Chapter 2

Classification of sensors in telecommunication

1. Physical quantity
A physical quantity is a physical property that can be measured. It has a unit of
measurement.
Example: temperature, pressure, force, torque, speed, etc.
2. Sensor
A sensor is a device that transforms a physical quantity into an electrical quantity (voltage
or current). This electrical quantity is generally of low value and cannot be used as it is in
telecommunication

Meausurement 𝑠 measured
Sensor 𝑆
𝑠 circuit
Physical Electrical
quantity 𝑓(𝑠) signal 𝑓 −1 (𝑆)

3. Sensor classification

3.1 Passive sensor:

A passive sensor requires no additional energy source to generate an electrical
signal at its output. It generates an electrical signal directly in response to the
physical quantity at its input.

Physical électrical
quantity Passice sensor
quantity quantity
3.2 Active sensor:

an active sensor is one that requires an external source of electrical energy for its
operation. This is called the excitation source (excitation signal). This signal is
modified by the sensor (by the physical parameter) to produce an electrical signal
at its output.

Physical Active électrical

sensor
quantity quantity

Excitation
signal

3.3 Intelligent sensors

Intelligent sensors are sensors which, in addition to the signal conditioning circuit,
such as shaping and amplification, have a calculation, processing and storage unit
to monitor, control and send measurements to a local or remote site via a
communications network.

The electrical signal delivered by the sensor is of low value and subject to noise
(unwanted signals).

It is filtered and amplified in the conditioning circuit before being converted into
digital data by the analogue-to-digital converter (ADC).

Analogue-to-digital conversion involves 3 stages: sampling, quantisation and

coding.

The calculation and storage unit is responsible for monitoring, controlling and all
the commands needed to measure, store or send the data.

It has a local interface for processing data on site (the sensor site).
 Conditionning Analog to Calculation,
Sensor digital
circuit storage and
conversion processing units