Team members (left to right, top to bottom): Alex Hardt, Theresa Maudie, Jan Vandemeer, Andrew McNeil, Jonathan Hammond, Andy Koestner, Katie Davi, Sundar Gopalakrishnan, Hiro Ueda, Sung Jin Jo, John Keller. Not pictured: Dan Koury.

Sometimes, electronics devices that act get far more accolades than those that sense, but, in real-world applications, any product is only as good as the sensor it involves. And increasingly, product-design teams need to be able to sense movement in three dimensions for applications ranging from vehicle safety to consumer gaming. The Motorola Low-g Accelerometer team was tasked to build such a 3-D sensing device that could be packaged on a single pc board, thereby costing less than multiple-pc-board implementations. (The Low-g IC family was a finalist in the sensor category.)

Team members, Japan (left to right): Hiroaki Sasaki, Yutaka Iida, Katashi Murayama, Koji Goto.

The Low-g team developed an accelerometer platform that can measure acceleration reliably over 1.5 to 10g, making small movements detectable. The key to the design is a z-axis sensor, which works reliably on horizontal pc boards and that you can manufacture at low cost. The sensors include a trimmable, calibrated self-test function, and the Low-g team developed trim and test methods for the production process that ensure reliable and cost-effective products. The result is a product with no offset drift over time and that can survive 5000g hammer shock tests. The product has already passed the Automotive Electronics Council AEC-Q100 qualification, and Motorola believes it will also find use in applications such as self-balancing washing machines, game pads, sports medicine equipment and seismic detectors.

EDN Innovation Awards Automotive Products from Motorola