1. Classification of Sensors
A common question is, "Can this data acquisition card measure pressure sensors?" To answer this, we first need to understand sensor classification. Sensors can be classified in many ways. Because users focus on their research area, they are often classified by the type of physical quantity being measured: pressure sensors, temperature sensors, humidity sensors, displacement sensors, acceleration sensors, etc. However, this classification method is not convenient for selecting data acquisition equipment. When selecting data acquisition equipment, it is necessary to focus on the sensor's output type. Based on the type of data output, sensors can be classified as follows: voltage type, current type, resistance type, capacitance type, frequency type, pulse type, encoder type, etc. A sensor is a detection device that can sense the measured information and convert this information into electrical signals or other required forms of information output according to certain rules to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, recording, and control.
The existence and development of sensors have endowed objects with sensory functions similar to those of humans, such as touch, taste, and smell, thus making objects more active and functional. Sensors typically consist of a sensing element and a conversion element, which can detect and convert various physical quantities, such as temperature, light, color, air pressure, magnetic force, velocity, and acceleration. They can also utilize changes in semiconductor materials or biological substances (such as enzymes and microorganisms) for detection.
In addition, sensors play an important role in automatic detection and automatic control, and are a crucial link in realizing these technologies.
A sensor (English name: transducer/sensor) is a detection device that can sense the information being measured and transform that information into an electrical signal or other required form of information output according to a certain rule, in order to meet the requirements of information transmission, processing, storage, display, recording, and control. The existence and development of sensors have given objects senses such as touch, taste, and smell, making them feel alive; sensors are an extension of human senses. Sensors are characterized by miniaturization, digitization, intelligence, multifunctionality, systematization, and networking. They are the primary link in realizing automatic detection and automatic control. The national standard GB7665-87 defines a sensor as: "A device or apparatus that can sense a specified measurand and convert it into a usable signal according to a certain rule (mathematical function law), usually composed of a sensitive element and a conversion element." The China Internet of Things Industry-University Alliance believes that the existence and development of sensors have given objects senses such as touch, taste, and smell, making them feel alive. The new Webster's Dictionary defines a sensor as: "A device that receives power from one system and usually transmits power to a second system in another form."
A sensor is a component or device that converts collected information into signals that a device can process. Just as humans act based on information obtained through sight, hearing, smell, and touch, devices also use information from sensors for control or processing. The signals (physical quantities) collected and converted by sensors include temperature, light, color, air pressure, magnetic force, speed, and acceleration, which utilize changes in semiconductor matter. In addition, there are biosensors that utilize biological substances such as enzymes and microorganisms. There are over 30,000 types of sensors. To fully understand sensors requires traversing almost all industrial sectors, a task akin to identifying countless stars in the sky. Common types of sensors include: temperature sensors, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, displacement sensors, flow sensors, liquid level sensors, force sensors, acceleration sensors, and torque sensors.
2. How important are sensors?
Sensors are at the forefront of all industrial products, serving as the first line of defense for perceiving the physical world. These sensors provide real-time monitoring, including the detection and reporting required by processes. Data monitored and collected by sensors is transmitted for control and analysis, and electrical signals emitted by sensors report any anomalies in specific properties. In this way, sensors can improve process efficiency and product quality while ensuring processes conform to best practices. Therefore, without numerous high-quality sensors, modern production would lack a foundation.
According to Tedland Electronics, the key features of sensors include: improved data acquisition sensitivity, near-lossless transmission, and continuous, real-time analysis. Real-time feedback and data analysis services ensure processes are active and executed optimally.
The continuous development of sensing technology has given rise to today's smart sensors. Unlike traditional analog sensors without active components, smart sensors contain circuitry that allows them to perform measurements and output values as digital data. These sensors have embedded microprocessor units and numerous sensing devices mounted on signal converters. Smart sensors are capable of performing many inherent intelligent functions, such as self-testing, self-verification, self-adaptation, and self-identification. They understand process requirements, manage various conditions, and can detect conditions to support real-time decision-making. These smart sensors are programmed for a variety of process conditions, enabling operators to obtain maximum benefit.
China, the United States, Germany, and other countries worldwide have listed sensors as a major future science and technology project, demonstrating their importance and the desire for technological breakthroughs in this area. The World Federation of Chambers of Commerce has even remarked: "Whoever controls sensors will control the new era."
3. The sensor market maintained rapid growth.
From 2012 to 2021, my country's industrial added value increased from 20.9 trillion yuan to 37.3 trillion yuan. Calculated at constant prices, the industrial added value grew at an average annual rate of 6.3%, far exceeding the average annual growth rate of about 2% for global industrial added value during the same period. The added value of the manufacturing industry increased from 16.98 trillion yuan to 31.4 trillion yuan, and its share of the global total rose from 22.5% to nearly 30%.
The rapid increase in industrial added value driven by the Internet of Things (IoT) relies heavily on powerful sensors. In the information age, sensors are widely used in industrial production, marine exploration, environmental protection, resource surveys, and medical diagnosis. By 2025, the economic benefits brought by the IoT are projected to be between $2.7 trillion and $6.2 trillion, with sensors, as the most important data acquisition entry point for IoT technology, poised for significant growth.
my country's strategy to become a manufacturing powerhouse also relies heavily on the support of powerful sensors! According to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), the Chinese sensor market has maintained rapid growth in recent years. In 2019, the Chinese sensor market continued to grow, reaching a total market size of 218.88 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 12.7%. In 2021, the market size reached 295.18 billion yuan, with a growth rate of 17.6%.
As a distributor of sensors for Maojie Semiconductor, Tedland Electronics is keenly aware of the enormous potential of the future sensor market. We must proactively position ourselves in the sensor field to achieve mutual benefit and win-win cooperation with our users, providing high-quality sensor products and technical services.
A sensor is a device, module, or subsystem.
sensor:
Sensors detect events or changes in the environment and transmit the information to other electronic devices, typically computer processors. They are used in many areas of manufacturing and machinery, aircraft and aerospace, automotive, medicine, robotics, and everyday life. The applications of sensors have expanded beyond traditional temperature, pressure, or flow measurement fields, such as the MARG sensor. An increasing number of sensors are being manufactured into miniature sensors using microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.
Sensor deviation:
If the output signal differs from the correct value by a constant, the sensor has an offset error or deviation, which is the error of the intercept of the linear transfer function y; if the sensor has a digital output, the output is essentially an approximation of the measured attribute, called quantization error; the sensor may be sensitive to attributes other than the measured attribute to some extent; noise is the random deviation of the signal over time. All deviations can be classified as systematic errors or random errors.
Miniature sensors:
This refers to a sensor with at least one physical dimension in the sub-millimeter range. Microsensors are sensors with extremely small dimensions, mainly achieved by using precision machining, microelectronics, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies to reduce sensor size; microsensors are integrated sensors formed by packaging tiny sensing elements, signal processors, and data processing devices onto a single chip; including microactuators that can work independently, and sensor networks composed of multiple microsensors that can achieve remote networking.
