EE3901/EE5901 Sensor Technologies
Week 1 — Introduction to sensors

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

This week 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 more.

Week 1 Notes

Work through these notes before the lecture.

Week 1 Tutorial

Questions for you to develop your problem solving skills.

Reading material

Sensor Terminology (whitepaper from National Instruments)

This gives a nice clear description of some key sensor characteristics.

Reference material (optional reading)

Sensing and Sensor Fundamentals (book chapter by M.J. McGrath & C.N. Scanaill)

The entire chapter is a useful overview, but you should mainly focus on the "sensor characteristics" section.