HAWTHORNE, CA -- (Marketwire - Jun 5, 2012) - Symmetry Electronics, a leader in design-oriented semiconductor distribution, announced the signing of a global distribution agreement with CambridgeIC. CambridgeIC is a developer of non-contact position sensing technology including the CAM204 chip. The CAM204 has the ability to detect the linear and/or rotary position of up to 4 axes, in combination with sensors manufactured using a conventional PCB process. This approach makes sensors cost effective, precise and robust and serves as an excellent addition to the Symmetry line card.

This distribution agreement will provide Symmetry customers with highly precise sensors for a number of designs at low costs. CambridgeIC sensors detect the position of moving, non contact, passive targets using resonant inductive sensing technology. Resonant inductive sensing is immune to many challenging environmental conditions. This allows sensors to operate through dirt, dust, grease, oil, and even sea water. The targets can be detected from several millimeters and in some cases up to 20 millimeters away from the sensor.

Designers of mechatronic assemblies used in lab automation and biotechnology equipment, surveillance cameras, heliostats, printers, media handling machines and valve actuators are tasked to reduce hardware costs while improving control performance by taking advantage of the ever increasing processing power available from microcontrollers. For example, mechanically adjustable limit switches can be eliminated and functionally replaced in software using the CambridgeIC solution. Precision gearboxes can be replaced by lower cost units that are now controlled using a CambridgeIC position sensor at the point of load. CambridgeIC delivers a critical new technology for these applications: cost effective linear and rotary position sensing that can be embedded into customer designs.

Cambridge IC offers many advantages when compared to magnetic and optical sensor chips that are used for embedded position sensing. Those technologies do not scale well for absolute linear position measurement, or for absolute through shaft rotary measurement. By separating the roles of the sensor and processor, resonant inductive technology delivers a cost effective solution for multi-axis sensing, since a single CAM204 chip can process up to 4 sensor axes.

David Ely, founder and Director of CambridgeIC, comments, "Symmetry has built its reputation supporting innovative product designers, and has a strong presence in the embedded motion control market. They have the knowledge and experience to explain and promote our novel product range to this audience at the early stages of design, and the logistical capacity to support the high production volumes behind many of our applications."

"Cambridge IC sensors with resonant inductive positioning technology will allow our customers in the Industrial Control, Automation, and Surveillance markets to improve the performance of their designs while saving cost over other available technologies," says Gil Zaharoni, founder and CEO of Symmetry Electronics.

CambridgeIC's CAM204 Development Kit is designed for initial evaluation and prototyping. It includes a development board for the chip, a range of linear and rotary sensors, USB interface and PC software.

Visit SymmetryElectronics.com or SemiconductorStore.com. 

Visit CambridgeIC.com.

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