MTI Instruments, Albany, N.Y., has won a siliver medal in the 2022 Leap Awards competition.

The LEAP Awards celebrates the most innovative and forward-thinking products serving the design engineering space. MTI won in the test and measurement category, for test and measurement equipment as typically used by design and development engineers engaged in product design and development.

The winning entry was the 1520 Portable Signal Simulator/Calibrator, a NIST-traceable signal source providing laboratory-grade precision for testing and
calibrating sensor-driven systems in the field. The 1520 offers market-leading WiFi connectivity, ergonomic design, visualization features, and 10-hour (max) battery life. Its intelligent sensor database simplifies simulation of a wide variety of sensor types including accelerometers, pressure transducers, strain gauges, tachometer generators, flow meters and microphones.

Custom simulations are easily added to the instrument using common SQL queries. The 1520 features a glove-friendly, two-handed controller and a color
touchscreen for viewing high-precision graphical waveforms. Capable of remote control via a WiFi-connected smartphone, it allows one technician to conduct tests that would otherwise require two techs to perform. Applications include troubleshooting cabling and wiring; simulating audio signals, vibration, machinery speed and low-voltage bridge sensors; and calibrating monitoring systems, charge amplifiers and avionics equipment.

Key features include:
– WiFi Capability: Wireless login and full functionality control enables fast, easy testing of hard-to-reach sensors/devices
– Portable, Rugged: Ergonomic design includes buttons and a color touchscreen that can be used with gloves
– Signal Selection: Dual voltage, single current loop and single charge amp in both single-ended and differential forms
– High-Precision Waveforms: Custom, sine, square, triangle, pulse, tachometer and sawtooth waveforms from 0.1Hz to 100kHz in 0.1 Hz increments
– Jog and Sweep Functions: Simplifies system response and calibration
– Battery Life: 10-hour operation on a single charge
– Bridge Circuit Simulation: Easily command of microvolts to simulate strain gauges