What's New in Measurement and Control?The latest news, tutorials and articles on data acquisition and control using personal computers.Battle between traditional suppliers and third-party IO suppliers continues- (Found June 19, 2008 ) IMS Research forecasts that the worldwide market for IO modules will grow steadily to be worth nearly $8 billion by 2011, growing at around 5.6% per year. In general, increased competition between 'third-party' and traditional suppliers has not only driven the introduction of new features and functionality into IO products, but has also resulted in lower IO module prices. Through their different strategies, both types of suppliers are predicted to operate in this market for the foreseeable...http://www.imsresearch.com/members/pr.asp?X=469 Wireless Networking: New Publication- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Over the past decade, the world has witnessed an explosion in the development and deployment of new wireless network technologies. From cellular mobile telephony to the ubiquitous WiFi networks in coffee-shops and airports, to the emerging WiMAX wireless broadband access networks, the menu of wireless access systems has become so comprehensive that wireline access to user devices may soon become a relic of the past. "Wireless Networking" serves as a one-stop view of cellular, WiFi, and WiMAX...http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0123742544/1286 Interfacing a Sylvac Dial Gauge to a PC- (Found June 19, 2008 ) You can connect digital dial gauges (or digital indicators as they are also known) to a PC and automatically record all measurements. Read the new step-by-step guide on using the free Windmill data acquisition software to collect data from a Sylvac dial gauge.http://www.windmill.co.uk/sylvac.html Earthquake sensors track rise in ocean storms- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Seismometers that monitor earthquakes also record smaller vibrations caused by ocean storm waves, even when located 1000 miles from the sea. New scrutiny of that data, previously discarded as "noise", suggests that extreme storms are on the rise.http://technology.newscientist.com/article/dn13736-earthquake-sensors-track-rise-in-ocean-... Report on Energy Harvesting, Micro Batteries and Power Management Integrated Circuits- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Wireless sensor devices package together a circuit board with networking and application software. Interfaces to sensors can detect changes in temperature, pressure, moisture, light, sound or magnetism. A wireless radio can report on these findings, usually powered by batteries. Sensor networks can include 10 to 100,000 nodes, and scalability can be a problem. Node position may not be predetermined. The lifetime of a sensor network depends on the battery lifetime, and relocating and recharging..http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c88012 Graphene used to create world's smallest transistor- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Researchers have used the world's thinnest material to create the world's smallest transistor, one atom thick and ten atoms wide.http://www.manchester.ac.uk/aboutus/news/display/?id=3529 European light research opens door for optical storage and computing- (Found June 19, 2008 ) The goal of replacing electronics with optics for processing data in computers is coming closer through cutting edge European research into the mysterious properties of "fast and slow" light. The long term aim is to boost processing speeds and data storage densities by several orders of magnitude and take the information technology industry into a new era, combining greatly improved performance with dramatically lower energy consumption.http://www.esf.org/research-areas/physical-and-engineering-sciences/news/ext-news-singlevi... Cool microsensors offer improved analysis- (Found June 19, 2008 ) Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have combined two tiny but powerful NIST inventions on a single microchip, a cryogenic sensor and a microrefrigerator. The combination offers the possibility of cheaper, simpler and faster precision analysis of materials such as semiconductors and stardust.http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/techbeat/tb2008_0415.htm#microfridge DMS Show- (Found June 19, 2008 ) The Design engineering and manufacturing solutions expo is on 25-27 June in Tokyo.http://www.dms-tokyo.jp/english/ |