Development News

An amazing presentation titled 'APEX - Asteroid Probe Experiment' given at The Small Satellite Conference by our colleagues from Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland and Arizona State University describing a possible placement of a molecular-electronic seismometer on the surface of Apophis asteroid.

Watch the original presentation available on the NASA website.

The data loggers' product line was enriched with the products by NordLab LLC - a joint enterprise of R-sensors and MIPT. The new data loggers are named NDAS. They exploit the latest ARM architecture Texas Instruments' controller and a multichannel ADC by Analog Devices. 

Low power consumption and wireless Wi-Fi interface for setup and signal quality control are but two distinctive features of NDAS. A GPS/Glonass combined receiver provides coordinates and clock synchronization.

The current product line is constituted by the 4-channel low-power autonomous data logger module NDAS-8224 and the 6-channel multi-purpose data logger NDAS-8226. The 12- and 48-channel versions are under development. The data loggers can be equipped by an accelerometer and a magnetic compass which allow determination of azimuthal orientation and tilt with respect to vertical direction as well as by temperature, pressure and humidity sensors for checking the working conditions and impermeability in case of a submerged deployment. All auxiliary information from sensors is available in telemetric transfer from the data logger as well as it is stored along with the registered signal. 

The full compatibility with R-sensors' seismic sensors was of most importance during the development of the data loggers. A joint project of R-sensors and NordLab for the design of seismographs - seismic sensors with a data logger inside - is now being developed.

The Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology of the American Meteorological Society published an article titled 'Low-frequency seismic node based on molecular-electronic transfer sensors for marine and transition zone exploration'.

This paper reports on a field testing of the subsea autonomous seismic station NDAS-8224SBS which has a modular structure allowing for operations under different environmental conditions like onshore, offshore to a 500-meter depth and in transition zones. The station operation frequency band is 300 Hz which is wider than that of the majority of seismic stations based on standard (10 Hz) geophones.

The IEEE Sensors Journal published an article titled 'Design and Self-Noise of MET Closed-Loop Seismic Accelerometers'. 

This paper reports on the development of the feedback system for a MET seismic accelerometer, a feedback stability analysis and optimization of the signal conditioning feedback electronics to get the highest dynamic range. The article is focused on the operation principles of the MTSS-1033A seismic accelerometer and contains the latest comprehensive analysis of the noise generation mechanisms which occur in molecular-electronic transducers.

Journal of Sensors published an article titled 'Molecular Electronic Angular Motion Transducer Broad Band Self-Noise'. The article can be downloaded through our website.

The IEEE Sensors Journal published an article titled 'Experimental Studies of Temperature Dependence of Transfer Function of Molecular Electronic Transducers at High Frequencies'. 

Both articles were written by our colleagues and are covering the latest results of the MET sensors studies gained in MIPT laboratories in 2015 - 2016.

The modification of the one-component rotational sensor METR-01 was designed and successfully tested. 

The modified sensor has a 1 rad/sec input signal range. To comply with the output voltage range, the sensitivity was reduced ten times down to 5 V/rad/sec. In order to do it, an additional thin ceramic paper was placed inside the sensing channel. Follow the link for a METR-01LS sensor tests presentation.

The components of seismic station Baykal-CME were renewed. 

The new DSP of Baykal-8 data logger allowed for recording the same signal at different sample rates simultaneously. The recording of signal with reduced sampling permits a quick amplitude analysis to be performed on a long-term recording, which is highly demanded by seismologists. Apart from this, the output for applying periodical test signals to sensors was introduced. 

The modification of the CME-6211 seismic sensor allowed for wide power supply options to be offered, namely from +5 to +36V DC which were earlier available only for the CME-6111 seismic sensor. Besides, the self calibration circuits were modified so the response curves for all three channels can be obtained. The circuits were optimized for interaction with Baykal-8 data logger.

Springer Publishing House published a second edition of 'Instrumentation in Earthquake Seismology'. 

The chapter on 'Some New Trends in Seismic Sensors' covers a description of modern electrochemical transducers of linear and angular motion. The CME-6211 - a top model among the seismometers produced by R-sensors - is listed on the summary table of 'Overview of some active sensors available on the market'.

R-sensors have launched production of sensing modules for the third party seismic systems. 

The three component sensing modules designed for installation into an external protective case can be based on a broadband seismometer CME-4211 or on a high-sensitive geophone MTSS-2003. 

These modules provide a cost-effective solution for customized digital seismic stations and can be used with most analog-to-digital converters. The circuitry enables self-calibration by means of an external DAC for MTSS-2003 or self-testing for CME-4211. The parameters of the modules are similar to those of conventional sensors. The sensing modules based on a seismic accelerometer MTSS-1043A are also available.

Encyclopedia of Earthquake Engineering was published and is available on SpringerLink including an article by our colleagues titled 'Electrochemical Seismometers of Linear and Angular Motion'.

This article is a complete description of the state-of-the-art in the electrochemical motion sensors. It covers all related aspects - electrochemical basics, mechanical features of different types of sensors, signal amplification and introducing a force balance feedback into the system. The work also includes an overview and comparison tables of modern commercial seismometers, compact seismic sensors - both accelerometers and geophones - along with a unique family of rotational electrochemical sensors.