USB Sensors as a New Challenge for Measurement Systems

Abstract

New trend in area of industrial sensors there are availability of “smart sensors” with connection to PC or PDA computers. In the paper there are presented an experience with design and applications of measurement tasks by USB modules from firms Phidgets (Canada) and Futek (USA).These types of sensors are flexible, small form size, by USB bus electronics power supply and cover inexpensive the main measurement functions. By this way can be measured values as a temperature, force, pressure, displacement and rotation of object, vibration, angle or rotation with USB encoders, or RFID modules there are obtainable. On the Department CSI VSˇB-TU Ostrava there were solved the tasks with program connection support of 2 and 3 axis USB accelerometers by the program LabVIEW. In the next tasks were testing of properties and function possibilities of smart USB sensors temperature, force, linear and rotation displacement.