Data Acquisition System

DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM
When we talk about Data Acquisition, commonly abbreviated as either DAQ or DAS, we are
referring to the process of making measurements of physical phenomena and recording them
in some fashion in order to analyze them.
Data acquisition is generally accepted to be distinct from earlier forms of recording to tape or
Paper charts.
Unlike those methods, the signals are converted from the analog domain to the digital domain
and then recorded to a digital medium such as ROM, flash media, or hard disk drives.
Modern digital data acquisition systems consist of four essential components that form the
entire measurement chain of physics phenomena:
 Sensors
 Signal Conditioning
 Analog-to-Digital Converter
 Computer with DAQ software for signal logging and analysis
The typical data acquisition (DAQ) system has multiple channels of signal conditioning
circuitry which provide the interface between external sensors and the A/D conversion
subsystem.
What Does a DAQ System Measure?

Data acquisition systems are principally in the business of measuring physical phenomena
such as:
 Temperature
 Voltage
 Current
 Strain and Pressure
 Shock and Vibration
 Distance and Displacement
 RPM, Angle, and Discrete Events
 Weight
Note that there are several other measurands, including light and images, sound, mass,
position, speed, etc. that can be measured by the data acquisition system.
The Purposes of Data Acquisition

The primary purpose of a data acquisition system is to acquire and store the data. But they
are also intended to provide real-time and post-recording visualization and analysis of the
data. Furthermore, most data acquisition systems have some analytical and report
generation capability built-in.
Engineers in different applications have various requirements, of course, but these key
capabilities are present in varying proportion:
 Data recording
 Data storing
 Real-time data visualization
 Post-recording data review
 Data analysis using various mathematical and statistical calculations
 Report generation
Importance of Data Acquisition Systems

Data acquisition systems or DAQ devices are essential in the testing of products, from
automobiles to medical devices - basically, any electromechanical device that people use.
Before data acquisition, products were tested in an unstructured, highly subjective manner. For
example, when testing a new suspension in an automobile, engineers often relied on the
opinions of test drivers as to how the suspension “felt” to them.
With the invention and development of data acquisition systems, which could collect data from
a wide variety of sensors, these kinds of subjective opinions were replaced with objective
measurements. These could easily be repeated, compared, analyzed mathematically and
visualized in many ways.
Today, no one would consider making any kind of vehicle, large or small, aircraft, medical
devices, large scale machinery, etc without employing data acquisition to objectively measure
their performance, safety, and reliability.
The Measurement Process

Data acquisition is the process of converting real-world signals to the digital domain for display,
storage, and analysis. Because physical phenomena exist in the analog domain, i.e., the physical
world that we live in, they must be first measured there and then converted to the digital
domain.
This process is done using a variety of sensors and signal conditioners. The outputs are sampled
by analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and then written in a time-based stream to a digital
memory media, as mentioned above. We usually call such systems the measurement systems.
Let’s look at each of these elements in the chain in more detail:
 Sensors or Transducers
 Signal conditioners
 Filtering
 Analog-to-digital converters (ADCs)
 Data storage
 Data visualization
 Data analysis
Sensors or Transducers
The measurement of a physical phenomenon, such as the temperature, the level of a sound
source, or the vibration occurring from constant motion, begins with a sensor. A sensor is
also called a transducer. A sensor converts a physical phenomenon into a measurable
electrical signal.
Sensors are used in our everyday lives. For example, the common mercury thermometer is a
very old type of sensor used for measuring temperature. Using colored mercury in a closed
tube, it relies on the fact that this chemical has a consistent and linear reaction to changes
in temperature. By marking the tube with temperature values, we can look at the
thermometer and see what the temperature is with limited precision.
The classical thermometer is used to measure temperature for centuries
Of course, there is no analog output other than the visual one. This kind of primitive
thermometer, while useful in the oven, or outside the kitchen window, is not particularly
useful for data acquisition applications.
So other types of sensors have been invented to measure temperatures, such as

thermocouples, thermistors, RTDs (Resistance Temperature Detectors), and even infra-red
temperature detectors. Millions of these sensors are at work every day in all manner of
applications, from the engine temperature shown on our automobile dashboard, to the
temperatures measured in pharmaceutical manufacturing. Virtually every industry utilizes
temperature measurement in some way.
Of course, there are many other types of sensors that have been invented to measure
another physical phenomenon:
 Load cells: for measuring weight and load

 LVDT sensors: LVDTs are used to measure displacement in distance
 Accelerometers: measuring vibration and shock
 Microphones: for measuring sound,
 Strain gauges: to measure strain on an object, e.g. measure force, pressure, tension,
weight, etc.,
 Current transducers: for measuring AC or DC current,
 and countless more.
Depending on the type of sensor, its electrical output can be a voltage, current, resistance,
or another electrical attribute that varies over time. The output of these analog sensors is
typically connected to the input of a signal conditioner, which we will discuss in the next
section
Signal Conditioners
Signal conditioners are in the business of taking the output from analog sensors and
preparing them to be sampled digitally.
If we continue the example of the thermocouple. The signal conditioning circuitry needs to
linearize the output from the sensor as well as provide isolation, and amplification to bring
the very small voltage up to a nominal level for digitizing.
Each signal conditioner is designed by the manufacturer to perform the elemental

normalizing of the sensor output to ensure its linearity and fidelity to the source
phenomena, and prepare it for digitizing. And since every sensor type is different, the signal
conditioners must conform perfectly to them.
Filtering
Virtually every signal that we want to measure can be affected by electrical interference or
noise. This has a variety of causes, including ambient electromagnetic fields which can be
induced into high gain signal lines, or simple voltage potentials that exist between the
sensor or measuring system and the object under test. Therefore, the best signal
conditioning systems provide selectable filtering that the engineer can use in order to
remove these interferences and make better measurements.
Filters are normally expressed in terms of the band that they operate upon. There are four
basic types of signal filters:
 Low-pass filter: this filter reduces or “rolls off” starting at a given frequency and those
above it.
 High-pass filter: does the opposite and allows frequencies to pass which are above a
given frequency.
 Band-pass and band-reject filters: either pass or stop (reject) frequencies between two
given values.
Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs or AD Converters)

The output of most physical measurement signal conditions is an analog signal. It is
necessary to convert this signal to a series of high-speed digital values so that it can be
displayed and stored by the data acquisition system. As such, an A/D card or A/D subsystem
is used to convert this signal.
There are a variety of ADC types, including both multiplexed and single converter per
channel. In a multiplexed ADC system, a single analog-to-digital converter is used to convert
multiple signals from analog to digital domain. This is done by multiplexing the analog
signals one at a time into the ADC.
Data Storage
Today’s data acquisition systems typically utilize a solid-state hard disk drive (SSD or HDD)
to stream data from the ADC subsystem to permanent storage. Writing the data to disk also
allows it to be analyzed after the test is completed.
Most DAQ systems allow the data to be exported to different file formats for analysis using
third-party software tools. Common data formats include CSV (Comma Separated Values),
UNV (Universal File Format), and more.
Data Visualisation , Display and Analysis

One of the most critical functions of any DAQ system is the ability to visualize the data in
real-time during data storage. Systems typically employ an integrated or separate flat-
screen display, which can be configured in a variety of visual formats.
Waveform data can almost always be displayed as Y/T waveforms against a graph or grid,
and in numeric form. But other graphical conventions can be employed in addition, such as
bar graph meters, FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) frequency/magnitude graphs, and more.
Data acquisition systems provide an important visual reference as to the state of the test in
real-time. But after it has been stored to the DAQ system, the data can also be analyzed
using tools either built-into the DAQ system or third party data analysis software.

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DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM

What Does a DAQ System Measure?

The Purposes of Data Acquisition

Importance of Data Acquisition Systems

The Measurement Process

Let’s look at each of these elements in the chain in more detail:

The classical thermometer is used to measure temperature for centuries

So other types of sensors have been invented to measure temperatures, such as

 Load cells: for measuring weight and load

Each signal conditioner is designed by the manufacturer to perform the elemental

Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs or AD Converters)

Data Visualisation , Display and Analysis

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