Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2021 - ST-12

Applications
control the lights in your room from a
mobile device through the internet. If
you're doing some interesting analytics,
for example, how many times someone
went to the bathroom, that could be
done with a cloud-based analytics package. The data in the cloud is owned by
our customer, we just store it. But they
can also connect that data to analytics
that reside in a package they are
already using, such as Microsoft Power
BI, or other business operations software.
Tech Briefs: How would you sum up
the benefits of your system for healthcare?
Dwight Stewart: Hospitals and other
healthcare providers are facing a massive challenge to reduce costs, increase
patient satisfaction and outcomes, and
improve staff productivity. They need to
do this all while demonstrating a higher
level of environmental sustainability and
improved patient care. The unique environments within hospitals must support
the needs of patients that may have limited mobility and vision. Patient rooms
require specialized lighting and con-

Figure 3. Dashboard for a mobile device. (Image
courtesy of Igor, Inc.)

trols, while other spaces, like operating
rooms, include large equipment that
can make it difficult to display light
evenly and efficiently throughout the
entire space.
Igor's IoT platform provides control,
visual acuity, and integration with building automation systems. This empowers
the institution to improve the quality of
care by carefully managing the patient's
circadian rhythms, managing noise levels with low lighting, maintaining comfortable temperatures depending on
space and light, and ensuring that
patients feel safe.
It enables hospital management to
analyze and adjust lighting according to
occupancy and locations. It also provides better space utilization by identifying occupied and unoccupied spaces for
energy savings and determining what
spaces are underutilized.
In summary, I would say it improves
living and healthcare outcomes for
patients, helps optimize staff productivity, and reduces energy costs.
This article was written by Ed Brown,
Editor of Sensor Technology. For more information, visit http://info.hotims.com/79411163.

The Sensing Systems That Make ADAS Work
o find out the latest information
about sensors for automated driving
systems, I interviewed Alberto Marinoni,
Director of Product Marketing, TDK/Invensense (San Jose, CA).
The commonly used term, Advanced
Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) essentially refers to SAE Level 2 (L2), Partial
Driving Automation. At that level, the
driver must be in the car and must be
vigilant - they cannot read a book, for
example - that would require Level 3
or beyond. (The highest level - 5 - is
a fully automated vehicle that doesn't
even need one of us humans to be in the
vehicle at all.)
In Level 2, the car can be automatically controlled longitudinally (acceleration/deceleration) or laterally (steering), depending on the application.
However, the driver must be present,
keep eyes on the street, and be vigilant
in order to take control if needed. In
contrast, Level 1 can do automated braking/acceleration OR lateral steering,
but not both.

Figure 1. ADAS uses data from multiple sensors to create awareness of the automobile's environment. (Image courtesy of TDK/InvenSense)

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Sensor Technology, March 2021

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Tech Briefs Magazine - March 2021

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