A linear position sensor tells the computer it reports to the position of anything in a machine or mechanical structure. The sensor can handle anything from an automobile, a manufacturing robot arm, a microscope, and everything in between.
In cars, the engine and drivetrain are so complicated that they cannot function with the help of a large set of sensors. They communicate with the vehicle's computer, and that is why you always have lights flickering behind the steering wheel. The sensors allow companies to put new technology on the vehicle, and those same sensors keep the vehicle working properly. No new technology would be possible without the sensors.
Take, for instance, the headlamps in a car that turn as the car enters a curve. Those headlights use positioning devices to measure when the car will be entering a turn and which direction the vehicle will be turning. This is how the computer in the vehicle can anticipate the turn and point the headlamps in the right direction.
Vehicles that have automatic parallel-parking functions use this same technology to know where the vehicle is at any given time. The devices continually provide readings to the internal systems to detect the other cars and the curb. This allows the vehicle to steer itself while parking, and the process is completely safe because of the use of the sensors.
These same units tell the vehicle the position of its throttle, transmission, brakes, camshaft, and other components. All the mechanical parts in the vehicle talk to the computer in this way. They are small units, and they keep your car on the road just as much as your hands on the steering wheel do. A mechanic has an easier time fixing a car, and a car self-regulates as you drive it.
The safety features also work through the help of these units. They sense when a collision occurs, where it has occurred, and which airbags of safety measures to deploy. The same goes for the locks on the doors, the windows, and the latch on the trunk. Every part is monitored to know what it is doing at all times. Again, this is why the little lights on your dashboard flicker at you from time to time.
New vehicles use sensors to run properly, but the machines that make car parts, the parts themselves, robotic arms, medical and surgical technology, and other devices use linear position sensors to function. Medical procedures are more efficient and safer to perform. The providers can do more delicate procedures, and they can do more in a shorter amount of time.
These positioning units make many of our modern conveniences a reality, and they most certainly get you from point A to point B on a daily basis. Microelectronics and sensorics make many things we use more functional, more user-friendly, without a large increase in costs to the consumer.
