Module - III -A: Signal Conditioning

Course: Mechatronics - ME225002

Autumn 2022

Dr. Jagat Jyoti Rath

Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, IITRAM

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Outline

Topics to be covered

What are signals?

What is signal conditioning?

What is a data acquisition system?

A2D and D2A conversion.

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Signal: What?

In signal processing, a signal is a function that conveys information about a phenomenon.

What is the use of "signal" in Mechatronics?

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Signal: What?

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Signal: What?

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Information in continuous perspective
For representating behavior of a system various approaches exist as follows:

Signal Representation

Using physics-based laws and ordinary differential equations (ODEs) relationships between inputs
and outputs can be expressed easily for continuous time systems.
Based on measured outputs and inputs various signal characteristics is assessed and analyzed.

But is information always available i.e. continuously?

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Analog Vs Digital Signal

Analog Signal
An analog signal is any continuous signal for which the time-varying feature of the signal is a
representation of some other time-varying quantity, i.e., analogous to another time-varying signal.

Digital Signal
A digital signal is a signal that is constructed from a discrete set of waveforms of a physical quantity so as
to represent a sequence of discrete values.

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Continuous and discrete-time signals

Continuous time signal

A (scalar) continuous-time signal is a function that associates to each time t ∈ R a real number y(t), i.e.,
y : t ↦→ y(t).
Note: We will use the “standard” (round) parentheses to indicate continuous-time signals.

Discrete time signal

A (scalar) discrete-time signal is a function that associates to each integer k ∈ Z a real number y[k], i.e.,
y : k ↦→ y[k].
Note: We will use the square parentheses to indicate discrete-time signals

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Signals are vectors

Multiplication by a scalar

Let 𝛼 ∈ R be a scalar. The signal 𝛼y can be obtained as:

( 𝛼y) (t) = 𝛼y(t), and ( 𝛼y) [k] = 𝛼y[k].

Notice 0y is always the “zero” signal, where 0(t) = 0 for all t ∈ R, and 0[k] = 0 for all k ∈ Z, and
1y = y.

Addition of two signals

Let u and v be two signals of the same kind (i.e., both in continuous or discrete time).
The signal u + v is defined as:

(u + v) (t) = u(t) + v(t), and (u + v) [k] = u[k] + v[k].

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Data Acquisition
DAQ
A data acquisition (DAQ) system is a collection of add-on hardware and software components that allow
your computer to receive real-world information from sensors.

Fig: A typical PC based DAQ system

A typical DAQ system consists of:
Sensors
Transmission/Signal Conditioning
DAQ Hardware
Computer & Software
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Integrating DAQ to a physical system

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Integrating DAQ to a physical system

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Integrating DAQ to a physical system

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Step in a DAQ

The sensor measures the behavior of the system.

The output from the sensor is conditioned (amplified, filtered, etc.).

The conditioned analog signal is digitized using an analog-to-digital converter (ADC).

The digital information is acquired, processed and recorded by the computer.

The computer may then modify the system by outputting control signals. The digital control signals
are converted to analog signals using a digital-to-analog converter (DAC).

The analog signals are conditioned (e.g. amplified and filtered) appropriately for an actuator.

The actuator interacts with the system to give the desired response.

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Signal Conditioning
What?
Signal conditioning is the operation performed on the signal to convert it to a form suitable for interfacing
with other elements in the system.

Among multiple aspects, signal conditioning covers:

Amplifying
Scaling
Offsetting
Filtering
Linearization
Isolation
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Signal Conditioning

Fig: Application illustration of signal conditioning.

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Analog to Digital Conversion

Engineering signals are continuous: voltage that varies over time; a chemical reaction rate that
depends on temperature, etc.
Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC) and Digital-to-Analog Conversion (DAC) allow digital
computers to interact with these signals.

Fig: Analog and Digital Signals.

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Analog to Digital Conversion

The conversion process involves:

Sampling the continuous signal.

Storing this voltage, and, before the next sample is taken.

Converting the stored number to the binary number, which typically consists of an n-bit binary
output word length.

Fig: Analog to Digital conversion.

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Analog to Digital Conversion
Sampling
To be able to input analog data to a digital circuit or microprocessor, the analog data must be transformed
into coded digital values. The first step is to numerically evaluate the signal at discrete instants in time.
This process is called sampling.

Fig: Analog to Digital conversion.

The digitized signal composed of discrete values corresponding to each sample is an approximation to an
analog signal.

Fig: If a signal is sampled at less than two times its maximum frequency component, aliasing can result.
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Analog to Digital Conversion

Quantization
Quantizing is defined as the transformation of a continuous analog input into a set of discrete output states.

Coding is the assignment of a digital code word or number to each output state.

The stair-step signal represents the states of a digital signal generated by sampling a linear ramp analog
signal.

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Analog to Digital Conversion

ADC
An analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is an electronic device that converts an analog voltage to a digital
code.

The output of the A/D converter can be directly interfaced to digital devices such as microcontrollers and
computers.

Resolution of an ADC
The resolution of an A/D converter is the number of bits used to digitally approximate the analog value of
the input.

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Analog to Digital Conversion

The precision of the ANALOG to DIGITAL conversion process determines how small a voltage change
(i.e. output) can be detected. In other words, it defines the resolution of the entire process.

Fig: The number of bits (resolution) of ADC determines the precision i.e. 2n .

The analog quantization size (or resolution) Q is defined as the full-scale range of the ADC divided by the
number of output states:
Vmax − Vmin
Q=
2n

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Analog to Digital Conversion

Ex: A 3-bit D/A converter is set for a 0 to 10 V output range. Map all of the possible digital input values to
their corresponding analog output values. What can you comment about the resolution?

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Digital to Analog Conversion

What?
Often we need to reverse the process of A/D conversion by changing a digital value to an analog voltage.
This is called digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion.

A D/A converter allows a computer or other digital device to interface with external analog circuits and
devices.

Fig: 4-bit resistor ladder D/A with digital input 0001.

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Digital to Analog Conversion

Ex: An 8-bit R-2R DAC has a Vref of 10 Volts. The binary input is 10011011. Find the analog output
voltage.

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Summarizing

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Embedded Computing

What?

Any computer with proper I/O interface devices (digital and analog I/O) and software tools can be
used as a controller.
An embedded computer uses only the necessary hardware and software components and is much
smaller than a non-embedded computer, such as a desktop PC.

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Embedded Computing: Microprocessors

What?
The microprocessor, which is the brain of modern computers, is an integrated circuit (or a chip) that has a
processor which consists of many digital circuits.

Some examples of microprocessors are Pentium, I3, and I5.

Systems using microprocessors basically have three parts: a central the processing unit (CPU) to recognize
and carry out program instructions (this is the part that uses the microprocessor), input and output
interfaces to handle communications between the microprocessor and the the outside world (the term port
is used for the interface), and memory to hold the program instructions and data.

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Embedded Computing: Microprocessors

The main three parts are:

Arithmetic and logic unit (ALU) : Performs data manipulation.

Registers: Internal data storage
Control unit: Timing and sequence of operations.

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Embedded Computing: Microcontrollers

What?
It is a single-chip device that contains a processor along with memory and interface devices on the same
integrated circuit chip. The microcontroller uses an internal bus to communicate with memory and other
devices on the chip.

Some examples of the popular microcontroller are 8051, AVR, PIC series of microcontroller.

Microcontrollers:
Contains a processor core, ROM, RAM, and I/O pins dedicated to performing various tasks.
Used in projects and applications that require direct control by users.

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Embedded Computing: Microprocessors

Fig: The general form of a microprocessor system and its buses

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Embedded Computing: Application

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Embedded Computing: Temperature Measurement Application

The temperature sensor gives a voltage proportional to the temperature

The output from the temperature sensor is connected to an ADC input line of the microcontroller.
The microcontroller is programmed to convert the temperature into a binary-coded decimal (BCD)
output.
Because the temperature may be fluctuating it is necessary to use a storage register which can hold
data long enough for the display to be read.

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Embedded Computing: Domestic washing machine

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