STMicroelectronics announces the availability of a compact and cost-effective reference design ideally suited for monitoring social distancing, assuring remote operation, provisioning, as well as warning, anti-tampering, and potentially providing contact tracing to protect human health in all environments, including in response to global or local pandemic conditions. Leveraging Bluetooth Low Energy technology through its incorporation […]
Covid-19
How has COVID-19 impacted 2020 sensor activity?
It’s June and for sensor people that has meant Sensors Expo in San Jose for many years. This year with the coronavirus dictating the terms, Sensors Expo has been postponed until Nov. 16-18 but it still will be held in San Jose, CA. Traditional pre-conference symposia, including Implementing Energy Harvesting and Higher Energy Efficiency Sensor […]
Will your Good Samaritanism in the pandemic buy you a lawsuit?
Leland Teschler | Executive Editor If you are one of the individuals voluntarily spending your time on technology to help abate the COVID 19 pandemic, consider the experience of the vacuum cleaner company Dyson in the U.K. Company founder James Dyson estimates his firm spent about $25 million and about 10 days to develop a […]
It may become easier to disinfect with UV-C LEDs
UV radiation in the 200 to 300-nm range (dubbed the UV-C range) can destroy viruses, including the coronavirus. Problem is, doing so requires UV radiation sources putting out sufficiently high doses of UV light. That typically means using a relatively expensive mercury gas discharge lamp. It’s possible to find sources employing LEDs that put out […]
Can a sensor detect COVID-19 in wastewater?
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) that extracts data from urine and feces transported through sewers has the potential for communities to rapidly screen, quarantine and prevent the spread of COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection. As a result, many researchers are investigating its effectiveness for COVID-19 testing and to obtain information on health, disease and pathogens as well […]
ETSI moves to standardize COVID-19 tracking apps
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute is moving quickly to establish standards for mobile apps that can track and reduce the spread of the virus.
Can a biosensor detect the COVID-19 virus in the environment?
Building on research for sensors to detect bacteria and viruses in the air, a team from Empa, ETH Zurich and Zurich University Hospital developed a biosensor to detect the new coronavirus (COVID-19). The sensor could be used measure the virus concentration in the air in real time in crowded locations such as train stations or […]
SDK adds accurate distance measurement capabilities to BLE SoCs for covid distancing needs
Dialog Semiconductor plc announced a new Wireless Ranging (WiRa) Software Development Kit (SDK) that adds highly accurate and reliable distance measurement capabilities to its DA1469x family of BLE SoCs. The need for more accurate and reliable distance measurement and tracing technology has become even more critical in the wake of COVID-19. With businesses across the […]
The Ocean Liner SS United States: Part 4 – The cruise ship as successor
The ocean liner S.S. United States was super sleek, extremely fast, and highly engineered…yet soon became obsolete due to air travel; cruise ships are now the royalty of the seas. The previous sections of this article looked at the fastest and most innovative of all the ocean liners, the S.S. United States, which was soon […]
How can we sense the coronavirus?
Researchers at Northwestern University and Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago asked themselves that question. Their answer is a wearable wireless sensor similar to a Band-Aid strip. The device mounts to the throat and detects breathing and coughing and a set of algorithms provide the analysis. Similar to sensors designed to monitor speech and swallowing in […]