Sensors bring inertia to cell phones, PDAs
By Charles J. Murray
EE Times
September 23, 2003 (1:32 p.m. ET)
Just as consumers begin to grow accustomed to the idea of cell phone-cameras, engineers from STMicroelectronics say they've spotted another new handheld trend on the horizon.
Inexpensive inertial sensors based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology could soon surface in handheld devices, such as cellular phones, personal digital assistants and electronic games. There, they'd serve as a human-machine interface of sorts.
"Instead of using a button, you could scroll north-south or east-west simply by inclining or rotating your handheld device," said Bruno Murari, research and development director for the Telecommunications, Peripherals, and Automotive Groups at STMicroelectronics.
Desirable inertia
The inertial sensors, which are essentially three-axis accelerometers, are believed to possess the proper size, cost-effectiveness and power drain to make them desirable for such applications.
STMicroelectronics engineers say the sensors could be used in conjunction with microprocessors for more complex applications, or could be employed as simple output devices for applications where required costs are low.
"We believe that motion could become for handheld devices what the mouse and icon are for personal computers," Murari said.
"If that's the case," he added, "these sensors could take off in very high volume."
