Voltage Sensors Monitor Harmful Static

About this technology

Overview

A tiny sensor, small enough to be worn on clothing, now monitors voltage changes near sensitive instruments after being created to alert Space Agency workers to dangerous static buildup near fuel operations and avionics. San Diego's Quasar Federal Systems received an SBIR contract from Kennedy Space Center to develop its remote voltage sensor (RVS), a dime-sized electrometer designed to measure triboelectric changes in the environment. One of the unique qualities of the RVS is that it can detect static at greater distances than previous devices, measuring voltage changes from a few centimeters to a few meters away, due to its much-improved sensitivity.