One of the year's high points for me is visiting Sensors Expo to see what new and amazing devices have been created and to learn about how they're being used. And an especially fun part of attending the show involves delivering the awards to those companies whose products have earned them a Best of Sensors Expo Award. The awards program recognizes new products released since the last Sensors Expo, rating them on the basis of their uniqueness, usefulness, and potential to change the way people work. I think this year's winners fully epitomize those qualities.
Gold Award Winners
Cymbet Corp., won a gold award in the Sensor Components category for its EnerChip Energy Processor, designed to provide intelligent power management between a variety of different energy harvesting technologies and an energy storage medium. Diversified Technical Systems (DTS) Inc. continues their winning streak with their TSR shock recorder, a rugged 65 by 65 by 18 mm device with 1 GB of memory and the ability to run for up to 24 months on its single built-in AA battery. For sheer utility, Larson Davis Div., PCB Piezotronics Inc. won a gold award in the Sensors category for its VibTrack HAV vibration dosimeter that measures and records the vibration levels entering the hand when the wearer is using powered hand tools. And, finally, Yokogawa Corp. won a gold award in the Data Acquisition Products category for its DL850 ScopeCorder that packs oscilloscope and data recorder abilities into a single feature-packed package.
Silver Award Winners
Analog Devices Inc. won a silver award in the Sensors category for its ADIS16223 iSensor digital triaxial vibration sensor designed for industrial equipment condition monitoring. Perpetual winner MicroStrain Inc. won a silver in the Sensors category for its EH-Link Model 6320-0000 wireless sensor node that can use multiple types of energy harvesting simultaneously to provide sufficient power for node operation. Finally, the Tau 640 high-resolution uncooled thermal camera core from FLIR Systems Inc. won the company a silver award in the Sensors category.
Bronze Award Winners
Arveni garnered a bronze award in the Technologies category for its ARxx Series Microgenerator energy harvester that can convert the push of a button (or other jolt of mechanical energy) into energy. Intex Inc. took home a bronze award in the Sensor Components category for its INT20-1000 high-power pulsable IR source that provides a wide spectral output and higher responsivity to NDIR gas analysis. And Libelium earned a bronze award in the Data Acquisition Products category for its rugged Waspmote open-source modular wireless sensor networking platform.
Honorable Mentions
Two honorable mentions go to Micro-Hybrid GmbH, in the Sensors category, for its PSx200X high-temperature pyroelectric detector and to Perpetuum Ltd., in the Technologies category, for its PMG Free-Standing Harvester (FSH), Model PMG FSH60x2 electromagnetic vibration energy harvester.
Congratulations again to the winners and look for a longer, more detailed description of the winning products in the July issue of What's New at Sensors!