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Lahore Garrison University
Internet of Things
Sensors and their Working
Sensors and Actuators
• Sensors:
– They are mainly input components
– They sense and collect surrounding information
• Actuators:
– They are mainly output components
– They alter the surrounding
Sensors
• A sensor is a device that receives a stimulus and
responds with an electrical signal.
Actuators
• Hardware devices that convert a controller
command signal into a change in a physical
parameter
– The change is usually mechanical (e.g., position or
velocity)
– An actuator is also a transducer because it changes
one type of physical quantity into some alternative
form
– An actuator is usually activated by a low-level
command signal, so an amplifier may be required to
provide sufficient power to drive the actuator
Types of Actuators
1. Electrical actuators
– Electric motors
• DC servomotors
• AC motors
• Stepper motors
– Solenoids
2. Hydraulic actuators
– Use hydraulic fluid to amplify the controller
command signal
3. Pneumatic actuators
– Use compressed air as the driving force
Computer Process Control System
Transformation Process
Continuous and Discrete Continuous and Discrete
Parameters Variables
Actuator Sensors
s
DAC ADC
Computer
Controller
Output Devices Input Devices
What is a Stimulus?
• Motion, position, • Sound
displacement • Moisture
• Velocity and • Light
acceleration • Radiation
• Force, strain • Temperature
• Pressure • Chemical presence
• Flow
Visual Sensor Ultrasound Sensor Infrared Sensor
Sensor as Energy Converter
• This conversion can be direct or it may require
transducers
• Example:
– A chemical sensor may have a part which converts the
energy of a chemical reaction into heat (transducer)
and another part, a thermopile, which converts heat
into an electrical signal
Physical characteristics of Sensing
• Charges, fields, & • Heat transfer
potentials • Light
• Capacitance
• Magnetism
• Induction
• Resistance
Sensor Types: HW & SW
• Hardware-based sensors
– Physical components built into a device
– They derive their data by directly measuring specific
environmental properties
• Software-based sensors
– Not physical devices, although they mimic
hardware-based sensors
– They derive their data from one or more
hardware-based sensors
Sensor List of Smartphones
Sensor Function Type Software-based or
Hardware-based
Accelerometer Motion Sensor Hardware-based
Gyroscope Motion Sensor Hardware-based
Gravity Motion Sensor Software-based
Rotation Vector Motion Sensor Software-based
Proximity Position Sensor Hardware-based
GPS Position Sensor Hardware-based
Orientation Position Sensor Software-based
Light Environmental Sensor Hardware-based
Thermometer Environmental Sensor Hardware-based
Barometer Environmental Sensor Hardware-based
Humidity Environmental Sensor Hardware-based
Accelerometer
• An accelerometer is a sensor which measures the
tilting motion and orientation of a mobile phone. The
Apple iPhone was the first popular mobile phone to
make the accelerometer a key feature of its user
interface.
• An accelerometer is an electromechanical device that will
measure acceleration forces. These forces may be static,
like the constant force of gravity pulling at your feet, or
they could be dynamic - caused by moving or vibrating
the accelerometer.
• What are accelerometers useful for?
GyroScope
• Gyro sensors, also known as angular
rate sensors or angular
velocity sensors, are devices that sense
angular velocity. Angular velocity. In
simple terms, angular velocity is the
change in rotational angle per unit of
time. Angular velocity is generally
expressed in deg/s (degrees per second).
Orientation Sensor
As the Orientation sensor & Gravity sensors
are less accurate, they cost low. So, they are used
in low-cost android phone. Auto-rotation is a
software in Android which gets the information
from Accelerometer and changes your
screen orientation.
Pressure sensors
• These sensors are used in IoT systems to monitor systems and
devices that are driven by pressure signals. When the pressure
range is beyond the threshold level, the device alerts the user
about the problems that should be fixed. For example,
BMP180 is a popular digital pressure sensor for use in mobile
phones, PDAs, GPS navigation devices and outdoor
equipment. Pressure sensors are also used in smart vehicles
and aircrafts to determine force and altitude, respectively. In
vehicle, tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS) is used to
alert the driver when tyre pressure is too low and could create
unsafe driving conditions
• Applications: Pressure sensors are used in touch screen
devices, weather monitoring devices and in automotive
industry.
Barometer
• Air pressure
• the barometer is probably used on the phone to
aid in correcting altitude measurements by the
GPS." ... The atmospheric pressure is directly
related to elevation, so a barometer can very
easily be used as an altimeter, measuring your
altitude
IOT and Sensors
• In many cases, IoT devices are dependent on sensors
to sense what is going on in the world and then the
data is processed to continue the work. These
sensors are most important part of devices and
hence used extensively in IoT setup. In this article,
we will discuss some of the commonly used types of
sensors and what they are used for.
Some common types of IoT sensors
1. Temperature sensors
• These devices measure the amount of heat energy generated from an
object or surrounding area. They find application in air-conditioners,
refrigerators and similar devices used for environmental control. They
are also used in manufacturing processes, agriculture and health
industry.
• Temperature sensors can be used almost in every IoT environment, from
manufacturing to agriculture. In manufacturing, sensors are used to
monitor the temperature of machines. In agriculture, these can be used
to monitor the temperature of soil, water and plants.
• Temperature sensors include thermocouples, thermistors, resistor
temperature detectors (RTDs) and integrated circuits (ICs). Some
common types of temperature sensors are shown in figure.
2. Humidity sensors
• The amount of water vapors in air, or humidity, can affect
human comfort as well as many manufacturing processes in
industries. Monitoring humidity level is important. Most used
units for humidity measurement are relative humidity (RH),
dew/frost point (D/F PT) and parts per million (PPM).
• Applications: Humidity sensors are mostly used in
thermostats and other weather related IoT Devices.
3. Motion sensors
• Motion sensors are not only used for security purposes but
also in automatic door controls, automatic parking systems,
automated sinks, automated toilet flushers, hand dryers,
energy management systems, etc. You use these sensors in
the IoT and monitor them from your smartphone or
computer. HC-SR501 passive infrared (PIR) sensor is a popular
motion sensor for hobby projects.
Motion sensors working
•
Interfacing with Arduino
Interfacing PIR with Ardiuno
Gas sensors
• These sensors are used to detect toxic gases. The sensing
technologies most commonly used are electrochemical,
photo-ionisation and semiconductor. With technical advancements
and new specifications, there are a multitude of gas sensors
available to help extend the wired and wireless connectivity
deployed in IoT applications.
Gas sensors Interfacing
Smoke sensors
• Smoke detectors have been in use in homes and
industries for quite a long time. With the advent
of the IoT, their application has become more
convenient and user-friendly. Furthermore,
adding a wireless connection to smoke detectors
enables additional features that increase safety
and convenience.
Optical Sensors
• Optical sensors have been a great use in digital
cameras for years. Optical Sensors can emit, receive
and convert the light energy into digital signals.
These sensors work by detecting electromagnetic
energy and then sending the results to processing
units. As digital cameras are one of the most
important physical devices in IoT, Optical sensors
are sure to have continued applications in the future.
• Applications: Among other places, Optical Sensors
are used in mining operations, oil refineries and
chemical plants.
Image sensors
• These sensors are found in digital cameras,
medical imaging systems, night-vision
equipment, thermal imaging devices, radars,
sonars, media house and biometric systems. In
the retail industry, these sensors are used to
monitor customers visiting the store through IoT
network. In offices and corporate buildings, they
are used to monitor employees and various
activities through IoT networks.
Image Sensors
IR sensors
• These sensors can measure the heat emitted by
objects. They are used in various IoT projects
including healthcare to monitor blood flow and
blood pressure, smartphones to use as remote
control and other functions, wearable devices to
detect amount of light, thermometers to monitor
temperature and blind-spot detection in
vehicles.
•
IR sensors
IR sensors
• For Data Communication
IR sensors
• RC5 Communication Protocol
RC5 Communication Protocol
RC5 Communication Protocol
https://github.com/z3t0/Arduino-IRremote
• An infrared sensor is a sensor which is used to sense certain characteristics of its surroundings by
either emitting or detecting infrared radiation. It is also capable of measuring the heat being
emitted by the objects. Asahi Kasei Microdevices (AKM), Murata, Melexis MLX90614, Intersil
ISL29021 are among the few IOT IR sensors used in industries.
• They are now used in a variety of IoT projects, especially in Healthcare as they make monitoring of
blood flow and blood pressure simple. They are even used in a wide array of regular smart devices
such as smart watches and smartphones as well. Other common use includes home appliances &
remote control, breath analysis, infrared vision (i.e., visualize heat leaks in electronics, monitor
blood flow, art historians to see under layers of paint), wearable electronics, optical
communication, non-contact based temperature measurements, automotive blind-angle
detection.
• Therefore, sensors can collect critical information about the environment, allowing for early
detection of environmental disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis, etc., thus saving lives. Again,
better surveillance and tracking tools allow authorities to detect when crime has occurred and
respond much faster, keeping citizens safer.
• In today’s “smart” world, sensors play an important role in our everyday life and in IoT. Sensors
monitor our health status (e.g., a heartbeat), air quality, home security, and are widely used in the
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) to monitor production processes. Sensors can collect critical
information about the environment, allowing for early detection of environmental disasters like
earthquakes, tsunamis, etc., thus saving lives. IoT enables heightened surveillance, monitoring,
and detection, which all combine to improve health and increase safety. This is particularly
interesting for organizations like local or city governments, which need to ensure the health and
safety of their residents, but also extends to large businesses supporting their employees.
• Proximity sensors
• These sensors detect the presence or absence of a
nearby object without any physical contact. Different
types of proximity sensors are inductive, capacitive,
photoelectric, ultrasonic and magnetic. These are
mostly used in object counters, process monitoring
and control.
• Applications: These sensors are mostly used in
retail industry, parking and museums etc. for safety
and security.
Ultrasonic sensor
Magnetic Contact Sensor
Usefulness of sensors
• Attaching sensors to things and interconnecting them via Internet allows
organizations to track real-time locations, monitor performance, improve
workflows, and optimize utilization. Examples: A “smart” boating solution
enables boat owners to check in on their boat(s) from afar and make sure all
systems are functioning correctly.And, a car tracking solution allows personnel
at the auction locations to quickly locate the vehicle(s) they’re looking for,
rather than manually search through thousands of parked cars.
• Smart irrigation systems serves as one of the numerous best examples of use
of sensors and IoT. Sensors sense soil moisture and helps decide whether to
water soil or not. If the irrigation system receives information about the
weather from its internet connection, it can also know when it’s going to rain
and decide not to water the crops today because they’ll be watered by the rain
anyways.
• Thus, sensors serve a big role to establish IoT. The various types of sensors
used inIoT may be discussed as follows:
Anatomy of a Wireless Sensor Node
• Whether you’re designing a wearable device, an
interactive lighting system, or even a jet engine, the
building blocks of an IoT device are remarkably similar.
Here are the three main components for a wireless
sensor node:
• Sensors – gather information about the environment
and condition signals before transmitting to the
microprocessor.
• Microcontrollers – process the signal from sensors,
determine appropriate responses, manage power
consumption and local memory.
• Communication – wireless chips, radio modules and
protocols needed to transmit the information between
devices and to the cloud.
• For some applications, like a home thermostat, taking sensor readings and
making adjustments several times an hour is sufficient. The room temperatures
will not change very rapidly and it will take the sensors several minutes to
register a change. Other applications, like a conveyor belt in an automated
factory, could require frequent monitoring. A sudden change in the load could
cause its motor to groan and smoke if quick adjustments are not made. No
matter what you're designing, having a clear understanding of the application
and the environmental factors is essential to selecting the right components for
the job.
• In each of these examples, the task of the sensors, microcontrollers and
communications circuitry is very much the same:
• Sensors take readings of the temperature produced by the HVAC system
(heating, ventilation, air conditioning), or the conveyor belt speed produced by
the motor drivers. The signal conditioning circuitry amplify (and, often,
linearize) the output of the sensors so that it can be read by the microcontroller.
• Microcontrollers process the sensor readings to monitor and react to a room’s
temperature or to asses a conveyor belt’s speed and adjust the motor’s controls.
• Communication components use its connection to cloud computing resources to
further analyze the data generated by the conveyor belt sensors, or to share the
updated temperature to a homeowner’s mobile app.
• Regardless of what type of sensors are employed (ambient light, environmental
temperature, motor speed, etc.), regardless of the processor bit-width of the
microcontroller (8-, 16- or 32-bit), regardless of the communications loop (WiFi,
ZigBee, or Bluetooth), the sequence of collecting and evaluating data from a
remote sensor loop remains mostly the same.
• How IoT Sensor Nodes Work
• No matter what a sensor node is used for, it will likely spend
much of its time asleep – as much as 95% of it, in fact. A
change in the sensor’s environment – such as movement,
temperature, pressure – will bring the sensor to life. This will
wake the microcontroller, which will search its memory for
something familiar to assess “What have we got here?”
• Most of the time the answer will be something to the effect of
“nothing to worry about.” The processor will inform whatever
is attached to its communications port and go back to sleep.
This chain reaction will be much pretty the same, regardless of
whether a system is controlling a smart oven’s temperature,
monitoring an industrial machine tool, or checking on your
home’s security with a smartphone.
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Lecture Outcomes
► How sensors and actuators can made a simple real world thing to a system and than a
system to an I-o-Things
► Working of Sensors and actuators
Lahore Garrison University
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References
These lecture notes were made from following source:
► Internet of Things Principals and Paradigms by Rajkumar Buyya, imprint of Elsevier
Lahore Garrison University
Reference for Further Study
• Hardware solutions
• https://www.postscapes.com/trackers/video/the
-internet-of-things-and-sensors-and-actuators/
• Connection of sensors with hardware solutions
• https://dzone.com/articles/introduction-to-iot-s
ensors
