A shaping machine or a handling apparatus for a shaping machine includes at least one measuring device for measuring the spacing of two selected points of the shaping machine or the handling apparatus. Furthermore, the at least one measuring device has at least one piezoresistive micromechanical sensor.

A microelectromechanical and/or nanoelectromechanical device having a fixed part, at least one suspended part configured to be moveable in the plane of the device with respect to the fixed part along at least one first direction and a first suspension means for suspending the suspended part. The first suspension means includes two suspension elements each having a first end fixed directly to the suspended part and a second end connected to the fixed part, each suspension element having a half-ellipse shape in the plane and extending between the first end and the second end, and the two suspension elements being arranged with respect to each other so as to form an ellipse.

A posture control apparatus, comprising a control unit that determines, on a basis of a static acceleration component, a gravity direction in a holding apparatus holding an object to be held, the static acceleration component being computed on a basis of a first acceleration detection signal and a second acceleration detection signal, the first acceleration detection signal being acquired by detecting a dynamic acceleration component acting on the holding apparatus, the second acceleration detection signal being acquired by detecting the dynamic acceleration component and the static acceleration component acting on the holding apparatus, and controls, by controlling posture of the holding apparatus on a basis of the gravity direction, posture of the object to be held.

A physical disturbance sensor includes a plurality of piezoresistive elements configured in a resistive bridge configuration. A signal transmitter is electrically connected to the physical disturbance sensor and configured to send an encoded signal to the piezoresistive elements of the resistive bridge configuration. A signal receiver is electrically connected to the piezoresistive elements and configured to receive a signal from the physical disturbance sensor. The received signal from the physical disturbance sensor is correlated with the sent encoded signal in determining a measure of physical disturbance.

A measurement system for evaluating athletes using a weighted resistance towing sled to which an athlete is connected using a harness and tether, is described, the measurement device comprising: a force sensing device located in the connection between the athlete and the sled, the force sensing device having a load cell, the force sensing device measuring the force exerted on the sled by the athlete; a second sensing device, the second sensing device having at least one accelerometer; and a communication device for communicating data from the sensing devices, wherein the second sensing device provides data for the calculation of at least linear velocity, linear acceleration and linear distance travelled.

A self-diagnosis method for a vibration sensor attached to vibrating equipment includes measuring vibration data of the vibrating equipment by the vibration sensor, integrating the vibration data, and diagnosing whether or not the vibration sensor is abnormal by comparing an integrated value of the vibration data with a reference value.

In a physical quantity sensor, a first substrate has a recess depressed from a second surface to provide a thin film section adjacent to a first surface, and a second substrate has a first surface bonded to the first surface of the first substrate, and has a hollow depressed from the first surface and facing the recess. The recess and the hollow have such sizes that a projected line defined by projecting an end of a bottom surface in the recess to the first surface of the first substrate surrounds an open end of the hollow. When the thin film section is displaced toward the hollow, a maximum tensile stress is generated at a position on a rear surface of the thin film section intersecting an extended line along a normal direction to the first surface of the first substrate and passing through the open end of the hollow.

Systems and methods for evaluating the performance of an athlete using a strain gauge is described. In some embodiments, the measurement system comprises a strain gauge and a central processing device. The strain gauge can include a power source, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) comprising a load cell, a microcontroller, and a wireless communication module. The strain gauge can be configured to output strain data at a rate of at least 1 kHz and the central processing device can be configured to receive the strain data transmitted from the wireless communication module.

A mechanical link for a microelectromechanical and/or nanoelectromechanical structure, the structure includes a mobile component, a fixed component extending on a main plane and means for detecting the displacement of the mobile component relative to the fixed component, the mechanical link comprising: a first link linked to the fixed component and to the mobile component and capable of allowing the rotation of the mobile component relative to the fixed component about an axis of rotation; a second link connecting the mobile component to the detection means at a given distance relative to the axis of rotation in a direction at right angles to the axis of rotation; a third link linked to the fixed component and to the detection means, and configured to guide the detection means in translation in a direction of translation in the plane of the fixed component; such that the combination of the second link and of the third link is capable of transforming the rotational movement of the mobile component into a translational movement of the detection means in the direction of translation.

A physical quantity sensor includes an acceleration sensor having an acceleration sensor element and a package accommodating the acceleration sensor element, a support member having a first surface and supporting the acceleration sensor on the first surface, and an IC chip to which a second surface facing the first surface of the support member is attached, in which, in a plan view from a stacking direction of the acceleration sensor and the support member, in a case where an area of a region surrounded by an outer edge of the package is S1 and an area of the first surface is S2, S1S2 is satisfied.