Understand your sensor. Design your measurement system correctly.

What information should you gather before selecting a sensor?

First, define the measured quantity and the decision it supports: displaying temperature, logging a cold chain, detecting motion and monitoring process gas composition are different needs. Then document the expected normal range, potential extremes and acceptable error. The measurement location, the material through which the sensor contacts the environment and the required update time narrow the selection.

Power, cable length, analogue or digital output, the existing control system and recording requirements are all parts of the same specification. Sharing the use case, measurement range, environment, target quantity and integration needs when requesting a quotation provides a more concrete starting point than naming a sensor alone.

Why are error, resolution and calibration separate topics?

Resolution describes the smallest step a display can distinguish; accuracy concerns how close a result is to a reference. Repeatability is the ability to obtain similar results under the same conditions. Hysteresis, drift, noise, mounting and environmental effects may also be present. The error budget cannot be completed from the sensor datasheet alone.

Calibration requires comparison with a traceable reference, recording conditions and evaluating uncertainty. Applying a software correction at one point does not automatically establish performance across the full range or confer authority to issue a calibration certificate. The relevant guide explains which effects matter most for each sensor family.

How does sensor data become usable in your device?

The sensor output is read using suitable power, protection, an analogue front end or a digital communication interface. Software carries the measurement's unit, timestamp, operating state and error information together. Displaying a number without knowing when the last valid value was produced can conceal a lost connection.

In VOMRO projects, this chain is considered together with the custom circuit board, firmware, enclosure, cable connections and server software where needed. Comparisons made with the actual prototype layout help assess what the measurement means in your application.

Our approach to precision measurement electronics development →

Communication and IoT from sensor to server →