Epson Launches High-Performance Inclinometers/
Accelerometers for Industrial Applications
- Combines the compactness and energy efficiency of Si-MEMS
sensors with the performance of mechanical servo sensors -
Left image: built-in unit, right: CAN unit
- TOKYO, Japan, November 5, 2012 -
Seiko Epson Corporation ("Epson," TSE: 6724) has
developed two new compact inclinometers and two new compact
accelerometers (three-axis sensor units) for different
industrial applications. These products provide stable
monitoring for extended periods of time with a resolution
of 0.001 degree (inclinometer) and 10 uG (accelerometer).
Epson will begin shipping samples in January 2013 and plans
to begin volume production within 2013.
Sensors are used in the construction and civil engineering
industries to monitor horizontal and vertical planes in
skyscrapers and other large structures, as well as to
measure changes over time that occur in structures due to
slight shaking and to measure structural distortion and
deterioration after seismic activity. However, the
high-precision inclinometers and accelerometers used to
date for these measurements and sensing applications have
been expensive, large, and heavy, characteristics that
present significant barriers to adoption. Industry wanted
the compactness, power-efficiency and low cost of
monitoring systems provided by silicon MEMS sensors
combined with the same long-lasting accuracy and stability
as mechanical servo sensors.
"To meet the customer needs we drew on our unique
strength in QMEMS*1 fabrication technology to develop a new
quartz accelerometer that is both highly accurate and
stable," said Toshihiko Kano, general manager of
Epson's M Project. "We combined this accelerometer
with semiconductor and software technology to form
high-performance inclinometers and accelerometers
(three-axis sensor units) for practical applications. We
will supply these inclinometers and accelerometers as
built-in models and as CAN*2-compliant waterproof and
dustproof models that can be used in a variety of
applications."
These products make it easy to build a flexible monitoring
system that will satisfy industrial performance
requirements. They can also easily be used to realize
multi-node and synchronous measurement systems. By using a
digital interface, customers will be able to build
monitoring systems that have superior anti-noise
performance and long-distance measurement capability in far
less time.
Epson plans to demonstrate these products at the Epson
booth (Hall A4, Booth #224) at Electronica 2012, an
international trade fair for electronic components, systems
and applications, to be held in Munich, Germany, from
November 13-16.
Epson has identified sensing as an important growth
business in its long-range corporate vision. The company
will thus continue to leverage its crystal-based QMEMS
technology in the sensing of quantities such as time,
pressure, and angular velocity, driving further advances in
convergence with semiconductor and software technologies,
to provide customers with a wide array of solutions,
including products, modules, and systems that are easy to
use and that they know they can trust.
*1 QMEMS
QMEMS is a combination of "Quartz," a crystalline
material with excellent characteristics such as excellent
frequency stability and high precision, and
"MEMS" (micro electro mechanical system). QMEMS
devices, produced via a microfabrication process on a
quartz material instead of on a semiconductor material like
MEMS, offer high performance in a compact package. QMEMS is
a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
*2 CAN (controller area network)
A network protocol used for automotive and industrial
applications
Click here
for more information about Epson's inclinometers and
accelerometers.(500KB)
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