TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) presents a demo kit (ordering code: Z25000Z2910Z001Z21) for the mechanically decoupled ultrasonic sensor module USSM1.0 PLUS-FS (ordering code: B59110W2111W032). This component can be used for obstacle detection and distance measurement under difficult environmental conditions including full sunlight and translucent target objects in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) or autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs).

TDK Corporation presents the ultrasonic sensor module USSM1.0 PLUS-FS, in which the sensor element is mechanically decoupled from the housing. This makes the IP65/67 protected sensor with the order number B59110W2111W032 immune to external mechanical vibrations that can falsify the measurement result. The module, which is supplied with a nominal voltage of 12 V, can be mounted in a front chassis via a M19 thread with a locking nut or via snap hooks.

The technology that delivers the metaverse will build on the technology for virtual reality, using more sensors, and more different kinds of sensors. TDK has one of the richest sensor portfolios in the industry, extensive software expertise, and excels at sensor fusion.

【How electrification and autonomous driving are expanding the role of sensor technologies within automotive designs】

The automotive production landscape is changing. The proliferation of electronic devices and sensors in modern car design has grown exponentially in recent years. It will expand further as the industry continues its transition toward e-mobility and autonomous driving. The core technologies featured in electric vehicles expand the realm into which sensors are deployed. Also, combustion engine vehicle gas sensors have shifted away from exhaust gas monitoring toward internal air quality (IAQ) measurement.

TDK offers a full suite of sensors that are perfectly suited for drones of all types from consumer/prosumer models to industrial units.
 
In just a few years, drones have become indispensable in one application after another, including such diverse areas as agriculture, real estate and cinematography. For all this success, drones still have almost unlimited potential given their suitability for a wide variety of uses including delivery, inspection, search & rescue, monitoring, and mapping, to name just a few.
 
Fundamental to drone utility is sensor technology. Drones rely on diverse sets of sensors for two broad purposes. First for their own functionality, notably flight and navigation, and second, for their ancillary capabilities – cameras for vision, motion detectors to sense activity, heat sensors to detect temperature, and so on.

TDK’s ultrasonic Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors integrate a MEMS PMUT (Piezoelectric Micromachined Ultrasonic Transducer) with an ultra-low power SoC (System on Chip) in a miniature reflowable package.
These sensor solutions are capable of ranging to targets of any composition up to 5 meters in any lighting condition, making them ideal for a variety of applications including: obstacle avoidance, presence detection, robotics, security & surveillance, AR/VR, drones, liquid level sensing, smart home/building, and general IoT.

Service robots are widely used in various situations such as logistics / transport, security, cleaning, housework, hobbies / entertainment and care / assistance. Since service robots are used in a wide variety of situations, it is necessary to fulfil many requirements such as smooth communication with humans (HMI), ensuring safety and responding to changes in the real time. In service robots, the role of a sensor is very important. In this article, we will take a vacuum cleaner robots as an example.