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Article Excerpt
MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) accelerometers are now used in very high volumes for automobile crash sensing for front and side air bag control, and are being increasingly used in inertial sensor clusters for vehicle stability control and rollover stability or rollover detection.
However, there are varied very high-volume consumer and commercial applications, as well as industrial applications (such as machine vibration monitoring) that can be significantly enhanced through the use of very small, inexpensive, low power, and highly reliable MEMS accelerometers. Moreover, lower-cost gyros, which measure angular rate of rotation (how rapidly an object is turning), will find key, expanding opportunities in high-volume applications in addition to automotive stability control and rollover mitigation, such as input devices, handheld devices, navigation devices, and cameras.
High volume consumer/commercial applications for MEMS accelerometers will likely emerge and proliferate in the coming years, as the price, size, and power consumption of MEMS accelerometers further decrease and OEMs more fully understand the value-added features that can be provided to users of products equipped with MEMS accelerometers.
In handheld or mobile devices (e.g., PDAs, mobile phones, pocket PCs), compact, inexpensive MEMS accelerometers can help enable enhanced, more intuitive, gesture-based functionality while using a small user interface (display). Such gesture-based applications can include scrolling, text entry, augmented navigation, recording memos, gaming, or even recording body movement to facilitate ubiquitous computing or context-based functioning of the handheld. Ultra-small accelerometers could also possibly be eventually used in wirelessly connecting tablet computers so that the contents of one computer are dumped into the other's desktop. Such technology might also have potential for use in wristwatches where files could be sent by shaking hands.
The potential opportunities for very low-cost, low-power, readily configurable MEMS accelerometers in handheld devices are given impetus, as handhelds offer greater functionality; for example, smart mobile phones with such features as gaming and a camera.
In June, MyOrigo Ltd (Oulu, Finland) unveiled mydevice--a smart Web-enabled mobile phone with motion control capability. The screen adjusts as the user moves his/her hand to allow for tilting, scrolling, and zooming. Turning of the device allows the user to choose portrait or landscape views, depending on the content. Using the motion of flicking the corner of a page allows the user to intuitively leaf their way through documents and windows. One can view each corner of a Web page by tilting the phone. Mydevice is expected to be commercially available in Europe during Q1 '04.
Low-cost, very compact MEMS accelerometers also can help enhance devices/systems that utilize GPS (Global Positioning System)-based navigation, where signals from GPS satellites are used to determine the position/location of a device/system equipped with a GPS receiver. In situations where the GPS signal can be compromised (e.g., the presence of tall buildings, bridges, overpasses, tunnels), the use of a low-g accelerometer can help facilitate dead (deduced) reckoning by providing position information. Such an accelerometer can also sense tilt to...
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