Acoustic, sound, vibration

• Geophone
  Geophone
  The term geophone derives from the Greek word "geo" meaning "earth" and "phone" meaning "sound".A geophone is a device which converts ground movement into voltage, which may be recorded at a recording station...
  
  
• Hydrophone
  Hydrophone
  A hydrophone 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 electricity when subjected to a pressure change...
  
  
• Lace Sensor
  Lace Sensor
  The Lace Sensor is a guitar pickup designed by Don Lace and manufactured by AGI since 1985.This line of electric guitar pickups was used exclusively by Fender from 1987 to 1996....
  
   a guitar pickup
• Microphone
  Microphone
  A microphone is an acoustic-to-electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. In 1877, Emile Berliner invented the first microphone used as a telephone voice transmitter...
  
  
• Seismometer
  Seismometer
  Seismometers are instruments that measure motions of the ground, including those of seismic waves generated by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other seismic sources...
  
  

Automotive, transportation

• Air-fuel ratio meter
  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...
  
  
• Crank sensor
• Curb feeler
  Curb feeler
  Curb feelers or curb finders are springs or wires installed on a vehicle which act as "whiskers" to warn drivers that they are too close to the curb or other obstruction.The devices are fitted low on the body, close to the wheels...
  
  , used to warn driver of curbs
• Defect detector
  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...
  
  , used on railroads to detect axle and signal problems in passing trains
• Engine coolant temperature sensor
  Engine coolant temperature sensor
  The Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor tells an automobile's ECU what the engine temperature is, so that optimum driveability is realized while the engine is warming up and when the engine has reached operating temperature....
  
  , or ECT sensor, used to measure the engine temperature
• Hall effect sensor
  Hall effect sensor
  A Hall effect sensor is a transducer that varies its output voltage in response to a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are used for proximity switching, positioning, speed detection, and current sensing applications....
  
  , used to time the speed of wheels and shafts
• MAP sensor
  MAP sensor
  The manifold absolute pressure 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 provides instantaneous manifold pressure information to the engine's...
  
  , Manifold Absolute Pressure, used in regulating fuel metering.
• Mass flow sensor
  Mass flow sensor
  A mass air flow sensor is used to find out the mass flowrate of air entering a fuel-injected internal combustion engine. The air mass information is necessary for the engine control unit to balance and deliver the correct fuel mass to the engine. Air changes its density as it expands and contracts...
  
  , or mass airflow (MAF) sensor, used to tell the ECU
  Engine control unit
  An engine control unit is a type of electronic control unit that determines the amount of fuel, ignition timing and other parameters an internal combustion engine needs to keep running...
  
   the mass of air entering the engine
• Oxygen sensor
  Oxygen sensor
  An oxygen sensor, or lambda sensor, is an electronic device that measures the proportion of oxygen in the gas or liquid being analyzed. It was developed by the Robert Bosch GmbH company during the late 1960s under the supervision of Dr. Günter Bauman...
  
  , used to monitor the amount of oxygen in the exhaust
• Parking sensors
  Parking sensors
  Parking sensors are proximity sensors for road vehicles which can alert the driver to unseen obstacles during parking manoeuvres.Parking sensors generally fall into two categories.1. Electromagnetic parking sensors...
  
  , used to alert the driver of unseen obstacles during parking manoeuvres
• Radar gun
  Radar gun
  A radar speed gun is a small doppler radar unit used to measure the speed of moving objects, including vehicles, pitched baseballs, runners and other moving objects. Radar speed guns may be hand-held, vehicle-mounted or static...
  
  , used to detect the speed of other objects
• Speedometer
  Speedometer
  A speedometer is a gauge that measures and displays the instantaneous speed of a land vehicle. Now universally fitted to motor vehicles, they started to be available as options in the 1900s, and as standard equipment from about 1910 onwards. Speedometers for other vehicles have specific names...
  
  , used measure the instantaneous speed of a land vehicle
• Speed sensor
  Speed sensor
  Speed sensors are machines used to detect the speed of an object, usually a transport vehicle. They include:*Wheel speed sensors*Speedometers*Pitometer logs*Pitot tubes*Airspeed indicators*Piezo sensors *LIDAR*Doppler radar...
  
  , used to detect the speed of an object
• Throttle position sensor
  Throttle position sensor
  A throttle position sensor is a sensor used to monitor the position of the throttle in an internal combustion engine. The sensor is usually located on the butterfly spindle so that it can directly monitor the position of the throttle valve butterfly....
  
  , used to monitor the position of the throttle in an internal combustion engine
• Tire-pressure monitoring sensor, used to monitor the air pressure inside the tires
• Torque sensor
  Torque sensor
  A torque sensor or torque transducer or torquemeter is a device for measuring and recording the torque on a rotating system, such as an engine, crankshaft, gearbox, transmission, rotor, or a bicycle crank. Static torque is relatively easy to measure...
  
  , or torque transducer or torquemeter measures torque (twisting force) on a rotating system.
• Transmission fluid temperature sensor, used to measure the temperature of the transmission fluid
• Turbine speed sensor (TSS), or input speed sensor (ISS), used to measure the rotational speed of the input shaft or torque converter
  Torque converter
  In modern usage, a torque converter is generally a type of hydrodynamic fluid coupling that is used to transfer rotating power from a prime mover, such as an internal combustion engine or electric motor, to a rotating driven load...
  
  
• Variable reluctance sensor
  Variable reluctance sensor
  A variable reluctance sensor , also called a monopole, is used to measure position and speed of moving metal components. This sensor consists of a permanent magnet, a ferromagnetic pole piece, a pickup coil, and a rotating toothed wheel....
  
  , used to measure position and speed of moving metal components
• Vehicle speed sensor (VSS), used to measure the speed of the vehicle
• Water sensor
  Water sensor
  The Water in Fuel Sensor or WiF sensor indicates the presence of water in the fuel. It is installed in the fuel filter and when the water level in the water separator reaches the warning level, the Wif send an electrical signal to the ECU or to dashboard ....
  
   or water-in-fuel sensor, used to indicate the presence of water in fuel
• Wheel speed sensor
  Wheel speed sensor
  A wheel speed sensor or vehicle speed sensor is a type of tachometer. It is a sender device used for reading the speed of a vehicle's wheel rotation...
  
  , used for reading the speed of a vehicle's wheel rotation

Chemical

• Breathalyzer
  Breathalyzer
  A breathalyzer or breathalyser is a device for estimating blood alcohol content from a breath sample...
  
  
• Carbon dioxide sensor
• Carbon monoxide detector
  Carbon monoxide detector
  A carbon monoxide detector or CO detector is a device that detects the presence of the carbon monoxide gas in order to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. CO is a colorless and odorless compound produced by incomplete combustion. It is often referred to as the "silent killer" because it is...
  
  
• Catalytic bead sensor
  Catalytic bead sensor
  A catalytic bead sensor is a type of sensor that is used for gas detection.-Principle:The catalytic bead sensor consist of two coils of fine platinum wire each embedded in a bead of alumina, connected electrically in a Wheatstone bridge circuit. One of the pellistors is impregnated with a special...
  
  
• Chemical field-effect transistor
• Electrochemical gas sensor
  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.-Construction:...
  
  
• Electronic nose
  Electronic nose
  An electronic nose is a device intended to detect odors or flavors.Over the last decade, “electronic sensing” or “e-sensing” technologies have undergone important developments from a technical and commercial point of view...
  
  
• Electrolyte–insulator–semiconductor sensor
• Holographic sensor
  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 holographic reflection , either refractive index or...
  
  
• Hydrocarbon dew point
  Hydrocarbon dew point
  The hydrocarbon dew point is the temperature 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 HDP or the HCDP. The maximum temperature at which such condensation takes...
  
   analyzer
• Hydrogen sensor
• Hydrogen sulfide sensor
  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 sensor which operates by a reversible change in resistance caused by adsorption and desorption of hydrogen sulfide in a film with hydrogen...
  
  
• Infrared point sensor
  Infrared point sensor
  A infrared point sensor is a point gas detector based on the nondispersive infrared sensor technology.-Principle:Dual source and dual receivers are used for self compensation of changes in alignment, light source intensity and component efficiency. The transmitted beams from two infrared sources...
  
  
• Ion-selective electrode
• Nondispersive infrared sensor
• Microwave chemistry sensor
  Microwave chemistry sensor
  Microwave chemistry sensor or Surface acoustic wave sensors consist of an input transducer, a chemically adsorbent polymer film, and an output transducer on a piezoelectric substrate, which is typically quartz. The input transducer launches an acoustic wave that travels through the chemical film...
  
  
• Nitrogen oxide sensor
• Olfactometer
  Olfactometer
  An olfactometer is an instrument typically used to detect and measure ambient 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 used to gauge the odor detection...
  
  
• Optode
  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:...
  
  
• Oxygen sensor
  Oxygen sensor
  An oxygen sensor, or lambda sensor, is an electronic device that measures the proportion of oxygen in the gas or liquid being analyzed. It was developed by the Robert Bosch GmbH company during the late 1960s under the supervision of Dr. Günter Bauman...
  
  
• Pellistor
  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...
  
  
• pH glass electrode
• Potentiometric sensor
  Potentiometric sensor
  A potentiometric sensor is a type of chemical sensor that may be used to determine the analytical concentration of some components of the analyte gas or solution. These sensors measure the electrical potential of an electrode when no current is flowing....
  
  
• Redox electrode
• Smoke detector
  Smoke detector
  A smoke detector is a device that detects smoke, typically as an indicator of fire. Commercial, industrial, and mass residential devices issue a signal to a fire alarm system, while household detectors, known as smoke alarms, generally issue a local audible and/or visual alarm from the detector...
  
  
• Zinc oxide nanorod sensor
  Zinc oxide nanorod sensor
  A zinc oxide nanorod sensor or ZnO nanorod sensor is an electronic device detecting presence of certain gas or liquid molecules in the ambient atmosphere. The sensor exploits enhanced surface area intrinsic to all nano-sized materials, including ZnO nanorods...
  
  

Electric current, electric potential, magnetic, radio

• Ammeter
  Ammeter
  An ammeter is a measuring instrument used to measure the electric current in a circuit. Electric currents are measured in amperes , hence the name. Instruments used to measure smaller currents, in the milliampere or microampere range, are designated as milliammeters or microammeters...
  
  
• Current sensor
  Current sensor
  A current sensor is a device that detects electrical current in a wire, and generates a signal proportional to it.The generated signal could be analog voltage or current or even digital output.It can be then utilized to display the measured current in an ammeter or can be stored for further...
  
  
• Galvanometer
  Galvanometer
  A galvanometer is a type of ammeter: an instrument for detecting and measuring electric current. It is an analog electromechanical transducer that produces a rotary deflection of some type of pointer in response to electric current flowing through its coil in a magnetic field. .Galvanometers were...
  
  
• Hall effect sensor
  Hall effect sensor
  A Hall effect sensor is a transducer that varies its output voltage in response to a magnetic field. Hall effect sensors are used for proximity switching, positioning, speed detection, and current sensing applications....
  
  
• Hall probe
• Leaf electroscope
• Magnetic anomaly detector
  Magnetic anomaly detector
  A magnetic anomaly detector 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 ; the military MAD gear is a descendent of geomagnetic survey instruments used to search for...
  
  
• Magnetometer
  Magnetometer
  A magnetometer is a measuring instrument used to measure the strength or direction of a magnetic field either produced in the laboratory or existing in nature...
  
  
• MEMS magnetic field sensor
  MEMS magnetic field sensor
  -Introduction:Magnetic field sensing can be categorized into four general types depending on the magnitude of the measured field. If the targeted B-field larger than the earth magnetic field , the requirement on the sensitivity of the sensor is not aggressive. To measure the earth field larger than...
  
  
• Metal detector
  Metal detector
  A metal detector is a device which responds to metal that may not be readily apparent.The simplest form of a metal detector consists of an oscillator producing an alternating current that passes through a coil producing an alternating magnetic field...
  
  
• Multimeter
  Multimeter
  A multimeter or a multitester, also known as a VOM , is an electronic measuring instrument that combines several measurement functions in one unit. A typical multimeter may include features such as the ability to measure voltage, current and resistance...
  
  
• Ohmmeter
  Ohmmeter
  An ohmmeter is an electrical instrument that measures electrical resistance, the opposition to an electric current. Micro-ohmmeters make low resistance measurements. Megohmmeters measure large values of resistance...
  
  
• Radio direction finder
  Radio direction finder
  A radio direction finder is a device for finding the direction to a radio source. Due to low frequency propagation characteristic to travel very long distances and "over the horizon", it makes a particularly good navigation system for ships, small boats, and aircraft that might be some distance...
  
  
• Telescope
  Telescope
  A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
  
  
• Voltmeter
  Voltmeter
  A voltmeter is an instrument used for measuring electrical potential difference between two points in an electric circuit. Analog voltmeters move a pointer across a scale in proportion to the voltage of the circuit; digital voltmeters give a numerical display of voltage by use of an analog to...
  
  
• Voltage detector
• Watt-hour meter

Environment, weather, moisture, humidity

• Actinometer
  Actinometer
  Actinometers are instruments used to measure the heating power of radiation. They are used in meteorology to measure solar radiation as pyrheliometers.An actinometer is a chemical system or physical device which determines the number of...
  
  
• Bedwetting alarm
  Bedwetting alarm
  A bedwetting alarm is an electronic device used as a treatment option for nocturnal enuresis. The alarm activates when the wearer urinates. Alarms come in several different styles: wearable alarms, wireless alarms, and pad-type alarms...
  
  
• Ceilometer
  Ceilometer
  A ceilometer is a device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height of a cloud base. Ceilometers can also be used to measure the aerosol concentration within the atmosphere.-Optical Drum Ceilometer:...
  
  
• Dew warning
  Dew warning
  A dew warning, also known as a dew alarm or dew signal, is an error indication on VCRs and camcorders if the VCR/camcorder develops dew inside the unit from being exposed to extreme temperature and/or humidity changes....
  
  
• Fish counter
  Fish counter
  Automatic fish counters are automatic devices for measuring the number of fish passing along a particular river in a particular period of time. Usually one particular species is of interest.One important species studied by fish counters are Atlantic salmon...
  
  
• Gas detector
  Gas detector
  A gas detector is a device which detects the presence of various gases within an area, usually as part of a safety system. This type of equipment is used to detect a gas leak and interface with a control system so a process can be automatically shut down...
  
  
• Hook gauge evaporimeter
  Hook gauge evaporimeter
  A Hook gauge evaporimeter is a precision instrument used to measure changes in water levels due to evaporation. The device consists of a sharp hook suspended from a micrometer cylinder, with the body of the device having arms which rest on the rim of a still well...
  
  
• Humistor
  Humistor
  A humistor is a type of variable resistor whose resistance varies based on humidity.- Construction :A humistor has a ceramic composition comprising at least one component having a spinel type cubic symmetry selected from the group consisting of MgCr2 O4, FeCr2 O4, NiCr2 O4, CoCr2 O4, MnCr2 O4,...
  
  
• Hygrometer
  Hygrometer
  A hygrometer is an instrument used for measuring the moisture content in the environmental air, or humidity. Most measurement devices usually rely on measurements of some other quantity such as temperature, pressure, mass or a mechanical or electrical change in a substance as moisture is absorbed...
  
  
• Leaf sensor
  Leaf sensor
  A leaf sensor is a phytometric device that measures water loss or the water deficit stress in plants by real-time monitoring the moisture level in plant leaves. The first leaf sensor was developed by LeafSens, an Israeli company who were granted a US patent for a mechanical leaf thickness...
  
  
• Pyranometer
  Pyranometer
  A pyranometer is a type of actinometer used to measure broadband solar irradiance on a planar surface and is a sensor that is designed to measure the solar radiation flux density from a field of view of 180 degrees...
  
  
• Pyrgeometer
  Pyrgeometer
  A pyrgeometer is a device that measures the atmospheric infra-red radiation spectrum that extends approximately from 4.5 µm to 100 µm.- Pyrgeometer components :A pyrgeometer consists of the following major components:...
  
  
• Psychrometer
• Rain gauge
  Rain gauge
  A rain gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a set period of time....
  
  
• Rain sensor
  Rain sensor
  A rain sensor or rain switch is a switching device actuated 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 down in the event of rainfall...
  
  
• Seismometers
• Snow gauge
  Snow gauge
  A snow gauge is a type of instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of solid precipitation over a set period of time....
  
  
• Soil moisture sensor
• Stream gauge
  Stream gauge
  A stream gauge, stream gage or gauging station is a location used by hydrologists or environmental scientists to monitor and test terrestrial bodies of water. Hydrometric measurements of water surface elevation and/or volumetric discharge are generally taken and observations of biota may also be...
  
  
• Tide gauge
  Tide gauge
  A tide gauge is a device for measuring sea level and detecting tsunamis.Sensors continuously record the height of the water level with respect to a height reference surface close to the geoid...
  
  

Flow, fluid velocity

• Air flow meter
  Air flow meter
  An air flow meter, is a device that measures how much air is flowing through a tube. It does not measure the volume of the air passing through the tube, it measures the actual speed of the air flowing through the device in a defined time segment. Thus air flow meters are simply an application of...
  
  
• Anemometer
  Anemometer
  An anemometer is a device for measuring wind speed, and is a common weather station instrument. The term is derived from the Greek word anemos, meaning wind, and is used to describe any airspeed measurement instrument used in meteorology or aerodynamics...
  
  
• Flow sensor
  Flow sensor
  A flow sensor is a device for sensing the rate of fluid flow. Typically a flow sensor is the sensing element used in a flow meter, or flow logger, to record the flow of fluids....
  
  
• Gas meter
  Gas meter
  A gas meter is used to measure the volume of fuel gases such as natural gas and propane. Gas meters are used at residential, commercial, and industrial buildings that consume fuel gas supplied by a gas utility. Gases are more difficult to measure than liquids, as measured volumes are highly...
  
  
• Mass flow sensor
  Mass flow sensor
  A mass air flow sensor is used to find out the mass flowrate of air entering a fuel-injected internal combustion engine. The air mass information is necessary for the engine control unit to balance and deliver the correct fuel mass to the engine. Air changes its density as it expands and contracts...
  
  
• Water meter
  Water meter
  A water meter is a device used to measure the volume of water usage. This article provides an overview of technical aspects of water meters. The worldwide prevalence of metering as well as its economic benefits and costs are covered in the separate article on water metering.In many developed...
  
  

Ionising radiation, subatomic particles

• Bubble chamber
  Bubble chamber
  A bubble chamber is a vessel filled with a superheated transparent liquid used to detect electrically charged particles moving through it. It was invented in 1952 by Donald A. Glaser, for which he was awarded the 1960 Nobel Prize in Physics...
  
  
• Cloud chamber
  Cloud chamber
  The cloud chamber, also known as the Wilson chamber, is a particle detector used for detecting ionizing radiation. In its most basic form, a cloud chamber is a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapor of water or alcohol. When a charged particle interacts with the mixture, it ionizes it...
  
  
• Geiger counter
  Geiger counter
  A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger–Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They detect the emission of nuclear radiation: alpha particles, beta particles or gamma rays. A Geiger counter detects radiation by ionization produced in a low-pressure gas in a...
  
  
• Neutron detection
  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 and to the electronics used in the detection setup...
  
  
• Particle detector
  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 high-energy particles, such as those produced by nuclear decay, cosmic radiation, or reactions in a...
  
  
• Scintillation counter
  Scintillation counter
  A scintillation counter measures ionizing radiation. The sensor, called a scintillator, consists of a transparent crystal, usually phosphor, plastic , or organic liquid that fluoresces when struck by ionizing radiation. A sensitive photomultiplier tube measures the light from the crystal...
  
  
• Scintillator
  Scintillator
  A scintillator is a special material, which 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., reemit the absorbed energy in the form of light...
  
  
• Wire chamber
  Wire chamber
  A multi-wire chamber is a detector for particles of ionizing radiation which is an advancement of the concept of the Geiger counter and the proportional counter....
  
  

Navigation instruments

• Air speed indicator
• Altimeter
  Altimeter
  An altimeter 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 underwater.-Pressure altimeter:...
  
  
• Attitude indicator
  Attitude indicator
  An attitude indicator , also known as gyro horizon or artificial horizon, is an instrument used in an aircraft to inform the pilot of the orientation of the aircraft relative to earth. It indicates pitch and bank or roll and is a primary instrument for flight in instrument meteorological conditions...
  
  
• Depth gauge
  Depth gauge
  A depth gauge is a pressure gauge that displays the equivalent depth in water. It is a piece of diving equipment often used by SCUBA divers.Most modern diving depth gauges have an electronic mechanism and digital display. Older types used a mechanical mechanism and analogue display.A diver uses a...
  
  
• Fluxgate compass
  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 field...
  
  
• Gyroscope
  Gyroscope
  A gyroscope is a device for measuring or maintaining orientation, based on the principles of angular momentum. In essence, a mechanical gyroscope is a spinning wheel or disk whose axle is free to take any orientation...
  
  
• Inertial reference unit
  Inertial Reference Unit
  An inertial reference unit is a type of inertial sensor which uses gyroscopes and accelerometers to determine a moving aircraft’s or spacecraft’s change in rotational attitude and translational position over a...
  
  
• Magnetic compass
• MHD sensor
  MHD sensor
  MHD sensors are used for precision measurements of angular velocities in inertial navigation systems such as in aerospace engineering). Accuracy improves with the size of the sensor....
  
  
• Ring laser gyroscope
  Ring laser gyroscope
  A ring laser gyroscope consists of a ring laser having two counter-propagating modes over the same path in order to detect rotation. It operates on the principle of the Sagnac effect which shifts the nulls of the internal standing wave pattern in response to angular rotation...
  
  
• Turn coordinator
  Turn coordinator
  The turn coordinator is a flight instrument which displays to a pilot information about the rate of yaw , roll, and the coordination of the turn...
  
  
• Variometer
  Variometer
  The term variometer also refers to a type of variable transformer or an instrument for measuring the magnitude and direction of a Magnetic field....
  
  
• Vibrating structure gyroscope
  Vibrating structure gyroscope
  A vibrating structure gyroscope is a type ofgyroscope that functions much like the halteresof an insect.The underlying physical principle is that a vibratingobject tends to continue vibrating in the same planeas its support rotates...
  
  
• Yaw rate sensor
  Yaw rate sensor
  A yaw rate sensor is a gyroscopic device that measures a vehicle’s angular velocity around its vertical axis. The output is usually in degrees per second or radians per second. The angle between the vehicle's heading and vehicle actual movement direction is called slip angle, which is related to...
  
  

Position, angle, displacement, distance, speed, acceleration

• Accelerometer
  Accelerometer
  An accelerometer is a device that measures proper acceleration, also called the four-acceleration. This is not necessarily the same as the coordinate acceleration , but is rather the type of acceleration associated with the phenomenon of weight experienced by a test mass that resides in the frame...
  
  
• Auxanometer
  Auxanometer
  An auxanometer is an apparatus for measuring increase or rate of growth in plants.In case of an arc-auxanometer , there is a wire fixed with the plant apex on one end and a dead-weight on the other. It passes over a pulley which has a pointer attached to it...
  
  
• Capacitive displacement sensor
  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”. They are also able to measure the thickness or density of non-conductive materials...
  
  
• Capacitive sensing
  Capacitive sensing
  In electrical engineering, capacitive sensing is a technology based on capacitive coupling that is used in many different types of sensors, including those to detect and measure: proximity, position or displacement, humidity, fluid level, and acceleration...
  
  
• Free fall sensor
  Free fall sensor
  A free-fall sensor is a component of electronic devices that detects them being in a state of free fall .-Use:It is usually used to then apply safety measures, e.g. parking the head of a hard disk to prevent a head crash and resulting data loss upon impact...
  
  
• Gravimeter
  Gravimeter
  A gravimeter or gravitometer is an instrument used in gravimetry for measuring the local gravitational field of the Earth. A gravimeter is a type of accelerometer, specialized for measuring the constant downward acceleration of gravity, which varies by about 0.5% over the surface of the Earth...
  
  
• Inclinometer
  Inclinometer
  An inclinometer or clinometer is an instrument for measuring angles of slope , elevation or depression of an object with respect to gravity...
  
  
• Laser rangefinder
• Linear encoder
  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 digital readout or motion controller.The encoder can be...
  
  
• Linear variable differential transformer
  Linear variable differential transformer
  The Linear Variable Differential Transformer is a type of electrical transformer used for measuring linear displacement. A counterpart to this device that is used for measuring rotary displacement is called a Rotary Variable Differential Transformer...
  
   (LVDT)
• Liquid capacitive inclinometers
  Liquid capacitive inclinometers
  Liquid capacitive inclinometers are Inclinometers whose sensing elements are made with liquid capacitive technology; they are considered gravity based. The best way to understand how they work is to think of a disc-like cavity that is half filled with a dielectric liquid...
  
  
• Odometer
  Odometer
  An odometer or odograph is an instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or automobile. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The word derives from the Greek words hodós and métron...
  
  
• Photoelectric sensor
  Photoelectric sensor
  A photoelectric sensor, or photoeye, is a device used to detect the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter, often infrared, and a photoelectric receiver. They are used extensively in industrial manufacturing. There are three different functional types: opposed ,...
  
  
• Piezoelectric accelerometer
  Piezoelectric accelerometer
  A piezoelectric accelerometer that utilizes the piezoelectric effect of certain materials to measure dynamic changes in mechanical variables....
  
  
• Position sensor
  Position sensor
  A position sensor is any device that permits position measurement. It can either be an absolute position sensor or a relative one...
  
  
• Rotary encoder
  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 an analog or digital code. The output of incremental encoders provides information about the motion of the shaft which is typically further processed...
  
  
• Rotary variable differential transformer
• Selsyn
• Sudden Motion Sensor
  Sudden Motion Sensor
  The Sudden Motion Sensor is Apple's patent-pending motion-based hardware and 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
  Tachometer
  A tachometer 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 on a calibrated analogue dial, but digital displays are increasingly common...
  
  
• Ultrasonic thickness gauge
  Ultrasonic thickness gauge
  An Ultrasonic thickness gauge is a measuring instrument for the non-destructive investigation of a material's thickness using ultrasonic waves....
  
  

Optical, light, imaging, photon

• Charge-coupled device
  Charge-coupled device
  A charge-coupled device is a device for the movement of electrical charge, usually from within the device to an area where the charge can be manipulated, for example conversion into a digital value. This is achieved by "shifting" the signals between stages within the device one at a time...
  
  
• Colorimeter
  Colorimeter
  For articles on Colorimeter see:* Colorimeter * Tristimulus colorimeter...
  
  
• Contact image sensor
  Contact Image Sensor
  Contact Image Sensors are a relatively recent technological innovation in the field of optical flatbed scanners that are rapidly replacing CCDs in low power and portable applications...
  
  
• Electro-optical sensor
  Electro-optical sensor
  Electro-optical sensors are electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. They are used in many industrial and consumer applications, for example:* Lamps that turn on automatically in response to darkness...
  
  
• Flame detector
  Flame detector
  There are several types of flame detector. The optical flame detector is a detector that uses optical sensors to detect flames. There are also ionisation flame detectors, which use current flow in the flame to detect flame presence, and thermocouple flame detectors.-Ultraviolet:Ultraviolet ...
  
  
• Infra-red sensor
• Kinetic inductance detector
  Kinetic inductance detector
  The kinetic inductance detector — also known as a microwave kinetic inductance detector — is a type of superconducting photon detector first developed by scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2003. These devices operate at cryogenic...
  
  
• LED as light sensor
• Light-addressable potentiometric sensor
  Light-addressable potentiometric sensor
  A light-addressable potentiometric sensor is a sensor that uses light to select what will be measured. Light can activate carriers in semiconductors.- History :...
  
  
• Nichols radiometer
  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 fine quartz fibre within an enclosure in which the air...
  
  
• Fiber optic
  Optical fiber
  An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
  
   sensors
• Photodetector
  Photodetector
  Photosensors or photodetectors are sensors of light or other electromagnetic energy. There are several varieties:*Active pixel sensors are image sensors consisting of an integrated circuit that contains an array of pixel sensors, each pixel containing a both a light sensor and an active amplifier...
  
  
• Photodiode
  Photodiode
  A photodiode is a type of photodetector capable of converting light into either current or voltage, depending upon the mode of operation.The common, traditional solar cell used to generateelectric solar power is a large area photodiode....
  
  
• Photomultiplier
  Photomultiplier
  Photomultiplier tubes , members of the class of vacuum tubes, and more specifically phototubes, are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum...
  
   tubes
• Phototransistor
• Photoelectric sensor
  Photoelectric sensor
  A photoelectric sensor, or photoeye, is a device used to detect the distance, absence, or presence of an object by using a light transmitter, often infrared, and a photoelectric receiver. They are used extensively in industrial manufacturing. There are three different functional types: opposed ,...
  
  
• Photoionization detector
  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 . The photoionizaton detector is an efficient and inexpensive detector for many...
  
  
• Photomultiplier
  Photomultiplier
  Photomultiplier tubes , members of the class of vacuum tubes, and more specifically phototubes, are extremely sensitive detectors of light in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum...
  
  
• Photoresistor
  Photoresistor
  A photoresistor or light dependent resistor is a resistor whose resistance decreases with increasing incident light intensity. It can also be referred to as a photoconductor or CdS device, from "cadmium sulfide," which is the material from which the device is made and that actually exhibits the...
  
  
• Photoswitch
  Photoswitch
  A photoswitch is a kind of sensor that detects the presence of light, generally in a certain wavelength. Photoswitches are used for numerous scientific and manufacturing applications. They are also commonly used in residential areas to turn lights on and off based on the time of day...
  
  
• Phototube
  Phototube
  A phototube is a type of gas-filled or vacuum tube that is extremely sensitive to light in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared ranges of the electromagnetic spectrum.-Operating principles:...
  
  
• Scintillometer
  Scintillometer
  A scintillometer is a scientific device used to measure small 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 both ends of an atmospheric propagation path...
  
  
• Shack-Hartmann
  Shack-Hartmann
  A Shack–Hartmann wavefront sensor is an optical instrument used to characterize an imaging system. It is a wavefront sensor commonly used in adaptive optics systems. It consists of an array of lenses of the same focal length. Each is focused onto a photon sensor...
  
  
• Single-photon avalanche diode
  Single-Photon Avalanche Diode
  In optoelectronics the term Single-Photon Avalanche Diode identifies a class of solid-state photodetectors based on a reverse biased p-n junction in which a photo-generated carrier can trigger an avalanche current due to the impact ionization mechanism...
  
  
• Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector
  Superconducting nanowire single-photon detector
  The superconducting nanowire single-photon detector is a type of near-infrared and optical single-photon detector based on a current-biased superconducting nanowire. It was first developed by scientists at Moscow State Pedagogical University in 2001....
  
  
• Transition edge sensor
  Transition edge sensor
  A transition edge sensor or TES is a type of cryogenic particle detector that exploits the strongly temperature-dependent resistance of the superconducting phase transition.-Principle of operation:...
  
  
• Visible light photon counter
• Wavefront sensor
  Wavefront sensor
  A wavefront sensor is a device for measuring the aberrations of an optical wavefront. Although an amplitude splitting interferometer such as the Michelson interferometer could be called a wavefront sensor, the term is normally applied to instruments that do not require an unaberrated reference...
  
  

Pressure

• Barograph
  Barograph
  A barograph is a recording aneroid barometer. It produces a paper or foil chart called a barogram that records the barometric pressure over time....
  
  
• Barometer
  Barometer
  A barometer is a scientific instrument used in meteorology to measure atmospheric pressure. Pressure tendency can forecast short term changes in the weather...
  
  
• Boost gauge
  Boost gauge
  A boost gauge is a pressure gauge that indicates manifold air pressure or turbocharger or supercharger boost pressure in an internal combustion engine...
  
  
• Bourdon gauge
• Hot filament ionization gauge
  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 measuring device for the region from 10-3 to 10-10 torr...
  
  
• Ionization gauge
• McLeod gauge
  McLeod gauge
  A McLeod gauge is a scientific instrument used to measure very low pressures, down to 10-6 Torr. It was invented in 1874 by Herbert McLeod . McLeod gauges were once commonly found attached to equipment that operates under a vacuum, such as a lyophilizer...
  
  
• Oscillating U-tube
  Oscillating U-tube
  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 principle is based on the Mass-Spring Model....
  
  
• Permanent Downhole Gauge
  Permanent Downhole Gauge
  A Permanent Downhole Gauge is a pressure and/or temperature gauge permanently installed in an oil or gas well. Typically they are installed in tubing in the well and can measure the tubing pressure or annulus pressure or both. Systems installed in well casing to read formation pressure directly,...
  
  
• Pirani gauge
  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.-Structure:...
  
  
• Pressure sensor
  Pressure sensor
  A pressure sensor measures pressure, typically 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 acts as a transducer; it generates a signal as a function of the...
  
  
• Pressure gauge
• Tactile sensor
  Tactile sensor
  The term tactile sensor usually refers to a transducer that is sensitive to touch, force, or pressure. Tactile sensors are employed wherever interactions between a contact surface and the environment are to be measured and registered...
  
  
• Time pressure gauge
  Time pressure gauge
  A time pressure gauge is an instrument that digitally displays pressure data into time intervals. It translates complex pressure data into simplified duration format creating greater precision and efficiency...
  
  

Force, density, level

• Bhangmeter
  Bhangmeter
  A bhangmeter is a type of photometer used on reconnaissance satellites that is intended to detect atmospheric nuclear detonations.The first satellites which incorporated bhangmeters were the Advanced Vela satellites...
  
  
• Hydrometer
  Hydrometer
  A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquids; that is, the ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water....
  
  
• Force gauge
  Force gauge
  A force gauge is measuring instrument used across all industries to measure the force during a push or pull test. Applications exist in research and development, laboratory, quality, production and field environment...
  
  
• Level sensor
  Level sensor
  Level sensors detect the level of substances that flow, including liquids, slurries, granular materials, and powders. Fluids and fluidized solids flow to become essentially level in their containers because of gravity whereas most bulk solids pile at an angle of repose to a peak...
  
  
• Load cell
  Load cell
  A load cell is a transducer that is used to convert a force into electrical signal. This conversion is indirect and happens in two stages. Through a mechanical arrangement, the force being sensed deforms a strain gauge. The strain gauge measures the deformation as an electrical signal, because the...
  
  
• Magnetic level gauge
  Magnetic level gauge
  A magnetic level gauge is used to measure the level of fluids. A magnetic level gauge includes a “floatable” device that can float both in high and low density fluids...
  
  
• Nuclear density gauge
  Nuclear density gauge
  A nuclear density gauge is a tool used in civil construction and the petroleum industry, as well as for mining and archaeology purposes. It consists of a radiation source that emits a directed beam of particles and a sensor that counts the received particles that are either reflected by the test...
  
  
• Piezoelectric sensor
  Piezoelectric sensor
  A piezoelectric sensor is a device that uses the piezoelectric effect to measure pressure, acceleration, strain or force by converting them to an electrical charge.-Applications:...
  
  
• Strain gauge
  Strain gauge
  A strain gauge is a device used to measure the strain of 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 a metallic foil pattern. The gauge is attached to the object by a suitable...
  
  
• Torque sensor
  Torque sensor
  A torque sensor or torque transducer or torquemeter is a device for measuring and recording the torque on a rotating system, such as an engine, crankshaft, gearbox, transmission, rotor, or a bicycle crank. Static torque is relatively easy to measure...
  
  
• Viscometer
  Viscometer
  A viscometer 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...
  
  

Thermal, heat, temperature

• Bolometer
  Bolometer
  A bolometer is a device for measuring the power of incident electromagnetic radiation via the heating of a material with a temperature-dependent electrical resistance. It was invented in 1878 by the American astronomer Samuel Pierpont Langley...
  
  
• Bimetallic strip
• Calorimeter
  Calorimeter
  A calorimeter is a device used for calorimetry, the science of measuring the heat of chemical reactions or physical changes as well as heat capacity. Differential scanning calorimeters, isothermal microcalorimeters, titration calorimeters and accelerated rate calorimeters are among the most common...
  
  
• Exhaust gas temperature gauge
• Gardon gauge
  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 from a field of view of 180 degrees.The most common application of Gardon gauges is in exposure...
  
  
• Golay cell
  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 the gas, causing it to expand. The resulting...
  
  
• Heat flux sensor
  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....
  
  
• Infrared thermometer
  Infrared thermometer
  Infrared thermometers infer temperature using a portion of the thermal radiation sometimes called blackbody radiation emitted by the object of measurement. They are sometimes called laser thermometers if a laser is used to help aim the thermometer, or non-contact thermometers to describe the...
  
  
• Microbolometer
  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 resistance change is measured and processed into temperatures...
  
  
• Microwave radiometer
  Microwave radiometer
  A microwave radiometer is a radiometer that measures energy emitted at sub-millimetre-to-centimetre wavelengths known as microwaves. Their primary application has been onboard spacecraft measuring atmospheric and terrestrial radiation, and they are mostly used for meteorological or oceanographic...
  
  
• Net radiometer
  Net radiometer
  A net radiometer is a type of actinometer used to measure net radiation at the Earth's surface in meteorological applications.The name net radiometer reflects the fact that it is supposed to measure incoming minus upwelling radiation...
  
  
• Quartz thermometer
  Quartz thermometer
  The quartz thermometer is a high-precision, high accuracy temperature sensor. It measures temperature by measuring the frequency of a quartz crystal oscillator. The oscillator contains a specially cut crystal that results in a linear temperature coefficient of frequency, so the measurement of the...
  
  
• Resistance temperature detector
• Resistance thermometer
  Resistance thermometer
  Resistance thermometers, also called resistance temperature detectors or resistive thermal devices , are sensors used to measure temperature by correlating the resistance of the RTD element with temperature. Most RTD elements consist of a length of fine coiled wire wrapped around a ceramic or glass...
  
  
• Silicon bandgap temperature sensor
  Silicon bandgap temperature sensor
  The silicon bandgap temperature sensor is an extremely common form of temperature sensor used in electronic equipment. Its main advantage is that it can be included in a silicon integrated circuit at very low cost...
  
  
• Temperature gauge
• Thermistor
  Thermistor
  A thermistor is a type of resistor whose resistance varies significantly with temperature, more so than in standard resistors. The word is a portmanteau of thermal and resistor...
  
  
• Thermocouple
  Thermocouple
  A thermocouple is a device consisting of two different conductors that produce a voltage proportional to a temperature difference between either end of the pair of conductors. Thermocouples are a widely used type of temperature sensor for measurement and control and can also be used to convert a...
  
  
• Thermometer
  Thermometer
  Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer is a device that measures temperature or temperature gradient using a variety of different principles. A thermometer has two important elements: the temperature sensor Developed during the 16th and 17th centuries, a thermometer (from the...
  
  

Proximity, presence

• Alarm sensor
  Alarm sensor
  In telecommunication, the term alarm sensor has the following meanings:1. In communications systems, a device that can sense an abnormal condition within the system and provide a signal indicating the presence or nature of the abnormality to either a local or remote alarm indicator, and may...
  
  
• Doppler radar
  Doppler radar
  A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
  
  
• Motion detector
  Motion detector
  A motion detector is a device for motion detection. That is, it is a device that contains a physical mechanism or electronic sensor that quantifies motion that can be either integrated with or connected to other devices that alert the user of the presence of a moving object within the field of view...
  
  
• Occupancy sensor
• Proximity 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 or a beam of electromagnetic radiation , and looks for changes in the field or return signal. The object being sensed is often referred to as...
  
  
• Passive infrared sensor
• Reed switch
  Reed switch
  The reed switch is an electrical switch operated by an applied magnetic field. It was invented at Bell Telephone Laboratories in 1936 by W. B. Ellwood. It consists of a pair of contacts on ferrous metal reeds in a hermetically sealed glass envelope...
  
  
• Stud finder
  Stud finder
  A stud finder is a handheld device used to determine the location of wood and metal framing studs used in light-frame construction after the walling surface has been installed....
  
  
• Triangulation sensor
  Triangulation sensor
  Optical Triangulation Sensors are commonly used to provide door mounted safety detection on swinging automatic doors.In North America, these types of sensors are very common and manufactured in very high volumes...
  
  
• Touch switch
  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...
  
  
• Wired glove
  Wired glove
  A wired glove 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 as a magnetic tracking device or inertial tracking device, is attached to capture the global...
  
  

Sensor technology

• Active pixel sensor
  Active pixel sensor
  An active-pixel sensor is an image sensor consisting of an integrated circuit containing an array of pixel sensors, each pixel containing a photodetector and an active amplifier. There are many types of active pixel sensors including the CMOS APS used most commonly in cell phone cameras, web...
  
  
• Back-illuminated sensor
  Back-illuminated sensor
  A back-illuminated sensor, also known as backside illumination sensor, is a type of digital image sensor that uses a novel arrangement of the imaging elements to increase the amount of light captured and thereby improve low-light performance...
  
  
• Biochip
  Biochip
  The development of biochips is a major thrust of the rapidly growing biotechnology industry, which encompasses a very diverse range ofresearch efforts including genomics, proteomics, and pharmaceuticals, among other activities...
  
  
• Biosensor
  Biosensor
  A biosensor is an analytical device for the detection of an analyte that combines a biological component with a physicochemical detector component.It consists of 3 parts:* the sensitive biological element A biosensor is an analytical device for the detection of an analyte that combines a biological...
  
  
• Capacitance probe
  Capacitance probe
  Capacitance 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. The probe consists of sensing head at fixed depth...
  
  
• Catadioptric sensor
  Catadioptric sensor
  A catadioptric sensor is a visual sensor that contains mirrors and lenses , a combined catadioptric system. These are panoramic sensors created by pointing a camera at a curved mirror....
  
  
• Carbon paste electrode
  Carbon paste electrode
  A carbon-paste electrode 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 group of heterogeneous carbon electrodes...
  
  
• Displacement receiver
  Displacement receiver
  A displacement receiver is a device that responds to or is sensitive to directed distance .Examples of displacement receivers include carbon microphones, strain gauges, and pressure sensors or force sensors, which, to within an appropriate scale factor, respond to distance.In music, certain music...
  
  
• Electromechanical film
  Electromechanical film
  Electromechanical Film is a thin membrane whose thickness is related to an electric voltage. It can be used as a pressure sensor, microphone, or a speaker. It can also convert electrical energy to vibration, functioning as an actuator....
  
  
• Electro-optical sensor
  Electro-optical sensor
  Electro-optical sensors are electronic detectors that convert light, or a change in light, into an electronic signal. They are used in many industrial and consumer applications, for example:* Lamps that turn on automatically in response to darkness...
  
  
• Fabry–Pérot interferometer
• Image sensor
  Image sensor
  An image sensor is a device that converts an optical image into an electronic signal. It is used mostly in digital cameras and other imaging devices...
  
  
• Image sensor format
  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 camera...
  
  
• Inductive sensor
  Inductive sensor
  An inductive sensor is an electronic proximity sensor, which detects metallic objects without touching them.The sensor consists of an induction loop. Electric current generates a magnetic field, which collapses generating a current that falls asymptotically toward zero from its initial level when...
  
  
• Intelligent sensor
  Intelligent sensor
  Intelligent sensor takes some predefined action when it senses the appropriate input .-Description :The sensor has to do the following tasks:*Give a digital signal.*Be able to communicate the signal....
  
  
• Lab-on-a-chip
  Lab-on-a-chip
  A lab-on-a-chip is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of only millimeters to a few square centimeters in size. LOCs deal with the handling of extremely small fluid volumes down to less than pico liters. Lab-on-a-chip devices are a subset of MEMS devices...
  
  
• Leaf sensor
  Leaf sensor
  A leaf sensor is a phytometric device that measures water loss or the water deficit stress in plants by real-time monitoring the moisture level in plant leaves. The first leaf sensor was developed by LeafSens, an Israeli company who were granted a US patent for a mechanical leaf thickness...
  
  
• Machine vision
  Machine vision
  Machine vision is the process of applying a range of technologies and methods to provide imaging-based automatic inspection, process control and robot guidance in industrial applications. While the scope of MV is broad and a comprehensive definition is difficult to distil, a "generally accepted...
  
  
• Microelectromechanical systems
  Microelectromechanical systems
  Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...
  
  
• Micro-sensor arrays
• Photoelasticity
  Photoelasticity
  Photoelasticity is an experimental method to determine the stress distribution in a material. The method is mostly used in cases where mathematical methods become quite cumbersome. Unlike the analytical methods of stress determination, photoelasticity gives a fairly accurate picture of stress...
  
  
• RADAR
  Radar
  Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
  
  
  • Ground-penetrating radar
    Ground-penetrating radar
    Ground-penetrating radar is a geophysical method that uses radar pulses to image the subsurface. This nondestructive method uses electromagnetic radiation in the microwave band of the radio spectrum, and detects the reflected signals from subsurface structures...
    
    
  • Synthetic aperture radar
    Synthetic aperture radar
    Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...
    
    
• Sensor array
• Sensor fusion
  Sensor fusion
  Sensor fusion is the combining of sensory data or data derived from sensory data from disparate sources such that the resulting information is in some sense better than would be possible when these sources were used individually...
  
  
• Sensor grid
  Sensor grid
  A Sensor Grid integrates wireless sensor networks with grid infrastructures to enable real-time sensor data collection and the sharing of computational and storage resources for sensor data processing and management...
  
  
• Sensor node
  Sensor node
  A sensor node, also known as a mote , is a node in a wireless sensor network that is capable of performing some processing, gathering sensory information and communicating with other connected nodes in the network...
  
  
• Soft sensor
  Soft sensor
  Soft sensor or virtual sensor is a common name for software where several measurements are processed together. There may be dozens or even hundreds of measurements. The interaction of the signals can be used for calculating new quantities that need not be measured...
  
  
• SONAR
  Sonar
  Sonar is a technique that uses sound propagation to navigate, communicate with or detect other vessels...
  
  
• Staring array
• Transducer
  Transducer
  A transducer is a device that converts one type of energy to another. Energy types include electrical, mechanical, electromagnetic , chemical, acoustic or thermal energy. While the term transducer commonly implies the use of a sensor/detector, any device which converts energy can be considered a...
  
  
• Ultrasonic sensor
  Ultrasonic sensor
  Ultrasonic sensors work on a principle similar to radar or sonar which evaluate attributes of a target by interpreting the echoes from radio or sound waves respectively. Ultrasonic sensors generate high frequency sound waves and evaluate the echo which is received back by the sensor...
  
  
• Video sensor
• Visual sensor network
  Visual sensor network
  A visual sensor network is a network of spatially distributed smart camera devices capable of processing and fusing images of a scene from a variety of viewpoints into some form more useful than the individual images. A visual sensor network may be a type of wireless sensor network, and much of the...
  
  
• Wheatstone bridge
  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. Its operation is similar to the original potentiometer. It was invented by Samuel Hunter Christie in 1833 and...
  
  
• Wireless sensor network
  Wireless sensor network
  A wireless sensor network consists of spatially distributed autonomous sensors to monitor physical or environmental conditions, such as temperature, sound, vibration, pressure, motion or pollutants and to cooperatively pass their data through the network to a main location. The more modern...
  
  

Other sensors and sensor related properties and concepts

• Analog image processing
  Analog image processing
  In electrical engineering and computer science, analog image processing is any image processing task conducted on two-dimensional analog signals by analog means ....
  
  
• Digital holography
  Digital holography
  Digital holography is the technology of acquiring and processing holographic measurement data, typically via a CCD camera or a similar device. In particular, this includes the numerical reconstruction of object data from the recorded measurement data, in distinction to an optical reconstruction...
  
  
• Frame grabbers
  Frame grabber
  A frame grabber is an electronic device that captures individual, digital still frames from an analog video signal or a digital video stream. It is usually employed as a component of a computer vision system, in which video frames are captured in digital form and then displayed, stored or...
  
  
• Intensity sensors and their properties
• Atomic force microscopy
• Chemoreceptor
• Compressive sensing
• Hyperspectral sensors
  Hyperspectral imaging
  Hyperspectral imaging collects and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Much as the human eye sees visible light in three bands , spectral imaging divides the spectrum into many more bands...
  
  
• Millimeter wave scanner
  Millimeter wave scanner
  A millimeter wave scanner is a whole–body imaging device used for detecting objects concealed underneath a person’s clothing. Typical uses for this technology include detection of items for commercial loss prevention, smuggling and screening at government buildings and airport security...
  
  
• Magnetic resonance imaging
  Magnetic resonance imaging
  Magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance imaging , or magnetic resonance tomography is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to visualize detailed internal structures...
  
  
• Diffusion tensor imaging
• Functional magnetic resonance imaging
  Functional magnetic resonance imaging
  Functional magnetic resonance imaging or functional MRI is a type of specialized MRI scan used to measure the hemodynamic response related to neural activity in the brain or spinal cord of humans or other animals. It is one of the most recently developed forms of neuroimaging...
  
  
• Molecular sensor
  Molecular sensor
  A molecular sensor or chemosensor is a molecule that interacts with an analyte to produce a detectable change. Molecular sensors combine molecular recognition with some form of reporter so the presence of the guest can be observed...
  
  
• Optical coherence tomography
  Optical coherence tomography
  Optical coherence tomography is an optical signal acquisition and processing method. It captures micrometer-resolution, three-dimensional images from within optical scattering media . Optical coherence tomography is an interferometric technique, typically employing near-infrared light...
  
  
• Positron emission tomography
  Positron emission tomography
  Positron emission tomography is nuclear medicine imaging technique that produces a three-dimensional image or picture of functional processes in the body. The system detects pairs of gamma rays emitted indirectly by a positron-emitting radionuclide , which is introduced into the body on a...
  
  
• Quantization (signal processing)
  Quantization (signal processing)
  Quantization, in mathematics and digital signal processing, is the process of mapping a large set of input values to a smaller set – such as rounding values to some unit of precision. A device or algorithmic function that performs quantization is called a quantizer. The error introduced by...
  
  
• Range imaging
  Range imaging
  Range imaging is the name for a collection of techniques which 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....
  
  
• Moire deflectometry
  Moire deflectometry
  Moiré Deflectometry is an interferometry technique, in which the object to be tested is mounted in the course of a collimated beam followed by a pair of transmission gratings placed at a distance from each other...
  
  
• Phase unwrapping techniques
• Time-of-flight camera
  Time-of-flight camera
  A time-of-flight camera is a range imaging camera system that resolves distance based on the known speed of light, measuring the time-of-flight of a light signal between the camera and the subject...
  
  
• Structured-light 3D scanner
• Omnidirectional camera
  Omnidirectional camera
  In photography, an omnidirectional camera is a camera with a 360-degree field of view in the horizontal plane, or with a visual field that covers the entire sphere...
  
  
• Catadioptric sensor
  Catadioptric sensor
  A catadioptric sensor is a visual sensor that contains mirrors and lenses , a combined catadioptric system. These are panoramic sensors created by pointing a camera at a curved mirror....
  
  
• Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT)
• Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
  Transcranial magnetic stimulation
  Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a noninvasive method to cause depolarization or hyperpolarization in the neurons of the brain...