Bench Talk

Join journalist Tommy Cummings for a weekly look at all things interesting, new, and noteworthy for design engineers.

You don't need a sensor to know that the sensor market is growing significantly. Going by the report Sensor Market Outlook – 2028 by N N Kundan, Asavari Patil, Vineet Kumar, the global sensor market size is projected to reach $345.77 billion (USD) in 2028 from $166.69 billion (USD) in 2019.

Your household, vehicle, and place of employment have sensors everywhere.

More devices are deploying sensors to detect events or changes in the environment and provide a corresponding output. Sensors have the highest usage in consumer electronic products, followed by automotive, information technology, and telecom.

But someone and something must make sure these sensors are properly tested, and that's the primary function of sensor evaluation boards. They're used to determine whether a component is good or the best fit for an application. They aid in better-informed proof of concept and device development.

Eval boards have a wide spectrum of enablement hardware for quick sensor evaluation and development. They can include a demonstration kit, shield development board, and breakout board for motion and pressure sensors targeted toward the Internet of Things (IoT), industrial, and medical applications.

In this week's New Tech Tuesdays, we'll look at sensor evaluation kits from Texas Instruments, TDK InvenSense, and STMicroelectronics.

The Texas Instruments TMAG5273EVM Sensor Evaluation Module (EVM) tests the TMAG5273 low-power linear 3D Hall-effect sensors with an I²C interface. The sensors are available in TMAG5273A1 and TMAG5273A2 variants, which differ in megatesla (mT) sensitivity range. The USB-powered eval module includes two handheld magnets, a TI TMAG5273 daughterboard, and a sensor controller board (SCB) that enables the accompanying graphical user interface (GUI). TMAG5273 sensors can be found in electricity meters, electronic smart locks, smart thermostats, joystick and gaming controllers, drone payload control, magnetic proximity sensors, mobile robot motor control, and e-bikes.

The TDK InvenSense DK-20680HT Development Kit evaluates the IAM-2068HT, a 6-axis automotive-grade inertial motion sensor. The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) sensor is AEC-Q100-qualified. The DK-20680HT is used for heads-up display (HUD) and augmented reality HUD, car alarms, insurance vehicle tracking, telematics, and more. The module is built around a Microchip G55 microcontroller unit (MCU). The kit includes an embedded debugger, meaning external tools are not required to program or debug the MCU. The kit also has all the necessary software, including InvenSense MotionLink, a GUI-based development tool, and embedded Motion Drivers for IAM-20680HT. MotionLink can be used to capture and visualize the sensor data from the onboard IAM motion sensor.

The STMicroelectronics STEVAL-IOD04KT1 Industrial Smart Sensor Kit tests the L6364W IO-Link dual-channel device transceiver designed for industrial sensors, factory automation, and process control applications. The L6364W acts as a bridge between a microcontroller with a sensor or actuator function and a 24V supply and signaling cable. The kit consists of the STEVAL-IOD004V1 mainboard, the STLINK-V3MINI programmer and debugger tool, a 14-pin flat cable, and an M8 to M12 standard industrial connector adapter.

As the use and development of smart devices multiply, it doesn't require a market study to figure sensors will be a part of that growth. Making sure these sensors are market-ready is in the hands of design engineers who'll need the most reliable sensor development tools.