On January 8, 2007, at the CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada, Freescale Semiconductor announced the availability of three new micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) triple-axis acceleration sensors. Freescale is a major supplier of MEMS acceleration sensors for automotive applications, but the three new sensors extend Freescale’s capabilities into a wide variety of consumer applications. They feature low-power, zero-g detect for freefall protection, a small footprint for portable applications and a self-test function.
There are many potential applications for MEMS accelerometers in consumer products. One example is hard disk drive protection in portable electronic devices such as MP3 players or PDAs. Zero-g detection provides a logic interrupt signal when all three axes are at zero-g. Advanced motion sensing then detects when a device is falling so that steps can be taken to prevent damage to hard drives or other sensitive electronic components.
Another example is game controllers. Heightened multi-axis sensitivity and a full range of motion allow mobile and game users to make very small movements that result in accurate, controllable responses when scrolling, flying, driving or executing other quick responses. Other potential applications include recording falls or shock to limit warrant coverage, camera stabilization, electronic compass tilt compensation, GPS backup, image rotation, tap to mute and many others.
