Course Information

The goal of ECE 437: Sensors and Instrumentation is to give senior and graduate students in Electrical and Computer Engineering a hands-on introduction to the fundamental technology and practical application of sensors. Capacitive, inductive, optical, ultrasonic, and other sensing methods are examined. Instrumentation techniques incorporating computer control, sampling, and data collection and analysis are reviewed in the context of real-world scenarios. Open-ended laboratory activities and required written documentation help to develop students’ analytical and communication skills.

This web page serves to provide supplementary information for ECE 437. The lecture for this course meets on Tuesdays from 3:00-4:20p in 203 Nuclear Engineering Lab. In addition to the weekly lectures, students must attend their assigned laboratory time held either Wednesday or Friday from 2:00-5:00p or Friday from 9:00a-12:00p in 235 Everitt Laboratory.

The information and notes here are provided as an augmentation to the lectures, and are in no ways a substitution to attending class, reading the assigned material, and completing the lab assignments.

Revised Schedule

Week	Lecture Date	Topic
1	Aug 28, 2007	Course Introduction and Sensor Applications
2	Sep 4, 2007	Noise, Shielding, and Signal Processing Fundamentals (Lab 1)
3	Sep 11, 2007	Introduction to Laboratory Control Software (Lab 2) Guest Lecture: Jonathan Hildyard (National Instruments)
4	Sep 18, 2007	RS232 and Wireless Communication and Control (Lab 3) Guest Lecture: Shaun Armstrong
5	Sep 25, 2007	Thermal Sensors (Lab 4)
6	Oct 2, 2007	Optical Sensors (Lab 5)
7	Oct 9, 2007	Proximity Sensors I Guest Lecture: Prof. Michael Oelze (ECE) Midterm Exam handed out
8	Oct 16, 2007	Proximity Sensors II (Lab 6) Midterm Exam Due
9	Oct 23, 2007	Encoders (Lab 7) Guest Lecture: Prof. Patrick Chapman (ECE)
10	Oct 30, 2007	Accelerometers (Lab 8) Guest Lecture: Prof. Dan Kuchma (CEE) Lecture will be in 1141 Newmark Lab
11	Nov 6, 2007	Electromagnetics for Sensing and Wireless Networks (Lab 9) Guest Lecture: Prof. Jennifer Bernhard (ECE)
12	Nov 13, 2007	Project Overview
13	Nov 27, 2007	Biosensors Guest Lecture: Prof. Brian Cunningham (ECE) Project outline due
14	Dec 4, 2007	The Segbot: Sensor Applications in Robotics Guest Lecture: Dan Block (ECE)

Lecture Notes

Below is a list of lectures slides presented in class. The notes are provided in both Power Point Show format and PDF. A free Power Point Viewer is available from Microsoft. A PDF Viewer is available from Adobe.

• Lecture 1: Course Introduction and Sensor Applications [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 2: Noise, Shielding, and Signal Processing Fundamentals [pps][pdf]
  • Potentially useful readings:
    • Field Wiring and Noise Considerations for Analog Signals [html] (NI Website)
    • Industrial Signal Conditioning, A Tutorial [pdf] (Dataforth Website)
    • Chapter 6 of Data Acquisition and Signal Conditioning Course Manual [pdf] (password required)
• Lecture 4: Sensor Communication: RS 232 Protocol and Wireless Sensor Networks [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 5: Thermal Sensors [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 6: Optical Sensors [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 7: Ultrasonic Sensors [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 10: Accelerometers [pps][pdf]
• Lecture 11: Electromagnetics for Sensing [pps][pdf]

Lecture and Laboratory Handouts

These handouts might be useful:

• 235 Everitt Lab Weekly Schedule [jpeg]
• Course Syllabus [pdf]
• Course Goals [pdf]
• Laboratory Information [pdf]
• Laboratory 1 - Noise, Shielding, and Signal Processing Fundamentals
• Laboratory 1 Lab Document [pdf]
• Data Acquisition and Signal Conditioning Course Manual [pdf] (password requird)
• VI needed for Lab 1 [VI]
• BNC-2120 Manual (DAQ board used in laboratory) [pdf]
• Laboratory 2 - Introduction to Laboratory Control Software [pdf]
  • Getting Started with LabVIEW [pdf]
  • LabVIEW Fundamentals [pdf]
• Laboratory 3 - RS232 and Wireless Communication and Control [pdf]
  • HP Function Generator Manual [pdf] (password required)
  • MICAz Datasheet (wireless mote) [pdf]
  • Appendix A: Additional Background Information and Helpful Hints on RS232 [pdf]
  • Appendix B: RS232 and other interfaces explained [pdf]
  • Crossbow Advertisement [pdf]
• Laboratory 4 - Temperature Sensors [pdf]
  • Appendix A: Links to sensor datasheets [pdf]
  • Appendix B: Wheatstone Bridge information [pdf]
  • Watlow Temperature Sensors Manual [pdf] (password required)
• Laboratory 5 - Optical Sensors [pdf]
  • Appendix A1: CCD Datasheet (smaller camera) [pdf]
  • Appendix A2: CCD Datasheet (larger camera) [pdf]
  • Maxim Manual [html] (password required)
• Laboratory 6 - Ultrasonic and Infrared Sensors [pdf]
  • Appendix A: Ultrasonic sensor datasheet [pdf]
  • Appendix B: Infrared sensor datasheet [pdf]
• Laboratory 7 - Encorders [pdf]
  • Appendix A: Encoder Datasheet [pdf]
  • Appendix B: Flip Flop Datasheet [pdf]
  • VI: BNC 2120 Encoder VI [vi]
• Laboratory 8 - Accelerometers [pdf]
  • Appendix A: Background information (from Fraden, J. Handbook of Modern Sensors, 2004) [pdf] (password required)
• Laboratory 9 - Electromagnetics for Sensing; Capacitive and Inductive Sensors [pdf]
• Appendix A: Capacitive Proximity Sensor Datasheet [pdf]
• Appendix B: Inductive Proximity Sensor Datasheet [pdf]