HAWASSA UNIVERSITY INSTISTUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

School of Electrical & Computer

Engineering
Post graduate program in Control & Instrumentation Engineering

Course title: Transducers and Actuators

Assignment -1

Smart sensors construction operation and application

Submitted by ID No.
YESHIWAS FETENE ………………………………..PGConR/009/10

Submitted to: Mr. Dessie Fentaw

Submitted on: JAN 03/2017 G.C.
Hawassa, Ethiopia

I
Contents Page
Cover page ................................................................................................................................................................ I

1.1 Introduction about Smart Sensors .......................................................................................................... 1

1.2 What is Smart Sensor & What are They Capable of?........................................................................ 1

1.3 Construction and Operation of Smart Sensors ................................................................................... 5

1.3.1 Basic building blocks of smart sensor ........................................................................................... 6

1.3.2 Operation Principle ............................................................................................................................... 6

1.3.3 General architecture of smart sensors .......................................................................................... 7

1.4 Applications ..................................................................................................................................................... 8

Conclusion................................................................................................................................................................ 9

References ............................................................................................................................................................ 10

II
 1.1 Introduction about Smart Sensors
Advancement in silicon technology has made great contribution to the development of equipment
with the following very important qualities of materials in this era.

 Single chip solution

 Very small size
 Less space in configuration
 Work with small signals

The word smart has been added as prefix to many things that are perceived to possess some form
of intelligence. The term smart sensor was adopted in the mid-1980s in the sensor fields to
differentiate this class of sensors from conventional sensors and its development is parallel with
the advances in silicon technology. A conventional sensor measures a physical, biological, or
chemical parameters, such as displacement, acceleration, pressure, temperature, humidity, oxygen,
or carbon monoxide content, and converts them into an electrical signal, either voltage or current.
However, a smart sensor with some form of intelligence, provided by an additional microcontroller
unit or microprocessor, can convert this raw signal into a level or form which makes it more
convenient to use. This might include signal amplification, conditioning, processing, or
conversion. In addition, over time, smart functions were not only built into sensors, but applied to
actuators as well.

1.2 What is Smart Sensor & What are They Capable of?
A smart sensor is instrumented or integrated with signal conditioning and conversion and a
microcontroller or microprocessor to provide intelligent functions. Its output is migrating from an
analog to a digital format for added capability to communicate with a host or a network. They
inputs simply physical, biological or chemical variable and produce a proportional electrical
equivalent of the measurand in digital format when combined with interfacing electronic circuit.

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 1

Smart sensor are also capable of [4]:-
 Manipulation and computation of the sensor derived data
 Logic functions
 Two way communication
 Make decision

 Sensors +interfacing circuit=smart sensors

Figure 1: smart sensor

As sensors and actuators become more complex they provide support for various modes of
operation and interfacing. Some applications require additionally fault-tolerance and distributed
computing. Such high-level functionality can be achieved by adding an embedded microcontroller
to the classical sensor/actuator, which increases the ability to cope with complexity at a fair price.
In the machine vision field, a single compact unit which combines the imaging functions and the
complete image processing functions is often called a smart sensor.
They are often made using CMOS, VLSI technology and may contain MEMS device leading to
lower cost. They provide full digital output for easier interface or they may provide quasi-digital
outputs like PWM.
A smart sensor is a sensor with local processing power that enables it to react to local conditions
without having to refer back to a central controller. Smart sensors are usually at least twice as

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 2

accurate as non-smart devices, have reduced maintenance costs and require less wiring to the site
where they are used. In addition, long-term stability is improved, reducing the required calibration
frequency.
Sensors have traditionally been functionally simple devices that convert physical variables into
electrical signals or changes in electrical properties. While this functionality is an essential
starting-point, sensors need to add the following properties to perform and become smart [2].

 Very low power: so that it can survive for years without a battery change, or manage
with energy harvesting
 Robust: To minimize or eliminate maintenance
 Calibration capability: Self-calibration is very simple in some cases. Sensors with an
electrical output can use a known reference voltage level to carry out self-calibration.
Also, load-cell types of sensor, which are used in weighing systems, can adjust the
output reading to zero when there is no applied mass. In the case of other sensors, two
methods of self-calibration are possible, use of a look-up table and an interpolation
technique. Unfortunately, a look up table requires a large memory capacity to store
correction points. Also, a large amount of data has to be gathered from the sensor during
calibration. In consequence, the interpolation calibration technique is preferable. This
uses an interpolation method to calculate the correction required to any particular
measurement and only requires a small matrix of calibration points
 Self-diagnosis of faults: Smart sensors can also be well-suited to safety-critical
applications like detection of hazardous gas, fire or intruders.
Conditions in these environments can be harsh, and the sensors can be difficult to
access for maintenance or battery replacement - yet high reliability is critical.
Smart sensors perform self-diagnosis by monitoring internal signals for evidence of
faults. Whilst it is difficult to achieve a sensor that can carry out self-diagnosis of all
possible faults that might arise, it is often possible to make simple checks that detect
many of the more common faults. One example of self-diagnosis in a sensor is
measuring the sheath capacitance and resistance in insulated thermocouples to detect
breakdown of the insulation. Usually, a specific code is generated to indicate each type
of possible fault (e.g. a failing of insulation in a device). One difficulty that often arises

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 3

 in self-diagnosis is in differentiating between normal measurement deviations and
sensor faults. Some smart sensors overcome this by storing multiple measured values
around a set-point, calculating minimum and maximum expected values for the
measured quantity. Uncertainty techniques can be applied to measure the impact of a
sensor fault on measurement quality. This makes it possible in certain circumstances to
continue to use a sensor after it has developed a fault. A scheme for generating a
validity index has been proposed that indicates the validity and quality of a
measurement from a sensor.

 Automatic calculation of measurement accuracy and compensation for random

errors:
Many smart sensors can calculate measurement accuracy on-line by computing the
mean over a number of measurements and analyzing all factors affecting accuracy. This
averaging process also serves to greatly reduce the magnitude of random measurement
errors.

 Adjustment for measurement non-linarites: In the case of sensors that have a non-
linear relationship between the measured quantity and the sensor output, digital
processing can convert the output to a linear form, providing that the nature of the non-
linearity is known so that an equation describing it can be programmed into the sensor.
 Better Signal to Noise Ratio
The electrical output of most of the sensors is very weak and if this transmitted through
long wires at lot of noise may get coupled. But by employing smart sensor this problem
can be avoided.
 Analogue Input: Multiplexing of inputs can be done to avoid duplication of circuit. In
multiplexing inputs of same type and range are switched to a common front end. The
outputs of sensors are normalized before they are switched and a variable gain stage is
included after the multiplexer. This allows the sensitivity variations between the
different sensors to be accounted for by a common front-end. In addition to this an
offset adjustment is also included in the common front end. The variable gain stage
also offers an additional advantage where the input signals are to be sampled by analog

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 4

 to digital converter (ADC) with fixed reference points. Under such situation gain can
be increased at the lower end to increase the sensitivity.

 Data Conversion: In case of smart sensor most of the signal processing is done in
digital form. This is possible only when we have an ADC along with an anti-aliasing
filter. This is because most of the sensor output is in the analog form. Choice of ADC
depends on the resolution, bandwidth and complexity of anti-aliasing filter.

 Control processor: To provide greater flexibility and reduced complexity, a control

processor can be used. Control processor can do digital filtering. Another important
point is software development. Processor must allow writing codes in higher language
as it reduces the development time.

 Digital data bus interface: The controller embedded in the smart sensor supports
communications by digital data bus. The advantages of this are: Wiring is reduced
considerably Automatic calibration at production can be simplified.

More advanced features:

 Information from multiple sensors can be combined and correlated to infer conclusions
about latent problems. For example, temperature sensor and vibration sensor data can be
used to detect the onset of mechanical failure. In some cases, the two sensor functions are
available in one device; in others, the functions are combined in software to create a ‘soft’
sensor.

1.3 Construction and Operation of Smart Sensors

Design choice of smart sensor depends on the specific application for which the sensor is required
and also related to specific industry. Normally a smart sensor will utilize inputs form one or more
sensor elements either to generate an output signal or to generate a correction signals which are
applied to the primary output. This includes design of circuitry to take output of raw sensor
elements and generate compensated and linearized sensor output.
SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 5
 1.3.1 Basic building blocks of smart sensor

Figure 2: Block diagram representation of smart Sensor

1.3.2 Operation Principle

The basic architectural components of smart sensor node are shown in the figure above.

 Changes in parameters are sensed by sensing unit. Here the sensor may be one or more
depending on the type of quantity and area of application.
 The output of the sensor is weak to be used by the available processing units so we need
to amplify it by using proper amplifier circuit (signal conditioning circuit indicated on the
block diagram).
 Digital signals are generated by signal conditioning circuitry from electrical signals. Here
the analog signal is converted to appropriate samples by use of sample/hold circuitry.
Sampled signals are multiplexed together in order to use single medium for transmission.
Multiplexed signal is then sent to appropriate ADC circuitry.
 Output of ADC is given to processing units or application programs.
 Task processing is done by memory unit and communication with base station or sensors
or sinks in smart sensors is done by transceivers
 Detailed architecture of the block diagram is given below.

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 6

 1.3.3 General architecture of smart sensors

Figure 3: General architecture of smart sensor

Description:
Architecture of smart sensor is shown. In the architecture, 𝐴1 ,𝐴2 , …, 𝐴𝑛 and S/H1, S/H2…S/Hn
are the amplifiers and sample and hold circuit corresponding to different sensing element
respectively. So as to get a digital form of an analog signal the analog signal is periodically sampled
(its instantaneous value is acquired by circuit), and that constant value is held and is converted into
a digital words. Any type of ADC must contain or proceeded by, a circuit that holds the voltage at
the input to the ADC converter constant during the entire conversion time. Conversion times vary
widely, from nanoseconds (for flash ADCs) to microseconds (successive approximation ADC) to
hundreds of microseconds (for dual slope integrator ADCs). ADC starts conversion when it
receives start of conversion signal (SOC) from the processor and after conversion is over it gives
end of conversion signal to the processor. Outputs of all the sample and hold circuits are

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 7

multiplexed together so that we can use a single ADC, which will reduce the cost of the chip.
Offset compensation and correction comprises of an ADC for measuring a reference voltage and
other for the zero. Dedicating two channels of the multiplexer and using only one ADC for whole
system can avoid the addition of ADC for this. This is helpful in offset correction and zero
compensation of gain due to temperature drifts of acquisition chain. In addition to this smart sensor
also include internal memory so that we can store the data and program required [3].

1.4 Applications
Smart sensors have countless application this time. To mention some:
a) Environmental monitoring

Environmental monitoring system is very important in analyzing the important data for forecasting
weather and even for measuring the possible environmental threat, that to be prevented before they
occur. Environmental monitoring system involves collecting of information from a large
geographical area by which even minute variations in the environment can be calculated.
b) Remote system monitoring and equipment fault diagnostic
Smart sensors provides feasible and cost-effective sensing solutions for these types of systems.
Large scale efficiently monitoring system can provide complete; information on the conditions of
system components, including generation units, transformers, transmission lines, motors, etc., in a
remote and online manner.
c) Industrial Applications
In industrial field, machines or equipment are monitored and controlled for checking pressure,
overall health, humidity, temperature and also vibrations. When critical information about any
parameter is achieved the nodes communicates with each other and sends the information to
network where it is processed and then predictive maintenance is carried out according to the
parameter values.

d) Precision agriculture and animal tracking

In precision agriculture, sensor networks can be used to soil monitoring, climate monitoring,
insect-disease-weed monitoring as well as plant/crop monitoring.

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 8

 Conclusion
In conclusion, silicon is very suitable material for fabrication of smart sensors. But still a lot of
research is required to get benefits of the smart sensor, but from the experience of already existing
devices, we can expect that in the coming decade a large number of successful smart sensors will
emerge. The main objective of smart sensor is to reduce human intervention and bring more
accurate measurement of environmental quantities for better controlling.

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 9

 References
1) International Journal of Advanced Research in Computer and Communication
Engineering Vol 3, January 2014
2) Measurement and Instrumentation Principles Alan moris
3) M.Tech.credit seminar report, Electronic Systems Group, EE Dept, IIT Bombay,
November 2002.
4) J. M. Giachino, “Smart sensors,” Sensors and actuators, 10(1986) 239-248.

SMART SENSORS CONSTRUCTION OPERATION CHARACTERSTICS AND APPLICATION 10