This is a list of

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

s sorted by sensor type.

Acoustic, sound, vibration

* Acoustic radiometer *

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

Hydrophone A hydrophone () is a microphone designed for underwater use, for recording or listening to underwater sound. Most hydrophones contains a piezoelectric transducer that generates an electric potential when subjected to a pressure change, such as a ...

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 publi ...

* Pickup *

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

* Sound locator

Automotive

Air flow meter An air flow meter is a device similar to an 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 ...

* Air–fuel ratio meter *

Blind spot monitor The blind spot monitor or blind-spot monitoring is a vehicle-based sensor device that detects other vehicles located to the driver’s side and rear. Warnings can be visual, audible, vibrating, or tactile. Blind spot monitors may do more th ...

* Crankshaft position sensor (CKP) *

Curb feeler Curb feelers or curb finders are springs or wires installed on a vehicle that 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 t ...

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 *

Hall effect sensor A Hall effect sensor (also known as a Hall sensor or Hall probe) is any sensor incorporating one or more Hall elements, each of which produces a voltage proportional to one axial component of the Magnetic field#The B-field, magnetic field vector ...

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 An airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag designed to inflate in milliseconds during a collision and then deflate afterwards. It consists of an airbag cushion, a flexible fabric bag, an inflation module, and an impact sensor. ...

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

Knock sensor In spark-ignition internal combustion engines, knocking (also knock, detonation, spark knock, pinging or pinking) occurs when combustion of some of the air/fuel mixture in the cylinder does not result from propagation of the flame front ignite ...

Light sensor Photodetectors, also called photosensors, are devices that detect light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation and convert it into an electrical signal. They are essential in a wide range of applications, from digital imaging and optical c ...

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 provid ...

* Mass airflow sensor *

Oil level sensor An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) and lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...

* Oil pressure sensor *

Omniview technology Surround view, also called as around view or birds-eye view, is a type of parking assistance system that uses multiple cameras to help drivers monitor their surroundings. It was first introduced in 2007 as the "Around View Monitor" parking assista ...

Oxygen sensor An oxygen sensor is an electronic component that detects the concentration of oxygen molecules in the air or a gas matrix such as in a combustion engine exhaust gas. For automotive applications, an oxygen sensor is referred to as a lambda senso ...

(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 sensor, ultrason ...

Radar gun A radar speed gun, also known as a radar gun, speed gun, or speed trap gun, is a device used to measure the speed of moving objects. It is commonly used by police to check the speed of moving vehicles while conducting Traffic police, traffic enf ...

* Radar sensor *

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

* Throttle position sensor * Tire pressure sensor *

Torque sensor In physics and mechanics, torque is the rotational analogue of linear force. It is also referred to as the moment of force (also abbreviated to moment). The symbol for torque is typically \boldsymbol\tau, the lowercase Greek letter ''tau''. Whe ...

* 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''), also called an alcohol meter, is a device for measuring breath alcohol (drug), alcohol content (BrAC). It is commonly utilized by law enforcement officers ...

* Carbon dioxide sensor *

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 dete ...

* 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 chemical solution, solution. When the target analyte concentration changes, the current through ...

* Chemiresistor *

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 * 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 *

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

analyzer An analyser (British English) or analyzer (American English; see spelling differences) is a tool used to analyze data. For example, a gas analyzer tool is used to analyze gases. It examines the given data and tries to find patterns and relationsh ...

* Hydrogen sensor * Hydrogen sulfide sensor * Infrared point sensor * Ion-selective electrode * ISFET *

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 sense that no dispersive element (e.g., a prism, or diffraction grating, as is often present in other spectr ...

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

* Olfactometer * Optode *

* 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 A glass electrode is a type of ion-selective electrode made of a doped glass membrane that is sensitive to a specific ion. The most common application of ion-selective glass electrodes is for the measurement of pH. The pH electrode is an exampl ...

Potentiometric sensor A potentiometric sensor is a type of chemical sensors, chemical sensor that may be used to determine the analytical concentration of some components of the analyte gas or Solution (chemistry), solution. These sensors measure the electrical potenti ...

* Redox electrode *

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

* Zinc oxide nanorod sensor

Electric current, electric potential, magnetic, radio

* Current sensor *

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). I ...

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

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 ele ...

Faraday cup A Faraday cup is a metal (conductive) cup designed to catch charged particles. 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 who first ...

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. Galvanomet ...

* Hall probe * Magnetic anomaly detector *

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, ...

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 resonant ...

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. A metal detector consists of a control box, an adjustable shaft, and ...

* Planar Hall sensor *

Radio direction finder Direction finding (DF), radio direction finding (RDF), or radiogoniometry is the use of radio waves to determine the direction to a radio source. The source may be a cooperating radio transmitter or may be an inadvertent source, a natural ...

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 instrumen ...

* Voltage detector

Environment, weather, moisture, humidity

Actinometer An actinometer is an instrument that can measure the heating power of radiation. Actinometers are used in meteorology to measure solar radiation as pyranometers, pyrheliometers and net radiometers. An actinometer is a chemical system or physical ...

* Air pollution sensor * Bedwetting alarm * Ceilometer *

Dew warning A videocassette recorder (VCR) or video recorder is an electromechanical device that records analog audio and analog video from broadcast television or other AV sources and can play back the recording after rewinding. The use of a VCR to reco ...

* Fish counter * Frequency domain sensor *

Gas detector A gas detector is a device that detects the presence of gases in a volume of space, 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. Th ...

* Hook gauge evaporimeter * Humistor *

Hygrometer A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale. A hygrometer is an instrument that measures humidity: that is, how much water vapor is present. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of some other quantities, such a ...

* Leaf sensor * Lysimeter *

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. A typ ...

* Pyrgeometer *

Psychrometer image:Haar-Hygrometer.jpg, A hair tension dial hygrometer with a nonlinear scale. A hygrometer is an instrument that measures humidity: that is, how much water vapor is present. Humidity measurement instruments usually rely on measurements of som ...

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

* Rain sensor *

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 in ...

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 v ...

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

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

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 *

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 g ...

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 corr ...

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 Flui ...

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 th ...

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

Geiger counter A Geiger counter (, ; also known as a Geiger–Müller counter or G-M counter) is an electronic instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation with the use of a Geiger–Müller tube. It is widely used in applications such as radiat ...

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 collaborate ...

Ionization chamber The ionization chamber is the simplest type of gaseous ionisation detector, and is widely used for the detection and measurement of many types of ionizing radiation, including X-rays, gamma rays, alpha particles and beta particles. Conventionall ...

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 mo ...

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 elementary particle, particles, such as t ...

Proportional counter The proportional counter is a type of gaseous ionization detector device used to measure Charged particle, particles of ionizing radiation. The key feature is its ability to measure the Electronvolt, energy of incident radiation, by producing a det ...

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 ab ...

Scintillation counter A scintillation counter is an instrument for detecting and measuring ionizing radiation by using the Electron excitation, excitation effect of incident radiation on a Scintillation (physics), scintillating material, and detecting the resultant li ...

Semiconductor detector In ionizing radiation detection physics, a semiconductor detector 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 kilometres per hour (km/h), knots (kn or kt), miles per hour (MPH) and/or metres per second (m/s). The recommendation by ICAO is to u ...

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. Ty ...

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

Depth gauge A depth gauge is an instrument for measuring depth (coordinate), depth below a vertical reference surface. They include depth gauges for underwater diving and similar applications. A diving depth gauge is a pressure gauge that displays the equ ...

* Fluxgate compass *

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

Inertial navigation system An inertial navigation system (INS; also inertial guidance system, inertial instrument) is a navigation device that uses motion sensors (accelerometers), rotation sensors (gyroscopes) and a computer to continuously calculate by dead reckoning th ...

* Inertial reference unit *

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 flyi ...

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 m ...

* 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 shi ...

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 cel ...

Turn coordinator In aviation, the turn and slip indicator (T/S, a.k.a. turn indicator and 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 ...

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 (VSG), defined by the IEEE as a Coriolis vibratory gyroscope (CVG), is a gyroscope that uses a vibrating (as opposed to rotating) structure as its orientation reference. A vibrating structure gyroscope functions ...

* Yaw-rate sensor

Position, angle, displacement, distance, speed, acceleration

Accelerometer An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change (mathematics), rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (tha ...

* Auxanometer * Capacitive displacement sensor *

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 sens ...

Displacement sensor Displacement measurement is the measurement of changes in directed distance (displacement). Devices measuring displacement are based on displacement sensors, which can be contacting or non-contacting. Some displacement sensors are based on displace ...

(general article) * Flex sensor *

Free fall sensor An accelerometer is a device that measures the proper acceleration of an object. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of the object relative to an observer who is in free fall (that is, relative to an inertial ...

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. The study of gravity c ...

Gyroscopic sensor A vibrating structure gyroscope (VSG), defined by the IEEE as a Coriolis vibratory gyroscope (CVG), is a gyroscope that uses a vibrating (as opposed to rotating) structure as its orientation reference. A vibrating structure gyroscope functions ...

* Impact sensor *

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 *

Laser rangefinder A laser rangefinder, also known as a laser telemeter or laser distance meter, 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 ...

* Laser surface velocimeter *

LIDAR Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...

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 ...

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 ...

(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 A piezoelectric accelerometer is an accelerometer that employs the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measure dynamic changes in mechanical variables (e.g., acceleration, vibration, and mechanical shock). As with all transducers, piezo ...

* Position sensor * Position sensitive device * Angular rate sensor *

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

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 * Shock data logger *

Sudden Motion Sensor The Sudden Motion Sensor (SMS) is Apple's motion-based data protection system used in their notebook computer systems. Apple introduced the system January 1, 2005 in its refreshed PowerBook line, and included it in the iBook line July 26, 2005. ...

* Tilt sensor *

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

* Ultrasonic thickness gauge * Ultra-wideband radar * Variable reluctance sensor * Velocity receiver * Magnetic sensor

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, which was invented by Peter J.W. Noble in 1968, where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semic ...

* Angle–sensitive pixel * Colorimeter * Contact image sensor *

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 down to the ultraviolet wavelengths. They are used i ...

* Flame detector *

Infra-red Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those of ...

* Kinetic inductance detector *

LED as light sensor In electronics, an LED circuit or LED driver is an electrical Electric circuit, 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 ...

* 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 b ...

Fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

sensors A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

* Optical position sensor *

Thermopile laser sensor Thermopile laser sensors (Fig 1) are used for measuring laser power from a few μW to several W Thermopile Laser Sensors#Maximum power, (see section 2.4). The incoming radiation of the laser is converted into heat energy at the surface. This heat i ...

s *

Photodetector Photodetectors, also called photosensors, are devices that detect light or other forms of electromagnetic radiation and convert it into an electrical signal. They are essential in a wide range of applications, from digital imaging and optical ...

Photodiode A photodiode is a semiconductor diode sensitive to photon radiation, such as visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. It produces an electrical current when it absorbs photons. This can be used for detection and me ...

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 sh ...

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

Phototransistor A photodiode is a semiconductor diode sensitive to photon radiation, such as visible light, infrared or ultraviolet radiation, X-rays and gamma rays. It produces an electrical current when it absorbs photons. This can be used for detection and me ...

* Photoionization detector *

Photoresistor A photoresistor (also known as a light-dependent resistor, LDR, or photo-conductive cell) is a passive component that decreases in resistance as a result of increasing luminosity (light) on its sensitive surface, in other words, it exhibits pho ...

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 tube, 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. Photo ...

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 opposi ...

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 ...

Single-photon avalanche diode A single-photon avalanche diode (SPAD), also called Geiger-mode avalanche photodiode (G-APD or GM-APD) is a solid-state photodetector within the same family as photodiodes and avalanche photodiodes (APDs), while also being fundamentally linked wi ...

* Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector * Transition-edge sensor * Visible Light Photon Counter * Wavefront sensor

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 unit of measurement, units of force per unit of surface area. Many techniques have been developed for the me ...

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 pressure ...

McLeod gauge A McLeod gauge is a scientific instrument used to measure very low pressures, down to 10−6 Torr (0.133 mPascal_(unit), Pa). It was invented in 1874 by Herbert McLeod (1841–1923). McLeod gauges were once commonly found attached to equipment tha ...

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

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 wa ...

Pressure sensor 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 ...

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 press ...

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 detect ...

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, i ...

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 Calibration, calibrated and Graduation (instrument), graduated with one or more scales suc ...

* 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 (or ...

Load cell A load cell converts a force such as tension, compression, pressure, or torque into a signal (electrical, pneumatic or hydraulic pressure, or mechanical displacement indicator) that can be measured and standardized. It is a force transducer. As t ...

* Magnetic level gauge *

Nuclear density gauge Nuclear densitometry is a technique used in civil construction and the petroleum industry, as well as for mining and archaeology purposes, to measure the density and inner structure of the test material. The processes uses a 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 Deformation (mechanics)#Strain, 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 Electrical in ...

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 sp ...

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 or bimetal strip is a strip that consists of two strips of different metals which expand at different rates as they are heated. The different expansion rates cause the strip to bend one way if heated, and in the opposite dire ...

Calorimeter A calorimeter is a device 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 calorimeters ...

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 aero ...

* Flame detection * Gardon gauge *

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 heat ...

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

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 us ...

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 u ...

* 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 construction ...

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 t ...

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 semiconductor type of resistor in which the resistance is strongly dependent on temperature. The word ''thermistor'' is a portmanteau of ''thermal'' and ''resistor''. The varying resistance with temperature allows these devices ...

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 measures temperature (the hotness or coldness of an object) or temperature gradient (the rates of change of temperature in space). A thermometer has two important elements: (1) a temperature sensor (e.g. the bulb ...

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, or radiation thermometer, 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 de ...

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 fre ...

Motion detector A motion detector is an electrical device that utilizes a sensor to detect nearby motion (motion detection). Such a device is often integrated as a Electronic component, component of a system that automatically performs a task or Security alarm, ...

* Occupancy sensor *

Proximity sensor A proximity sensor (often simply prox) is a sensor able to detect the presence of nearby objects without any physical contact. A proximity sensor often emits an Electromagnetic field, electromagnetic field or a beam of electromagnetic radiati ...

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 The reed switch is an Electromechanics, electromechanical switch operated by an applied magnetic field. It was invented in 1922 by professor Valentin Kovalenkov at the Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University#Soviet era, Petrogra ...

Stud finder A stud finder (also stud detector or stud sensor) is a handheld device used with wood buildings to locate wall stud, framing studs located behind the final walling surface, usually drywall. While there are many different stud finders available, ...

* Triangulation sensor * Touch switch *

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, which was invented by Peter J.W. Noble in 1968, where each pixel sensor unit cell has a photodetector (typically a pinned photodiode) and one or more active transistors. In a metal–oxide–semico ...

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

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 chan ...

Biochip In molecular biology, biochips are engineered substrates ("miniaturized laboratories") that can host large numbers of simultaneous biochemical reactions. One of the goals of biochip technology is to efficiently screen large numbers of biological ...

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 rece ...

* Capacitance probe *

* Catadioptric sensor * Carbon paste electrode *

Digital sensors A digital sensor is an electronic or electrochemical sensor, where data is digitally converted and transmitted. Sensors are often used for analytical measurements, e.g. the measurement of chemical and physical properties of liquids. Examples of me ...

* Displacement receiver * Electromechanical film *

* Electrochemical fatigue crack sensor *

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 scientific research, research and practical application topics using Acoustics, acoustical devices as sensors in Aquatic ecosystem, aquatic environments. Acoustical techniques can be applied to sensing aquat ...

Image sensor An image sensor or imager is a sensor that detects and conveys information used to form an image. It does so by converting the variable attenuation of light waves (as they refraction, pass through or reflection (physics), reflect off objects) into s ...

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 an electronic device that operates based on the principle of electromagnetic induction to detect or measure nearby metallic objects. An inductor develops a magnetic field when an electric current flows through it; alternat ...

* 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. ...

* Leaf sensor *

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

Microelectromechanical systems MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) is the technology of microscopic devices incorporating both electronic and moving parts. MEMS are made up of components between 1 and 100 micrometres in size (i.e., 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices ...

MOSFET upright=1.3, Two power MOSFETs in amperes">A in the ''on'' state, dissipating up to about 100 watt">W and controlling a load of over 2000 W. A matchstick is pictured for scale. In electronics, the metal–oxide–semiconductor field- ...

Photoelasticity In materials science, 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 ...

Quantum sensor Within quantum technology, 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. ...

Radar Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), direction ( azimuth and elevation angles), and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It is a radiodetermination method used to detect and track ...

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 ...

Synthetic aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or 3D reconstruction, three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target regi ...

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 categ ...

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 a process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources so that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible if these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentially o ...

* Sensor grid *

Sensor node A sensor node (also known as a mote in North America), consists of an individual Node (networking), node from a sensor network that is capable of performing a desired action such as gathering, processing or communicating information with other con ...

* Soft sensor *

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 navigate, measure distances ( ranging), communicate with or detect objects o ...

Staring array A staring array, also known as staring-plane array or focal-plane array (FPA), is an image sensor consisting of an array (typically rectangular) of light-sensing pixels at the focal plane of a lens. FPAs are used most commonly for imaging purpo ...

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

(TEOM) *

Transducer A transducer is a device that Energy transformation, 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, M ...

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 ultrasou ...

* Video sensor * Visual sensor network *

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 prov ...

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 ...

* Through-beam edge sensor

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 (instrument), 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 ...

s * Pitometer logs *

Pitot tube A pitot tube ( ; also pitot probe) measures fluid flow velocity. It was invented by French engineer Henri Pitot during his work with aqueducts and published in 1732, and modified to its modern form in 1858 by Henry Darcy. It is widely use ...

s *

s * Piezo sensors (e.g. in a

road surface A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ...

) *

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 fre ...

ANPR Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing closed-circuit t ...

(where vehicles are timed over a fixed distance) * Laser surface velocimeters for moving surfaces

Others

Actigraphy Actigraphy is a non-invasive method of monitoring human rest/activity cycles. A small actigraph unit, also called an actimetry sensor, is worn for a week or more to measure gross motor activity. The unit is usually in a wristwatch-like package w ...

* Air pollution sensor *

Analog image processing Analog image processing is the use of an optical computer to process physical, optical images formed by light waves coming from an object, as opposed to the digital image processing and its use of digital computers to process pixelated, digital ...

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 opti ...

* Atomic Gravitational Wave Interferometric Sensor * Attitude control (spacecraft): Horizon sensor,

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

, Moon sensor, Satellite Sensor,

Sun sensor A Sun sensor is a navigational instrument used by spacecraft to detect the position of the Sun. Sun sensors are used for Spacecraft attitude control, attitude control, solar array pointing, gyroscope, gyro updating, and safe mode (spacecraft), fai ...

* Catadioptric 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 chemorece ...

* Compressive sensing * Cryogenic particle detectors *

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 is 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 interferograms ...

* Electronic tongue * 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 * 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, continuo ...

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 *

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 generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and ...

* Moire deflectometry * Molecular sensor * 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 at least a full circle ( 360°) in the horizontal plane, up to a full sphere ( 1 spat). Omnidirec ...

Organoleptic sensors Organoleptic properties are the aspects of food, water or other substances as apprehended via the senses—including taste, sight, smell, and touch. In traditional U.S. Department of Agriculture meat and poultry inspections, inspectors perf ...

Optical coherence tomography Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a high-resolution imaging technique with most of its applications in medicine and biology. OCT uses coherent near-infrared light to obtain micrometer-level depth resolved images of biological tissue or oth ...

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 ''compl ...

techniques *

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

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 metabolic processes, and in other physiological activities including blood flow, r ...

* Push broom scanner *

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 tr ...

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 Scan, SCAN or Scanning may refer to: Science and technology Computing and electronics * Graham scan, an algorithm for finding the convex hull of a set of points in the plane * 3D scanning, of a real-world object or environment to collect three dim ...

* 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 networ ...

SQUID A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

, Superconducting quantum interference device * SSIES, Special Sensors-Ions,

Electrons The electron (, or in nuclear reactions) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary charge, elementary electric charge. It is a fundamental particle that comprises the ordinary matter that makes up the universe, along with up qua ...

, and Scintillation thermal plasma analysis package * SSMIS, Special Sensor Microwave Imager / Sounder *

Structured-light 3D scanner A structured-light 3D scanner is a device used to capture the three-dimensional shape of an object by projecting light patterns, such as grids or stripes, onto its surface. The deformation of these patterns is recorded by cameras and processed u ...

, Attitude control (spacecraft) * Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector * Thin-film thickness monitor *

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 ...

TriDAR TriDAR, or Triangulation and LIDAR Automated Rendezvous and Docking, is a relative navigation vision system developed by Neptec Design Group and funded by the Canadian Space Agency and NASA. It provides guidance information that can be used to guide ...

Triangulation In trigonometry and geometry, triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by forming triangles to the point from known points. Applications In surveying Specifically in surveying, triangulation involves only angle m ...

and

Automated Rendezvous and Docking * Unattended Ground Sensors

References

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