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Understanding Sensors in Engineering

The document discusses sensors and instrumentation. It defines a sensor as a device that receives a stimulus from the external environment and responds by creating an electrical signal. Sensors measure a physical quantity and convert it to a voltage. Important characteristics to quantify for a sensor include sensitivity, resolution, accuracy, repeatability, reliability, and response function. Sensors have advantages over human senses in that they are more repeatable, reliable, and can operate in harsh environments and with higher sensitivity. An example traffic control system uses a coil of wire under the road that monitors current changes through induction when a vehicle is detected to control traffic light signals.

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Nageshwar Yadav
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32 views6 pages

Understanding Sensors in Engineering

The document discusses sensors and instrumentation. It defines a sensor as a device that receives a stimulus from the external environment and responds by creating an electrical signal. Sensors measure a physical quantity and convert it to a voltage. Important characteristics to quantify for a sensor include sensitivity, resolution, accuracy, repeatability, reliability, and response function. Sensors have advantages over human senses in that they are more repeatable, reliable, and can operate in harsh environments and with higher sensitivity. An example traffic control system uses a coil of wire under the road that monitors current changes through induction when a vehicle is detected to control traffic light signals.

Uploaded by

Nageshwar Yadav
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Sensors and Instrumentation

1
What is a sensor?
• Formal definition: “A device that receives and
responds to a signal or stimulus” (American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language)
• Informally, a sensor is a device that takes in
information from the outside world. Based on the
information, the sensor creates a signal on which a
system can base a decision
– A sensor, thus, has an input and an output

2
What is a sensor? (cont.)
• In our case, a sensor will measure some
physical quantity and convert it into some
electrical signal (e.g., a voltage)
• It is our job to quantify the properties of the
sensor
• In theory, you would also want to do
something intelligent based on the signal
(turn on a heater, sound an alarm, pass/fail
an industrial part, etc)
3
Characterizing Sensors
• What are some important quantities to know about a
sensor?
– Sensitivity
– Resolution
– Accuracy
– Repeatability
– Reliability
– Response function
– Dynamic range
– Noise characteristics

4
Sensing Systems
• What advantages do sensors have over using a human?
– Repeatability - a sensor’s output is very stable over time
whereas a human may suffer from fatigue
– Reliability - a sensor usually won’t need breaks,
vacations, etc…
– Harsh environments - a sensor can operate in many
environments that humans would complain about
– Sensitivity - sensors can be significantly more sensitive
than the corresponding human sense (although not
always!)

5
Traffic Control System

A coil of wire sits underneath the


pavement creating a magnetic field
A control system monitors the current
When a large conducting mass sits on
top of the coil, it will change the current
measured through mutual induction
Turn light to green when the
current changes

System to
monitor
Current current

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