Sensors for Mechatronics, 2nd Edition

1

Introduction

Abstract

This introductory chapter gives a general view on sensors. In the first section, the sensor’s functionality, sensor nomenclature, and global properties are presented, as a prelude to a more in-depth discussion about sensor performance and operation principles in subsequent chapters. According to the amount of information the output signal may contain, three categories of sensor are distinguished and each briefly discussed: binary, analogue, and image sensors. The latter category comprises optical, acoustic, and tactile image sensors. The second section presents a general approach to the selection process of sensors for a specified application. The last section introduces a platform for sensor architectures in an embedded ...