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2 Selecting a microplatform | IOT2x Courseware | edX

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Sensors and actuators

As we have seen, sensors and actuators are the way our IoT solutions interact with the
world.

Sensors

In order to make use of the information detected by sensors, it is necessary to convert

these measurements into digital readings.

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Data Acquisition (DAQ) is the process of measuring real-world

conditions and converting these measurements into digital readings at
xed-time intervals (the data sample rate).

We also need to apply some form of signal conditioning to lter usable data from the
signals (i.e. remove noise) and scale raw sensor readings. Data is often read by
analogue-to-digital converters (e.g. a temperature sensor) and actuators controlled by
digital to analogue converters (e.g. motors).

When selecting a micro for our prototype system, the resolution of the sensor and
the required accuracy of our solution must be considered.

The resolution of a sensor represents the smallest amount of change

that the sensor can reliably read, and is related to the size of the
numeric value that is used to represent raw sensor readings.

As an example, consider if we want to measure the temperature of a solution in a

chemical process to within 0.1 degrees Celsius.

If we use an analogue temperature sensor with a range of 0-100 degrees, we

would require a 10 bit ADC to meet our requirements for accuracy.

10 bits of resolution can represent a numeric value between 0 and 1023.

Bits are binary, so 10 bits provides 210, or 1024 possible values.

100 degrees divided by 1024 ‘increments’ equals 0.098 degrees accuracy.

Therefore our development board would require an ADC of at least 10 bits

resolution.

In practical systems, sensors are a ected by electrical noise, which usually requires us
to build in a higher resolution than the minimum illustrated here.

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Actuators
While sensors convert an environmental variable (temperature, humidity, etc.) into an
electrical signal, output devices or actuators convert an electrical signal to a
physical action. Output devices include LEDs, speakers, screens, and actuators such as
motors or solenoids that move or control things in the physical world.

When designing a system, we need to consider the ports necessary to drive these
devices.

For example, if we wish to move a servo motor to indicate the temperature read in our
chemical reaction above, we must ensure that our development platform has a Pulse
Width Modulated (PWM) pin.

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