Quantum PI has just built the first motion sensor chip to use "quantum tunneling," which sounds theoretically unsafe, but we'll follow along. The nanoTrek sensors are classified as NEMS (Nano Electric Mechanical Systems) as opposed to the "bulky" MEMS sensors that can be found everywhere from the Wii to the iPhone. nanoTrek's sensing area is a mere 50 x 50 microns, and its sensitivity is 5 to 10 times greater than MEMS chips. There are all sorts of boring industrial applications to such a sensor, but we're looking forward to the not-too-distant-future when we can be completely disappointed by a brand new version of Super Monkey Ball.[Via
