TERM PAPER

PHYSICS OF SENSOR

PHY-802

TOPIC:- Motion Detectors

Submitted to:- Submitted by:-

Mr. Vinod Kumar Shyam Kuvar Yadav

Roll no:- A06

Section :- OE161
Acknowledgement

I would like to thank “Mr. Vinod Kumar” our tutor of the subject Physics of sensor
for providing me with this opportunity to make “Motion Detectors” as my term
paper topic. I am also thankful to my parents without them I would not have been
able to complete my term paper. Its been my pleasure for being a part of this
wonderful system that is Lovely Professional University. I am very much obliged
to my friends who helped me a lot in the making of this term paper.

Shyam Kuvar Yadav

Table of contents

1) Introduction
2) Motion sensors
3) Types of motion sensors
a) Passive sensors
i) Design
ii) Usage
iii) applications
b) Ultrasonic sensors
i) Design
ii) Usage
iii) Applications
c) Microwave sensors
i) Design
ii) Usage
iii) Applications
4) Conclusion
5) Reference
Introduction

A motion sensor 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. They form a vital component of
comprehensive security systems, for both homes and businesses.

An electronic motion detector contains a motion sensor that transforms the detection of motion

into an electric signal. This can be achieved by measuring optical or acoustical changes in the
field of view. Most motion detectors can detect up to 15–25 meters (50–80 feet).

A motion detector may be connected to a burglar alarm that is used to alert the home owner or

security service after it detects motion. Such a detector may also trigger a red light camera or
outdoor lighting.
Motion sensors

A motion sensor 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. They form a vital component of
comprehensive security systems, for both homes and businesses.

An electronic motion detector contains a motion sensor that transforms the detection of motion

into an electric signal. This can be achieved by measuring optical or acoustical changes in the
field of view. Most motion detectors can detect up to 15–25 meters (50–80 feet).

A motion detector may be connected to a burglar alarm that is used to alert the home owner or

security service after it detects motion. Such a detector may also trigger a red light camera or
outdoor lighting.

An occupancy sensor is a motion detector that is integrated with a timing device. It senses when
motion has stopped for a specified time period in order to trigger a light extinguishing signal.
These devices prevent illumination of unoccupied spaces like public toilets. They are widely
used for security purposes.

Sensors

There are basically three types of sensors used in motion detectors spectrum:

Passive infrared sensors (PIR)

Looks for body heat. No energy is emitted from the sensor.

Ultrasonic (active)

sends out pulses and measures the reflection off a moving object.

Microwave (active)

Sensor sends out microwave pulses and measures the reflection off a moving object. Similar to a
police radar gun.
 Passive Infrared sensor (PIR sensor) 

A Passive Infrared sensor (PIR sensor) is an electronic device that measures infrared (IR) light

radiating from objects in its field of view. PIR sensors are often used in the construction of PIR-
based motion detectors (see below). Apparent motion is detected when an infrared source with
one temperature, such as a human, passes in front of an infrared source with another temperature,
such as a wall.

All objects above absolute zero emit energy in the form of radiation. It is usually infrared
radiation that is invisible to the human eye but can be detected by electronic devices designed for
such a purpose. The term passive in this instance means that the PIR device does not emit an
infrared beam but merely passively accepts incoming infrared radiation. “Infra” meaning below
our ability to detect it visually, and “Red” because this color represents the lowest energy level
that our eyes can sense before it becomes invisible. Thus, infrared means below the energy level
of the color red, and applies to many sources of invisible energy.

Design

Infrared radiation enters through the front of the sensor, known as the sensor face. At the core of
a PIR sensor is a solid state sensor or set of sensors, made from an approximately 1/4 inch square
of natural or artificial pyroelectric materials, usually in the form of a thin film, out of gallium
nitride (GaN), caesium nitrate (CsNO3), polyvinyl fluorides, derivatives of phenylpyrazine,
and cobaltphthalocyanine. (See pyroelectric crystals.) Lithium tantalate (LiTaO3) is
a crystal exhibiting both piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties.

The sensor is often manufactured as part of an integrated circuit and may consist of one (1), two
(2) or four (4) 'pixels' of equal areas of the pyroelectric material. Pairs of the sensor pixels may
be wired as opposite inputs to a differential amplifier. In such a configuration, the PIR
measurements cancel each other so that the average temperature of the field of view is removed
from the electrical signal; an increase of IR energy across the entire sensor is self-cancelling and
will not trigger the device. This allows the device to resist false indications of change in the
event of being exposed to flashes of light or field-wide illumination. (Continuous bright light
could still saturate the sensor materials and render the sensor unable to register further
information.) At the same time, this differential arrangement minimizes common-mode
interference, allowing the device to resist triggering due to nearby electric fields. However, a
differential pair of sensors cannot measure temperature in that configuration and therefore this
configuration is specialized for motion detectors.

PIR-based motion detector

Cylindrical facet lens in front of PIR sensor. Each facet (rectangle) is a Fresnel lens

In a PIR-based motion detector (usually called a PID, for Passive Infrared Detector), the PIR
sensor is typically mounted on a printed circuit board containing the necessary electronics
required to interpret the signals from the pyroelectric sensor chip. The complete assembly is
contained within a housing mounted in a location where the sensor can view the area to be
monitored. Infrared energy is able to reach the pyroelectric sensor through the window because
the plastic used istransparent to infrared radiation (but only translucent to visible light). This
plastic sheet also prevents the intrusion of dust and/or insects from obscuring the sensor's field of
view, and in the case of insects, from generating false alarms.

The PID can be thought of as a kind of infrared camera that remembers the amount of infrared
energy focused on its surface. Once power is applied to the PID, the electronics in the PID
shortly settle into a quiescent state and energize a small relay. This relay controls a set
of electrical contacts that are usually connected to the detection input of a burglar alarm control
panel. If the amount of infrared energy focused on the pyroelectric sensor changes within a
configured time period, the device will switch the state of the alarm relay. The alarm relay is
typically a "normally closed (NC)" relay, also known as a "Form B" relay.

A person entering a monitored area is detected when the infrared energy emitted from the
intruder's body is focused by a Fresnel lens or a mirror segment and overlaps a section on the
chip that had previously been looking at some much cooler part of the protected area. That
portion of the chip is now much warmer than when the intruder wasn't there. As the intruder
moves, so does the hot spot on the surface of the chip. This moving hot spot causes the
electronics connected to the chip to de-energize the relay, operating its contacts, thereby
activating the detection input on the alarm control panel. Conversely, if an intruder were to try to
defeat a PID, perhaps by holding some sort of thermal shield between himself and the PID, a
corresponding 'cold' spot moving across the face of the chip will also cause the relay to de-
energize — unless the thermal shield has the same temperature as the objects behind it.

Manufacturers recommend careful placement of their products to prevent false (non-intruder

caused) alarms. They suggest mounting the PIDs in such a way that the PID cannot 'see' out of a
window. Although the wavelength of infrared radiation to which the chips are sensitive does not
penetrate glass very well, a strong infrared source such as from a vehicle headlight or sunlight
reflecting from a vehicle window can overload the chip with enough infrared energy to fool the
electronics and cause a false alarm. A person moving on the other side of the glass however
would not be 'seen' by the PID.

They also recommended that the PID not be placed in such a position that an HVAC vent would
blow hot or cold air onto the surface of the plastic which covers the housing's window. Although
air has very low emissivity (emits very small amounts of infrared energy), the air blowing on the
plastic window cover could change the plastic's temperature enough to, once again, fool the
electronics.

PIDs come in many configurations for a wide variety of applications. The most common, used
in home security systems, have numerous Fresnel lenses or mirror segments and an effective
range of about thirty feet. Some larger PIDs are made with single segment mirrors and can sense
changes in infrared energy over one hundred feet away from the PID. There are also PIDs
designed with reversible orientation mirrors which allow either broad coverage (110° wide) or
very narrow 'curtain' coverage.

PIDs can have more than one internal sensing element so that, with the appropriate electronics
and Fresnel lens, it can detect direction. Left to right, right to left, up or down and provide an
appropriate output signal.

PIR-based remote thermometer

Designs have been implemented in which a PIR circuit measures the temperature of a remote
object In such a circuit, a non-differential PIR output is used. The output signal is evaluated
according to a calibration for the IR spectrum of a specific type of matter to be observed. By this
means, relatively accurate and precise temperature measurements may be obtained remotely.
Without calibration to the type of material being observed, a PIR thermometer device is able to
measure changes in IR emission which correspond directly to temperature changes, but the actual
temperature values cannot be calculated.

Ultrasonic sensors 

Ultrasonic sensors (also known as transceivers when they both send and receive) 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. Sensors calculate the time interval
between sending the signal and receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object.

This technology can be used for measuring: wind speed and direction (anemometer), fullness of
a tank and speed through air or water. For measuring speed or direction a device uses multiple
detectors and calculates the speed from the relative distances to particulates in the air or water.
To measure the amount of liquid in a tank, the sensor measures the distance to the surface of the
fluid. Further applications include: humidifiers, sonar, medical ultrasonography, burglar alarms
and non-destructive testing.

Systems typically use a transducer which generates sound waves in the ultrasonic range, above
18,000 hertz, by turning electrical energy into sound, then upon receiving the echo turn the sound
waves into electrical energy which can be measured and displayed.

The technology is limited by the shapes of surfaces and the density or consistency of the
material. For example foam on the surface of a fluid in a tank could distort a reading.

Since piezoelectric crystals generate a voltage when force is applied to them, the same crystal
can be used as an ultrasonic detector. Some systems use separate transmitter and receiver
components while others combine both in a single piezoelectric transceiver.

Alternative methods for creating and detecting ultrasound

include magnetostriction and capacitive actuation.
Use in medicine

Medical ultrasonic transducers (probes) come in a variety of different shapes and sizes for use in
making pictures of different parts of the body. The transducer may be passed over the surface of
the body or inserted into a body opening such as the rectum or vagina. Clinicians who perform
ultrasound-guided procedures often use a probe positioning system to hold the ultrasonic
transducer.

Air detection sensors are used in various roles. Non-invasive air detection capabilities in the
most critical applications where the safety of a patient is mandatory. Many of the variables,
which can affect performance of amplitude or continuous wave based sensing systems, are
eliminated or greatly reduced, thus yielding accurate and repeatable detection. The principle
behind the technology is that the transmit signal consists of short bursts of ultrasonic energy.
After each burst, the electronics looks for a return signal within a small window of time
corresponding to the time it takes for the energy to pass through the vessel. Only signal received
during this window period will qualify for additional signal processing.

Use in industry

Ultrasonic sensors are used to detect the presence of targets and to measure the distance to
targets in many automated factories and process plants. Sensors with an on or off digital output
are available for detecting the presence of objects, and sensors with an analog output which
varies proportionally to the sensor to target separation distance are commercially available.

Because ultrasonic sensors use sound rather than light for detection, they work in applications
where photoelectric sensors may not. Ultrasonics are a great solution for clear object detection
and for liquid level measurement, applications that photoelectrics struggle with because of target
translucence. Target color and/or reflectivity don't affect ultrasonic sensors which can operate
reliably in high-glare environments.

Other types of transducers are used in commercially available ultrasonic cleaning devices. An
ultrasonic transducer is affixed to a stainless steel pan which is filled with a solvent (frequently
water orisopropanol) and a square wave is applied to it, imparting vibrational energy on the
liquid.

MICROWAVE SENSORS

Microwave sensors, also known as Radar, RF or Doppler sensors, detect walking, running or
crawling human targets in an outdoor environment. Southwest Microwave developed the
industry’s first bi-static microwave sensor in 1971, and has pioneered the development of
flexible, reliable microwave links and transceivers for the protection of open areas, gates or
entryways and rooftop or wall applications.

Microwave sensors generate an electromagnetic (RF) field between transmitter and receiver,
creating an invisible volumetric detection zone. When an intruder enters the detection zone,
changes to the field are registered and an alarm occurs.

Our microwave sensors are easy to install, provide high probability of detection, low nuisance
alarms and resistance to rain, fog, wind, dust, falling snow and temperature extremes. Most
operate at K-Band frequency, maximizing detection performance and minimizing interference
from external radar sources.

Reference

i) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor

ii) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_detector

iii) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultrasonic_sensor

iv) http://www.southwestmicrowave.com/products/microwave-sensors/