Slideshow: Top 10 sensor trends to follow

Technology News | February 10, 2014

By eeNews Europe

Analog

Sensors come in all shapes and sizes these days and fulfill all sorts of uses. From pressure and humidity sensors increasingly appearing in smartphones, to night vision and infrared, sensors are everywhere and in every form. Here’s a look at 10 trends in 10 sensor applications emerging from the recent International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and over the past year.

CES saw a proliferation of sophisticated sensors, said analyst John Curran, managing director in technology-consulting company Accenture’s consumer and high-tech practice. This year, innovations in tracking — eye movement and gestures in particular — as well as in the detection of temperature, pressure, magnetic fields, and biometrics, were evident. “The best supporting actors for the past couple of years have stepped onto the fore this year,” Curran told EE Times.

Sensiron’s SHTC1, the humidity and temperature sensor in Samsung’s GS4

Use of sensors across a whole host of products and businesses is exploding. “As these sensors become more durable and demonstrate greater fidelity, we’re beginning to see really interesting ways companies are using them to collect data and translate that in a digital format.” Among the items Curran cited were TVs, phablets, and household appliances — all examples of the expanding role sensors are playing in more devices.

“The big themes [were] just the degree to which every business was becoming a digital business and every consumer becoming a digital consumer,” Curran said. “We saw this across the board as devices are increasingly looking to translate the physical world into the digital world.”

Contents:

Page 2: Wearables
Page 3: Infrared imaging
Page 4: Sensor combinations
Page 5: Temperature and humidity sensors
Page 6: Night vision
Page 7: Gyroscopes
Page 8: Chemical and biological sensors
Page 9: Accelerometers
Page 10: Light sensors
Page 11: Gesture sensors

Wearables

Wearable devices took center stage over and over at CES and elsewhere in recent months. "Sensors are the story behind wearables," Jérémie Bouchaud, principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS, told EE Times.

"We’re seeing some good traction in wearable electronics," Bouchaud said. "It’s starting to get interesting."

The "quantified self" is what the burgeoning wearables market is selling to consumers right now in the form of glasses, wristbands, and watches, among others. "Consumers are looking for fit-for-purpose devices that fit their lifestyle" and translate their activities into a digital data, Bouchaud said. That tracking includes counting the number of steps the wearer takes in a day or the number of calories the wearer is burning.

"These sensors are allowing them to track their activities. It’s a move to the quantified self."

The aesthetic of wearables also "becomes a story as well," said John Curran (Accenture). "Wearables, more than other technology, are really a statement about the person." That they fit into a small form factor gives companies tremendous opportunity to focus on integration of technology, he said.

Pulsense

One of many examples comes from Epson, a company mostly known for printers and projectors. Epson has entered the wearable fitness device market with Pulsense, its line of fitness tracking wristbands. The device monitors the user’s heart rate as well as activity levels, the number of calories lost, and sleep pattern. Both versions of the device — the PS-100 and the PS-500 — will connect to the cloud according to Epson. The devices are slated for release in the summer.

Epson’s Pulsense wristband

Pulsense will combine mobile applications with sensors, data visualization, and big data and analytics. The device is capable of tracking and storing the user’s data, offering feedback, and interacting with other devices. As a result of being connected to other devices, it allows the user to transfer data onto a computer or phone without the need for large amounts of internal storage. Pulsense devices also have the benefit of being open-source, so that third-party developers can come up with apps for them.

Notch wearable sensor
So is it the device that’s wearable or the sensor? Both it seems. Take a look at the Notch. For the size of a button, multiple sensors are networked to collect and send data to a smartphone.

Notch wearable sensor

Every Notch is supposed to have a 3-axis accelerometer, a 3-axis gyroscope, and a 3-axis magnetometer. It uses haptic feedback, and sends data to the smartphone via Bluetooth Low Energy. TheKickstarter page says the funding was canceled, but that it would resume January 2014.

Inside the Notch wearable sensor

Notch sensors are placed in the mobile application around body joints creating linkages and dependencies. The relationship between the sensors and linkages creates accurate measurement and reconstruction of movement. Post processing with the PC application is able to recreate movement paths.

Infrared imaging

Another trend in sensors is the new generation of infrared sensors for night vision and surveillance. These sensors are smaller and cheaper, Bouchaud said, which means they will eventually get into smartphones. Infrared sensor technology was one of the biggest innovations on display at CES, he said. “People really like the idea of scanning the environment at night. If you’re walking back to your car at night it allows you to see the area beforehand.”

FLIR One smartphone attachment
One interesting use of infrared sensors will be seen in FLIR Systems Inc.’s recently announced consumer product, a smartphone jacket that contains a heat camera. Called the FLIR One, the jacket is a thermal-imaging attachment for the iPhone 5 and 5s.

The FLIR ONE’s screen displays differences in temperature using distinct colors, such as yellow for hotter temperatures and purple for colder ones. It can be used to detect insulation or moisture leaks in the home, or spot people and wildlife at night. It can record video or photographs of heat images at resolutions that are relatively low. It uses a jacket that contains a regular, visible-spectrum camera and overlays images for a more detailed picture. Its thermal camera can detect temperature differences of about one tenth of a degree Fahrenheit, and can display temperatures within two degrees of accuracy. The FLIR ONE will begin appearing in the iPhone 5 and iPhone 5s this spring and, will begin shipping in Android phones later this year.

FLIR One. Source: FLIR One

Thernal sensor image from FLIR One phone accessrory. Source: FLIR One.

FLIR One phone accessory uses infrared sensors to see thermal data, which is in longer wavelengths and therefore invisible to humans.

(Source: FLIR One)

Sensor combinations and miniaturization

New sensor combinations are emerging in the sensor market, according to Bouchaud. “Some sensors have been available as discrete solutions until now — like the pressure sensor or the humidity sensor. Combining them cuts the overall costs of the sensors.”

Putting several sensors on a package, such as accelerators and gyroscopes, [is] becoming more commonplace. "In fact, the majority of the market for gyroscopes is for combo sensors," said Bouchaud. "The same goes for light sensors. Combo sensors are a very important trend on the technology side.”

Miniaturization, Curran noted, is an interesting trend. Miniaturization of sensors is enabling some of the innovative sensor packaging and devices. Innovations in gaming, such as in the X-Box Connect, which brought in multiple types of sensors to deliver rich fidelity, are moving into mobile devices as well. Traditional fitness is seeing the same thing as key vital signs and biometrics are becoming visible. “Miniaturization of sensors combined with enhanced fidelity of devices allows product manufacturers and service providers to experiment with devices and offer compelling and fulfill compelling and specific needs,” Curran said.

Bosch BME280 MEMS sensor. Source: Bosch

Bosch MEMS sensor

Bosch has rolled out a MEMS sensor that combines pressure, humidity, and temperature measurement in a single component. The BME280 is aimed at handsets and wearables where it is to be used for greater control as well as sports and fitness use cases. Its humidity sensor measures relative humidity from 0 to 100 percent and from -40°C to +85°C with less than 1 second of response time. The humidity measurement accuracy is plus or minus 3 percent, with a hysteresis of 2 percent or more, and a temperature reading accuracy within half a percent Celsius. The device’s pressure is intended to offer floor-level tracking for indoor navigation. The relative accuracy of pressure readings is plus or minus 0.12 hPA, which equates to plus or minus 1 meter of altitude difference at a resolution of 1.5 cm. The device comes with I²C and SPI serial digital outputs. Its packaging measures 2.5mm by 2.5mm with a height of 0.93mm in an 8-pin LGA package. The BSH1.0 algorithm also allows developers to put in place a temperature compensation function.

Temperature and humidity sensors on smartphones

Samsung with its Galaxy S4 took the lead last year by introducing the first smartphone to integrate temperature, pressure, and humidity sensors all on one device. Other device makers have since begun looking at the possibility of integrating more and more sensors onto smartphones.

Will the trend of integrating temperature and humidity sensors onto smartphones continue? “The use case of humidity sensors is not very impressive,” Bouchaud said. “There really isn’t anything interesting that has surfaced since the device was used in the Galaxy S4 for example.”

Still, device makers have made an effort to place sensors inside smartphones. “Since the first iPhone there have been new sensors in smartphones every year." Sometimes it’s just a technology push, Bouchaud said. "There isn’t always real demand, and I’m not sure humidity sensors especially are going to stick,” he concluded.

We’ll see about that. Until then, here is a brief breakdown of Samsung’s Galaxy S4, which surprised many in the industry by including integrated temperature and pressure sensors on a smartphone device.

A teardown on iFixit reports that GS4’s sensors include an accelerometer, RGB light, digital compass, proximity, gyroscope, barometer, IR gesture, and temperature & humidity.

Samsung’s Galaxy S4 smartphone

The Galaxy S4 new temperature and humidity sensor allows users to measure their current ambient conditions. Samsung’s app displays current ambient temperature and humidity and provides users with information as to how to augment their measurement capabilities. The presence of these sensors allows a user to track the evolution of conditions over the course of many hours and days, monitoring temperature and humidity changes along the way. The device runs measurements as a service in the background, and includes an accuracy index among its features. In addition to displaying the ambient temperature and humidity, the device allows for real-time graphs to arrange and display data over time. It features pinch-to-zoom control on the plots as well as portrait and landscape mode and the choice between °C and °F as units for measuring temperature.

Humidity and temperature sensor in Samsung GS4 is Sensiron’s SHTC1.(Source: Sensiron)

SHTC1 humidity and temperature sensor (marked in red) on Samsung GS4 phone.

full-sized image. (Source: iFixit)

Can you spot the humidity sensor on Samsung GS4? (Source: iFixit)

Night vision

Although not expected to begin shipping inside handsets as an integrated part of a smartphone before 2016, or late 2015 at the earliest, night vision is one of the innovative uses for sensor, said Bouchard. One of the most interesting parts of the sensor market at this point in time.

The Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) system from Lockheed Martin sits atop a helicopter.

(Source: Lockheed Martin)

Military night vision

The Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) system is an advanced electro-optical fire control system. Apache helicopters use the system for targeting during the day and at night, as well as in adverse weather conditions. This device has been around for some time. Since 2005, the M-TADS/PNVS has offered increased performance compared to Legacy systems. The technology has taken situational awareness to a new level by augmenting stand-off ranging for US forces, allowing those forces to get greater resolution for pilotage and targeting. The M-TADS/PNVS is designed for two-level field maintenance. It will reduce US Army operation and support costs by 50 percent over its forty-year system life. More than 1,200 systems have shipped to US Army and international customers. Production of additional systems is planned to go on through January 2015.

Gyroscopes

The market for gyroscopes is still growing, according to Bouchaud. “Optical range stabilization use cases are very important for taking pictures under low light conditions or when walking,” he said. “This is really emerging now. HTC and Nokia and LG have it. Camera phones from Samsung have it as well. ”The gyroscope is getting into smartphones via the camera module. For indoor navigation, when you don’t have any GPS signal, motion sensors, especially gyroscopes, could be used to determine location. “This is an interesting application as well.”

"Gyroscopic fitness science" is embedded in the powerball sports ball.

(Source: DFX Sports Fitness)

DFX Powerball Sports Pro Gyro

The DFX Powerball Sports Pro Gyro is an athletic fitness gyroscopic device that comes with up to 35 pounds of torque and achieves speeds of up to 13,500 RPM. It is aimed at improving dexterity and coordination as well as strength. The device is intended to give results right away. It takes only 30 seconds, according to DFX, for it to produce results. The device uses a broad range of natural and fluid motion to simulate athletic movement, as well as more mundane physical tasks. The product comes with a number of certifications. It is tested and approved by PGA members. The Powerball Pro is not only aimed at athletic and fitness markets, it also has a medical purpose, since it is geared toward those with carpel tunnel syndrome and tennis elbow. Pain from repetitive stress in the arm and wrist area may be alleviated using additional dexterity and strength gained by using this device. It includes a starter cord and a training CD, as well as a hard impact resistance shell.

Chemical and bio sensors

“We see a lot of interest in chemical and bio sensors,” Bouchaud said. “There is an interest in the environment and gas for measuring air quality, for example.” Bouchaud predicts that the first gas sensor will be produced in 2014.

Research, such as CFDRC’s work on nanoplasmonic sensor for detecting trace levels of protein in body fluids (urine, blood) and nano-impedance chemical detection shows some of this interest.

Some of the applications aimed at understanding the human body are simpler and more practical than others. Breath analysis for instance, for detecting alcohol level or symptomatic bad breath, are both applications that involve basic sensor technology, Bouchaud said. “Eventually, devices become much more complex, but if you were able to detect air particles for pollen for example, it is actually quite challenging to do that with the form factor or price of a smartphone.”

Curran also noted that fingerprints and fingerprint sensors are going to play a role in unlocking commercial possibilities, as a whole new realm of mobile security is on offer. “It is an exciting area as the capabilities and fidelity of the sensors expand and grow,” he said.

BACtrack S30 Breathalyzer

The BACtrack S30 Breathalyzer is an example of a practical sensor used to estimate blood alcohol content (BAC) in a portable design. At 4 inches tall, less than 1 inch thick, and weighing 1.87 oz, the device uses Xtend fuel cell sensor technology. According to BACtrack’s website:

Fuel cell sensors offer more accurate readings than traditional semiconductor sensors, and roadside testing with fuel cell devices is now permitted in over 30 states… Fuel cell sensors rely on an electrochemical process that oxidizes the alcohol in a breath sample and produces an electrical current that the breathalyzer measures to determine the BAC.

BACtrack takes some pains to explain fuel sensor choice on its site, perhaps because the accuracy of breath tests is sometimes questioned (possibly by those taking them). However, now that breathalyzers are sending data to smartphones, the other popular concern is who can access the data from your personal breath test. (A small crowd around a booth showing off a crowded-funded personal breathalyzer that connects to a smartphone at a mobile app conference in San Francisco last year anecdotally proved the point: most people wanted to know if the data is truly private or was it being sent to the authorities, rather than how accurate the sensor was.)

Xtend fuel cell sensor converts alcohol into acetic acid, protons, and electrons when platinum wires in the sensor oxidize alcohol. (Source: BACtrack)

BACtrack’s other features include test counter and a warning when breath flow is low. The device is FDA 510k, meaning it is cleared for personal use. The device spans a wide test range, with results displayed from 0 to 0.4% BAC. It features 10 to 20 seconds of warm-up time, 5 seconds of blowing time, and 3 seconds of response time.

Accelerometers in smartphones

With accelerometers, it’s all about gravity. Accelerometers are those devices that quantify tilt and motion by measuring acceleration forces. They’ve been in cars (airbags), planes, industrial machinery, robotics, medical and fitness devices, and famously in laptops (to detect if the device has been dropped), for years. Using its own weight, the accelerometer measures whether it is standing (static) or moving (dynamic) by detecting weight changes from g-force. Some good introductory explanations can be found at LifeScience.com, Dimension Engineering’s beginner’s guide, and even wikipedia.

The trend now is the accelerometer for smartphones. Accelerometers have traction in devices like no other sensor to this point. "Accelerometers are in every smartphone today," Bouchaud said. "In terms of revenue, the accelerometer market is going to saturate probably this year. The smartphone market has been exploding in China, but in the long run their revenue is also going to go down because the market is saturating." This is very different from compasses, which he pointed out had not achieved 50% penetration in China.

Accelerometers are in more than just smartphones and wearables: They’re in phablets and tablets, which are experiencing growth, said Curran, because of the sophistication of the devices. "Accelerometers and gyroscopes are playing a part in that," he said, "One can now easily and seamlessly move from communication mode to a rich media mode also being enabled by these sensors." Accenture’s survey found that more than half of consumers planning to buy a smartphone in the next twelve months indicated they’d prefer a phablet. "A lot of the continuing growth of the category is because its capabilities are continue to expand," he said.

A reference design for ultralow power standalone motion switch from Analog Devices that uses the ADXL362 sensor. (Source: Analog Devices)

Analog Devices’ ADXL362 MEMS sensor

The Analog ADXL362 is, according to Analog’s product detail page, an ultralow power, 3-axis MEMS accelerometer that consumes less than 2 μA at a 100 Hz output data rate and 270 nA when in motion-triggered wake-up mode. The device samples the full bandwidth of the sensor at all data rates, unlike accelerometers that use power duty cycling to achieve low power consumption. The ADX 362 accelerates using sample synchronization via external trigger and includes on-chip temperature sensor as well as SPI digital interface. Its measurement ranges are selectable via SPI command. The ADXL362 does not alias input signals by under sampling. The Analog ADX362 comes with an adjustable threshold sleep/wake modes for motion activation The device lowers noise down to 175 √Hz and offers wide supply and I/O voltage ranges of 1.6 V to 3.5 V. It operates off 1.8 V to 3.3 V rails The ADXL362’s ultra-low power can be derived from coin cell battery. It includes high resolution: 1 mg/LSB as well as built-in features for system-level power savings.

Light sensors

Light sensors, such as sensors for ambient light, manage the backlight of the display on a phone. Ninety percent of smartphones have it, according to Bouchaud, who also mentioned that color sensors can come with RGB (red, green, and blue), which is actually supposed to improve the display. It adapts to the kind of light the user has on the phone. Sunlight, neon light, and incandescent light are all different environmental lighting situations that are supported now on these devices. Light sensors are also used for high-resolution displays.

TL45311 Ambient-light sensor from ams AG. (Source: AMS AG)

AMS’ digital ambient light sensor

The ams AG’sTSL4531 is a digital ambient light sensor that is targeted at daylight harvesting. The device is in automatic control of street lights and security, billboards, and automotive lighting. It can also be used in solid-state lighting (SSL) and general lighting for automatic control and daylight harvesting to maximize energy conservation. It approximates regular human eye responses under different lighting conditions. It comes with a wide dynamic range of ALS, which makes it especially practical for outdoor applications in which it is directly exposed to sunlight. It allows for display backlight control for extended battery life and optimal visibility in cell phones, tablets, and notebooks. It is integrated with LEDs to offer an additional 30% energy savings. It also offers three user-selectable integration times of 400 ms, 200 ms, and 100 Ms. It rejects 50 Hz to 60 Hz of lighting ripple and comes in ultra-small 2 mm x 2 mm Chip LED package. It comes with 2.5 V supply voltage with 1.8 V logic interface.

Hand-gesture sensors

Hand-gesture sensors have also gained traction recently by using infrared. An infrared proximity sensor can be an ultrasonic sensor or just a camera. “These are coming on smartphones, tablets, and laptops as well, but the big market is the smartphone. Today, it’s mostly the Galaxy S4,“ Bouchaud said.

iFixit finds the "multi-purpose component that connects the earpiece speaker, IR blaster, and a sensor array hosting the ambient light sensor and a second IR sensor." Click here for larger image. (Source: iFixit)

A look at the IR sensors in Samsung Galaxy S4 phone from iFixit’s teardown: "The placement of the two IR sensors on either side of the earpiece speaker explains how Samsung’s new Air View/Air Gesture feature operates. By comparing IR light reflected from your hand into each of the sensors, the phone can track sideways motion as you gesture without touching the screen." (Source: Fixit)

Curran said with regard to overall enhancements in the user interface, as well as in the fidelity of translating human gestures into digital commands, Accenture has been really impressed with what it has seen in the industry. “People are looking to enhance the natural user interface to make them easier and more seamless for the mainstream consumer,” he said.

MYO gesture control armband. (Source: Thalmic Labs)

MYO gesture control armband

Canadian startup Thalmic Labs has developed MYO, a Bluetooth 4.0 device with a biosensor that can pick up small electrical impulses in our arm muscles. Any wrist movement, finger twitch or fist clenching is recorded by the inner side of the MYO, as it gets skin contact. There’s also an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a magnetometer — all on a single device. The idea for the device derives from a navigation aid for the blind.

MYO gesture control armband measures muscle movement which is then calibrated to specific gestures. (Source: Thalmic Labs)

According Thalmic Labs’ website: "Key features include a Bluetooth 4.0 Low Energy connection, proprietary muscle activity (EMG) sensors, an ARM processor, a 9-axis inertial measurement unit (IMU), a rechargeable Lithium Ion battery, micro-USB charging, and haptic feedback."

The retail version of the MYO is scheduled to ship in mid-2014. It will ship with at least two core applications, and come in two different colors (black and white). It will list at $149.

This slideshow was first posted on EE Times

Related links and articles:

Opinion: the hyperspectral era has already begun

Sensor captures images and gestures

Ten analog, MEMS and sensor startups to watch in 2014

Grab the medical MEMS opportunity

Trillion Sensor Summit preps roadmap

Step aside MEMS. Here comes NEMS