SENSORS and

ACTUATORS
Control Systems
Instrumentation

Lecture notes
Instructor: Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 1 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Course Info.
1. Instructor – Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.
▪ Email: thanh.hlnn@hcmute.edu.vn
▪ Department: Mechatronics Engineering
2. Course Schedule:
▪ Lecture: 15 weeks (2 credits)
▪ Assignment: TBA
▪ Midterm exam: Week 8th (TBA)
▪ Final exam: Week 16th (TBA)
3. Textbooks and references
▪ Main book:
[1]. Clarence W. de Silva, “Sensor and Actuator: Control System Instrumentation”,
2nd Edition, CRC Press
[2]. “Sensors and Actuators”, Francisco Andre Correa Alegria, Would Scientific
▪ References:
[3]. “Sensor and Transducers”, Ian R. Sinclair, 3rd Edition,

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 2 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Course Plan
Week 1+2 Introduction, Control and Instrumentation
(Definition of Dynamic system, Control system, Sensor, Transducer, Characteristic of sensor’s TF)
Week 3+4 Intercomponent connection, Signal conditioning & Performance Analysis
(Cascade connection devices, Impedance matching, Amplification, Performance Analysis of Sensor)
Week 5 Sensor based on Electrical Resistance (R)
(Potentiometer, Strain gauge, Pressure sensor/transmitter, Temperature sensor/transmitter)
Week 6 Sensor based on Electric Field (Capacitive sensor - C)
(General principle, Capacitive proximity sensor, Level sensor/transmitter, Pressure sensor/transmitter,
Acceleration sensor, Gyroscope, Touch sensor, Fingerprint sensor,…)
Week 7 Sensor based on Magnetic Field (Inductive sensor - L)
(General principle, Inductive proximity sensor, Magnetic flow, LVDT sensor, …)
Week 8 Sensor based on Mechanical phenomena
(Piezoelectric effect, accelerometer, pressure sensor; Acoustic wave:, ultrasound sensor, flow
transmitter, level transmitter, radar for military application)
Week 9 Midterm Exam.
Week 10+11 Sensors based on Electromagnetic Radiation
(Optical sensor, encoder, photodiode, photoresistor, phototransistor…)
Week 11+12 Mechanical Actuation – Overview of Pneumatics – Hydraulics Actuator
Week 12+13 Electrical Actuation - DC motor
Week 13+14 Electrical Actuation - Stepper motor
Week 15 Electrical Actuation - 3 Phase AC motor (Introduction)

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 3 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Lecture 1+2 (Week 1+2):
Introduction of Control
and Instrumentations

Main contents
1. General statements of control engineering
2. Sensors and Actuators in engineering system and human body
3. What are Sensors and Transducers (Definition)
4. General Characteristic of Sensor
5. Typical Sensors

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 4 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Statements
• Dynamic system: is a system whose state is uniquely specified by a set of
variables and whose behavior is described by predefined rules. It can be quite
complex and may be subjected to known or unknown excitations (i.e., input)
• Control system: Dynamic system that contains a controller as a integral part.
• Example: Aircraft is a complex control system.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 5 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General statements
• The plant or process: The physical dynamic system (e.g., a mechanical system,
actuators ) the response which (e.g., vibrations) needs to be controlled is called
the plant or process.
• e.g.

Control arm
(Actuator)

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 6 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General statements
• Controller: The device that generates the signal (or command) according to
some scheme (or control law) and controls the response of the plant called the
controller.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 7 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General statements
• Desired manner (set-point, reference command): a certain command
signals or inputs are applied to the controller and the plant is expected
to behave (response) in a desirable manner.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 8 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General statements
• Actuator (actuating devices): Perform control actions as well as to drive the plant
directly such as stepper motor, DC motors, AC motors, valves, relays, solenoids,
cylinder, etc. (see it in other Chapters)

• An actuator may be directly connected to the driven load, and this is known as
the direct-drive arrangement. More commonly, however, a transmission device
may be needed to convert the actuator motion into a desired load motion and for
proper matching of the actuator with the driven load.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 9 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General statements
• Sensor and Transducer: is device to measure the output signals (process
responses) of the system for monitoring, diagnosis, control, supervisory,…
• Signal modification: Comprise of signal conditioning (amplification, filtering,
etc.) and signal conversion (Analogue Digital Conversion - ADC, Digital Analog
Conversion DAC, capabilities for transmitting) since many different types and
levels of signals are presented in a control system)

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 10 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor – actuator in human body
• Comparison between intelligent machine and human body structure

Sense brain Body

Working
environment
Sensor Computer Actuator

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 11 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
Definition of sensor and transducer (no uniform, various interpretation)
• A Sensor: is an object whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its
environment, and then provide a corresponding output.
• Another definition: A sensor is a device that, when exposed to a physical
phenomenon (temperature displacement, angle, velocity, etc.), produces a
proportional (linear or nonlinear) output electrical signal.
• E.g.

Thermocouple sensor Encoder sensor

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 12 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• Transducer (integrated sensor): is a device that converts one
form of energy into another. It implies that A transducer is more
than a sensor. It consists of a sensor/actuator long with signal
conditioning circuits.
• A signal conditioning circuit which is a circuit to ensure the
signal to be strong enough for further processing and/or include
ADC, DAC unit.

• E.g.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 13 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• Sensor, Transducer (integrated sensor) an Transmitter

Example: Pressure (0-100psi)

Transducer convert pressure to 0-3mV
Transmitter convert to standard electrical
signal (1-5V or 4-20mA)

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 14 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• E.g of Temperature transducer and pressure transducer

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 15 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• Smart transducer (smart integrated sensor)
The presence of this microcontroller and the possibility that it brings in
terms of self-diagnosis, self-identification, and self-adaptation.
For example, optimization of its operation in terms of accuracy, speed,
and energy consumption.
At the same time, it is more reliable than its “non-intelligent”
counterparts. It also has the ability to change its functioning if the system
to which they are attached so determines.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 16 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• Smart transducer (smart integrated sensor)
- There is a radio communication module and a battery for powering the sensor
without requiring a physical connection to the network.
- to be able to receive data from the outside, either in the form of commands that
change its configuration, either in the form of data to synchronize.

Pixy camera
Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 17 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.
 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
For signal perspective: Analogue Sensors
and Digital sensor
Analogue sensors: produce a continuous
output signal which is generally proportional
to the quantity being measured.
Physical quantities such as Temperature,
Speed, Pressure, Displacement, Strain etc. are
analogue quantities as they tend to be
continuous in nature.
For example: Using the thermocouple to
measure the temperature of a liquid, the
output value continuously responds to
temperature changes as the liquid is heated
up or cooled down.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 18 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
Digital sensors: produce a discrete digital
output signals. Digital sensors produce a
binary output signal in the form of a logic
“1” or a logic “0”, (ON, OFFF). This means
then that a digital signal only produces
discrete (non-continuous) values which
may be outputted as a single “bit”, (serial
transmission) or combining the bits to
produce a single “byte” output (parallel
transmission)

For example: To measure the speed of a

motor, we use an Encoder sensor.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 19 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Sensor, Transducer and Transmitter
• For signal conditioning perspective: The sensors can be divided into passive
and active sensor/transducer

e.g. microphones, thermocouples, photodiodes, and

e.g. ultrasonic sensor, lidar sensor, piezoelectric sensors,…
encoder,… - Disadvantage that the output signals are typically
weak and often require amplification using an active
electronic circuit.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 20 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Examples of common sensors/actuators
• Sensor and Actuators applied in some common engineering systems

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 21 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Examples of common sensors/actuators
• Sensor and Actuators applied in UAV

Barometer sensor, GPS sensor

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 22 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
• The choice of a sensor or actuator for an specific application depends on the
requirements of that application and the characteristics of the sensors/actuators
that are provided by the manufacture.
• There are some specifications that apply to most sensors are discussed:
1. Transfer function 6. Hysteresis
2. Sensitivity 7. Nonlinearity
3. Range. 8. Noise
4. Accuracy 9. Resolution
5. Precision 10. Repeatability
11. Dead zone
12. Saturation

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 23 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
1. Transfer function (TF) of sensor:
- Transfer function specifies the functional
relationship between the input quantity
and the electrical output signal. This
relationship is generally described by a
graph or mathematic equation.

- Example: transfer function of a relative

humidity sensor.
Dash line: manufacturing tolerance
Thick line: typical value (measured value)
Straight line: ideal value.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 24 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
2. Sensitivity:
- The parameter “sensitivity” specifies how large is the variation of the output
with respect to a variation of the input signal.
- Sensor is more sensitive when the same input but the output is larger

e.g. Throttle of
Motorcycle

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 25 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
3. Range:
- It specifies the range of values of the quantity being measured that can be
converted into an electrical signal. Values outside this range usually lead to a
large measuring error.
- e.g. Lidar Scanner Sensor

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 26 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
4. Accuracy:
- It parameter specifies the maximum error with which the sensor is supposed
to make measurement. This error is the difference between the actual value
and the measured value.
- e.g. pressure sensor

Measured curve

Ideal curve

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 27 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
5. Precision:
- When a sensor performs several measurements of the same quantity under the
same conditions, the results obtained are not necessarily the same. This is due
to the inevitable presence of noise in the sensor and/or the electronic circuit
that accompanies it
- e.g. distance sensor

A) B) C)

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 28 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
5. Precision:
- Compare precision and accuracy

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 29 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
6. Hysteresis:
- Some sensors do not always have the same output for a given value of the
measured quantity. This value depends on the derivative of the transfer
function, as seen in Figure. This is called hysteresis

value of the measured quantity.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 30 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
7. Nonlinearity:
- Ideally, the transfer function of a sensor should be linear
- Linear characteristic: an angular coefficient of the tangent of the
transfer function curve is constant
- Nonlinear: other cases

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 31 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
8. Noise:
- Sensor noise is random variations of
sensor output unrelated to variations in
sensor input.
- All sensor produce some noise along
with the output signal.
- Noise comes in two forms, electrical and
seismic. The power supply typically
transmits electrical noise through the
connection to the sensor. Seismic radiates
from an outside sources such as an
airplane engine or a siren. When these
acoustic waves are present. The sensor
will detect this as vibration.
- Sensors are often placed in noisy
environments such as factories, trains,…
Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 32 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.
 General Characteristic of Sensor
8. Noise: Average filter
- Noise is unavoidable feature of a
dynamical system. But there are some
solutions to minimize this interference
such as filter techniques: low pass filter,
average filter, Kalman filter,….

Low pass filter

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 33 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
9. Resolution:
- The resolution is defined as the minimum detectable variation of the quantity
to be measured (the output signals for some sensors may change in small
steps). Example of LiDAR sensor, and Encoder

Encoder resolution is commonly measured in

pulses per revolution (PPR) for incremental
encoders and bits for absolute encoders

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 34 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
9. Resolution:

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 35 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
10. Repeatability :
- For repeatability to be established, the following conditions must be in place:
the same location; the same measurement procedure; the same observer; the
same measuring instrument, used under the same conditions; and repetition
over a short period of time.
- “the repeatability coefficient” is a measurement of precision, which denotes
the absolute difference between a pair of repeated test results.

Example of repeatability error

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 36 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
11. Dead Zone :
- The dead zone is range of values of the measurand for which sensor output
varies very little in comparison to the rest of the measuring range

Dead
zone

e.g. LiDAR sensor

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 37 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 General Characteristic of Sensor
12. Saturation:
- Saturation is a state in which the signal that needs to be measured is larger
than the dynamic range of the sensor. When that happens, the output of the
sensor becomes the limiting value of the sensor range.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 38 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Some Popular Sensors
• Accelerometer — Measures the acceleration to which the mobile phone is subjected.
The original function was to measure the acceleration of gravity to orient the image on
the screen when the phone was oriented differently. Other applications have emerged,
such as measuring the number of steps taken or estimating speed
• Gyroscope — Measures the angular speed of the phone. This information allows the
accelerometer to help determine the orientation of the mobile phone. It can also be
used in games where the mobile phone simulates the steering wheel of a vehicle
• Magnetometer — Determines the magnetic field around the phone. The determination
of the direction of the earth’s magnetic field allows the real-time orientation of the
maps presented in navigation applications. This sensor is also used in applications that
make it possible to detect the presence of metals as they disturb the magnetic field
around them.
• Global Positioning System (GPS) — The mobile phone receives information from
several satellites in orbit around the Earth that allows the estimation of the position of
the mobile phone on the Earth’s surface. This is used in navigation applications.

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 39 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 Some Popular Sensors
• Barometer — Measures atmospheric pressure and can be used to determine the
altitude at which the device is located as well as providing information used for
weather forecasting.
• Proximity Sensor — Located next to the microphone, it allows you to determine
when the phone is close to the ear and turning off the screen, preventing unwanted
commands from being executed through the touch panel.
• Ambient Light Sensor — Determines the amount of ambient light and is used to
decrease the brightness of the phone’s screen in low light situations to save battery.
• Fingerprint Sensor — Determines the user’s fingerprint and compares it with prints
stored in a local database to allow access to the mobile phone.
• Temperature sensor — Used to determine the air temperature.
• Camera — Used to take pictures.
• Touch Screen — Used as an interface between the user and the device
• Microphone — Captures the user’s voice for phone calls or the surrounding sound
when recording videos

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 40 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

 HCMUTE Univ. - FME
https://fme.hcmute.edu.vn/

Lecture notes info

Sensors and Actuators
Fall Semester, 2021
------------------------------------------------

© Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.

Email: thanh.hlnn@hcmute.edu.vn
Sites: https://sites.google.com/view/halenhungocthanh/courses?authuser=0

Mechatronics Engineering – Sensors and Actuators 41 © Ha Le Nhu Ngoc Thanh, Ph.D.