Sensors and Transducers

NCR Confidential 1
 Sensor and Transducer

What is a sensor ?
Sensor is a physical device which senses and measures physical quantities and
converts them into electrical signals.
What is a transducer ?
A transducer is a device which converts one form of energy to another form of
energy for the purpose of measurement or information transfer .

NCR Confidential 2
Ideal Sensor

An ideal sensor must obey the following rules

1. It must be sensitive to the measured property.
2. It must be in sensitive to any other property.
3. It must not influence the measured property.
4. The output signal of the sensor must be linearly proportional to the value of
the measured property.

NCR Confidential 3
Properties of sensors

1. Range of the sensor.

Fixed interval of output.
2. Sensitivity.
How change in input is mapped to change in output.
3. Speed
Time interval between reading input and presenting output.
4. Stability
How vulnerable it is to noise.

NCR Confidential 4
Sensor deviations

1. Sensitivity error :-The sensitivity may in practice differ from the value
specified, but the sensor is still linear.
2. Sensor Offset:-If the output signal is not zero when the measured property is
zero, the sensor has an offset or bias.
3. Nonlinearity :- If the sensitivity is not constant over the range of the sensor,
this is called nonlinearity.
4. Drift:- If the output signal slowly changes independent of the measured
property.
5. Noise:- Noise is an unwanted random addition to wanted signal.
6. Digitization error:-If the sensor has a digital output, the output is essentially
an approximation of the measured property. The approximation error is also
called digitization error.

NCR Confidential 5
Classification of sensors

Sensors are basically classified into two types

1. Passive sensors
2. Active sensors
Passive sensors :-
- Stimulus (physical property being measured) comes from the environment.
Active sensors :-
- Provide their own signal /stimulus and use its interaction with the environment as the
property being measured.
- Require more energy.

NCR Confidential 6
Optical sensors- IR sensors

IR-Rays

Position
Proximity Encoders Switches
measurement

NCR Confidential 7
 Position measurement and Proximity sensing
by IR

Position measurement
And
Proximity sensing

Heat sensing and

Triangulation method
Tracking

IR reflector

IR Emitter IR receiver

NCR Confidential 8
IR Emitters IR receivers
Circuit
Breakers
IR switches and Encoders

IR Emitter IR Receiver

Circuit
Breaker IR Rotary Encoder

NCR Confidential 9
Electro Magnetic sensors - Hall effect

Hall Effect

Proximity switching Position and

Distance
- Magnets and Reed measurements
switches

Encoders

NCR Confidential 10
Thank you

NCR Confidential 11