LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Pressure Profile Systems, Inc. (PPS) announced today that for the first time it will begin offering its proprietary tactile sensors as OEM products. Previously the company's sensors had been available only in complete systems with analog to digital conversion hardware and display software tailored to test engineers.
Like PPS' earlier products, the new DigiTacts(tm) sensors are based on capacitance rather than resistance. They differ from earlier versions by providing direct digital outputs (3.3V or 5V) rather than raw analog voltage levels. Small and flat (less than half a millimeter thick), the devices provide pressure readings from 0 to 140kPa (0 to 20psi) in 0.7kPa (0.1psi) increments.
Applications are expected to include both robotics, such as robotic hands, and human-machine interaction devices -- where the reading of the pressure of the contact, not just that the contact was made, can add another dimension of information or control.
Along with the DigiTacts sensor, PPS is offering an evaluation kit that will help engineers come up to speed on capacitive tactile sensor performance for their application. The kits include a sensor, an interface board with a USB connection plus an LCD readout, and PC software, along with technical support. The sensors have I2C serial interfaces, and are available with either solder pads or a standard connector for 1mm ribbon cable. Engineers may choose sensors formatted as 10mm x 10mm or 25mm x 25mm squares or as a 10mm diameter circular pad.
In introducing DigiTacts, PPS president Dr. Jae Son commented about entering the OEM market: "PPS' sensors have already been used to design systems for fitting custom ski boots, measure the pressure on a windshield wiper blade, and even to augment the human sense of touch in detecting breast cancer. However, there are far more potential medical, industrial and commercial applications than we can pursue ourselves -- and making the sensors available as OEM components will allow designers to build them into systems we haven't even envisioned yet."
Price and Availability
DigiTacts evaluation kits will be priced at $995 (including one sensor). A pair of matched sensors is available for $895 and a set of any five sensors for $1795. "This is a very new kind of product," Dr. Son added. "OEMs ordering in volume will find these sensors to be less expensive than other capacitive pressure sensors, while eliminating the need for the engineer to worry about a-to-d conversion."
About Pressure Profile Systems
Pressure Profile Systems, Inc. (PPS) was formed in 1996 to design, develop, and manufacture high performance tactile sensing systems. PPS tactile sensing technology was originally developed at Harvard University and subsequently enhanced through funding from the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, Army Research Laboratory, and National Institutes of Health.
For more information on DigiTacts, Pressure Profile Systems, or PPS' other products, contact PPS at 310-641-8100 or via e-mail at info@pressureprofile.com, or visit the company's web site at www.pressureprofile.com.
Note to editors: A high resolution image of a DigiTacts(tm) sensor and a datasheet are available at www.seeyouinprint.com/PPS. For background on PPS sensor applications, go to www.pressureprofile.com.