If you’ve ever spent time in a modern BMW, you’ve probably fussed about with the goofy iDrive controller. It’s a rotary knobbery slidery thing that just never really feels that good to use. [Garage ...

Knob controllers can control volume settings, scroll through web pages, and help edit movies among other uses. You can buy a commercial one from Griffin Technology for $45 or build one yourself with ...

Touchscreens and touchpads haven’t totally taken over the human-machine interface (HMI) function and many situations still exist where discrete switches or even the classic QWERTY keyboard remain the ...

The electric motor is the fundamental building block of almost all robotic projects but, without some form of feedback, it lacks the precise positional control required for the task. Small servos from ...

Rotary encoders connect to a shaft and, as the shaft rotates, the encoder outputs pulses. These are used to determine the speed of the object. By counting the amount of pulses per one full turn of the ...

Is your motor spinning at the intended rate? Closed-loop motor control systems continue to answer this question, as there tends to be a closed-loop system implemented wherever a motor spins. Whether ...

Rotary encoders convert rotary movement or angular position into analogue or digital signals for use in measurement or control systems. They can be classified in a number of ways, primarily by the ...