Electronic technology is rapidly evolving. One of the most exciting things for me is that many electronic devices around us operate without human supervision.
With the development of technology, we have created many sensors that can perceive the surrounding environment.
Sensors play an indispensable role in monitoring and detecting human activities and can provide this information to other electronic devices as control references.
Next, let’s start with the basics, here is the directory of the content we will discuss today.
01
What types of sensors are there?
1. Temperature Sensor
2. Pressure Sensor
3. Touch Sensor
4. Image Sensor
5. Motion Sensor
6. Light Sensor
7. Vibration Sensor
8. Humidity Sensor
9. Proximity Sensor
10. Color Sensor
11. Radiation Sensor
12. Level Sensor
13. Position Sensor
14. Smoke or Gas Sensor
15. Flame Sensor
16. Leak Sensor
17. Accelerometer
18. Tilt Sensor
19. Mark Sensor
20. Flow Sensor or Float Sensor
02
What is a sensor?
Generally, a sensor is basically defined as a detector; a sensor is an electronic device used to detect various categories of signals and transmit the signals to other electrical control devices.
In other words, a sensor is an electronic device that can convert energy from one form to another. Hence, it is called a sensor.
Sensors mainly identify physical quantities such as gases, heat, etc., through distance, temperature, humidity, etc. It provides output to the connected control system in the form of electrical signals.
For example, in automation systems, sensors transmit signals to Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), thus participating in control. Different types of sensors have specific roles in daily life applications, commercial and industrial equipment, and educational engineering.
03
What are the different types of sensors?
Sensors are divided into four main categories:
1. Analog Sensors
2. Digital Sensors
3. Active Sensors
4. Passive Sensors
Each category contains various types of sensors.
1. Temperature Sensor
Temperature sensors are used to detect temperature and thermal energy and convert it into electrical signals (transmitted in the form of voltage or current).
We actually have several types of temperature sensors in use.
1. Thermometer
2. Thermocouple
3. Resistance Temperature Detector
4. Thermistor Temperature Sensor
5. Semiconductor Temperature Sensor
6. Vibrating Wire Temperature Sensor
Temperature sensors are commonly used in computers, refrigerators, cars, medical devices, cooking appliances, etc.
2. Pressure Sensor
Pressure sensors can also be referred to as pressure transmitters or pressure gauges.
Pressure sensors detect the pressure of air, gas, and water and provide electrical signals to the controller.
Depending on different uses and more characteristics, they are divided into different categories:
1. Vacuum Pressure Sensor
2. Absolute Pressure Sensor
3. Gauge Pressure Sensor
4. Differential Pressure Sensor
Pressure sensors are used in many systems, commonly in pneumatic, hydraulic, vacuum systems, etc.
3. Touch Sensor
Touch sensors are also known as tactile sensors. They are electronic sensors used to detect and record human touch.
Capacitive touch sensors and resistive touch sensors are the most commonly used touch sensors today.
They are widely used in industries such as: light switches, air conditioning (AC) remote controls, door open/close operations, elevators, robots, smartphones, etc.
In fact, there is a little-known fact: the pulse oximeter is one of the best examples of a touch sensor detecting oxygen levels in the human body.
During this pandemic, the demand for pulse oximeters has been quite high. They are relatively easy to operate, even at home. You can easily find pulse oximeters available for purchase online.
4. Image Sensor
Image sensors are electronic devices used to detect image pixels and provide information to display devices.
Image sensors can be analog or digital. Generally, electronic image sensors are divided into two main types.
1. Charge-Coupled Device
2. Active Pixel Sensor
Image sensors are used in digital cameras, closed-circuit television (CCTV), medical imaging devices, thermal imaging devices, radar, sonar, etc.
5. Motion Sensor
Motion sensors measure and record body activity or movement. They are divided into the following types.
1. Active Motion Sensor
2. Passive Motion Sensor
3. Tomographic Motion Sensor
4. Gesture Motion Sensor
Motion sensors are applied in home security, automatic door operations, microwaves, robots, ultrasound, gesture detection, etc.
6. Light Sensor
Light sensors are optoelectronic devices that detect and convert the brightness or luminescence of light or photons into electrical signals.
Currently, there are mainly three types of light sensors in use.
1. Photoresistor or Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
2. Photodiode
3. Phototransistor
They are widely used in solar-powered vehicles, agricultural sectors (automatic sprinkler systems), and electronic project devices such as Arduino.
7. Vibration Sensor
Vibration sensors may not be well-known to everyone, but they are actually known as piezoelectric sensors.
Vibration sensors can detect and record any motion or activity. They provide data or signals to the connected machines or systems.
If there is any dangerous activity, the sensor helps send confirmation information.
In our industries such as oil and gas, food and beverage, mining, metal processing, papermaking, wind power generation, and electricity generation, vibration sensors are required.
8. Humidity Sensor
Humidity sensors, also known as hygrometers;
are essential for detecting moisture in air and soil. They are mainly used in air conditioning systems.
9. Proximity Sensor
Proximity sensors can easily detect nearby objects without any direct contact. They are divided into different types:
1. Capacitive Proximity Sensor
2. Inductive Proximity Sensor
They are widely used in smartphones, tablets, machines, robotic systems, roller coasters, etc.
10. Color Sensor
Color sensors are essentially optoelectronic sensors.
They help perceive the color of objects and recognize color markings. This sensor uses RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color code.
Color sensors are widely used in our painting and printing, cosmetics, textiles, medical diagnostics, computer color monitors, and process control.
11. Radiation Sensor
Radiation sensors are electronic instruments that can sense and measure radiation particles such as α, β, γ, neutrons, and X-rays.
Additionally, they can sense electromagnetic radiation such as waves, cosmic radiation (sunlight).
Radiation sensors include three different types.
1. Gas-Filled Radiation Sensor
2. Scintillation Radiation Sensor
3. Solid-State Radiation Sensor
This sensor is used in nuclear energy, medical imaging modes, and environmental radioactivity monitoring, so generally, we do not often see this type of sensor in our lives, but it is actually closely related.
12. Level Sensor
The main function of a level sensor is to measure the level or height of different materials such as solids, liquids, and gases.
It is divided into the following types:
1. Laser Level Sensor
2. Float Sensor
3. Capacitive Level Sensor
4. Resistive Level Sensor
5. Ultrasonic Level Sensor
6. Hydrostatic Level Sensor
7. Optical Level Sensor
8. Electromagnetic Level Sensor
Level sensors are widely used in ships, containers, water tanks, fuel tanks, etc., for water level checks.
13. Position Sensor
Position sensors determine displacement and position (such as linear and rotational).
Essentially, position sensors can be divided into the following types.
1. Optical Position Sensor
2. Linear Position Sensor
3. Rotary Position Sensor
4. Inductive Position Sensor
5. Capacitive Position Sensor
6. Fiber Optic Position Sensor
7. Ultrasonic Position Sensor
For example, a potentiometer includes a rotary position sensor that changes with the angle of movement,
Position sensors are widely used in home and industrial applications, such as door open/close operations, valve monitoring, motor control, and throttle control for engine fuel or power flow.
14. Smoke or Gas Sensor
Gas sensors are used to detect different types of gases, toxic or explosive gases, and smoke in the air. Some of these sensors can also measure gas concentrations.
Gas or smoke sensors can be divided into three main categories:
1. Optical Smoke Sensor
2. Ionization Smoke Sensor
3. Laser Smoke Sensor
Smoke sensors are applied in factories, industries, buildings, ships, airplanes, etc.
15. Flame Sensor
Flame sensors can easily detect fire or flames of nearby materials. The detected signals are transmitted to the connected control devices.
They are used in alarm systems in industrial areas, natural gas plants, fire extinguishing systems, and Arduino-based fire detection device projects.
16. Leak Sensor
Leak sensors are used in closed containers or vacuum chambers to detect water leaks, liquid leaks, air leaks, etc.
They are divided into two main parts based on their working roles:
1. Point Leak Sensor
2. Flow Leak Sensor
17. Accelerometer
Accelerometers are instruments that measure motion acceleration or speed.
They are widely used in gesture-controlled robots, aircraft and missile navigation systems, process control systems, vehicle acceleration, and other rotating electronic devices such as turbines, rollers, fans, compressors, pumps, etc.
18. Tilt Sensor
Tilt sensors detect the angular motion, angular slope, angular movement, and axis of a reference plane and its changes.
They are mainly used for monitoring the angle and automatic rotation operations of mobile phones, tablets, handheld game consoles, ships, vehicles, airplanes, etc.
19. Mark Sensor
Mark sensors work as photoelectric sensors. They are used to sense color markings on objects.
Mark sensors are widely used in the printing and packaging industries.
20. Flow Sensor or Float Sensor
Flow sensors measure and detect almost all process fluids. The detected data will be provided to the controller system.
They are used in industrial fields, power generation instruments, power plants, etc.
In this article, I introduced 20 different types of sensors and their uses. Each sensor has its own characteristics and functions. They can be used in specific projects, like the increasingly popular handheld or wireless electronic engineering, which uses various types of wireless sensors.
Moreover, sensors are also used in PLC projects, robotic systems, Internet of Things (IoT) projects, etc.
Source: Automation Technology by Gongkong Lao Zhou, copyright belongs to the original author. If there are any copyright issues with the work, please contact us in time for deletion. Thank you!
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