The next generation of networks will move beyond disconnected device-specific networks and systems and toward a distributed infrastructure, with intelligent functions residing across the entire network, from its edge to its core.

To take full advantage of the resolver's potential, you have to compensate for error sources. Simulating resolver and cable functions go a long way toward helping you achieve this goal.

Choosing the right pressure transmitter for your application involves more than specifying the pressure range. Don't forget to consider the technologies available, the environmental stresses and strains that will be involved, and the lifetime cost.

The latest developments in IR sensors not only help you optimize your manufacturing processes and business operations but also enable you to meet industry standards for final product quality and reliability.

Pick the Right Camera Interface Dec 1, 2006 By: Edwin Diaz

Perhaps Camera Link's biggest advantage is blazing speed—up to 3.6 Gbps. Another is deterministic communication back to the camera electronics that allows on-the-fly control of camera functions such as frame rate, zoom, etc.

If the sensor manufacturers' products already have the software "hooks" that allow the sensor data to be accessed by the SOA, the implementation has a quicker ROI.

A Machine That Watches Dec 1, 2006 By: Bill Silver

During an automated manufacturing process, the product typically moves along a production line at either constant or variable speeds. The first task of optoelectronic inspection is to discard that motion. For example, machine vision systems use triggers and shutters and photoelectric sensors use gates to freeze the object at a particular point in time so that it can be analyzed.

A Twelve-Step Sensor Selection Checklist Nov 1, 2006 By: G. Raymond Peacock

Selecting a device to measure a physical property, such as temperature, can be a confusing process. But shortcuts and inattention to detail can get you into a real jam. Here, in chronological order, are the steps I try to use most of the time, especially when the measurement is really important. The underlying concept is akin to the carpenter's maxim: Measure twice; cut once.

Linear Hall sensors generate a DC output voltage proportional to the strength of an applied magnetic field and can be used for high-resolution angle sensors when placed near a diametrically magnetized magnet. The rotating magnet generates a sinusoidal waveform, one full wave per revolution. This type of setup can be used only for a limited angular range because the output voltage (in relation to the rotation angle) is ambiguous at angles >90? in both directions from the zero crossing point.