Investigation and Development of New Sensor Laboratory

The ECE department at UMaine offers two courses focused on sensors: ECE 465, which provides an introduction to sensors, and ECE 466 Sensor Technology and Instrumentation, which has the goal to expand upon the introductory ECE 465 material and to provide hands-on sensor laboratory experiments, as well as a sensor project. ECE 466 has recently been revised to cover a broad range of sensors, be available to students outside of the ECE department, and has 6 new laboratory modules. ECE 466 is currently being offered for the spring semester of 2017 and will be offered during the Fall semester of 2018.

The total of 6 sensor laboratory modules developed during the summer and fall of 2016 include the following sensor types: (i) Resistance temperature detector (RTD) and CMOS-based temperature sensors; (ii) optical irradiance and respective sensor; (iii) atmospheric pressure and triaxial acceleration sensors; (iv) biomedical sensors; (v) ethanol gas sensors; and (vi) hall-effect sensor. Through the developed laboratories, the following aspects of sensor manipulation have been addressed: sensor characterization; sensor interfacing; analog and digital data acquisition; and data analysis. The investigation, development, and implementation of these six laboratories have allowed the opportunity to research different sensor types, modern analog and digital data acquisition, and diverse means of processing and storing the measured signal. The hands-on experience with different types of sensors through each sensor laboratory module; the student centered sensor project proposal; and the group sensor project implementation; aim at providing a comprehensive understanding and familiarity with sensor usage. Investigation regarding the existence of sensor laboratory courses in other institutions revealed that many sensor laboratory courses do not cover a broad range of different sensor types, as now implemented at UMaine.

Faculty Mentor: Mauricio da Cunha