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Activity 1: Please provide an explanation/definition for all of the

following sensors:
Temperature, Voltage, Current, Distance, Position, Force, Pressure,
Humidity, Ligh, PH, Contact, Sound Infrared
Temperature sensor- is a device, typically, a thermocouple or RTD
that provides for temperature measurement through an electrical
signal. A thermocouple (T/C) is made from two dissimilar metals
that generate electrical voltage in direct proportion to changes in
temperature.
Voltage sensor- typically convert lower voltages to higher
voltages, or vice versa. One example is a general OperationalAmplifier (Op-Amp) which accepts a low voltage, amplifies it, and
generates a higher voltage output.
Current sensor- is a device that detects electric current (AC or DC)
in a wire, and generates a signal proportional to it. The generated
signal could be analog voltage or current or even digital output.
Distance sensor- The sensor emits an ultrasonic pulse and is
captured by a receiver. Since the speed of sound is almost
constant in air, which is 344m/s, the time between send and
receive is calculated to give the distance between your robot and
the obstacle.
Position sensor- is any device that permits position measurement.
It can either be an absolute position sensor or a relative one
(displacement sensor). Position sensors can be linear, angular, or
multi-axis.
Force sensor- Dynamic force is the amount of acceleration
required to move an object. Measuring this dynamic force using
an accelerometer tells you the velocity/speed at which your robot
is moving. We can also measure vibration of a robot using an
accelerometer,
Pressure sensor- As the name suggests, pressure sensor
measures pressure. Tactile pressure sensors are useful in robotics
as they are sensitive to touch, force and pressure. If you design a

robot hand and need to measure the amount of grip and pressure
required to hold an object, then this is what you would want to
use.
Humidity sensor- The relative humidity of an air-water mixture is
defined as the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor (H2O) in
the mixture to the saturated vapor pressure of water at a given
temperature. Thus the relative humidity of air is a function of both
water content and temperature.
Light sensor- light sensors measure the amount of light impacting
a photocell, which is basically a resistive sensor. The resistance of
a photocell is low when it is brightly illuminated, i.e., when it is
very light; it is high when it is dark. In that sense, a light sensor is
really a "dark" sensor.
PH sensor- is a device used for potentiometric measuring the pH,
which is either the concentration or the activity of hydrogen ions,
of an aqueous solution. It usually has a glass electrode plus a
calomel reference electrode, or a combination electrode.
Contract sensor- are those which require physical contact against
other objects to trigger. A push button switch, limit switch or
tactile bumper switch are all examples of contact sensors. Limit
Switch these sensors are mostly used for obstacle avoidance
robots. When these switches hit an obstacle, it triggers the robot
to do a task, which can be reversing, turning, switching on a LED,
Stopping etc.
Sound Infrared sensor- this sensor (generally a microphone)
detects sound and returns a voltage proportional to the sound
level. Sound Sensor a simple robot can be designed to navigate
based on the sound it receives. Imagine a robot which turns right
for one clap and turns left for two claps.

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