yee@trident.arc.nasa.gov (Peter E. Yee) (01/25/91)
[See, you knew there was a recent to support NASA! :-) -PEY]
Barbara Selby
Headquarters, Washington, D.C. January 24, 1991
(Phone: 703/557-5609)
Cheryll Madison
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
(Phone: 301/286-8956)
RELEASE: 91-10
SUPERBOWL JUMBOTRON SCREEN EMPLOYS NASA TECHNOLOGY SPINOFF
The huge television Jumbotron screen, that will track what
may be a hotly-contested Superbowl XXV game in Florida at Tampa
Stadium on Jan.27, will keep its cool, thanks to a NASA
technology spinoff.
Sensors, originally designed as ingestible capsules to
monitor core body temperatures of human patients, will be used to
monitor potentially damaging heat build-up in electronic circuits
of the Jumbotron.
The sensor and receiver within the jumbo screen were the
result of a collaborative development effort between the
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., and the Johns
Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Laurel, Md. The
sensor originally was developed as a research tool under NASA's
Technology Utilization's Applications Engineering program. The
sensor has been used for research in the areas of hypo- and
hyperthermia, sleep disorders, weight loss and sports medicine.
"The industrial temperature sensor is a good example of the
diversity of applications that can result from NASA's Technology
Utilization program," said Donald Friedman, Chief, Office of
Commercial Programs at Goddard. "We are very gratified about the
interest manufacturers have shown in this simple device and are
excited about the potential new uses. One area in which the
sensor already has been used is honey production through the
monitoring of beehive temperature."
The huge television Jumbotrons used at National Football
League sports stadiums and also at Times Square in New York City,
N.Y., and at Sea World in Orlando, Fla., are built by the Sony
Corporation and range from 8 by 10 feet to 33 by 110 feet.
In the Jumbotron, one or two quartz crystal sensors are
nestled among the electronic modules. The natural vibration
frequency of these crystals increases as temperature increases.
The crystal's vibration is automatically amplified and
telemetered to a receiver outside the screen, which is connected
by cable to a remote control panel within the stadium where the
temperature is displayed. Appropriate measures then can be taken
to provide the necessary cooling and prevent the Jubotron from
shutting down.
The industrial temperature sensor is manufactured by HTI,
Inc., in St. Petersburg, Fla., the developer of the sensor's
telemetry system and control panel. The sensor's extreme
accuracy, up to temperatures of 260 degrees Fahrenheit, and its
flexibility in download and recording of data has interested food
processors, the pharmaceutical industry and manufacturing
processors. Because the system uses an inductive magnetic
telemetry link, it allows sensors to be used in new situations in
which hard wiring is not possible or appropriate, such as in the
Jumbotrons.
Sony has 11 Jumbotrons operating within the United States
and is recommending that all units be equipped with the
temperature sensors. Already the device has been credited with
enhancing reliability of the big screens by documenting the large
temperature increases that occur when the Jumbotrons are turned
off. The discovery of these temperature surges, which can damage
or destroy electronic circuit boards within the screen, has led
Sony to make a simple but important change in the cooling fan
operation in the screens. By leaving the fans on for
approximately 1 hour after turning off the screen, Sony
eliminated damaging temperature excursions after the power has
been turned off.
This research is supported by Goddard's Office of Commercial
Programs.