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Encoders are sensors that measure physical movement—such as the rotation of a motor—and convert it into electrical signals. This allows us to determine how much a motor has rotated and use that information as digital input in a robot’s control system. They are essential for achieving precise motion control, especially in applications that require accurate positioning or speed regulation. Robots rely on encoders to ensure smooth movement, feedback, and reliable automation. The press release below is by US Digital, about their new encoder display. US Digital’s New ED4 Digital Encoder Display Vancouver, Washington – November 19, 2025. US Digital announced today the release of our new ED4 Encoder Display. Encoder […] Read More

Press Release by Silicon Designs: Silicon Designs Introduces Inertial-Grade MEMS Capacitive Accelerometers with Internal Temperature Sensor and Improved Low-Noise Performance  Five Full Standard G-Ranges from ±2 g to ±50 g Now Available for Immediate Customer Shipment November 9, 2017, Kirkland, Washington, USA – Silicon Designs, Inc. (www.SiliconDesigns.com), a 100% veteran owned, U.S. based leading designer and manufacturer of highly rugged MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules, today announced the immediate availability of its Model 1525 Series, a family of commercial and inertial-grade MEMS capacitive accelerometers, offering industry-best-in-class low-noise performance. Design of the Model 1525 Series incorporates Silicon Designs’ own high-performance MEMS variable capacitive sense element, along with a ±4.0V differential analog output stage, internal […] Read More

It measures the speed of the drone relative to the air, by measuring the positive and negative pressure differences around the drone. When purchased, they usually come together with pitot tube and connection cables. It is recommended for advanced users or drones only, as it necessitates an extra layer of control and tuning. Through pitot tube, the pressure is measured and then this is converted to air speed. Air speed varies with the square root of air pressure. The pitot tube, which takes in the air, transmits it to the sensor through rubber tubing. The sensor is connected to flight controller through a 4 wire I2C cable. Air speed of […] Read More

An accelerometer is an electromechanical device, a sensor, that measures acceleration both horizontally in both horizontal axis due to speed, slow down, or high G turns, and vertically due to gravity and lift up or down. For example, accelerometer and gyroscope sensors are often combined in one sensor called Inertial Measurement unit and connected to flight controller of a drone and enable stable flight.  Also see Inertial Navigation System, INS. Ask, discuss anything about robots and drones in our forums See our Robot Book This post was originally written by RoboticMagazine.com and displaying without our permission is not allowed.   Read More

July 10, 2017 – Kirkland, Washington, USA – The 100% veteran owned and U.S. based Silicon Designs, Inc. (www.silicondesigns.com), leading designers and manufacturers of industrial grade MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules, today announced the global market introduction of six new series of low-cost, high-performance MEMS capacitive accelerometers, in both traditional and smaller footprints.   These include the single axis Model 2220 or triaxial Model 2470, featuring aluminum housings and a standard 1 meter integral cable; the single axis Model 2240 or triaxial Model 2480, featuring hermetically sealed titanium housings and an integral connector; and the single axis Model 2276 or triaxial Model 2476, featuring aluminum housings and an integral […] Read More

The Best Things Come in Small Packages US Digital Introduces New Addition to Miniature Optical Encoder Portfolio at ATX West 2017 Anaheim, California – February 7, 2017 – US Digital, a US manufacturer of quality motion control since 1980, today announced the introduction of the E8T miniature optical encoder. Combining small form factor and resolutions up to 720 CPR, the E8T is ideally suited for medical and other space sensitive applications that require reliable position and velocity feedback. The E8T’s small package footprint fits motors as small as National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) size 11 with more than 40% reduction in package height compared to other commercially available solutions. Utilizing US […] Read More

Swift Navigation Announces a New GPS Module for Robots Piksi Multi Provides Robotics Manufacturers with a Multi-Band, Multi-Constellation High-Precision GNSS Receiver, at a Breakthrough Price Swift Navigation™, the San Francisco-based startup building centimeter-accurate GPS technology, has announced its newest product, Piksi™ Multi, and the robotics industry is going to want to take notice of this multi-band, multi-constellation high-precision GNSS receiver. Just as Swift’s original Piksi module ushered in a new era of precision GPS affordability, the new Piksi Multi represents a revolution in robotics positioning with advanced precision GNSS capabilities for the mass market. Swift Navigation solutions utilize real-time kinematics (RTK) technology, providing location solutions that are 100 times more […] Read More

Plugging in precision   You can now integrate highly precise GPS into your electronics projects, without breaking the bank.   Whether you’re building robots or flying drones, you probably live with a compromise: positioning is either imprecise or requires expensive equipment. Now it’s possible to get much more precise positions, without the cost associated with professional GPS equipment, thanks to Reach. Reach is a high-precision GPS receiver available for $235, based on the Intel® Edison microcomputer platform. The device weighs just 12g, so it can be easily mounted on a drone or robot, and measures 26mm x 45mm.   Reach makes high-precision GPS available in a small form factor suitable […] Read More

Press release by: Rhoeby Dynamics LLC October 2015, Santa Cruz, CA. The new Rhoeby Dynamics R2D LiDAR is the smallest, lightest, lowest-cost 2D LiDAR device on the market today. It’s proven capable of performing mapping, navigation and dynamic obstacle avoidance in the indoor setting, and comes complete with its open-source ROS driver for rapid integration into any robotics platform.                   The device uses IR LED Time-of-Flight (not laser-based), making it a quite novel technology. This novel approach is what enables us to achieve the small form factor, low weight, and helps keep the cost down. All settings are easily controlled via USB […] Read More

At the 2009 IEEE conference on Technologies for Practical Robot Applications which took place in Woburn, MA, the robot named ROAMS (Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System) was able to map its surroundings autonomously by using a cheaper system than the conventional methods. The robot uses a few existing mapping technologies for building color 3D maps of the surroundings. The technology called LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which is basically a laser beam emitted by the vehicle bouncing off from the surroundings thus enabling the robot to build a 3D map. A commonly used 3D Lidar system costs around $100,000. However ROAMS is able to do the task for about […] Read More