Introduction to Sensors and Actuators

The idea is that a system in general is made of three components: 1. Inputs (viewed as sensors) 2. Outputs (viewed as actuators) 3. Processor (the unit to which the inputs and outputs are connected and performs all (or the most) tasks needed to interface them. Sensors and actuators are not currently treated in the curriculum as a subject in its own right. There are, of course, allusions to it in circuits, electromagnetics, and other courses, but these are necessarily limited in scope. There is a good reason for it. Often, particularly in sensors, the principles are obscure to the student and may be based on material he/she may have never heard of. For the average electrical engineer, a sensor based on quantum physics or on electro-chemistry is as accessible as a poem in a foreign language. A mechanical engineer may find the principles of a microwave sensor equally challenging, and a biomedical engineer may have only limited background in electronics or mechanics. Further, the principles involved in sensing and actuation cover the whole range of scientific work. It has therefore become necessary to present sensors and actuators in a way that makes the subject accessible to all students based on what they do have as a background.