Sensors and Signal Conditioning
EMB 210 introduces students to the fundamental concepts of sensors and transducers, exploring how different physical phenomena are converted into electrical signals for processing within embedded systems. The course delves into the operational principles, characteristics, advantages, and limitations of common sensor types, including temperature, pressure, proximity, light, and motion sensors, among others. Students will learn how to select appropriate sensors for specific applications based on criteria such as accuracy, range, resolution, and environmental factors. A significant portion of the course is dedicated to signal conditioning, which involves processing raw sensor outputs to make them suitable for analog-to-digital conversion and microcontroller input. Topics include amplification, filtering, impedance matching, linearization, and conversion techniques. Practical hands-on exercises will enable students to design, build, and test signal conditioning circuits using operational amplifiers and passive components, integrating these with microcontrollers to acquire and interpret sensor data.
Prerequisites
Course outline
Lectures, virtual labs, and graded assignments — completed in your browser.
Syllabus
### Course Outcomes Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 1. Identify and describe the operating principles, characteristics, and applications of various common sensor types. 2. Select appropriate sensors for specific embedded system applications based on performance requirements and environmental conditions. 3. Explain the purpose and apply fundamental signal conditioning techniques such as amplification, filtering, and impedance matching. 4. Design and implement basic analog and digital signal conditioning circuits using operational amplifiers and passive components. 5. Integrate sensors and signal conditioning circuits with microcontrollers to acquire, process, and display real-world data. 6. Troubleshoot and debug sensor interfaces and signal conditioning circuits. ### Weekly Topic List * **Week 1:** Introduction to Sensors and Transducers: Definitions, types, characteristics (range, resolution, accuracy, linearity, bandwidth). * **Week 2:** Temperature Sensors: Thermistors, thermocouples, RTDs, semiconductor temperature sensors (LM35). * **Week 3:** Pressure and Strain Sensors: Principles of operation, strain gauges, load cells, pressure transducers. * **Week 4:** Light and Optical Sensors: Photodiodes, photoresistors (LDRs), phototransistors, infrared sensors. * **Week 5:** Proximity and Displacement Sensors: Inductive, capacitive, ultrasonic, Hall effect sensors, encoders. * **Week 6:** Motion and Acceleration Sensors: Accelerometers, gyroscopes, magnetometers (MEMS sensors). * **Week 7:** Introduction to Signal Conditioning: Need for conditioning, basic concepts (noise, impedance). * **Week 8:** Amplification: Operational amplifiers (op-amps), inverting/non-inverting amplifiers, differential amplifiers, instrumentation amplifiers. * **Week 9:** Filtering: Passive and active filters (RC, RL, RLC), low-pass, high-pass, band-pass filters, filter design. * **Week 10:** Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC): ADC principles, types (SAR, sigma-delta), resolution, sampling rate, interfacing ADCs. * **Week 11:** Digital Signal Conditioning & Interfacing: Basic digital filters, debouncing, interfacing sensors with digital outputs (e.g., switches, encoders). * **Week 12:** Sensor Networking & Data Acquisition: Basic sensor bus protocols (I2C, SPI, UART), data logging. * **Week 13:** Comprehensive Midterm Review. * **Week 14:** Final Review. ### Grading Policy * Knowledge Checks: 15% * Assignments/Labs: 30% * Quizzes: 25% * Final Exam: 30% ### Required Materials * Textbook: *Practical Sensor Interfacing with Microcontrollers* (specific edition to be announced) * Online simulation software (e.g., Tinkercad Circuits, LTSpice) * Development board (e.g., Arduino Uno or equivalent microcontroller kit with breadboard, wires, passive components) * Assorted sensors (e.g., thermistor, photoresistor, ultrasonic sensor, push buttons, potentiometer) * Multimeter