Sensitive to 0.3Pa (Pascals) differences in air pressure

This demonstration includes a graphical representation of the actual changes in air pressure detected by the sensor. The sensor is installed in a model train running around a track set up to go up and down inclines, and as the train runs up and down the track the changes in air pressure are displayed on the graph in real-time.

The track set for the toy train runs through 4 steps roughly 10cm different in height. The appeal of this sensor, as demonstrated in this novel experiment is that it can detect the tiny air pressure differences at a mere 50 cm difference in altitude.

This means the sensor has a resolution to about 0.3 Pa (Pascals). This fantastic capability is brought about by the use of a crystal detector element in the device, which also provides much better stability. The device is capable of pressure measurement from 30kPa ~ 130kPa, giving it the ability to measure around 7000 m of altitude.

A host of application possibilities

The application potentials for such a high-precision pressure sensor are bountiful. It could be used in security applications (to detect doors opening and closing by slight changes in air pressure), navigation systems, (to differentiate between the heights of multi-level roads to determine if the car is running along a highway overpass or a general road for example), or as a golf club swing speed sensor (by measuring changes in wind speed at the club head) and so on and so on. These types of devices are known as "QMEMS" - a term created from "Quartz" and "MEMS" (Micro electromechanical systems).

In addition to the demonstration described above, the booth also features a golf club swing speed measurement demo.

Combined QMEMS for even greater potentials

The Epson Toyocom Technology Development Center representative Yuichiro Kawaguchi explained about the high-precision crystal pressure sensor saying that, "QMEMS are more accurate that than the silicon MEMS commonly used in games and mobile PCs, and its possible to use QMEMS in a range of other high-precision sensor applications as well as pressure detection".

Mr. Kawaguchi also says that high-precision sensor combinations can be used in supplemental GPS detection applications, or in an inertial measurement unit (IMU) consisting of a gyroscope, an acceleration sensor and a pressure sensor, and these can be used for supplemental GPU applications or used in combination with a GPU for spatial positioning measurements.