LG Innotek sensor to tackle heart rate tracking accuracy
LG Innotek, a components manufacturer that builds camera modules for smartphones, has revealed that it's developed a sensor that could make wearables slimmer, more efficient and improve the accuracy of optical heart rate monitoring.
The bio sensor measures in at just 1mm thick and is designed to record heart rate, blood oxygen and stress levels. According to Innotek, the module can increase the strength of biometric signals by 30% and reduce power consumption by 20%. That means it can track data using less power.
What's really interesting here is that LG Innotek claims that the new module can improve the heart rate error rate range to 5bpm when you're working out and 2bpm for resting heart rate. That is apparently comparable to what medical devices can offer.
We've had our say about the accuracy of heart rate tracking from wearables and have spoken to the experts about what they think about the current state of optical sensors. So this is a positive move.
Samsung has also been trying to address some of the biggest issues with wearables having recently announced its own Smart Bio-processor. The all-in-one chip is more power efficient than current processors and is able to measure heart rate, body fat, skeletal muscle mass, skin temperature, heart rhythm and stress level. Similarly, Qualcomm announced its new Snapdragon Wear processor that promises to extend smartwatch battery life and hopefully lead to sleeker designs.
Lights Out For The Philips-GO Scale Deal
Philips announced back in March of 2015 that the company planned to sell its majority interest in its combined LED components and automotive lighting business to a Chinese consortium led by GO Scale Capital. Subsequently news broke in October that regulators in the United States had concerns, and on January 22, 2016, Phillips confirmed that the sale was no longer happening.
The news of a Chinese company or investment firm purchasing a western company is not, by itself, an uncommon occurrence; however, the important consideration now is how this news affects the future of Philips, one of the largest electronics companies in Europe, says IHS in a new Research Note on the competitive landscape for LED components.
For the past four years, Lumileds has made steady progress in the market for packaged LEDs. The company rose from fifth ranking globally in 2011 to third, behind first ranked Nichia and second-ranked Osram in 2015.
Recent provisional research from IHS indicates that, over the past three months, Lumileds may not have closed the gap any further, as Osram Opto Semiconductors continues to perform well in the automotive sector. It is unclear whether Western LED companies would be comfortable with the idea of a supplier moving from European ownership to Chinese ownership.
Overall the fact that this deal was blocked is not good news for Philips. The current state of both the LED industry and the global economy augurs that the sale of Lumileds will not be an easy one. Also, the blocking of one foreign company does not bode well for the potential sale to other foreign companies, as other foreign buyers will also have concerns over further regulation.
STM32 sensor board supports 96Boards Consumer Edition
STMicroelectronics is sampling an STM32 MCU mezzanine board for 96Boards Consumer Edition (CE) platforms that simplifies development of smart mobile, embedded or digital-home devices. One of the first 96Boards CE small-mezzanine specification cards in the market, the B-F446E-96B01A simplifies development of context-aware functionality.
The board integrates ST’s powerful and efficient STM32F446 MCU featuring the ARM Cortex-M4F core, smart peripherals, as well as on-board MEMS accelerometer, magnetometer, gyroscope, pressure sensor and microphone. Arduino Uno and Seeedstudio Grove connectors simplify adding extra-function extensions using expansion boards or modules from either ecosystem. These include light sensors, humidity sensors, wireless-communication interfaces, user-interface devices and many others.
The 96Boards CE specification streamlines product development based on ARM Cortex-A processors and Linux operating systems including Android by specifying a compact compute-board form factor, baseline I/Os such as WiFi, BLE, USB, MicroSD and HDMI, and standardised connector positions. The specification also standardises low- and high-speed peripheral connectors to allow functional expansion by adding mezzanine boards such as ST’s B-F446E-96B01A.
Developers can work with the B-F446E-96B01A using the same ecosystem as ST’s proven and convenient STM32 Nucleo boards. This gives access to resources including the STM32CubeMX initialisation code generator, as well as application-code samples, software snippets and a hardware API. The mezzanine board comes with an embedded ST-Link debugger, which eliminates any need for a separate debug probe, and allows drag-and-drop Flash programming. It is also enabling direct access to ARM mbed online tools, allowing projects to start immediately without having to install any software.
The B-F446E-96B01A is sampling now to lead customers and will be generally available in Q2 2016.
How Do Humidity Sensors Work?
A Comprehensive Analysis of The Functions of Humidity Sensors
In the current environment, the surrounding conditions usually affect the normal operations of certain industries and human comfort at large. One of the components of the environment is the presence of water in the air which is known as humidity. Humidity contributes greatly tog physical, chemical and biological processes on earth. This fact has led to the development of HUMIDITY SENSORS that are able to indicate the humidity levels of an area.
Types of Humidity Sensors
There are two basic types of sensors and they include the following:
1. Relative humidity (RH) sensors
2. absolute humidity(moisture) sensors
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How Do Humidity Sensors Work?
These sensors detect the amount of water in the air in the immediate environment where they are usually placed. Aside from the humidity, they also measure the temperature of the area. By measuring the two, a sensor gives a percentage of the relative humidity in terms of the ratio of the amount of moisture in the air compared to the maximum amount that the air can hold at that specific temperature. When the temperatures are high, air expands and is able to hold a higher amount of moisture therefore the relative humidity changes with the temperature of the air.
A hygrometer usually uses the principle of capacitative measurement to determine the humidity. Capacitative measurement is whereby what is relied on are two electrical conductors that have a non-conductive polymer film lying between creating an electrical field between the conductors.
The moisture in the air is usually collects on the film which causes a corresponding change in the voltage levels between the electrical conductors. This change in the voltage is what is converted into digital measurement of the relative humidity of the air and this is done after taking the level of temperature in the air at the particular moment.
Uses of Humidity Sensors
They can be used either privately or publicly. Most private applications are in instances whereby an individual suffers from allergies or respiratory illnesses that might be caused or alleviated by the presence of low humidity. The sensors are also used at wine cellars to keep the air constant so as to enable wines to be stored for a very long period.
The most popular use of sensors is in the HVAC system that is used to maintain the quality of moisture and air in buildings. There is also the use of humidity sensors in cars for defrosting and defogging systems. They automatically regulate the amount of air and moisture used in the vehicle’s air conditioning systems. The most obvious use of hygrometers is in collecting weather data and analysis.
There are quite a number of HUMIDITY SENSORS MANUFACTURERS in the USA that provide top notch equipment that perform effectively and efficiently. When choosing a manufacturer, you should choose one that produces sensors that do not consume a lot of energy and that are safe to use.
You can be able to find HUMIDITY SENSORSS that of high quality at http://en.ofweek.com and also get top find the best HUMIDITY SENSORS SUPPLIERS in the USA that provide top notch equipment. Have no worries and visit this wonderful website for you to get maximum satisfaction.
