Automotive Applications for Sensors Proliferating Says just-auto.com

    LONDON, May 15 http://www.just-auto.com -- They can check
your tyre pressure, oil and fuel levels, temperature, speed, occupant weight,
distance from other cars and objects out of view and even trigger devices to
steer you away from trouble when the need arises.  Auto industry applications
for sensors are proliferating rapidly according to an article written by
Matthew Beecham and published by just-auto at:
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=494&app=1&fotw=sct
    In the area of tyres, thanks to last summer's Firestone recall, tyre
pressure sensor systems have become a big safety issue.  So much so, that by
late 2003, tyre pressure monitoring (TPM) systems will become mandatory.  The
2000 Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability, and Documentation Act,
signed into law in November 2000 by then -- President Bill Clinton, requires
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to modernise the
30-year-old tyre safety standard and to require tyre pressure monitors.
Siemens Automotive says it is ready and waiting for the surge in demand for
TPM systems.  Jean Christophe Deniau, Siemens Automotive Business Development
Engineer, says:  "Unlike several other sensors under development in the
market, our solution also tracks temperature inside the tyre and measures
finite acceleration."
    This allows, amongst other things, data specific to each tyre to be
compared for inconsistencies within safety and operational parameters.  The
software for this technology can also form part of Siemens remote keyless
entry electronic control unit.  This enables its antenna and receiver to be
used to process transmitted tyre pressure information, which is then sent
across a vehicle bus to a driver display.

    Read the full article at:
http://www.just-auto.com/features_detail.asp?art=494&app=1&fotw=sct

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