely using a mobile device. The mobile • Available as Type J, K, or T thermocouple
application also supports basic scaling and advanced functions, allow- • Probe is flexible
ing for remote correction of nonlinear flow meters to maintain a linear • Probe fitting is adjustable allowing for various tip depth settings
analog output. Using the mobile application, users can turn a smart- • Ideal for engine oil, water, & transmission fluid temperature measure-
phone or tablet into a wireless flow monitor. ments
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-172 For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-175

New Products
Hermetically Sealed, Spring-Loaded LVDTs MEMS Environmental Pressure Sensor

NewTek Sensor Solu- Bourns (Riverside, CA)
tions (Pennsauken, NJ) announced the addition
introduces an extended of four new model fami-
family of spring-loaded lies to the Bourns ®
LVDTs for highly accu- Precision Sensor (BPS)
rate and repeatable line. Based on state-of-the-
dimensional gaging of art MEMS technology, the
components. Available new sensors are cost-effec-
in AC- and DC-operated tive pressure sensor solu-
versions, these sensors are used in R&D labs for quality testing, print- tions that feature ultra-fast
ing operations for roller alignment, and automated production lines response times, high reso-
for dimensional gaging of parts in go/no go inspection. Data collected lution, and long-term stability. They can work with pressure ranges
by the probes can be used for online quality control and post-process from 5 to 500 psi, so they are useful for an array of packaging
statistical analysis. requirements and applications including industrial systems and
Featuring a stainless-steel, spring-loaded probe assembly and low/medium risk medical devices.
welded ¾-inch diameter hermetically sealed housing, the sensors The Model BPS310 series is designed to provide high
are available in ranges from ±0.050" (1.27mm) to ±2" (50.8mm). sensitivity/accuracy for ultra-low pressures. For gauge and pressure
With near-infinite resolution and excellent repeatability, these gage measurement, the Model BPS320 series offers a robust configuration
heads operate at linearity of ±0.15% over wide operating tempera- in a surface mount package. The Model BPS330 series is a through-
ture ranges of -65°F (-54°C) to 275°F (135°C). hole pressure sensor with an aluminum port for low pressure applica-
The AC-operated LVDT can work in a hostile environment, while tions with an operating range up to 125 °C. With an ability to handle
a signal conditioner provides power to the sensor and demodulates certain harsh media, the Model BPS340 series is offered in a surface
the output, which operates remotely in a benign area. mount package capable of supporting pressure ranges up to 500 psi.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-177 For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-176
Self-Contained Displacement Sensor

An off the shelf, self-contained analog output displacement sen-
NASA Low Outgassing Approved sor for high-precision, and high-repeatability applications has been
One Part Silicone Adhesive introduced by The Measuring Division of Kaman Precision
Products, Inc. (Middletown, CT).
The temperature of the SC-2440 sensor is continuously moni-
MasterSil 920-LO tored, and the circuit provides a voltage output of 0.5 to 1.2 VDC
■ Non-corrosive cures from 0 to 70° C. This temperature-proportional voltage can be
monitored by a microprocessor or PLC for active correction of the
■ Fast set up time displacement output with changing temperature conditions. When used in precision automa-
■ Ideal for sensitive tion applications, the output is as accurate at the beginning of the first shift on a cold January
components morning as it is at the end of the shift on a hot July afternoon.
■ Refractive index 1.43 Additional features of the SC-2440 system include self-contained electronics, submersible IP-67
rugged housing, built-in temperature sensor, fixed gain output, reverse polarity, and short circuit
protection. The system also features extremely low hysteresis and performs well with ferrous targets.
For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-180
Electromagnetic Flowmeter
Endress+Hauser (Greenwood, IN) has launched its Promag W electro-
magnetic flow meter, featuring the “0 ¥ DN full bore” option, a solution
for a close-knit pipeline network or obstacles in pipes, which provides
maximum measuring performance without tube restriction, and thus
without pressure loss.
Promag W 300/400/500 flow meters have accuracy of ±0.5%, even
directly downstream of pipe bends, T fittings, or insertion devices. They
are particularly suitable for installation in tight spaces because they do
not need any inlet or outlet runs. They can handle swirls that frequently occur downstream of
obstacles such as pipe bends and insertion devices, and even those downstream of unknown
obstacles such as build-up on the pipe wall, protruding seals or different inside diameters.
154 Hobart St., Hackensack NJ, 07601 USA The meter uses multiple measuring electrodes to detect flow. These electrodes generate a sub-
+1.201.343.8983 • main@masterbond.com stantially higher density of measured data than standard devices. Together with refined signal
analysis, reliable measurement results are realized even in swirl conditions.
www.masterbond.com For Free Info Visit: http://info.hotims.com/76504-179
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76504-722 www.techbriefs.com Sensor Technology, June 2020

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Motion Design, and Sensor Technology

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Issue MEMS — Smart

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16 Special Section: Mars 2020 – Perseverance to the

80 NASA Spinoff: Space Station Masks for Earth

56 Wearable Device Monitors Health

56 Cut-to-Length Electrical Cable Cuts Costs

58 Graphene Device with Superconducting, Insulating, and

59 Improving Data Speeds with Laser-Activated Magnets

60 Materials & Coatings

60 Fabric Allows Wearers to Control Electronic Devices Through

60 Soft Tactile Logic Distributes Decision-Making Throughout

61 Carbon Nanostructure is Stronger Than Diamonds

62 Carbon Nanotube/Polymer Composites with Electrical and 70

63 Metals Change Surfaces in Response to Heat

66 Device Modulates Light and Amplifies Tiny Signals

67 Process for Producing High-Quality, Lightweight Mirrors

68 Optically Reconfigurable Charge-Transfer Liquid Crystals

69 “Artificial Leaf” Produces Clean Gas

70 Essential Oils Inhibit Mold on Wood

70 Method Turns Trash Into Graphene

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