3.

1 Overview of a Measurement System

General Measurement system
We make measurements every day, like when measuring ingredients in the
kitchen or temperature at the hospital. In mechatronics, the selection of
measurement equipment and techniques and the interpretation of the measured
data often demands considerable attention.
We take measurements to establish the value or the tendency of some variable.
Measurement is an act of assigning a specific value to a physical variable. The
physical variable is the measured variable. A measurement system is a tool
used for quantifying the measured variable. Components of a measurement
system are shown and discussed on the next slide.
Design of a measurement system and measurement procedures is an open-
ended design problem whose outcome will not have one particular solution.
That means there may be several approaches to solving a measurement
problem, and some will be better than others. 1
3.1.1 Sensor
A sensor is a physical element that employs a natural phenomenon to sense a
variable being measured. E.g. the cantilever of an atomic force microscope is a
sensor that employs deflection under a force to sense the height of a surface.
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3.1.2 Transducer
To get the output of the sensor into a form we can record, we need a
transducer. A transducer converts the sensed information into a detectable
signal. The signal might be mechanical, electrical, optical, or may take any
other form that can be meaningfully recorded.
To understand the two components above, let’s take example of a liquid-in-
glass bulb thermometer.
• The liquid is the sensor
• Expansion of fluid due to thermal energy is the natural phenomenon
• Capillary tube is the transducer

Sensor selection, placement and installation depends

on measurement objective, and determines the
accuracy of sensor output.
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3.1.3 Signal conditioning stage
Signal conditioning is an optional intermediate stage that modifies the output
of the transducer and manipulates it so that is suitable for either display or for
controlling any other systems. Manipulation includes;
• Signal amplification (increase of signal magnitude)
• Filtering (removal of noise)
• Mechanical or optical linkage between transducer and output stage

3.1.4 Output stage

The output stage displays or records the value measured. The output may be;
• A simple readout display
• A marked scale as that of the bulb thermometer or,
• A recording device such as a disk drive.
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3.1.5 Feedback-control stage
In measurement systems that involve process control, there is a feedback-
control stage that;
Interprets the measured signal and
Makes a decision regarding the control of the process
This decision results in a signal that changes the process parameter that affects
the magnitude of the sensed variable. In simple controllers, this decision is
based on the magnitude of the signal of the sensed variable, usually whether it
exceeds some high or low set point set by the system operator.
An example is a household furnace where the operator fixes the temperature
on the thermostat display, and the furnace is activated. As the local
temperature at the thermostat, as determined by the sensor there, rises or falls
above or below the set point, the heater of the furnace decreases of increases
to maintain the set temperature.
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• In application that involve position control, the feedback signal is directed
to an actuator such as a stepper or servo motor which then moves to
achieve the desired position.