Determine the types of Sensors
Different types of sensors are used to give real time information to computers. Frequently, an analogue to digital converter (ADC) is required as sensor data is often in analogue form and computers can only process digital data. The below is a list of common sensors and illustrations of applications that make use of these sensors:
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Sensor type
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Possible applications
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temperature
|
(1)
(2)
|
used in controlling central heating systems
used to control/monitor temperatures in chemical processes
|
|
moisture
|
(1)
(2)
|
monitoring of greenhouse environment
any process where moisture is an issue (e.g. production of tablets in a pharmaceutical company)
|
|
oxygen
|
(1)
|
environment (e.g. measuring oxygen content in a river to check for pollution)
|
|
light
|
(1)
(2)
(3)
|
growth control in a greenhouse
traffic lights to detect the presence of a vehicle
on automatic doors to detect the presence of a person
|
|
infra-red
|
(1)
(2)
|
detecting an intruder by breaking an infra-red beam
counting (e.g. counting coins as each one breaks the beam)
|
|
pressure
|
(1)
(2)
|
detecting intruders in a burglar alarm system
some systems still use these to count vehicles on the road
|
|
acoustic
|
(1)
(2)
|
picks up sound (e.g. burglar alarm system)
detecting liquids moving in pipes (chemical processes)
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|
motion
|
(1)
|
detecting speed (e.g. radar guns measuring vehicle speed)
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|
pH
|
(1)
(2)
(3)
|
used to measure acidity in rivers (pollution monitoring)
used in greenhouses to monitor soil acidity
used to monitor/control chemical process where acidity levels are important
|
|
proximity/distance
|
(1)
|
these tend to be versions of the above (e.g. light or infra-red)
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