Sensor

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A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated glass tube. A thermocouple converts temperature to an output voltage which can be read by a voltmeter. For accuracy, all sensors need to be calibrated against known standards.

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News tagged with sensors

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Supermarket robot to help the elderly

Supermarket robot to help the elderly (w/ Video)

Electronics / Robotics

created 21 hours ago | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Robovie-II, a retail-assistant robot designed to help elderly and disabled people shop in supermarkets, is being tested in Kyoto, in Japan.


Newly identified enzymes help plants sense elevated CO2 and could lead to water-wise crops

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Dec 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Biologists have identified plant enzymes that may help to engineer plants that take advantage of elevated carbon dioxide to use water more efficiently. The finding could help to engineer crops that take advantage of rising ...


Low-cost temperature sensors, tennis balls to monitor mountain snowpack

Low-cost temperature sensors, tennis balls to monitor mountain snowpack

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 14, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Fictional secret agent Angus MacGyver knew that tough situations demand ingenuity. Jessica Lundquist takes a similar approach to studying snowfall. The University of Washington assistant professor ...


Californians -- and their cell phones -- will help computer scientists monitor air pollution

Californians -- and their cell phones -- will help computer scientists monitor air pollution

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 1 / 5 (2) | comments 0

You want to go for a run, but you don't want to run in polluted air that might aggravate your asthma. University of California, San Diego computer scientists are creating a network of environmental sensors ...


AKROD Knee Device

Robotic Devices Providing Home-Care Rehabilitation (w/ Video)

Electronics / Robotics

created Nov 13, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A group of researchers, at Northeastern University, have developed several portable robotic devices to aid in the rehabilitation process of stroke victims. These devices are small enough for ...


Will carbon nanotubes replace indium tin oxide?

Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials

created Mar 09, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Up until now, George Grüner tells PhysOrg.com, most of the studies regarding the properties - and uses - of carbon nanotubes have been restricted to the visible spectral range. “We, however, were interested in the ...


Customs

'Fear detector' being developed

Technology / Hi Tech

created Nov 03, 2009 | popularity 2.8 / 5 (6) | comments 11

(PhysOrg.com) -- British scientists are aiming to develop a device that can detect the smell of fear, and that could one day identify terrorists, drug smugglers, and other criminals.


Safe journey for works of art

Safe journey for works of art

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 04, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Valuable paintings travel long distances when they are shipped from one place to another. To minimize damage, they are packed in special picture cases. In future, these will be equipped with sensors to detect ...


Scene from Minority Report

Microsoft Researchers Developing Muscle-Based PC Interface (w/ Video)

Technology / Computer Sciences

created Oct 30, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (10) | comments 2

(PhysOrg.com) -- Microsoft researches have teamed up with the University of Washington and the University of Toronto to develop a muscle-controlled interface that allows for hands-free, gesture-driven interaction ...


Smart Hand Project

Robotic Hand That Senses Touch (w/ Video)

Electronics / Robotics

created Oct 21, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (28) | comments 10

(PhysOrg.com) -- Developed by researchers at Lund University in Sweden and Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna in Italy, the Smart Hand project has given patient, Robin af Ekenstam (see video) the sense of touch in ...


Graphite mimics iron's magnetism

Graphite mimics iron's magnetism

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Oct 04, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (17) | comments 1

Researchers of Eindhoven University of Technology and the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands show for the first time why ordinary graphite is a permanent magnet at room temperature. The results ...


French physicists claim breakthrough in ultra-fast data access

Physics / General Physics

created May 31, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (31) | comments 16

French physicists said on Sunday they had used ultra-fast lasers that could accelerate storage and retrieval of data on hard discs by up to 100,000 times, pointing the way to a new generation of IT wizardry.


New findings could help hybrid, electric cars keep their cool

New findings could help hybrid, electric cars keep their cool

Technology / Engineering

created Sep 22, 2009 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Understanding precisely how fluid boils in tiny "microchannels" has led to formulas and models that will help engineers design systems to cool high-power electronics in electric and hybrid cars, aircraft, ...


Cheap, sensitive sensors could detect explosives, toxins in water

Cheap, sensitive sensors could detect explosives, toxins in water

Nanotechnology / Nanophysics

created Sep 24, 2009 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- A sensitive new Stanford-developed disposable chip detects low concentrations of the explosive trinitrotoluene (TNT) and a close chemical cousin of the dreaded toxic nerve agent sarin in water ...


Samsung launches a new vacuuming robot

Samsung launches a new vacuuming robot

Electronics / Consumer & Gadgets

created Nov 06, 2009 | popularity 4.1 / 5 (8) | comments 9

(PhysOrg.com) -- Samsung Electronics has launched its latest autonomous robot vacuum cleaner, the Tango, which is capable of vacuuming hardwood floors, carpets, and even beds without human assistance.