ECE Elective 3: Robotics and Sensors

Sensor Definition and Functions

• A sensor is a device that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment.
• The function of a pressure sensor is to convert physical pressure into an electrical signal that can be measured.
• A stimulus is any change in the environment that provokes a response from a sensor.

Robotics Components

• A translator in robotics is a device that converts one form of energy or information into another.
• A controller in robotics is a device that directs the actions of other components.
• An actuator in a robotics system is a component that performs a specific action in response to a signal from the controller.

Sensor Technology

• Most pressure, force, and airflow sensors are fabricated using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.
• A typical sensor chip is about the size of a fingernail.
• Absolute pressure sensors measure pressure relative to a perfect vacuum.
• Gauge pressure sensors provide a measurement relative to atmospheric pressure.
• Differential pressure sensors measure the difference in pressure between two points.

Pressure Sensor Types

• Bourdon tube sensors employ a helical or C-shaped sensing element instead of a hollow capsule.

Materials and Fabrication

• Silicon is commonly used in the fabrication of most pressure, force, and airflow sensors.

Digital Electronics

• The binary number 111111110010 converts to hexadecimal as FE2.
• The decoded message from the ASCII sequence 101001110101001010101100010010110010100000100100010000011010 is "Hello".
• A single hex digit in digital electronics is also known as a nibble.
• The decimal number 59.7 converts to Binary-Coded Decimal (BCD) format as 0101 1001.1100.
• The hexadecimal number 1A3 converts to binary as 0001 1010 0011.
• The decimal equivalent of the binary number 101011 is 43.
• The octal equivalent of the binary number 010111100 is 274.
• The BCD number for decimal 347 is 0011 0100 0111.
• An ASCII character is represented by 7 or 8 bits.
• When using even parity, the parity bit is placed at the end of the data bits.
• An analog signal with a range from 0 to 5V has 2^∞ possible values.
• The decimal equivalent of the hexadecimal letters A through F are 10 through 15.
• The resultant binary of the decimal problem 49 + 01 is 110001.
• The Gray code equivalent of the binary number 1100 is 1101.
• The invalid BCD code is 1010.
• An informational signal that makes use of binary digits is considered to be digital.