ELI2400 Sensors and Measurement Systems Course description

This course provides a fundamental knowledge about sensing principles and examines practical measurement systems and methods for interfacing various sensors with electronic instrumentation. Theoretical information is supported by practical work, culminating in a construction and testing of a working prototype of a specific sensor system for a given application. Examples from the state-of-the-art research in sensors and measurement systems are also provided, including by guest lectures from academia and industry.

The course builds on ELTS2100 Electronics.

No requirements over and above the admission requirements.

After completing this course, the student has the following learning outcomes, defined as knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• a fundamental knowledge about sensing principles and practical methods for interfacing various sensors with electronic measurement systems.
• in-depth knowledge of various noise sources in sensors and measurement systems, their characteristics and mitigation measures.
• in-depth knowledge of important measurement principles in acoustic, optical, thermal, mechanical and electromagnetic-based sensors.
• has general knowledge about an architecture of an instrument including front-end and back-end electronics and its connection to the rest of the instrument.
• konwledge of how communication between the units in an instrument.
• working knowledge of power supply requirements.
• a understanding of legal requirements and practical aspects of electronic devices safety and instruments classification.

Skills

The student can

• design, construct and test sensing systems with appropriate instrumentation circuits and analyse their properties (noise, dynamic range, linearity).
• conduct practical measurements using a range of sensors in specific applications, such as biomedical, mechanical, robotic, mechatronic, environmental or research settings.
• present the measured data in standard formats and interpret the values for specific applications.
• apply the knowledge of how measurement uncertainty and noise impact sensor performance and accuracy.
• assess the electronic and technical safety of the instrument system in question.

General competence

The student can

• describe the operation of different types of sensors, and their limitations.
• discuss and outline the structure of sensing and instrumentation system for a particular application in light of safety requirements and regulations.
• document work in form of a technical report in a specified format,
• present the working prototype of a sensor and measurement system and explain its principle of operation, limitations, and propose future improvements.

Lectures and practical work. The students will work both individually and as part of a group of 4 students.

Active participation in the course practical group project.

Practical demonstration and oral presentation of the courses practical group project. The presentasion os set to 20. Each group member has to present.

The assessment consists of two parts:

Part 1: Individual written examination in Inspera, 2 hours max (50%)

Part 2: A portfolio of the following (50%):

• Report from the practical group project (6 pages in a given format (around 4000 words)) (approx. 30%)
• Oral presentation of the practical group project (approx. 20%)

Both parts of the exam must be passed in order to pass the course.

During the practical group project: All

På skriflig eksamen;

* The students report from their own practical group project.

* A handheld calculator that cannot be used for wireless communication or to perform symbolic calculations. If the calculator’s internal memory can store data, the memory must be deleted before the exam. Random checks may be carried out.

Grade scale A-F.

One internal examiner. External examiners are used regularly.

Olga Korostynska

This course overlaps 10 ECTS with ELVE3510