SENSORTEC Co. Ltd. (www.st4u.com), are manufacturers of ultrasonic sensors who have been advancing into the business of developing and supplying customized sensors through their advanced Piezo Ceramic technology and making new applications of their ultrasonic sensors to different fields such as automobiles, robots, smart phones, and heavy equipment.

The ultrasonic sensor is able to measure the distance to an object through the signal received when, as the Piezo Ceramic vibrates, it generates ultrasonic waves that are reflected by the object. Other distance measurement sensors use infrared rays, but ultrasonic sensors are often used due to their high accuracy, and, thus reliability.

At the time of its launching in 2001, SENSORTEC had developed military ultrasonic sensors. They also developed an ultrasonic sensor for parking aid systems. SENSORTEC was started as a means for local manufacturing (“localization” of manufacturing) of automotive sensor components; now, the company is supplying its sensors to Hyundai and KIA Motors and is a significant presence in the automotive sensor market.

In 2003, the company supplied ultrasonic sensors to LG Electronics for their robot cleaners. Supplying the ultrasonic sensors used in robotic vacuum cleaners for such large corporations in Korea became an impetus of sorts for SENSORTEC’s own increased insights to the technology. Indeed, the company has expanded their sensor shipments to other robotic vacuum cleaner companies.

Currently, the company is working to expand the application fields of their sensor as they continue to develop and supply safety sensors for large buses and heavy equipment; and ultrasonic sensor modules for excavators and parking guidance systems. A company associate said, "We have been making steady shipments to the automobile and robot vacuum cleaner industries for quite some time, which has honed our awareness." The associate continued, “Recently, increasing requests for consultations from customers in wide ranging industries are helping our efforts to apply our product to different fields.”

SENSORTEC has been diversifying its business to include parking guidance systems, energy saving IoT, and security systems, among others. For their parking guidance systems and other new areas of business, the company is able to produce them not as single units but rather in module forms, thus increasing the unit price – a plus for the company. In particular, it is expected that with the full force of convergent home appliances applying IoT technologies, the demand for related sensors will be energized.

In addition, the parking guidance sensor is able to quickly identify the availability of parking in a parking lot, making its future quite optimistic. The parking guidance sensor technology is currently being used by distributors such as Home plus and as such is expanding in its uses.

The company is also looking to diversify the sensor supply lines for robot cleaners supplied to LG Electronics. The company is launching new products with various robot cleaner companies that use their sensors. SENSORTEC is actively promoting sensors for robots, as well. Currently, a number of robot companies are receiving SENSORTEC’s ultrasonic sensor modules for distance measurement, open-type ultrasonic sensor elements, and ultrasonic sensor modules for object detection.

Today, the company is operating three production plants, one in Weihai, China and the others in Icheon and Bucheon (Gyeonggi Province). With the establishment of an R&D center in the Magok district of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, the company expects to strengthen their research and development division. A company associate emphasized, "The only way for a small business or a venture company to survive is through technology.” He continued, “We will grow into a global company by continuing to develop and supply sensors for distance measurement, location services, and all sorts of sensors needed for
for autonomously traveling objects through continued R&D.”

In 2002, SENSORTEC established a foreign branch in China and actively promoted their products in the overseas markets, which have placed a high value on SENSORTEC products. The company has grown their client lists in China, India, and Iran.