Introduction to Internet of Things (IOT) Module-2

Introduction to Internet of
Things (IOT)
2022 scheme

[Subject code: 22ETC15H/25H]

MODULE - 2

IoT Sensing and Actuation: Introduction, Sensors, Sensor Characteristics, Sensorial Deviations, Sensing
types, Sensing Considerations, Actuators, Actuator Types, Actuator Characteristics.

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2.1 Introduction
A major chunk of IoT applications involves sensing in one form or the other. Almost all the
applications in IoT—be it a consumer IoT, an industrial IoT, or just plain hobby-based deployments
of IoT solutions—sensing forms the first step. Incidentally, actuation forms the final step in the
whole operation of IoT application deployment in a majority of scenarios. The basic science of
sensing and actuation is based on the process of transduction. Transduction is the process of energy
conversion from one form to another. A transducer is a physical means of enabling transduction.
Transducers take energy in any form (for which it is designed)—electrical, mechanical, chemical,
light, sound, and others—and convert it into another, which may be electrical, mechanical,
chemical, light, sound, and others. Sensors and actuators are deemed as transducers. For example, in
a public announcement (PA) system, a microphone (input device) converts sound waves into
electrical signals, which is amplified by an amplifier system (a process). Finally, a loudspeaker
(output device) outputs this into audible sounds by converting the amplified electrical signals back
into sound waves. Table 2.1 outlines the basic terminological differences between transducers,
sensors, and actuators.

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2.2 Sensors
Sensors are devices that can measure, or quantify, or respond to the ambient changes in their
environment or within the intended zone of their deployment. They generate responses to external
stimuli or physical phenomenon through characterization of the input functions (which are these
external stimuli) and their conversion into typically electrical signals. For example, heat is
converted to electrical signals in a temperature sensor, or atmospheric pressure is converted to
electrical signals in a barometer. A sensor is only sensitive to the measured property (e.g., a
temperature sensor only senses the ambient temperature of a room). It is insensitive to any other
property besides what it is designed to detect (e.g., a temperature sensor does not bother about light
or pressure while sensing the temperature). Finally, a sensor does not influence the measured
property (e.g., measuring the temperature does not reduce or increase the temperature). Figure 2.1
shows the simple outline of a sensing task. Here, a temperature sensor keeps on checking an
environment for changes. In the event of a fire, the temperature of the environment goes up. The
temperature sensor notices this change in the temperature of the room and promptly communicates
this information to a remote monitor via the processor.

The various sensors can be classified based on: 1) power requirements, 2) sensor output, and 3)
property to be measured. • Power Requirements: The way sensors operate decides the power
requirements that must be provided for an IoT implementation. Some sensors need to be provided
with separate power sources for them to function, whereas some sensors do not require any power
sources. Depending on the requirements of power, sensors can be of two types.
(i) Active: Active sensors do not require an external circuitry or mechanism to provide it with
power. It directly responds to the external stimuli from its ambient environment and converts it into
an output signal. For example, a photodiode converts light into electrical impulses.
(ii) Passive: Passive sensors require an external mechanism to power them up. The sensed
properties are modulated with the sensor’s inherent characteristics to generate patterns in the output

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of the sensor. For example, a thermistor’s resistance can be detected by applying voltage difference
across it or passing a current through it.
• Output: The output of a sensor helps in deciding the additional components to be integrated with
an IoT node or system. Typically, almost all modern-day processors are digital; digital sensors can
be directly integrated to the processors.
However, the integration of analog sensors to these digital processors or IoT nodes requires
additional interfacing mechanisms such as analog to digital converters (ADC), voltage level
converters, and others. Sensors are broadly divided into two types, depending on the type of output
generated from these sensors, as follows.
(i) Analog: Analog sensors generate an output signal or voltage, which is proportional (linearly or
non-linearly) to the quantity being measured and is continuous in time and amplitude. Physical
quantities such as temperature, speed, pressure, displacement, strain, and others are all continuous
and categorized as analog quantities. For example, a thermometer or a thermocouple can be used for
measuring the temperature of a liquid (e.g., in household water heaters). These sensors continuously
respond to changes in the temperature of the liquid.
(ii) Digital: These sensors generate the output of discrete time digital representation (time, or
amplitude, or both) of a quantity being measured, in the form of output signals or voltages.
Typically, binary output signals in the form of logic 1 or logic 0 for ON or OFF respectively are
associated with digital sensors. The generated discrete (non-continuous) values may be output as a
single “bit” (serial transmission), eight of which combine to produce a single “byte” output (parallel
transmission) in digital sensors.
• Measured Property: The property of the environment being measured by the sensors can be crucial
in deciding the number of sensors in an IoT implementation. Some properties to be measured do not
show high spatial variations and can be quantified only based on temporal variations in the
measured property, such as ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure, and others. Whereas some
properties to be measured show high spatial as well as temporal variations such as sound, image,
and others. Depending on the properties to be measured, sensors can be of two types.
(i) Scalar: Scalar sensors produce an output proportional to the magnitude of the quantity being
measured. The output is in the form of a signal or voltage. Scalar physical quantities are those
where only the magnitude of the signal is sufficient for describing or characterizing the
phenomenon and information generation. Examples of such measurable physical quantities include
color, pressure, temperature, strain, and others. A thermometer or thermocouple is an example of a
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scalar sensor that has the ability to detect changes in ambient or object temperatures (depending on
the sensor’s configuration). Factors such as changes in sensor orientation or direction do not affect
these sensors (typically).
(ii) Vector: Vector sensors are affected by the magnitude as well as the direction and/or orientation
of the property they are measuring. Physical quantities such as velocity and images that require
additional information besides their magnitude for completely categorizing a physical phenomenon
are categorized as vector quantities. Measuring such quantities are undertaken using vector sensors.
For example, an electronic gyroscope, which is commonly found in all modern aircraft, is used for
detecting the changes in orientation of the gyroscope with respect to the Earth’s orientation along
all three axes.

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2.3 Sensor Characteristics

All sensors can be defined by their ability to measure or capture a certain phenomenon and
report them as output signals to various other systems. However, even within the same sensor type
and class, sensors can be characterized by their ability to sense the phenomenon based on the
following three fundamental properties.
• Sensor Resolution: The smallest change in the measurable quantity that a sensor can detect
is referred to as the resolution of a sensor. For digital sensors, the smallest change in the digital
output that the sensor is capable of quantifying is its sensor resolution. The more the resolution of a
sensor, the more accurate is the precision. A sensor’s accuracy does not depend upon its resolution.
For example, a temperature sensor A can detect up to 0.5 ◦ C changes in temperature; whereas
another sensor B can detect up to 0.25◦ C changes in temperature. Therefore, the resolution of
sensor B is higher than the resolution of sensor A.
• Sensor Accuracy: The accuracy of a sensor is the ability of that sensor to measure the
environment of a system as close to its true measure as possible. For example, a weight sensor
detects the weight of a 100 kg mass as 99.98 kg. We can say that this sensor is 99.98% accurate,
with an error rate of ±0.02%.
• Sensor Precision: The principle of repeatability governs the precision of a sensor. Only if,
upon multiple repetitions, the sensor is found to have the same error rate, can it be deemed as highly

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precise. For example, consider if the same weight sensor described earlier reports measurements of
98.28 kg, 100.34 kg, and 101.11 kg upon three repeat measurements for a mass of actual weight of
100 kg. Here, the sensor precision is not deemed high because of significant variations in the
temporal measurements for the same object under the same conditions.
2.4 Sensorial Deviations
In this section, we will discuss the various sensorial deviations that are considered as errors
in sensors. Most of the sensing in IoT is non-critical, where minor deviations in sensorial outputs
seldom change the nature of the undertaken tasks. However, some critical applications of IoT, such
as healthcare, industrial process monitoring, and others, do require sensors with high-quality
measurement capabilities. As the quality of the measurement obtained from a sensor is dependent
on a large number of factors, there are a few primary considerations that must be incorporated
during the sensing of critical systems. In the event of a sensor’s output signal going beyond its
designed maximum and minimum capacity for measurement, the sensor output is truncated to its
maximum or minimum value, which is also the sensor’s limits.
The measurement range between a sensor’s characterized minimum and maximum values is
also referred to as the fullscale range of that sensor. Under real conditions, the sensitivity of a
sensor may differ from the value specified for that sensor leading to sensitivity error. This deviation
is mostly attributed to sensor fabrication errors and its calibration. If the output of a sensor differs
from the actual value to be measured by a constant, the sensor is said to have an offset error or bias.
For example, while measuring an actual temperature of 0 ◦ C, a temperature sensor outputs 1.1 ◦ C
every time. In this case, the sensor is said to have an offset error or bias of 1.1 ◦ C. Similarly, some
sensors have a non-linear behavior. If a sensor’s transfer function (TF) deviates from a straight line
transfer function, it is referred to as its non-linearity.
The amount a sensor’s actual output differs from the ideal TF behavior over the full range of
the sensor quantifies its behavior. It is denoted as the percentage of the sensor’s full range. Most
sensors have linear behavior. If the output signal of a sensor changes slowly and independently of
the measured property, this behavior of the sensor’s output is termed as drift. Physical changes in
the sensor or its material may result in long-term drift, which can span over months or years. Noise
is a temporally varying random deviation of signals.
In contrast, if a sensor’s output varies/deviates due to deviations in the sensor’s previous
input values, it is referred to as hysteresis error. The present output of the sensor depends on the
past input values provided to the sensor. Typically, the phenomenon of hysteresis can be observed
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in analog sensors, magnetic sensors, and during heating of metal strips. One way to check for
hysteresis error is to check how the sensor’s output changes when we first increase, then decrease
the input values to the sensor over its full range. It is generally denoted as a positive and negative
percentage variation of the full-range of that sensor. Focusing on digital sensors, if the digital output
of a sensor is an approximation of the measured property, it induces quantization error.
This error can be defined as the difference between the actual analog signal and its closest
digital approximation during the sampling stage of the analog to digital conversion. Similarly,
dynamic errors caused due to mishandling of sampling frequencies can give rise to aliasing errors.
Aliasing leads to different signals of varying frequencies to be represented as a single signal in case
the sampling frequency is not correctly chosen, resulting in the input signal becoming a multiple of
the sampling rate.
Finally, the environment itself plays a crucial role in inducing sensorial deviations. Some
sensors may be prone to external influences, which may not be directly linked to the property being
measured by the sensor. This sensitivity of the sensor may lead to deviations in its output values.
For example, as most sensors are semiconductorbased, they are influenced by the temperature of
their environment.
2.5 Sensing Types
Sensing can be broadly divided into four different categories based on the nature of the
environment being sensed and the physical sensors being used to do so (Figure 2.4): 1) scalar
sensing, 2) multimedia sensing, 3) hybrid sensing, and 4) virtual sensing.
2.5.1 Scalar sensing
Scalar sensing encompasses the sensing of features that can be quantified simply by measuring
changes in the amplitude of the measured values with respect to time. Quantities such as ambient
temperature, current, atmospheric pressure, rainfall, light, humidity, flux, and others are considered
as scalar values as they normally do not have a directional or spatial property assigned with them.
Simply measuring the changes in their values with passing time provides enough information about
these quantities. The sensors used for measuring these scalar quantities are referred to as scalar
sensors, and the act is known as scalar sensing. Figures 2.3(a), 2.3(b), 2.3(c), 2.3(d), 2.3(e), 2.3(f),
2.3(g), 2.3(h), 2.3(i), and 2.3(j) show scalar sensors. A simple scalar temperature sensing of a fire
detection event is shown in Figure 2.4(a).

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2.5.2 Multimedia sensing

Multimedia sensing encompasses the sensing of features that have a spatial variance
property associated with the property of temporal variance. Unlike scalar sensors, multimedia
sensors are used for capturing the changes in amplitude of a quantifiable property concerning space
(spatial) as well as time (temporal). Quantities such as images, direction, flow, speed, acceleration,
sound, force, mass, energy, and momentum have both directions as well as a magnitude.
Additionally, these quantities follow the vector law of addition and hence are designated as vector
quantities. They might have different values in different directions for the same working condition
at the same time. The sensors used for measuring these quantities are known as vector sensors.
Figures 2.3(a) and 2.3(c) are vector sensors. A simple camera-based multimedia sensing using
surveillance as an example is shown in Figure 2.4(b).
2.5.3 Hybrid sensing
The act of using scalar as well as multimedia sensing at the same time is referred to as
hybrid sensing. Many a time, there is a need to measure certain vector as well as scalar properties of
an environment at the same time. Under these conditions, a range of various sensors are employed
(from the collection of scalar as well as multimedia sensors) to measure the various properties of
that environment at any instant of time, and temporally map the collected information to generate
new information. For example, in an agricultural field, it is required to measure the soil conditions
at regular intervals of time to determine plant health. Sensors such as soil moisture and soil

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temperature are deployed underground to estimate the soil’s water retention capacity and the
moisture being held by the soil at any instant of time. However, this setup only determines whether
the plant is getting enough water or not. There may be a host of other factors besides water
availability, which may affect a plant’s health. The additional inclusion of a camera sensor with the
plant may be able to determine the actual condition of a plant by additionally determining the color
of leaves. The aggregate information from soil moisture, soil temperature, and the camera sensor
will be able to collectively determine a plant’s health at any instant of time. Other common
examples of hybrid sensing include smart parking systems, traffic management systems, and others.
Figure 2.4(c) shows an example of hybrid sensing, where a camera and a temperature sensor are
collectively used to detect and confirm forest fires during wildlife monitoring.
2.5.4 Virtual sensing
Many a time, there is a need for very dense and large-scale deployment of sensor nodes
spread over a large area for monitoring of parameters. One such domain is agriculture [5]. Here,
often, the parameters being measured, such as soil moisture, soil temperature, and water level, do
not show significant spatial variations. Hence, if sensors are deployed in the fields of farmer A, it is
highly likely that the measurements from his sensors will be able to provide almost concise
measurements of his neighbor B’s fields; this is especially true of fields which are immediately
surrounding A’s fields.
Exploiting this property, if the data from A’s field is digitized using an IoT infrastructure
and this system advises him regarding the appropriate watering, fertilizer, and pesticide regimen for
his crops, this advisory can also be used by B for maintaining his crops. In short, A ’s sensors are
being used for actual measurement of parameters; whereas virtual data (which does not have actual
physical sensors but uses extrapolation-based measurements) is being used for advising B.
This is the virtual sensing paradigm. Figure 2.4(d) shows an example of virtual sensing.
Two temperature sensors S1 and S3 monitor three nearby events E1, E2, and E3 (fires). The event
E2 does not have a dedicated sensor for monitoring it; however, through the superposition of
readings from sensors S1 and S3, the presence of fire in E2 is inferred.

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2.6 Sensing Considerations

The choice of sensors in an IoT sensor node is critical and can either make or break the
feasibility of an IoT deployment. The following major factors influence the choice of sensors in
IoT-based sensing solutions: 1) sensing range, 2) accuracy and precision, 3) energy, and 4) device
size. These factors are discussed as follows:
(i) Sensing Range: The sensing range of a sensor node defines the detection fidelity of that
node. Typical approaches to optimize the sensing range in deployments include fixed k-coverage
and dynamic k-coverage. A lifelong fixed k-coverage tends to usher in redundancy as it requires a
large number of sensor nodes, the sensing range of some of which may also overlap. In contrast,
dynamic k-coverage incorporates mobile sensor nodes post detection of an event, which, however,
is a costly solution and may not be deployable in all operational areas and terrains [1]. Additionally,
the sensing range of a sensor may also be used to signify the upper and lower bounds of a sensor’s
measurement range. For example, a proximity sensor has a typical sensing range of a couple of
meters. In contrast, a camera has a sensing range varying between tens of meters to hundreds of
meters. As the complexity of the sensor and its sensing range goes up, its cost significantly
increases.
(ii) Accuracy and Precision: The accuracy and precision of measurements provided by a
sensor are critical in deciding the operations of specific functional processes. Typically, off-the-
shelf consumer sensors are low on requirements and often very cheap. However, their performance
is limited to regular application domains. For example, a standard temperature sensor can be easily
integrated with conventional components for hobby projects and day-to-day applications, but it is
not suitable for industrial processes. Regular temperature sensors have a very low-temperature
sensing range, as well as relatively low accuracy and precision. The use of these sensors in
industrial applications, where a precision of up to 3–4 decimal places is required, cannot be
facilitated by these sensors. Industrial sensors are typically very sophisticated, and as a result, very
costly. However, these industrial sensors have very high accuracy and precision score, even under
harsh operating conditions.
(iii) Energy: The energy consumed by a sensing solution is crucial to determine the lifetime
of that solution and the estimated cost of its deployment. If the sensor or the sensor node is so
energy inefficient that it requires replenishment of its energy sources quite frequently, the effort in
maintaining the solution and its cost goes up; whereas its deployment feasibility goes down.
Consider a scenario where sensor nodes are deployed on the top of glaciers. Once deployed, access
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to these nodes is not possible. If the energy requirements of the sensor nodes are too high, such a
deployment will not last long, and the solution will be highly infeasible as charging or changing of
the energy sources of these sensor nodes is not an option.
(iv) Device Size: Modern-day IoT applications have a wide penetration in all domains of
life. Most of the applications of IoT require sensing solutions which are so small that they do not
hinder any of the regular activities that were possible before the sensor node deployment was
carried out. Larger the size of a sensor node, larger is the obstruction caused by it, higher is the cost
and energy requirements, and lesser is its demand for the bulk of the IoT applications. Consider a
simple human activity detector. If the detection unit is too large to be carried or too bulky to cause
hindrance to regular normal movements, the demand for this solution would be low. It is because of
this that the onset of wearables took off so strongly. The wearable sensors are highly energy-
efficient, small in size, and almost part of the wearer’s regular wardrobe.

2.7 Actuators
An actuator can be considered as a machine or system’s component that can affect the
movement or control the said mechanism or the system. Control systems affect changes to the
environment or property they are controlling through actuators. The system activates the actuator
through a control signal, which may be digital or analog. It elicits a response from the actuator,
which is in the form of some form of mechanical motion. The control system of an actuator can be a
mechanical or electronic system, a software-based system (e.g., an autonomous car control system),
a human, or any other input. Figure 2.5 shows the outline of a simple actuation system. A remote
user sends commands to a processor.
The processor instructs a motor controlled robotic arm to perform the commanded tasks
accordingly. The processor is primarily responsible for converting the human commands into
sequential machine-language command sequences, which enables the robot to move. The robotic
arm finally moves the designated boxes, which was its assigned task.

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2.8 Actuator Types

Broadly, actuators can be divided into seven classes: 1) Hydraulic, 2) pneumatic, 3)
electrical, 4) thermal/magnetic, 5) mechanical, 6) soft, and 7) shape memory polymers. Figure 5.6
shows some of the commonly used actuators in IoT applications.
2.8.1 Hydraulic actuators
A hydraulic actuator works on the principle of compression and decompression of fluids.
These actuators facilitate mechanical tasks such as lifting loads through the use of hydraulic power
derived from fluids in cylinders or fluid motors. The mechanical motion applied to a hydraulic
actuator is converted to either linear, rotary, or oscillatory motion. The almost incompressible
property of liquids is used in hydraulic actuators for exerting significant force. These hydraulic
actuators are also considered as stiff systems. The actuator’s limited acceleration restricts its usage.
2.8.2 Pneumatic actuators
A pneumatic actuator works on the principle of compression and decompression of gases.
These actuators use a vacuum or compressed air at high pressure and convert it into either linear or
rotary motion. Pneumatic rack and pinion actuators are commonly used for valve controls of water
pipes. Pneumatic actuators are considered as compliant systems. The actuators using pneumatic
energy for their operation are typically characterized by the quick response to starting and stopping
signals. Small pressure changes can be used for generating large forces through these actuators.
Pneumatic brakes are an example of this type of actuator which is so responsive that they can
convert small pressure changes applied by drives to generate the massive force required to stop or
slow down a moving vehicle. Pneumatic actuators are responsible for converting pressure into
force. The power source in the pneumatic actuator does not need to be stored in reserve for its
operation.
2.8.3 Electric actuators
Typically, electric motors are used to power an electric actuator by generating mechanical
torque. This generated torque is translated into the motion of a motor’s shaft or for switching (as in
relays). For example, actuating equipments such as solenoid valves control the flow of water in
pipes in response to electrical signals. This class of actuators is considered one of the cheapest,
cleanest and speedy actuator types available. Figures 2.6(a), 2.6(b), 2.6(c), 2.6(d), 2.6(e), 2.6(f),
2.6(i), and 2.6(j) show some of the commonly used electrical actuators.

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2.8.4 Thermal or magnetic actuators

The use of thermal or magnetic energy is used for powering this class of actuators. These
actuators have a very high power density and are typically compact, lightweight, and economical.
One classic example of thermal actuators is shape memory materials (SMMs) such as shape
memory alloys (SMAs). These actuators do not require electricity for actuation. They are not
affected by vibration and can work with liquid or gases. Magnetic shape memory alloys (MSMAs)
are a type of magnetic actuators.
2.8.5 Mechanical actuators
In mechanical actuation, the rotary motion of the actuator is converted into linear motion to
execute some movement. The use of gears, rails, pulleys, chains, and other devices are necessary for
these actuators to operate. These actuators can be easily used in conjunction with pneumatic,
hydraulic, or electrical actuators. They can also work in a standalone mode. The best example of a
mechanical actuator is a rack and pinion mechanism. Figures 2.6(g), 2.6(h), 2.6(k), and 2.6(l) show
some of the commonly available mechanical actuators. The hydroelectric generator shown in
Figures 2.6(g) and 2.6(h) convert the water-flow induced rotary motion of a turbine into electrical
energy. Similarly, the mechanical switches shown in Figures 2.6 (k) and 2.6(l) uses the mechanical
motion of the switch to switch on or off an electrical circuit.

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2.8.6 Soft actuators

Soft actuators (e.g., polymer-based) consists of elastomeric polymers that are used as
embedded fixtures in flexible materials such as cloth, paper, fiber, particles, and others. The
conversion of molecular level microscopic changes into tangible macroscopic deformations is the
primary working principle of this class of actuators. These actuators have a high stake in modern-
day robotics. They are designed to handle fragile objects such as agricultural fruit harvesting, or
performing precise operations like manipulating the internal organs during robot-assisted surgeries.
2.8.7 Shape memory
Polymers Shape memory polymers (SMP) are considered as smart materials that respond to
some external stimulus by changing their shape, and then revert to their original shape once the
affecting stimulus is removed. Features such as high strain recovery, biocompatibility, low density,
and biodegradability characterize these materials. SMP-based actuators function similar to our
muscles. Modern-day SMPs have been designed to respond to a wide range of stimuli such as pH
changes, heat differentials, light intensity, and frequency changes, magnetic changes, and others.
Photopolymer/light-activated polymers (LAP) are a particular type of SMP, which require light as a
stimulus to operate. LAP-based actuators are characterized by their rapid response times. Using
only the variation of light frequency or its intensity, LAPs can be controlled remotely without any
physical contact. The developments of LAPs whose shape can be changed by the application of a
specific frequency of light have been reported. The polymer retains its shape after removal of the
activating light. In order to change the polymer back to its original shape, a light stimulus of a
different frequency has to be applied to the polymer.

2.9 Actuator Characteristics

The choice or selection of actuators is crucial in an IoT deployment, where a control
mechanism is required after sensing and processing of the information obtained from the sensed
environment. Actuators perform the physically heavier tasks in an IoT deployment; tasks which
require moving or changing the orientation of physical objects, changing the state of objects, and
other such activities. The correct choice of actuators is necessary for the long-term sustenance and
continuity of operations, as well as for increasing the lifetime of the actuators themselves. A set of
four characteristics can define all actuators:
• Weight: The physical weight of actuators limits its application scope. For example, the use
of heavier actuators is generally preferred for industrial applications and applications requiring no
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mobility of the IoT deployment. In contrast, lightweight actuators typically find common usage in
portable systems in vehicles, drones, and home IoT applications. It is to be noted that this is not
always true. Heavier actuators also have selective usage in mobile systems, for example, landing
gears and engine motors in aircraft.
• Power Rating: This helps in deciding the nature of the application with which an actuator
can be associated. The power rating defines the minimum and maximum operating power an
actuator can safely withstand without damage to itself. Generally, it is indicated as the power-to-
weight ratio for actuators. For example, smaller servo motors used in hobby projects typically have
a maximum rating of 5 VDC, 500 mA, which is suitable for an operations-driven battery-based
power source. Exceeding this limit might be detrimental to the performance of the actuator and may
cause burnout of the motor. In contrast to this, servo motors in larger applications have a rating of
460 VAC, 2.5 A, which requires standalone power supply systems for operations. It is to be noted
that actuators with still higher ratings are available and vary according to application requirements.
• Torque to Weight Ratio: The ratio of torque to the weight of the moving part of an
instrument/device is referred to as its torque/weight ratio. This indicates the sensitivity of the
actuator. Higher is the weight of the moving part; lower will be its torque to weight ratio for a given
power.
• Stiffness and Compliance: The resistance of a material against deformation is known as
its stiffness, whereas compliance of a material is the opposite of stiffness. Stiffness can be directly
related to the modulus of elasticity of that material. Stiff systems are considered more accurate than
compliant systems as they have a faster response to the change in load applied to it. For example,
hydraulic systems are considered as stiff and non-compliant, whereas pneumatic systems are
considered as compliant.

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