EE3901/EE5901 Sensor Technologies

Written by A/Prof Bronson Philippa and Laurance Papale
College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University

This site is a work in progress. Material will be added and updated over time.

Please check back later for more content.

Schedule

Please refer to the JCU timetable for the schedule. Attendance at all classes is mandatory.

Start here: Subject details

WeekCourse materialPracticalAssessment
1Introduction to sensors and measurement uncertaintyStart Assignment 1
2Sensor fusion and the Kalman filter 💻
3Resistive sensorsPrac 1: strain gaugesAssignment 1 due (Friday 5pm)
4Capacitive sensors and their signal conditioning circuits 💻Prac 2: capacitive sensorsQuiz 1

Start Assignment 2
5Inductive and magnetic sensors

Piezoelectric sensors and accelerometers		Prac 3: eddy current sensors

Prac 4: accelerometers		Probable deadline for submitting designs to workshop
6Self-generating sensors: thermocouples and photodiodes

Light sensors and applications to NIR spectroscopy 💻



Prac 5: near-infrared spectroscopy		Quiz 2
7Assignment 2 due

💻 Weeks indicated with this symbol have software exercises, typically in Matlab. Please bring a laptop to class if you have one.

Assessment

ItemDetailsWeightingDue date
PracticalsBinary mark (1 or 0) for each assessed practical0%Must complete a satisfactory attempt by Week 7
Assignment 1Marked on the basis of your submitted report and data30%Week 3, Friday 5pm
Assignment 2Marked on the basis of your presentation40%Week 7, (date tbd)
QuizTheory exam. Similar to tutorial questions30%During tutorial (date tbd)

10-Week Schedule

WeekCourse materialPracticalAssessment
1Introduction to sensors and measurement uncertaintyStart Assignment 1
2Sensor fusion and the Kalman filter 💻Prac 1: assignment help
3Resistive sensorsPrac 2: strain gaugesAssignment 1 due (Friday 5pm)
4Capacitive sensors and their signal conditioning circuits 💻Prac 3: capacitive sensorsQuiz 1

Start Assignment 2
5Inductive and magnetic sensorsPrac 4: eddy current sensorsProbable deadline for submitting designs to workshop
6Piezoelectric sensors and accelerometersPrac 5: accelerometers
7Self-generating sensors: thermocouples and photodiodesAssignment 2 due
8Light sensors and applications to NIR spectroscopy 💻Prac 6: near-infrared spectroscopyQuiz 2
9Integration and comparison of sensor types (wrap-up discussions, case studies, and industrial applications)Project/Design workshop session
10Revision and exam preparation

Assessment

ItemDetailsWeightingDue date
PracticalsBinary mark (1 or 0) for each assessed practical10%Report due one week after each assessed practical
Assignment 1Marked on the basis of your submitted report and data20%Week 3, Friday 5pm
Assignment 2Marked on the basis of your presentation20%Week 7, (date tbd)
Quiz 1Theory exam. Similar to tutorial questions20%During Week 4 tutorial
Quiz 2Theory exam. Similar to tutorial questions30%During Week 8 tutorial

💻 Weeks indicated with this symbol have software exercises, typically in Matlab. Please bring a laptop to class if you have one.

Subject materials

Subject details

Start here. This page describes administrative details about how the subject is organised and how it will run.

Chapter 1 — Introduction to sensors and measurement uncertainty

This chapter introduces the concepts of sensors and sensing. Key topics include the vocabulary that we will use to discuss sensor systems in the remainder of the course, for example: the transfer function, sensitivity, resolution, accuracy, precision, noise, bandwidth, and how measurement error propagates in calculations

Chapter 2 — Sensor fusion and the Kalman filter

Sensor fusion is the process of combining information from multiple sensors to determine the state of a system. In this chapter, we will study the Kalman filter, which is one of the most famous and important sensor fusion algorithms. We will then explore two methods to extend the Kalman filter to arbitrary, non-linear systems. Specifically we study the Extended Kalman Filter and the Unscented Kalman Filter.

Chapter 3 — Resistive sensors

In this chapter, we survey some common resistive sensors and study their properties as well as the circuit designs used to interface with resistive sensors.

Chapter 4 — Capacitive sensors and signal conditioning circuits for reactive sensors

Capacitance is a common mechanism of sensing. In this chapter, we study capacitive sensors and capacitive interface circuits.

Chapter 5 — Inductive and magnetic sensors

Previously we studied resistive and capacitive sensors. The remaining fundamental circuit element to address is the inductor. Our topics for this chapter are inductive and magnetic sensors.

Chapter 6 — Piezoelectric sensors and accelerometers

In this chapter, we will study the piezoelectric effect and then apply it to the problem of sensing. We discuss an important industrial application of piezoelectricity: high-performance accelerometers.

Chapter 7 — Self-generating sensors: thermocouples and photodiodes

In this chapter, we study sensors that generate a voltage or current by transforming some other type of energy into electricity.

Chapter 8 — Light sensors and applications to NIR spectroscopy

In this chapter, we study additional aspects of light sensing, and consider an important application in near infrared spectroscopy.

Assignment 1 — Implementing an extended Kalman filter

This task requires you to implement an extended Kalman filter for the scenario of ground vehicle navigation.

Assignment 2 — Designing a capacitive sensor to measure water level

This task requires you to design, build, and test a capacitive sensor to measure the water level in a glass beaker.

Practical 1 — Assignment help

This week we will use the practical session for help with Assignment 1. There is no assessment this week.

Practical 2 — Strain gauges and instrumentation amplifiers

This practical requires you to design and test an interface circuit for strain gauge measurement.

Practical 3 — Capacitive sensors

In this practical, you will experiment with capacitive sensors and sources of interference in capacitive sensing.

Practical 4 — Eddy current sensors

In this practical you will use an eddy current sensor to measure the thickness of various non-conductive plastic sheets.

Practical 5 — Accelerometers

In this practical, you will experiment with two types of piezoelectric accelerometers.

Practical 6 — Near-infrared spectroscopy

In this practical you will gain experience in analysing hyperspectral images.