This is a list of

sensor A sensor is a device that produces an output signal for the purpose of sensing a physical phenomenon. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem that detects events or changes in its environment and sends ...

s sorted by sensor type.

Acoustic, sound, vibration

Geophone A geophone is a device that converts ground movement (velocity) into voltage, which may be recorded at a recording station. The deviation of this measured voltage from the base line is called the seismic response and is analyzed for structure of ...

Hydrophone A hydrophone ( grc, ὕδωρ + φωνή, , water + sound) is a microphone designed to be used underwater for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones are based on a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potenti ...

Microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

* Pickup *

Seismometer A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...

Sound locator Acoustic location is the use of sound to determine the distance and direction of its source or reflector. Location can be done actively or passively, and can take place in gases (such as the atmosphere), liquids (such as water), and in solids (s ...

Automotive

Air flow meter An air flow meter is a device that measures air flow, i.e. how much air is flowing through a tube. It does not measure the volume of the air passing through the tube, it measures the mass of air flowing through the device per unit time. Thus ai ...

AFR sensor AFR may refer to: * ''AFR'' (film), a 2007 film * Afrikaans language, ISO-639 code * Air France, ICAO code * Air–fuel ratio * Armed Forces Radio * Alternate frame rendering * American Family Radio * American Film Renaissance * American flag rugb ...

Air–fuel ratio meter An air-fuel ratio meter monitors the air–fuel ratio of an internal combustion engine. Also called air–fuel ratio gauge, air–fuel meter, or air–fuel gauge, it reads the voltage output of an oxygen sensor, sometimes also called AFR sensor o ...

* Blind spot monitor *

Crankshaft position sensor A crank sensor (CKP) is an electronic device used in an internal combustion engine, both petrol and diesel, to monitor the position or rotational speed of the crankshaft. This information is used by engine management systems to control the f ...

(CKP) *

Curb feeler Curb feelers or curb finders are springs or wires installed on a vehicle which act as "whiskers" to alert drivers when they are at the right distance from the curb while parking. The devices are fitted low on the body, close to the wheels. As ...

Defect detector A defect detector is a device used on railroads to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains. The detectors are normally integrated into the tracks and often include sensors to detect several different kinds of problems that could occur. ...

Engine coolant temperature sensor An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...

Hall effect sensor A Hall effect sensor (or simply Hall sensor) is a type of sensor which detects the presence and magnitude of a magnetic field using the Hall effect. The output voltage of a Hall sensor is directly proportional to the strength of the field. ...

Wheel speed sensor A wheel speed sensor (WSS) or vehicle speed sensor (VSS) is a type of tachometer. It is a sender device used for reading the speed of a vehicle's wheel rotation. It usually consists of a toothed ring and pickup. Automotive wheel speed sensor ...

*Airbag sensors *Automatic transmission speed sensor *

Brake fluid pressure sensor A brake fluid pressure sensor senses the brake fluid pressure in a hydraulic braking system. The sensor is a type of pressure switch that shows and alerts a fault in the braking system. Brake problems The fault could be lack of hydraulic fluid ...

*Camshaft position sensor (CMP) *

Cylinder Head Temperature gauge A Cylinder Head Temperature gauge (CHT) measures the cylinder head temperature of an engine. Commonly used on air-cooled engines, the head temperature gauge displays the work that the engine is performing more quickly than an oil or water temperat ...

*Engine crankcase pressure sensor * Exhaust gas temperature sensor *Fuel level sensor *Fuel pressure sensor *Knock sensor *

Light sensor Photodetectors, also called photosensors, are sensors of light or other electromagnetic radiation. There is a wide variety of photodetectors which may be classified by mechanism of detection, such as photoelectric or photochemical effects, or by ...

MAP sensor The manifold absolute pressure sensor (MAP sensor) is one of the sensors used in an internal combustion engine's electronic control system. Engines that use a MAP sensor are typically fuel injected. The manifold absolute pressure sensor provi ...

Mass airflow sensor A mass (air) flow sensor (MAF) is a sensor used to determine the mass flow rate of air entering a fuel-injected internal combustion engine. The air mass information is necessary for the engine control unit (ECU) to balance and deliver the corre ...

*Oil level sensor *Oil pressure sensor *

Omniview technology Omniview technology (also known as surround view or bird view) is a vehicle parking assistant technology that first was introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" option for the Nissan Elgrand and Infiniti EX. It is designed to assist drivers ...

Oxygen sensor An oxygen sensor (or lambda sensor, where lambda refers to air–fuel equivalence ratio, usually denoted by λ) or probe or sond, is an electronic device that measures the proportion of oxygen (O2) in the gas or liquid being analysed. It was ...

(O₂) *

Parking sensor Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles designed to alert the driver of obstacles while parking. These systems use either electromagnetic or ultrasonic sensors. Ultrasonic systems These systems feature ultrasonic proximity dete ...

Radar gun A radar speed gun (also radar gun and speed trap gun) is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is used in law-enforcement to measure the speed of moving vehicles and is often used in professional spectator sport, for things su ...

Radar sensor Radar engineering details are technical details pertaining to the components of a radar and their ability to detect the return energy from moving scatterers — determining an object's position or obstruction in the environment. This includes field ...

Speed sensor This is a list of sensors sorted by sensor type. Acoustic, sound, vibration *Geophone *Hydrophone *Microphone * Pickup *Seismometer *Sound locator Automotive * Air flow meter *AFR sensor *Air–fuel ratio meter * Blind spot monitor *Cranks ...

Throttle position sensor A throttle position sensor (TPS) is a sensor used to monitor the air intake of an engine. The sensor is usually located on the butterfly spindle/shaft, so that it can directly monitor the position of the throttle. More advanced forms of the senso ...

* Tire pressure sensor *

Torque sensor In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational equivalent of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). It represents the capability of a force to produce change in the rotational motion of th ...

* Transmission fluid temperature sensor * Turbine speed sensor * Variable reluctance sensor * Vehicle speed sensor * Water-in-fuel sensor *

* ABS sensors

Chemical

Breathalyzer A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample. The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...

Carbon dioxide sensor A carbon dioxide sensor or CO2 sensor is an instrument for the measurement of carbon dioxide gas. The most common principles for CO2 sensors are infrared gas sensors ( NDIR) and chemical gas sensors. Measuring carbon dioxide is important in monitor ...

Carbon monoxide detector A carbon monoxide detector or CO detector is a device that detects the presence of the carbon monoxide (CO) gas to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. In the late 1990s Underwriters Laboratories changed the definition of a single station CO de ...

* Catalytic bead sensor *

Chemical field-effect transistor A ChemFET is a chemically-sensitive field-effect transistor, that is a field-effect transistor used as a sensor for measuring chemical concentrations in solution. When the target analyte concentration changes, the current through the transistor will ...

Chemiresistor A chemiresistor is a material that changes its electrical resistance in response to changes in the nearby chemical environment. Chemiresistors are a class of chemical sensors that rely on the direct chemical interaction between the sensing material ...

Electrochemical gas sensor Electrochemical gas sensors are gas detectors that measure the concentration of a target gas by oxidizing or reducing the target gas at an electrode and measuring the resulting current. History Beginning his research in 1962, Mr. Naoyoshi Taguc ...

Electronic nose An electronic nose is an electronic sensing device intended to detect odors or flavors. The expression "electronic sensing" refers to the capability of reproducing human senses using sensor arrays and pattern recognition systems. Since 1982, res ...

* Electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor sensor *

Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, EDX, EDXS or XEDS), sometimes called energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA or EDAX) or energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDXMA), is an analytical technique used for the elemental analysis or chemi ...

Fluorescent chloride sensors Fluorescent chloride sensors are used for chemical analysis. The discoveries of chloride (Cl−) participations in physiological processes stimulates the measurements of intracellular Cl− in live cells and the development of fluorescent tools re ...

Holographic sensor A holographic sensor is a device that comprises a hologram embedded in a smart material that detects certain molecules or metabolites. This detection is usually a chemical interaction that is transduced as a change in one of the properties of the ho ...

Hydrocarbon dew point The hydrocarbon dew point is the temperature (at a given pressure) at which the hydrocarbon components of any hydrocarbon-rich gas mixture, such as natural gas, will start to condense out of the gaseous phase. It is often also referred to as the ...

analyzer *

Hydrogen sensor A hydrogen sensor is a gas detector that detects the presence of hydrogen. They contain micro-fabricated point-contact hydrogen sensors and are used to locate hydrogen leaks. They are considered low-cost, compact, durable, and easy to maintain as ...

Hydrogen sulfide sensor A hydrogen sulfide sensor or H2S sensor is a gas sensor for the measurement of hydrogen sulfide. Principle The H2S sensor is a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) sensor which operates by a reversible change in resistance caused by adsorption and de ...

Infrared point sensor {{unreferenced, date=May 2016 An infrared point sensor is a point gas detector based on the nondispersive infrared sensor technology. Principle Dual source and Passive infrared sensor, dual receivers are used for self compensation of changes in al ...

Ion-selective electrode An ion-selective electrode (ISE), also known as a specific ion electrode (SIE), is a transducer (or sensor) that converts the activity of a specific ion dissolved in a solution into an electrical potential. The voltage is theoretically dependent ...

ISFET An ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) is a field-effect transistor used for measuring ion concentrations in solution; when the ion concentration (such as H+, see pH scale) changes, the current through the transistor will change accord ...

Nondispersive infrared sensor A nondispersive infrared sensor (or NDIR sensor) is a simple spectroscopic sensor often used as a gas detector. It is non-dispersive in the fact that no dispersive element (e.g a prism or diffraction grating as is often present in other spectrome ...

* Microwave chemistry sensor * Morphix Chameleon * Nitrogen oxide sensor *

Olfactometer An olfactometer is an instrument used to detect and measure odor dilution. Olfactometers are used in conjunction with human subjects in laboratory settings, most often in market research, to quantify and qualify human olfaction. Olfactometers are ...

Optode An optode or optrode is an optical sensor device that optically measures a specific substance usually with the aid of a chemical transducer. Construction An optode requires three components to function: a chemical that responds to an analyte, a p ...

* Ozone monitor *

Pellistor A pellistor is a solid-state device used to detect gases which are either combustible or which have a significant difference in thermal conductivity to that of air. The word "pellistor" is a combination of pellet and resistor. Principle The detec ...

* pH glass electrode * Potentiometric sensor *

Redox electrode The working electrode is the electrode in an electrochemical system on which the reaction of interest is occurring. The working electrode is often used in conjunction with an auxiliary electrode, and a reference electrode in a three electrode sys ...

Smoke detector A smoke detector is a device that senses smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Smoke detectors are usually housed in plastic enclosures, typically shaped like a disk about in diameter and thick, but shape and size vary. Smoke can be detecte ...

* Zinc oxide nanorod sensor

Electric current, electric potential, magnetic, radio

Current sensor In electrical engineering, current sensing is any one of several techniques used to measure electric current. The measurement of current ranges from picoamps to tens of thousands of amperes. The selection of a current sensing method depends on ...

Daly detector A Daly detector is a gas-phase ion detector that consists of a metal "doorknob", a scintillator (phosphor screen) and a photomultiplier.N. R. DalyScintillation Type Mass Spectrometer ion Detector. ''Rev. Sci. Instrum.'' 31(3), 264–267 (1960). ...

Electroscope The electroscope is an early scientific instrument used to detect the presence of electric charge on a body. It detects charge by the movement of a test object due to the Coulomb electrostatic force on it. The amount of charge on an object is ...

Electron multiplier An electron multiplier is a vacuum-tube structure that multiplies incident charges. In a process called secondary emission, a single electron can, when bombarded on secondary-emissive material, induce emission of roughly 1 to 3 electrons. If an el ...

Faraday cup A Faraday cup is a metal (conductive) cup designed to catch charged particles in vacuum. The resulting current can be measured and used to determine the number of ions or electrons hitting the cup. The Faraday cup was named after Michael Faraday w ...

Galvanometer A galvanometer is an electromechanical measuring instrument for electric current. Early galvanometers were uncalibrated, but improved versions, called ammeters, were calibrated and could measure the flow of current more precisely. A galvanom ...

* Hall probe *

Magnetic anomaly detector A magnetic anomaly detector (MAD) is an instrument used to detect minute variations in the Earth's magnetic field. The term refers specifically to magnetometers used by military forces to detect submarines (a mass of ferromagnetic material crea ...

Magnetometer A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, o ...

Magnetoresistance Magnetoresistance is the tendency of a material (often ferromagnetic) to change the value of its electrical resistance in an externally-applied magnetic field. There are a variety of effects that can be called magnetoresistance. Some occur in bulk ...

MEMS magnetic field sensor A MEMS magnetic field sensor is a small-scale microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) device for detecting and measuring magnetic fields (Magnetometer). Many of these operate by detecting effects of the Lorentz force: a change in voltage or reson ...

Metal detector A metal detector is an instrument that detects the nearby presence of metal. Metal detectors are useful for finding metal objects on the surface, underground, and under water. The unit itself, consist of a control box, and an adjustable shaft, ...

* Planar Hall sensor *

Radio direction finder Direction finding (DF), or radio direction finding (RDF), isin accordance with International Telecommunication Union (ITU)defined as radio location that uses the reception of radio waves to determine the direction in which a radio station ...

Test light A test light, test lamp, voltage tester, or mains tester is a piece of electronic test equipment used to determine the presence of electricity in a piece of equipment under test. A test light is simpler and less costly than a measuring instrument ...

* Voltage detector

Environment, weather, moisture, humidity

Actinometer Actinometers are instruments used to measure the heating power of radiation. They are used in meteorology to measure solar radiation as pyranometers, pyrheliometers and net radiometers. An actinometer is a chemical system or physical device which ...

Air pollution sensor Air pollution measurement is the process of collecting and measuring the components of air pollution, notably gases and particulates. The earliest devices used to measure pollution include rain gauges (in studies of acid rain), Ringelmann charts f ...

Bedwetting alarm A bedwetting alarm is a behavioral treatment for nocturnal enuresis. History The enuresis alarm methodology originated from French and German physicians in the first decade of the 20th century. Meinhard von Pfaundler, a German pediatrician made t ...

Ceilometer A ceilometer is a device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height of a cloud ceiling or cloud base. Ceilometers can also be used to measure the aerosol concentration within the atmosphere. A ceilometer that uses laser light ...

* Dew warning *

* Fish counter *

Frequency domain sensor {{Short description, Soil moisture content measuring instrument Frequency domain (FD) sensor is an instrument developed for measuring soil moisture content. The instrument has an oscillating circuit, the sensing part of the sensor is embedded in the ...

Gas detector A gas detector is a device that detects the presence of gases in an area, often as part of a safety system. A gas detector can sound an alarm to operators in the area where the leak is occurring, giving them the opportunity to leave. This type of d ...

* Hook gauge evaporimeter *

Humistor A humistor is a type of variable resistor whose resistance varies based on humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidit ...

Hygrometer A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale. A hygrometer is an instrument used to measure the amount of water vapor in air, in soil, or in confined spaces. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of some other qu ...

Leaf sensor A leaf sensor is a phytometric device (measurement of plant physiological processes) that measures water loss or the water deficit stress (WDS) in plants by real-time monitoring the moisture level in plant leaves. The first leaf sensor was develo ...

Lysimeter A lysimeter (from Greek λύσις (loosening) and the suffix ''-meter'') is a measuring device which can be used to measure the amount of actual evapotranspiration which is released by plants (usually crops or trees). By recording the amount of p ...

Pyranometer A pyranometer is a type of actinometer used for measuring solar irradiance on a planar surface and it is designed to measure the solar radiation flux density (W/m2) from the hemisphere above within a wavelength range 0.3 μm to 3 μm. The name pyran ...

* Pyrgeometer *

Psychrometer A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale. A hygrometer is an instrument used to measure the amount of water vapor in air, in soil, or in confined spaces. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of some other qu ...

Rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a period o ...

Rain sensor A rain sensor or ''rain switch'' is a switching device activated by rainfall. There are two main applications for rain sensors. The first is a water conservation device connected to an automatic irrigation system that causes the system to shut do ...

SNOTEL 300px, Data from a SNOTEL site in Elko County, Nevada SNOTEL is an automated system of snowpack and related climate sensors operated by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the United States Department of Agriculture in the Weste ...

Snow gauge A snow gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of solid precipitation (as opposed to liquid precipitation, which is measured by a rain gauge) over a set period of time. History The ...

Soil moisture sensor Soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content in soil. Since the direct gravimetric measurement of free soil moisture requires removing, drying, and weighing of a sample, soil moisture sensors measure the volumetric water content ind ...

Stream gauge A stream gauge, streamgage or stream gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water level surface elevation ("stage") and/or volu ...

Tide gauge A tide gauge is a device for measuring the change in sea level relative to a vertical datum. It its also known as mareograph, marigraph, sea-level recorder and limnimeter. When applied to freshwater continental water bodies, the instrument may ...

Weather radar Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern weather radars are mostly puls ...

Flow, fluid velocity

Anemometer In meteorology, an anemometer () is a device that measures wind speed and direction. It is a common instrument used in weather stations. The earliest known description of an anemometer was by Italian architect and author Leon Battista Alberti ...

Flow sensor Flow measurement is the quantification of bulk fluid movement. Flow can be measured in a variety of ways. The common types of flowmeters with industrial applications are listed below: * a) Obstruction type (differential pressure or variable area) ...

Gas meter A gas meter is a specialized flow meter, used to measure the volume of fuel gases such as natural gas and liquefied petroleum gas. Gas meters are used at residential, commercial, and industrial buildings that consume fuel gas supplied by a gas ...

Mass flow sensor A mass (air) flow sensor (MAF) is a sensor used to determine the mass flow rate of air entering a fuel-injected internal combustion engine. The air mass information is necessary for the engine control unit (ECU) to balance and deliver the co ...

Water meter Water metering is the practice of measuring water use. Water meters measure the volume of water used by residential and commercial building units that are supplied with water by a public water supply system. They are also used to determine flo ...

Ionizing radiation, subatomic particles

Bubble chamber A bubble chamber is a vessel filled with a superheated transparent liquid (most often liquid hydrogen) used to detect electrically charged particles moving through it. It was invented in 1952 by Donald A. Glaser, for which he was awarded the 196 ...

Cloud chamber A cloud chamber, also known as a Wilson cloud chamber, is a particle detector used for visualizing the passage of ionizing radiation. A cloud chamber consists of a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapour of water or alcohol. ...

Geiger counter A Geiger counter (also known as a Geiger–Müller counter) is an electronic instrument used for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation. It is widely used in applications such as radiation dosimetry, radiological protection, experimental ph ...

Geiger–Müller tube The Geiger–Müller tube or G–M tube is the sensing element of the Geiger counter instrument used for the detection of ionizing radiation. It is named after Hans Geiger, who invented the principle in 1908, and Walther Müller, who collaborated w ...

Ionization chamber The ionization chamber is the simplest type of gas-filled radiation detector, and is widely used for the detection and measurement of certain types of ionizing radiation, including X-rays, gamma rays, and beta particles. Conventionally, the term ...

Gaseous ionization detectors Gaseous ionization detectors are radiation detection instruments used in particle physics to detect the presence of ionizing particles, and in radiation protection applications to measure ionizing radiation. They use the ionising effect of radia ...

Neutron detection Neutron detection is the effective detection of neutrons entering a well-positioned detector. There are two key aspects to effective neutron detection: hardware and software. Detection hardware refers to the kind of neutron detector used (the most ...

Particle detector In experimental and applied particle physics, nuclear physics, and nuclear engineering, a particle detector, also known as a radiation detector, is a device used to detect, track, and/or identify ionizing particles, such as those produced by nuc ...

Proportional counter The proportional counter is a type of gaseous ionization detector device used to measure particles of ionizing radiation. The key feature is its ability to measure the energy of incident radiation, by producing a detector output pulse that is ''prop ...

Scintillator A scintillator is a material that exhibits scintillation, the property of luminescence, when excited by ionizing radiation. Luminescent materials, when struck by an incoming particle, absorb its energy and scintillate (i.e. re-emit the absorbed ...

Scintillation counter A scintillation counter is an instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation by using the excitation effect of incident radiation on a scintillating material, and detecting the resultant light pulses. It consists of a scintillator w ...

Semiconductor detector A semiconductor detector in ionizing radiation detection physics is a device that uses a semiconductor (usually silicon or germanium) to measure the effect of incident charged particles or photons. Semiconductor detectors find broad applicati ...

Thermoluminescent dosimeter A thermoluminescent dosimeter, or TLD, is a type of radiation dosimeter, consisting of a piece of a thermoluminescent crystalline material inside a radiolucent package. When a thermoluminescent crystal is exposed to ionizing radiation, it abso ...

Wire chamber A wire chamber or multi-wire proportional chamber is a type of proportional counter that detects charged particles and photons and can give positional information on their trajectory, by tracking the trails of gaseous ionization. was located via ...

Navigation instruments

Airspeed indicator The airspeed indicator (ASI) or airspeed gauge is a flight instrument indicating the airspeed of an aircraft in kilometers per hour (km/h), knots (kn), miles per hour (MPH) and/or meters per second (m/s). The recommendation by ICAO is to use km/h, ...

Altimeter An altimeter or an altitude meter is an instrument used to measure the altitude of an object above a fixed level. The measurement of altitude is called altimetry, which is related to the term bathymetry, the measurement of depth under water. The m ...

Attitude indicator The attitude indicator (AI), formerly known as the gyro horizon or artificial horizon, is a flight instrument that informs the pilot of the aircraft orientation relative to Earth's horizon, and gives an immediate indication of the smallest o ...

Depth gauge A depth gauge is an instrument for measuring depth below a reference surface. They include depth gauges for underwater diving and similar applications, and engineering instruments used to measure the depth of holes and indentations from a refer ...

Fluxgate compass The basic fluxgate compass is a simple electromagnetic device that employs two or more small coils of wire around a core of highly permeable magnetic material, to directly sense the direction of the horizontal component of the Earth's magnetic fie ...

Gyroscope A gyroscope (from Ancient Greek γῦρος ''gŷros'', "round" and σκοπέω ''skopéō'', "to look") is a device used for measuring or maintaining orientation and angular velocity. It is a spinning wheel or disc in which the axis of rota ...

Inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors ( gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning the position, the orientation, and the velocity (dire ...

Inertial reference unit An inertial reference unit (IRU) is a type of inertial sensor which uses gyroscopes (electromechanical, ring laser gyro or MEMS) and accelerometers (electromechanical or MEMS) to determine a moving aircraft’s or spacecraft’s change in rotati ...

Machmeter A Machmeter is an aircraft pitot-static system flight instrument that shows the ratio of the true airspeed to the speed of sound, a dimensionless quantity called Mach number. This is shown on a Machmeter as a decimal fraction. An aircraft fly ...

Magnetic compass A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...

* MHD sensor *

Ring laser gyroscope A ring laser gyroscope (RLG) consists of a ring laser having two independent counter-propagating resonant modes over the same path; the difference in phase is used to detect rotation. It operates on the principle of the Sagnac effect which shifts ...

Sextant A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...

Turn coordinator In aviation, the turn and slip indicator (T/S, a.k.a. turn and bank indicator) and the turn coordinator (TC) variant are essentially two aircraft flight instruments in one device. One indicates the rate of turn, or the rate of change in the aircr ...

Variometer In aviation, a variometer – also known as a rate of climb and descent indicator (RCDI), rate-of-climb indicator, vertical speed indicator (VSI), or vertical velocity indicator (VVI) – is one of the flight instruments in an aircraft used to in ...

Vibrating structure gyroscope A vibrating structure gyroscope, defined by the IEEE as a Coriolis vibratory gyroscope (CVG), is a gyroscope that uses a vibrating structure to determine the rate of rotation. A vibrating structure gyroscope functions much like the halteres of fl ...

Yaw-rate sensor A yaw-rate sensor is a gyroscopic device that measures a vehicle's yaw rate, its angular velocity around its vertical axis. The angle between the vehicle's heading and velocity is called its slip angle, which is related to the yaw rate. Types ...

Position, angle, displacement, distance, speed, acceleration

Accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...

Auxanometer An auxanometer (Gr. '= "to grow" + ''metron''= "measure") is an apparatus for measuring increase of growth in plants. In case of an arc-auxanometer (see picture), there is a thin cord fixed to the plant apex on one end and a dead-weight on the oth ...

Capacitive displacement sensor Capacitive displacement sensors "are non-contact devices capable of high-resolution measurement of the position and/or change of position of any conductive target".

Capacitive sensing In electrical engineering, capacitive sensing (sometimes capacitance sensing) is a technology, based on capacitive coupling, that can detect and measure anything that is conductive or has a dielectric constant different from air. Many types of sen ...

Flex sensor A flex sensor or bend sensor is a sensor that measures the amount of deflection or bending. Usually, the sensor is stuck to the surface, and resistance of sensor element is varied by bending the surface. Since the resistance is directly proportiona ...

Free fall sensor An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accel ...

Gravimeter Gravimetry is the measurement of the strength of a gravitational field. Gravimetry may be used when either the magnitude of a gravitational field or the properties of matter responsible for its creation are of interest. Units of measurement Gr ...

Gyroscopic sensor A vibrating structure gyroscope, defined by the IEEE as a Coriolis vibratory gyroscope (CVG), is a gyroscope that uses a vibrating structure to determine the rate of rotation. A vibrating structure gyroscope functions much like the halteres of fl ...

Impact sensor A shock detector, shock indicator, or impact monitor is a device which indicates whether a physical shock or impact has occurred. These usually have a binary output (go/no-go) and are sometimes called ''shock overload devices''. Shock detect ...

Inclinometer An inclinometer or clinometer is an measuring instrument, instrument used for measuring angles of slope, elevation, or depression (geology), depression of an object with respect to gravity's direction. It is also known as a ''tilt indicator'', ' ...

Incremental encoder An incremental encoder is a linear or rotary electromechanical device that has two output signals, ''A'' and ''B'', which issue pulses when the device is moved. Together, the ''A'' and ''B'' signals indicate both the occurrence of and direction ...

Integrated circuit piezoelectric sensor The abbreviation IEPE stands for Integrated Electronics Piezo-Electric. It characterises a technical standard for piezoelectric sensors which contain built-in impedance conversion electronics. IEPE sensors are used to measure acceleration, force ...

Laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter, is a rangefinder that uses a laser beam to determine the distance to an object. The most common form of laser rangefinder operates on the time of flight principle by sending a laser pulse in ...

Laser surface velocimeter A laser surface velocimeter (LSV) is a non-contact optical speed sensor measuring velocity and length on moving surfaces. Laser surface velocimeters use the laser Doppler principle to evaluate the laser light scattered back from a moving object. T ...

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, or LiDAR; sometimes LADAR) is a method for determining ranges (variable distance) by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected light to return to the receiver. It can also be ...

Linear encoder A linear encoder is a sensor, transducer or readhead paired with a scale that encodes position. The sensor reads the scale in order to convert the encoded position into an analog or digital signal, which can then be decoded into position by a di ...

Linear variable differential transformer The linear variable differential transformer (LVDT) (also called linear variable displacement transformer, linear variable displacement transducer, or simply differential transformer) is a type of electrical transformer used for measuring linear d ...

(LVDT) * Liquid capacitive inclinometers *

Odometer An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two (electromechanical). The noun derives from ancient Gr ...

Photoelectric sensor A photoelectric sensor is a device used to determine the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter, often infrared, and a photoelectric receiver. They are largely used in industrial manufacturing. There are three ...

* Piezoelectric accelerometer *

Position sensor A position sensor is a sensor that detects an object's position. A position sensor may indicate the absolute position of the object (its location) or its relative position (displacement) in terms of linear travel, rotational angle or three-dimensio ...

Position sensitive device A position sensitive device and/or position sensitive detector (PSD) is an optical position sensor (OPS) that can measure a position of a light spot in one or two-dimensions on a sensor surface. Principles PSDs can be divided into two classes whi ...

* Angular rate sensor *

Rotary encoder A rotary encoder, also called a shaft encoder, is an electro-mechanical device that converts the angular position or motion of a shaft or axle to analog or digital output signals. There are two main types of rotary encoder: absolute and increm ...

Rotary variable differential transformer A rotary variable differential transformer (RVDT) is a type of electrical transformer used for measuring angular displacement. The transformer has a rotor which can be turned by an external force. The transformer acts as an electromechanical tran ...

Selsyn A synchro (also known as selsyn and by other brand names) is, in effect, a transformer whose primary-to-secondary coupling may be varied by physically changing the relative orientation of the two windings. Synchros are often used for measuring ...

Shock detector A shock detector, shock indicator, or impact monitor is a device which indicates whether a physical shock or impact has occurred. These usually have a binary output (go/no-go) and are sometimes called ''shock overload devices''. Shock detect ...

Shock data logger A shock data logger or vibration data logger is a measurement instrument that is capable of autonomously recording shocks or vibrations over a defined period of time. Digital data is usually in the form of acceleration and time. The shock and vib ...

* Sudden Motion Sensor *

Tilt sensor An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument used for measuring angles of slope, elevation, or depression of an object with respect to gravity's direction. It is also known as a ''tilt indicator'', ''tilt sensor'', ''tilt meter'', ''slope ...

Tachometer A tachometer (revolution-counter, tach, rev-counter, RPM gauge) is an instrument measuring the rotation speed of a shaft or disk, as in a motor or other machine. The device usually displays the revolutions per minute (RPM) on a calibrated anal ...

Ultrasonic thickness gauge In the field of ultrasonic testing, industrial ultrasonic testing, ultrasonic thickness measurement (UTM) is a method of performing Nondestructive testing, non-destructive measurement (gauging) of the local thickness of a solid element (typically m ...

* Ultra-wideband radar * Variable reluctance sensor * Velocity receiver *

Magnetic sensor A magnetometer is a device that measures magnetic field or magnetic dipole moment. Different types of magnetometers measure the direction, strength, or relative change of a magnetic field at a particular location. A compass is one such device, ...

Optical, light, imaging, photon

Charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coupled, capacitors. Under the control of an external circuit, each capacitor can transfer its electric charge to a neighboring capacitor. CCD sensors are a ...

CMOS sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) active-pixel sensor, MOS field-effec ...

* Angle–sensitive pixel * Colorimeter *

Contact image sensor Contact image sensors (CIS) are image sensors used in flatbed scanners almost in direct contact with the object to be scanned. Charge-coupled device A charge-coupled device (CCD) is an integrated circuit containing an array of linked, or coup ...

Electro-optical sensor Electro-optical sensors are electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. These sensors are able to detect electromagnetic radiation from the infrared up to the ultraviolet wavelengths. They are used in ...

Flame detector A flame detector is a sensor designed to detect and respond to the presence of a flame or fire, allowing flame detection. Responses to a detected flame depend on the installation, but can include sounding an alarm, deactivating a fuel line (such as ...

Infra-red Infrared (IR), sometimes called infrared light, is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than those of visible light. It is therefore invisible to the human eye. IR is generally understood to encompass wavelengths from around ...

sensor *

Kinetic inductance detector The kinetic inductance detector (KID) — also known as a microwave kinetic inductance detector (MKID) — is a type of superconductivity, superconducting photon detector first developed by scientists at the California Institute of Technology and ...

LED as light sensor In electronics, an LED circuit or LED driver is an electrical circuit used to power a light-emitting diode (LED). The circuit must provide sufficient current to light the LED at the required brightness, but must limit the current to prevent damag ...

* Light-addressable potentiometric sensor *

Nichols radiometer A Nichols radiometer was the apparatus used by Ernest Fox Nichols and Gordon Ferrie Hull in 1901 for the measurement of radiation pressure. It consisted of a pair of small silvered glass mirrors suspended in the manner of a torsion balance by a fi ...

Fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

sensors * Optical position sensor * Thermopile laser sensors *

Photodetector Photodetectors, also called photosensors, are sensors of light or other electromagnetic radiation. There is a wide variety of photodetectors which may be classified by mechanism of detection, such as Photoelectric effect, photoelectric or photoc ...

Photodiode A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons. The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packag ...

Photomultiplier A photomultiplier is a device that converts incident photons into an electrical signal. Kinds of photomultiplier include: * Photomultiplier tube, a vacuum tube converting incident photons into an electric signal. Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs for sho ...

Photomultiplier tube Photomultiplier tubes (photomultipliers or PMTs for short) are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum. They are members of the class of vacuum tubes, more specif ...

Phototransistor A photodiode is a light-sensitive semiconductor diode. It produces current when it absorbs photons. The package of a photodiode allows light (or infrared or ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays) to reach the sensitive part of the device. The packa ...

Photoionization detector A photoionization detector or PID is a type of gas detector. Typical photoionization detectors measure volatile organic compounds and other gases in concentrations from sub parts per billion to 10 000 parts per million (ppm). The photoionization ...

Photoresistor A photoresistor (also known as a photocell, or light-dependent resistor, LDR, or photo-conductive cell) is a passive component that decreases resistance with respect to receiving luminosity (light) on the component's sensitive surface. The elect ...

Photoswitch A photoswitch is a type of molecule that can change its structural geometry and chemical properties upon irradiation with electromagnetic radiation. Although often used interchangeably with the term molecular machine, a switch does not perform work ...

Phototube A phototube or photoelectric cell is a type of gas-filled or vacuum tube that is sensitive to light. Such a tube is more correctly called a 'photoemissive cell' to distinguish it from photovoltaic or photoconductive cells. Phototubes were previ ...

Scintillometer A scintillometer is a scientific device used to measure turbulent fluctuations of the refractive index of air caused by variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure. It consists of an optical or radio wave transmitter and a receiver at oppos ...

Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor A Shack–Hartmann (or Hartmann–Shack) wavefront sensor (SHWFS) is an optical instrument used for characterizing an imaging system. It is a wavefront sensor commonly used in adaptive optics systems. It consists of an array of lenses (called l ...

Single-photon avalanche diode A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD) is a solid-state photodetector within the same family as photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes (APDs), while also being fundamentally linked with basic diode behaviours. As with photodiodes and APDs, a SPA ...

* Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector *

Transition-edge sensor A transition-edge sensor (TES) is a type of cryogenic energy sensor or cryogenic particle detector that exploits the strongly temperature-dependent resistance of the superconducting phase transition. History The first demonstrations of the supe ...

* Visible Light Photon Counter *

Wavefront sensor In physics, the wavefront of a time-varying ''wave field'' is the set (locus) of all points having the same '' phase''. The term is generally meaningful only for fields that, at each point, vary sinusoidally in time with a single temporal frequ ...

Pressure

Barograph A barograph is a barometer that records the barometric pressure over time in graphical form. This instrument is also used to make a continuous recording of atmospheric pressure. The pressure-sensitive element, a partially evacuated metal cylinde ...

Barometer A barometer is a scientific instrument that is used to measure air pressure in a certain environment. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather. Many measurements of air pressure are used within surface weather analysis ...

* Boost gauge *

Bourdon gauge Pressure measurement is the measurement of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressur ...

Hot filament ionization gauge The hot-filament ionization gauge, sometimes called a hot-filament gauge or hot-cathode gauge, is the most widely used low-pressure (vacuum) measuring device for the region from 10−3 to 10−10 Torr. It is a triode, with the filament being the ...

Ionization gauge Pressure measurement is the measurement of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressur ...

McLeod gauge A McLeod gauge is a scientific instrument used to measure very low pressures, down to 10−6 Torr (1.33 m Pa). It was invented in 1874 by Herbert McLeod (1841–1923). McLeod gauges were once commonly found attached to equipment that operates unde ...

Oscillating U-tube {{no footnotes, date=March 2014 The oscillating U-tube is a technique to determine the density of liquids and gases based on an electronic measurement of the frequency of oscillation, from which the density value is calculated. This measuring p ...

* Permanent downhole gauge *

Piezometer A piezometer is either a device used to measure liquid pressure in a system by measuring the height to which a column of the liquid rises against gravity, or a device which measures the pressure (more precisely, the piezometric head) of groundwa ...

Pirani gauge The Pirani gauge is a robust thermal conductivity gauge used for the measurement of the pressures in vacuum systems. It was invented in 1906 by Marcello Pirani. Marcello Stefano Pirani was a German physicist working for Siemens & Halske which was ...

Pressure sensor A pressure sensor is a device for pressure measurement of gases or liquids. Pressure is an expression of the force required to stop a fluid from expanding, and is usually stated in terms of force per unit area. A pressure sensor usually act ...

Pressure gauge Pressure measurement is the measurement of an applied force by a fluid (liquid or gas) on a surface. Pressure is typically measured in units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the measurement of pressur ...

Tactile sensor A tactile sensor is a device that measures information arising from physical interaction with its environment. Tactile sensors are generally modeled after the biological sense of cutaneous receptor, cutaneous touch which is capable of detecti ...

Time pressure gauge A time pressure gauge is an instrument that digitally displays pressure data divided into appropriate time intervals. While a pressure gauge indicates a general unit amount, only a time pressure gauge accounts for varying consumption and capacity in ...

Force, density, level

Bhangmeter A bhangmeter is a non-imaging radiometer installed on reconnaissance and navigation satellites to detect atmospheric nuclear detonations and determine the yield of the nuclear weapon. They are also installed on some armored fighting vehicles, in ...

Hydrometer A hydrometer or lactometer is an instrument used for measuring density or relative density of liquids based on the concept of buoyancy. They are typically calibrated and graduated with one or more scales such as specific gravity. A hydrometer ...

* Force gauge and Force Sensor *

Level sensor Level sensors detect the level of liquids and other fluids and fluidized solids, including slurries, granular materials, and powders that exhibit an upper free surface. Substances that flow become essentially horizontal in their containers ...

Load cell A load cell converts a force such as tension, compression, pressure, or torque into an electrical signal that can be measured and standardized. It is a force transducer. As the force applied to the load cell increases, the electrical signal change ...

* Magnetic level gauge * Nuclear density gauge * Piezocapacitive pressure sensor *

Piezoelectric sensor A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure changes in pressure, acceleration, temperature, strain, or force by converting them to an electrical charge. The prefix ''piezo-'' is Greek for 'press' or 'squeeze'. ...

Strain gauge A strain gauge (also spelled strain gage) is a device used to measure strain on an object. Invented by Edward E. Simmons and Arthur C. Ruge in 1938, the most common type of strain gauge consists of an insulating flexible backing which supports ...

Viscometer A viscometer (also called viscosimeter) is an instrument used to measure the viscosity of a fluid. For liquids with viscosities which vary with flow conditions, an instrument called a rheometer is used. Thus, a rheometer can be considered as a spe ...

Thermal, heat, temperature

Bolometer A bolometer is a device for measuring radiant heat by means of a material having a temperature-dependent electrical resistance. It was invented in 1878 by the American astronomer Samuel Pierpont Langley. Principle of operation A bolometer ...

Bimetallic strip A bimetallic strip is used to convert a temperature change into mechanical displacement. The strip consists of two strips of different metals which expand at different rates as they are heated. The different expansions force the flat strip to be ...

Calorimeter A calorimeter is an object used for calorimetry, or the process of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal micro calorimeters, titration calorimete ...

Exhaust gas temperature gauge An exhaust gas temperature gauge (EGT gauge or EGT sensor) is a meter used to monitor the exhaust gas temperature of an internal combustion engine in conjunction with a thermocouple-type pyrometer. EGT gauges are found in certain cars and aeropla ...

Flame detection A flame detector is a sensor designed to detect and respond to the presence of a flame or fire, allowing flame detection. Responses to a detected flame depend on the installation, but can include sounding an alarm, deactivating a fuel line (such as ...

Gardon gauge A Gardon gauge or circular-foil gauge is a heat flux sensor primarily intended for the measurement of high intensity radiation. It is a sensor that is designed to measure the radiation flux density (in watts per metre squared) from a field of vie ...

Golay cell The Golay cell is a type of opto-acoustic detector mainly used for infrared spectroscopy. It consists of a gas-filled enclosure with an infrared absorbing material and a flexible diaphragm or membrane. When infrared radiation is absorbed, it heats ...

Heat flux sensor A heat flux sensor is a transducer that generates an electrical signal proportional to the total heat rate applied to the surface of the sensor. The measured heat rate is divided by the surface area of the sensor to determine the heat flux. The ...

Infrared thermometer An infrared thermometer is a thermometer which infers temperature from a portion of the thermal radiation sometimes called black-body radiation emitted by the object being measured. They are sometimes called laser thermometers as a laser is use ...

Microbolometer A microbolometer is a specific type of bolometer used as a detector in a thermal camera. Infrared radiation with wavelengths between 7.5–14 μm strikes the detector material, heating it, and thus changing its electrical resistance. This resista ...

Microwave radiometer A microwave radiometer (MWR) is a radiometer that measures energy emitted at one millimeter-to-metre wavelengths (frequencies of 0.3–300 GHz) known as microwaves. Microwave radiometers are very sensitive receivers designed to measure thermally- ...

Net radiometer A net radiometer is a type of actinometer used to measure net radiation (NR) at the Earth's surface for meteorological applications. The name net radiometer reflects the fact that it measures the difference between downward/incoming and upward/o ...

* Quartz thermometer *

Resistance thermometer Resistance thermometers, also called resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), are sensors used to measure temperature. Many RTD elements consist of a length of fine wire wrapped around a heat-resistant ceramic or glass core but other constructio ...

Silicon bandgap temperature sensor The silicon bandgap temperature sensor is an extremely common form of temperature sensor (thermometer) used in electronic equipment. Its main advantage is that it can be included in a silicon integrated circuit at very low cost. The principle of ...

Special sensor microwave/imager The Special Sensor Microwave/Imager (SSM/I) is a seven-channel, four-frequency, linearly polarized passive microwave radiometer system.Hollinger, J.P. 1989: ''DMSP Special Sensor Microwave/Imager Calibration/Validation''. Final Report, Vol. I., Spac ...

* Temperature gauge *

Thermistor A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance is strongly dependent on temperature, more so than in standard resistors. The word thermistor is a portmanteau of ''thermal'' and ''resistor''. Thermistors are divided based on their conduction ...

Thermocouple A thermocouple, also known as a "thermoelectrical thermometer", is an electrical device consisting of two dissimilar electrical conductors forming an electrical junction. A thermocouple produces a temperature-dependent voltage as a result of the ...

Thermometer A thermometer is a device that temperature measurement, measures temperature or a temperature gradient (the degree of hotness or coldness of an object). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb of a merc ...

Phosphor thermometry Phosphor thermometry is an optical method for surface temperature measurement. The method exploits luminescence emitted by phosphor material. Phosphors are fine white or pastel-colored inorganic powders which may be stimulated by any of a variety of ...

Pyrometer A pyrometer is a type of remote-sensing thermometer used to measure the temperature of distant objects. Various forms of pyrometers have historically existed. In the modern usage, it is a device that from a distance determines the temperature of ...

Proximity, presence

* Alarm sensor *

Doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the f ...

Motion detector A motion detector is an electrical device that utilizes a sensor to detect nearby motion. Such a device is often integrated as a component of a system that automatically performs a task or alerts a user of motion in an area. They form a vital co ...

* Occupancy sensor *

Proximity sensor A proximity sensor is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiation (infrared, for instance), and looks for ...

Passive infrared sensor A passive infrared sensor (PIR sensor) is an electronic sensor that measures infrared (IR) light radiating from objects in its field of view. They are most often used in PIR-based motion detectors. PIR sensors are commonly used in security alarms ...

* Reed switch * Stud finder *

Triangulation sensor Optical Triangulation Sensors are commonly used to provide door mounted safety detection on swinging automatic doors. These types of sensors are common in North America. When automatic swinging doors open and close, it is important that they do ...

Touch switch A touch switch is a type of switch that only has to be touched by an object to operate. It is used in many lamps and wall switches that have a metal exterior as well as on public computer terminals. A touchscreen includes an array of touch switches ...

Wired glove A wired glove (also called a dataglove or cyberglove) is an input device for human–computer interaction worn like a glove. Various sensor technologies are used to capture physical data such as bending of fingers. Often a motion tracker, such a ...

Sensor technology

Active pixel sensor An active-pixel sensor (APS) is an image sensor where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) active-pixel sensor, MOS field-effec ...

Back-illuminated sensor Comparison of simplified back-illuminated and front-illuminated pixel cross-sections A back-illuminated sensor, also known as backside illumination (BI) sensor, is a type of digital image sensor that uses a novel arrangement of the imaging eleme ...

BioFET A field-effect transistor-based biosensor, also known as a biosensor field-effect transistor (Bio-FET or BioFET), field-effect biosensor (FEB), or biosensor MOSFET, is a field-effect transistor (based on the MOSFET structure) that is gated by chang ...

* Biochip *

Biosensor A biosensor is an analytical device, used for the detection of a chemical substance, that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector. The ''sensitive biological element'', e.g. tissue, microorganisms, organelles, cell recep ...

Capacitance probe Capacitance sensors (or Dielectric sensors) use capacitance to measure the dielectric permittivity of a surrounding medium. The configuration is like the neutron probe where an access tube made of PVC is installed in the soil; probes can also be mo ...

*Capacitance sensor *

Catadioptric sensor A catadioptric sensor is a visual sensor that contains mirrors (catoptrics) and lenses (dioptrics), a combined catadioptric system. These are panoramic sensors created by pointing a camera A camera is an optical instrument that can capt ...

Carbon paste electrode A carbon-paste electrode (CPE) is made from a mixture of conducting graphite powder and a pasting liquid. These electrodes are simple to make and offer an easily renewable surface for electron exchange. Carbon paste electrodes belong to a special ...

* Digital sensors *

Displacement receiver A displacement receiver is a device that responds to or is sensitive to directed distance (displacement). Examples of displacement receivers include carbon microphones, strain gauges, and pressure sensors or force sensors, which, to within an ap ...

Electromechanical film Electromechanical Film (EMFI, EMFIT, trademarks of Emfit Ltd) is a thin, flexible film that can function as a sensor or actuator. It is composed of a charged polymer coated with two conductive layers, making it an electret. It was invented and firs ...

Electrochemical fatigue crack sensor An Electrochemical Fatigue Crack Sensor (EFCS) is a type of low cost electrochemical nondestructive dynamic testing method used primarily in the aerospace and transportation infrastructure industries. The method is used to locate surface-breaking a ...

Fabry–Pérot interferometer In optics, a Fabry–Pérot interferometer (FPI) or etalon is an optical cavity made from two parallel reflecting surfaces (i.e.: thin mirrors). Optical waves can pass through the optical cavity only when they are in resonance with it. It is ...

Fiber Bragg grating A fiber Bragg grating (FBG) is a type of distributed Bragg reflector constructed in a short segment of optical fiber that reflects particular wavelengths of light and transmits all others. This is achieved by creating a periodic variation in th ...

Fisheries acoustics Fisheries acoustics includes a range of research and practical application topics using acoustical devices as sensors in aquatic environments. Acoustical techniques can be applied to sensing aquatic animals, zooplankton, and physical and biolog ...

Image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to make an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they pass through or reflect off objects) into signals, small bursts of curr ...

Image sensor format In digital photography, the image sensor format is the shape and size of the image sensor. The image sensor format of a digital camera determines the angle of view of a particular lens when used with a particular sensor. Because the image se ...

Inductive sensor An inductive sensor is a device that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect or measure objects. An inductor develops a magnetic field when a current flows through it; alternatively, a current will flow through a circuit contain ...

* Intelligent sensor *

Lab-on-a-chip A lab-on-a-chip (LOC) is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single integrated circuit (commonly called a "chip") of only millimeters to a few square centimeters to achieve automation and high-throughput screening. ...

Machine vision Machine vision (MV) is the technology and methods used to provide imaging-based automatic inspection and analysis for such applications as automatic inspection, process control, and robot guidance, usually in industry. Machine vision refers to m ...

Microelectromechanical systems Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

MOSFET The metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET, MOS-FET, or MOS FET) is a type of field-effect transistor (FET), most commonly fabricated by the controlled oxidation of silicon. It has an insulated gate, the voltage of which d ...

Photoelasticity Photoelasticity describes changes in the optical properties of a material under mechanical deformation. It is a property of all dielectric media and is often used to experimentally determine the stress distribution in a material, where it gives ...

Quantum sensor A quantum sensor utilizes properties of quantum mechanics, such as quantum entanglement, quantum interference, and quantum state squeezing, which have optimized precision and beat current limits in sensor technology. The field of quantum sensin ...

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

Ground-penetrating radar Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. It is a non-intrusive method of surveying the sub-surface to investigate underground utilities such as concrete, asphalt, metals, pipes, cables o ...

Synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

Radar tracker A radar tracker is a component of a radar system, or an associated command and control (C2) system, that associates consecutive radar observations of the same target into Track (navigation), tracks. It is particularly useful when the radar system ...

Stretch sensor A stretch sensor is a sensor which can be used to measure deformation and stretching forces such as tension or bending. They are usually made from a material that is itself soft and stretchable. Most stretch sensors fall into one of three categor ...

Sensor array A sensor array is a group of sensors, usually deployed in a certain geometry pattern, used for collecting and processing electromagnetic or acoustic signals. The advantage of using a sensor array over using a single sensor lies in the fact that an ...

Sensor fusion Sensor fusion is the process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources such that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible when these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentia ...

Sensor grid A sensor grid integrates wireless sensor networks with grid computing concepts to enable real-time data collection and the sharing of computational and storage resources for sensor data processing and management. It is an enabling technology for b ...

Sensor node A sensor node, also known as a mote (chiefly in North America), is a node in a sensor network that is capable of performing some processing, gathering sensory information and communicating with other connected nodes in the network. A mote is a no ...

Soft sensor Soft sensor or virtual sensor is a common name for software where several measurements are processed together. Commonly soft sensors are based on control theory and also receive the name of state observer. There may be dozens or even hundreds of m ...

Sonar Sonar (sound navigation and ranging or sonic navigation and ranging) is a technique that uses sound propagation (usually underwater, as in submarine navigation) to navigation, navigate, measure distances (ranging), communicate with or detect o ...

* Staring array *

Tapered element oscillating microbalance A tapered element oscillating microbalance (TEOM) is an instrument used for real-time detection of aerosol particles by measuring their mass concentration. It makes use of a small vibrating glass tube whose oscillation frequency changes when aeroso ...

(TEOM) *

Transducer A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another. Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and contr ...

Ultrasonic sensor Ultrasonic transducers and ultrasonic sensors are devices that generate or sense ultrasound energy. They can be divided into three broad categories: transmitters, receivers and transceivers. Transmitters convert electrical signals into ultrasoun ...

* Video sensor *

Visual sensor network A visual sensor network or smart camera network or intelligent camera network is a network of spatially distributed smart camera devices capable of processing, exchanging data and fusing images of a scene from a variety of viewpoints into some form ...

Wheatstone bridge A Wheatstone bridge is an electrical circuit used to measure an unknown electrical resistance by balancing two legs of a bridge circuit, one leg of which includes the unknown component. The primary benefit of the circuit is its ability to provid ...

Wireless sensor network Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) refer to networks of spatially dispersed and dedicated sensors that monitor and record the physical conditions of the environment and forward the collected data to a central location. WSNs can measure environmental c ...

Speed sensor

Speed sensors are machines used to detect the speed of an object, usually a transport vehicle. They include: *

s *

Speedometer A speedometer or speed meter is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the early 20th century, and as standard equipment f ...

s *

Pitometer log Pitometer logs (also known as pit logs) are devices used to measure a ship's speed relative to the water. They are used on both surface ships and submarines. Data from the pitometer log is usually fed directly into the ship's navigation system. H ...

s *

Pitot tube A pitot ( ) tube (pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by a French engineer, Henri Pitot, in the early 18th century, and was modified to its modern form in the mid-19th century by a French scientist, Henry Darcy. It is ...

s *

s * Piezo sensors (e.g. in a road surface) *

Ground speed radar Ground speed radar is a non-mechanical way of measuring the speed of a vehicle. The Speed sensor fires a radar beam towards the ground and measures the Doppler shift of the returning beam.Doppler radar A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that uses the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by bouncing a microwave signal off a desired target and analyzing how the object's motion has altered the f ...

* ANPR (where vehicles are timed over a fixed distance) *

s for moving surfaces

Others

* Actigraphy *

* Analog image processing *

Atomic force microscopy Atomic force microscopy (AFM) or scanning force microscopy (SFM) is a very-high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy (SPM), with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the op ...

Atomic Gravitational Wave Interferometric Sensor A gravitational-wave detector (used in a gravitational-wave observatory) is any device designed to measure tiny distortions of spacetime called gravitational waves. Since the 1960s, various kinds of gravitational-wave detectors have been built ...

Attitude control (spacecraft) Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle/satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, et ...

: Horizon sensor, Earth sensor, Sun sensor *

Chemoreceptor A chemoreceptor, also known as chemosensor, is a specialized sensory receptor which transduces a chemical substance (endogenous or induced) to generate a biological signal. This signal may be in the form of an action potential, if the chemorecept ...

* Compressive sensing *

Cryogenic particle detectors Cryogenic particle detectors operate at very low temperature, typically only a few degrees above absolute zero. These sensors interact with an energetic elementary particle (such as a photon) and deliver a signal that can be related to the type of ...

* Dew warning *

Diffusion tensor imaging Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI or DW-MRI) is the use of specific MRI sequences as well as software that generates images from the resulting data that uses the diffusion of water molecules to generate contrast in MR images. It ...

Digital holography Digital holography refers to the acquisition and processing of holograms with a digital sensor array, typically a CCD camera or a similar device. Image rendering, or reconstruction of object ''data'' is performed numerically from digitized interfero ...

Electronic tongue The electronic tongue is an instrument that measures and compares tastes. As per the IUPAC technical report, an “electronic tongue” as analytical instrument including an array of non-selective chemical sensors with partial specificity to diffe ...

* Fine Guidance Sensor *

Flat panel detector Flat-panel detectors are a class of solid-state x-ray digital radiography devices similar in principle to the image sensors used in digital photography and video. They are used in both projectional radiography and as an alternative to x-ray ima ...

Functional magnetic resonance imaging Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI (fMRI) measures brain activity by detecting changes associated with blood flow. This technique relies on the fact that cerebral blood flow and neuronal activation are coupled. When an area o ...

Glass break detector A glass break detector is a sensor that detects if a pane of glass has been shattered or broken. These sensors are commonly used near glass doors or glass storefront windows. They are widely used in electronic burglar-alarm systems. The detect ...

* Heartbeat sensor * Hyperspectral sensors * IRIS (Biosensor), Interferometric Reflectance Imaging Sensor *

Laser beam profiler A laser beam profiler captures, displays, and records the spatial intensity profile of a laser beam at a particular plane transverse to the beam propagation path. Since there are many types of lasers — ultraviolet, visible, infrared, contin ...

Littoral Airborne Sensor/Hyperspectral The Littoral Airborne Sensor/Hyperspectral (LASH) imaging system developed by the United States Navy combines optical imaging hardware, navigation and stabilization, and advanced image processing and algorithms to provide real-time submarine target ...

LORROS Long-Range Reconnaissance and Observation System or LORROS is a sensor system developed by Elbit Systems to provide long-range daytime and night-time surveillance. The unit consists of Forward looking infrared (FLIR) and Charge-coupled device (CCD) ...

Millimeter wave scanner A millimeter wave scanner is a whole-body imaging device used for detecting objects concealed underneath a person’s clothing using a form of electromagnetic radiation. Typical uses for this technology include detection of items for commercial ...

Magnetic resonance imaging Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio wave ...

* Moire deflectometry *

Molecular sensor A molecular sensor or chemosensor is a molecular structure (organic or inorganic complexes) that is used for sensing of an analyte to produce a detectable change or a signal. The action of a chemosensor, relies on an interaction occurring at the mo ...

* Nanosensor * Nano-tetherball Sensor *

Omnidirectional camera In photography, an omnidirectional camera (from "omni", meaning all), also known as 360-degree camera, is a camera having a field of view that covers approximately the entire sphere or at least a full circle in the horizontal plane. Omnidirection ...

* Organoleptic sensors *

Optical coherence tomography Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an imaging technique that uses low-coherence light to capture micrometer-resolution, two- and three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media (e.g., biological tissue). It is used for medical ...

Phase unwrapping Instantaneous phase and frequency are important concepts in signal processing that occur in the context of the representation and analysis of time-varying functions. The instantaneous phase (also known as local phase or simply phase) of a ''comple ...

techniques *

Polygraph A polygraph, often incorrectly referred to as a lie detector test, is a device or procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked an ...

Truth Detection *

Positron emission tomography Positron emission tomography (PET) is a functional imaging technique that uses radioactive substances known as radiotracers to visualize and measure changes in Metabolism, metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including bl ...

Push broom scanner A push broom scanner, also known as an along-track scanner, is a device for obtaining images with spectroscopic sensors. The scanners are regularly used for passive remote sensing from space, and in spectral analysis on production lines, for exampl ...

Quantization (signal processing) Quantization, in mathematics and digital signal processing, is the process of mapping input values from a large set (often a continuous set) to output values in a (countable) smaller set, often with a finite number of elements. Rounding and ...

Range imaging Range imaging is the name for a collection of techniques that are used to produce a 2D image showing the distance to points in a scene from a specific point, normally associated with some type of sensor device. The resulting range image has pix ...

* Scanning SQUID microscope * Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) *

Smartdust Smartdust is a system of many tiny microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) such as sensors, robots, or other devices, that can detect, for example, light, temperature, vibration, magnetism, or chemicals. They are usually operated on a computer netwo ...

SQUID True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ...

, Superconducting quantum interference device * SSIES, Special Sensors-Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation thermal plasma analysis package *

SSMIS The Special Sensor Microwave Imager / Sounder (SSMIS) is a 24-channel, 21-frequency, linearly polarized passive microwave radiometer system. The instrument is flown on board the United States Air Force Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DM ...

, Special Sensor Microwave Imager / Sounder *

Structured-light 3D scanner A structured-light 3D scanner is a 3D scanning device for measuring the three-dimensional shape of an object using projected light patterns and a camera system. Principle Projecting a narrow band of light onto a three-dimensionally shaped sur ...

Sun sensor A sun sensor is a navigational instrument used by spacecraft to detect the position of the sun. Sun sensors are used for attitude control, solar array pointing, gyro updating, and fail-safe recovery. In addition to spacecraft, sun sensors fin ...

* Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector *

Thin-film thickness monitor Thin-film thickness monitors, deposition rate controllers, and so on, are a family of instruments used in high and ultra-high vacuum systems. They can measure the thickness of a thin film, not only after it has been made, but while it is still bei ...

Time-of-flight camera A time-of-flight camera (ToF camera), also known as time-of-flight sensor (ToF sensor), is a range imaging camera system for measuring distances between the camera and the subject for each point of the image based on time-of-flight, the round tr ...

* TriDAR, Triangulation and LIDAR Automated Rendezvous and Docking *

Unattended Ground Sensors The unattended ground sensor (UGS) is under development as part of the United States Army's Future Combat Systems Program. For information on currently fielded UGS systems, refer to the Current Force UGS Program or CF UGS. The CF UGS systems emp ...

References

Global List of Sensor Manufacturers
List of commercial sensor manufacturers from around the world {{DEFAULTSORT:Sensors * Electrical components Technology-related lists