Software defined sensing: materials developers deploy digital toolkit to access fast-moving markets

Fast-moving opportunities for sensors such as the internet of things (IoT) require a swift approach to translating devices from the lab to the market.

“To move more rapidly and take advantage of the largest growth opportunities in sensors, developers are rethinking the use of new material technologies, and finding places where software can accelerate or even replace steps in the process,” explains Mark Bünger, Vice President of Research at Lux Research, in the latest issue of the journal Translational Materials Research (TMR).

Mark Bünger, Vice President of Research at Lux Research

Mark Bünger, Vice President of Research at Lux Research


Building blocks
Thanks to success of mobile phones and other portable electronics, device-makers have a wealth of sensors such as cameras, microphones and accelerometers to choose from. Pairing these tried and tested components with software can, in many cases, emulate the functionality of much more complex set-ups and provide a swift solution for developers.

Readily available building blocks also include gyros and fingerprint scanners as well as Geiger counters, LIDAR, RFID and FTiR development kits, many of which are supported by online tutorials to aid rapid prototyping.

There are other benefits too, as Bunger points out in the article –
“Off the shelf sensors carry lower technology risk and cost, and the system can be easily upgraded with new software, as we improve our understanding of the phenomena being sensed.”

Markets
Today, software defined sensing is addressing a range of applications, for example –

  • accelerometers can replace heart rate monitors and other devices for fitness/health tracking,
  • depth cameras recognize gestures and can replace touchscreen user-interfaces on consumer electronics,
  • microphones recognize speech and sounds (for example – something burning on stove or the front door opening) for smart home applications.

Full details
To find out more about how device makers and materials designers are fast-tracking the journey from prototype to product, and for an overview of the software defined sensing landscape from a company perspective, read – Accelerating sensor development to the speed of light (Mark Bünger 2015 Transl. Mater. Res. 2 040301).

Related articles

GG_60Before entering the valley of death
Evaluating second-generation attributes is a necessary step in the discovery process explains George Grüner, Editor-In-Chief of the journal Translational Materials Research (TMR)

ON_60An interview with TMR board member Om Nalamasu
Om Nalamasu, CTO of Applied Materials, offers an industrial perspective on managing innovation, and sets the scene for a 21st century of materials

Leave a comment

Your e-mail address will not be published.

Guidelines

  • Comments should be relevant to the article and not be used to promote your own work, products or services.
  • Please keep your comments brief (we recommend a maximum of 250 words).
  • We reserve the right to remove excessively long, inappropriate or offensive entries.

Show/hide formatting guidelines

Tag Description Example Output
<a> Hyperlink <a href="http://www.google.com">google</a> google
<abbr> Abbreviation <abbr title="World Health Organisation" >WHO</abbr> WHO
<acronym> Acronym <acronym title="as soon as possible">ASAP</acronym> ASAP
<b> Bold <b>Some text</b> Some text
<blockquote> Quoted from another source <blockquote cite="http://iop.org/">IOP</blockquote>
IOP
<cite> Cite <cite>Diagram 1</cite> Diagram 1
<del> Deleted text From this line<del datetime="2012-12-17"> this text was deleted</del> From this line this text was deleted
<em> Emphasized text In this line<em> this text was emphasised</em> In this line this text was emphasised
<i> Italic <i>Some text</i> Some text
<q> Quotation WWF goal is to build a future <q cite="http://www.worldwildlife.org/who/index.html">
where people live in harmony with nature and animals</q>
WWF goal is to build a future
where people live in harmony with nature and animals
<strike> Strike text <strike>Some text</strike> Some text
<strong> Stronger emphasis of text <strong>Some text</strong> Some text