Data Acquisition (DAQ)

INSTRUCTOR: DR. MOHAMMAD SHAQFEH

Objectives
Learn about the components of a Data Acquisition (DAC) system
Differentiate between analog and digital Signals
Characterize Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)
Motivation
The massive growth in the application of computers to industrial process control and
monitoring tasks has greatly expanded the requirement for instruments to measure, record and
control process variables.
Compare between the past practice of taking measurements manually and recording them on
paper, and the current trend of using electronic solutions to automate the process of measuring
and recording the measured data.

This Photo by Unknown

Author is licensed under CC
BY-SA
Data Acquisition System (DAQ)
Data acquisition is the process of sampling
signals that measure real-world physical
phenomena and converting them into a digital
form that can be manipulated by a computer
and software.
A data acquisition system is a system that
includes measurement devices, sensors, a
computer, and data acquisition software. A
data acquisition system is used for acquiring,
storing, visualizing, and processing data.
Because physical phenomena exist in the
analog domain, i.e., the physical world that we https://dewesoft.com/blog/what-is-data-acquisition
live in, they must be first measured there and
then converted to the digital domain.
Components of DAQ
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 data logging and analysis

Signal
Sensors ADC Computer
Conditioning
The measurement Process
1. Sensors: 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.
2. Signal Conditioners: This includes amplification of weak signals and filtering of noisy signals.
3. Analog-to-Digital 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.
4. Computer: Once the measurements are available in digital form, they can be stored,
visualized and analyzed by a computer.
From Analog Signals to Digitized Data

https://dewesoft.com/blog/what-is-data-acquisition
Our Mission
Many measurements look at changes in electrical characteristics due to
environmental changes.
Most of the time what we measure is changes in voltage.
We need to convert changes in voltage which are analog (continuous) values to
digital (discrete) values, since computers are digital.
Electrical Properties of Matter
Many measurements look at changes in
electrical characteristics due to
environmental changes.
In PHYS 207 you are going to learn about a
wide range of electrical properties such as
Voltage, Resistance, Capacitance,
Inductance, and others.
An object or system can exhibit any of these
properties. Changes in these properties can
indicate changes in the environment.
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA
Example: Touch Sensor
The capacitance of the human body is higher than the capacitance of air (we’re
basically big sacks of water). A touch screen senses the changes in capacitance
from a finger moving over it.
Example: Humidity Sensor
Capacitive relative humidity (RH) sensors consist of two metal electrode layers
between a dielectric (non-conductive) material. The dielectric film inside the
capacitive humidity sensor attracts and absorbs moisture from the surrounding
air. Once the moisture contacts the electrodes, a voltage change occurs.

https://atlas-scientific.com/blog/humidity-sensor-
types/#:~:text=There%20are%20three%20primary%20types,detect%20absolute%20humidity%20(AH).
Example: Sound Level Meter
A sound level meter is an instrument used to measure
sound pressure levels. Also called a decibel meter.
The microphone is crucial to the sound level meter,
converting sound pressure into voltage signals. The
moving coil sensor comprises a diaphragm, coil, and
magnet. The pressure waves hit the diaphragm and
cause it to vibrate. This vibration creates a magnetic
field that interacts with the fixed magnet, causing the
coil to move. The movement of the coil generates an
electric current that is proportional to the sound https://www.munroscientific.co.uk/w
pressure. hat-are-sound-level-meters-used-
for#:~:text=These%20meters%20typic
ally%20have%20a,on%20a%20scale%
20in%20decibels.
Example: Barometric Presser Sensor
A barometric pressure sensor detects
atmospheric pressure.
Piezo-resistive pressure sensors utilize a
single Si crystal plate as a diaphragm and
diffuses impurities on its surface to form a
resistive bridge circuit, making it possible
to calculate pressure (atmospheric) by
detecting the resistance change resulting
from distortion of this resistive bridge
when pressure is applied.
https://www.rohm.com/electronics-
basics/sensor/barometric-pressure-sensor
What is Voltage?
Electric potential is equal to the electric potential energy of a charged particle in an
electric field, divided by the amount of charge.
Units are volts = joules/coulombs.
Volts are a difference in potential between two points (some point and ground, two
different points).

A typical battery has a voltage difference of 1.5 V DC (direct current) between its top
(positive) and bottom (negative terminals)
We have 110 V AC (alternating current) power in the US (240V on Qatar). This means
that the voltage difference between the two slots of the outlet is 110V (240V) on
average [DON’T STICK LAB PROBES INTO AN OUTLET!]
Usually, We’re Measuring Voltage
Regardless of whether we are interested in voltage, resistance,
capacitance, etc., we typically measure voltage.
We use special circuits or special signal processing methods to
relate voltage values to resistance values, or capacitance
values, or etc.

In the circuit known as a Wheatstone bridge, we relate the

voltage difference between points 1 and 2 (measured) to the
unknown resistance RX
(Don’t worry if you don’t know what this is – you’ll learn it
later in the term.)
Measuring Voltage Using Analog Meter
You can measure voltage between two points
using an analog voltmeter.
It works using a large permanent magnetic and
electromagnetic field.

This is in the past!

We have more accurate means now…
DAQ in Your Lab
You have an ADC (analog-to-digital
conversion) system built into the air table!
Didn’t use it in ENGR/PHYS 216, but now
we’re gonna fire this up!
(These are called BNC connectors, very
standard connector type for coaxial cable.
BNC stands for Bayonet Neill- Concelman.
Paul Neill worked for Bell Labs, and Carl
Concelman worked for the Amphenol
Corporation. Invent something cool and
name it after yourself!)
Analog vs Digital
Analog to Digital, and Digital to Analog was widely used in communication
◦ Analog transmission varied the electromagnetic waves to send a signal.
◦ Digital transmission sends complicated codes of 1’s and 0’s.

Traditional radio and TV broadcast was in analog format, and it was

presented to you using analog means (speakers and cathode ray tube).
Totally digital transmission methods are now in use since 2009 (TV and HD
radio, satellite radio).
TV screens are now typically digital (LED, LCD).
Speakers are typically analog Your cell phone is pretty much entirely digital
(except speaker, so you need a DAC for that).
Your parents’ land line was analog.
ADC Chips
There are many chips which do
analog-to-digital conversion.
◦ One electronics distributer has 335
different ADCs for sale.

They are also often built into

modern microprocessors, so you
don’t even need to include one.
The Arduino that you will use later
in this course has an ADC built-in
its microprocessor.
Analog and Digital Signals
Analog signals – directly measurable quantitates in terms of some other quantity.
Examples:
◦ Thermometer-mercury height rises as temperature rises.
◦ Car Speedometer – Needle moves farther right as you accelerate.

Digital Signals have only two states. For digital computers, we refer to binary states, 0
and 1. “1” can be ON, “0” can be “OFF”.
Examples:
◦ Light switch can be either on or off.
◦ Door to a room is either open or closed.
 Analog and Digital Signals

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

Analog and Digital Signals: Pros and Cons
A digital signal is superior to an analog signal because
◦ it is more robust to noise
◦ it can be easily recovered, corrected and amplified (higher security)
◦ performance of a digital system not affected by environmental factors

However, analog signal

◦ requires less bandwidth,
◦ more accurate,
◦ processing is easy,
◦ and less expensive.
Bit recovery in a Digital Signal
Noise in Analog vs. Digital Signals
Advantages of Digital Signals:
◦ Provided that noise amplitude is large,
logic values can still be determined after
noise is added. In analog signals,
however, after noise is added it is
usually impossible to determine the
precise amplitude of the original signal.

https://www.predig.com/whitepaper/reducing-
signal-noise-practice
Analog vs. Digital Circuits
Advantages of Digital Signals:
◦ With modern Integrated Circuits (IC)
technology, it is possible to manufacture
complex digital circuits economically.
However, analog circuits have large
capacitances and precise components
that cannot be manufactured
economically.
A/D Converter
Converting analog signals into binary words
A/D Converter
Analog to Digital Conversion
2-Step Process:
Quantizing – breaking down analog
value into a set of finite states
Encoding – assigning a digital word
or number to each state and
matching it to the input signal
Step 1: Quantizing
Example: Output States Discrete Voltage Ranges
(V)
We have 0-10V signals. Need to 0 0.00-1.25
separate them into a set of discrete 1 1.25-2.50
states with 1.25V increments.
2 2.50-3.75
3 3.75-5.00
4 5.00-6.25
5 6.25-7.50
6 7.50-8.75
7 8.75-10.0
Quantizing
The number of possible states that the converter can output is:
N = 2n
Where n is the number of bits in the AAD converter.

Example: For a 3-bit A/D converter, N = 23 = 8

Analog quantization size:

Q = (Vmax – Vmin)/N = (10 V – 0V)/8 = 1.25V
Step 2: Encoding
Here we assign the digital value (binary Output States Output Binary
number) to each state for the equivalent
computer to read. 0 000
1 001
2 010
3 011
4 100
5 101
6 110
7 111
Accuracy of A/D Conversion
There are two ways to best improve accuracy of A/D conversion:
◦ Increasing the resolution which improves the accuracy in measuring the amplitude of the
analog signal.
◦ Increasing the sampling rate which increases the maximum frequency that can be measured.
Resolution
Resolution (number of discrete values the converter can produce) = Analog
Quantization size (Q)
(Q) = Vrange / 2n, where Vrange is the range of analog voltages which can be
represented
limited by signal-to-noise ratio
In previous example: Q = 1.25V, this is a high resolution. A lower resolution
would be if we used a 2-bit converter, then the resolution would be 10/22 =
2.50V.
Resolution is usually described in bits – e.g., a 10-bit ADC, a 14-bit ADC
High vs Low Resolution
Sampling Rate/Speed
Frequency at which ADC evaluates analog signal. As we see in the second
picture, evaluating the signal more often more accurately depicts the ADC
signal.
Overall Better Accuracy
With increasing both the sampling rate and the resolution, we can obtain better
accuracy in AD signals.
Things to think about with an ADC
1. Differential or Single-ended
2. Speed / Sampling Rate
3. Input Range
4. Resolution
Differential vs. Single Ended
There are typically two types of measurements
Single-ended are taken relative to the DAQ electrical ground
(in your case, the air table is plugged in to the building, so
the building ground.) These can be done with a single wire.
Differential looks at the voltage difference between two
input wires, which may or may not have anything to do with
the DAQ ground.
Rule-of-thumb: differential is more accurate, but is harder,
because you need two wires and need to isolate the ADC
system from the ground
Channels 0 through 3 are single-ended, channels 4 through 7
are differential
Sampling Rate / Speed
Speed is measured in samples per second – units are Hertz = 1/second
For television, telephones, communications in general, we want millions of
samples per second – mega Hertz – MHz
For our labs, don’t need that speed (usually) – we get by with thousands of
samples per second – kilo Hertz – KHz
Range
An ADC will typically have an input range (maximum voltage difference).
Values can only be read in this range.
Values above or below the range will be “clipped”.
IMPORTANT: going too far outside range can damage equipment!
Our DAQ as an Example
Channels 0 through 3 have a range of plus or minus
10 volts from the machine ground.
Voltage inputs more than 10 V different from the
ground in either direction cannot be accurately
read.
Channels 4 through 7 have a range of 10 mV
differential. Voltage differences between the
positive and negative probes greater than 10 mV
cannot be accurately read
The range of channels 0 through 3 is 2000 times
larger than that of channels 4 through 7 (why?)
Examples
You have an ADC with a range of ±5 V relative to ground. Your voltage input is
7.2 V above ground
Your ADC returns a reading of 5 V, since 7.2 V is out of range

You have an ADC with a range of ±5 V relative to ground. Your voltage input is
1.3 V below ground
Your ADC returns a reading of -1.3 V since it is within the range
Dealing with Range
You can often use signal conditioning to make readings of out-of-range values or
make readings which use more of the range.
Signal conditioning is an advanced topic, so we won’t explain too much how to
do it, but you should understand the basic principles.

Example:
The signal entering a radio is 0.1 mV. You pass the signal through an amplifier
circuit that raises it to the 1 V range
Resolution
Resolution is described in bits – e.g., a 10-bit ADC, a 14-bit ADC, a 24-bit ADC
The number of bits tells you the number of possible binary numbers the device
can output
𝑛𝑛 =number of bits
2𝑛𝑛 = possible output values from 0 to 2𝑛𝑛 − 1
Example
We have a 4-bit ADC
It can encode numbers
0000 = 0 1000 = 8
0001 = 1 1001 = 9
0010 = 2 1010 = 10
0011 = 3 1011 = 11
0100 = 4 1100 = 12
0101 = 5 1101 = 13
0110 = 6 1110 = 14
0111 = 7 1111 = 15

Ok, what does this have to do with resolution?

Measurement Thresholds
We have a range… We have the bits…
Now we can figure out what our measurement limits are
Assume again we have a 4-bit ADC with an input range of 5 V. There are 16 possible outputs. We
let each output represent an equal part of the range between 0 and 5V.
5 V/16 = 0.3125 V width for each sub range – our resolution is 0.3125 V in volt terms
0 ≤ input ≤ 0.3125 Output is 0
0.3125 ≤ input ≤ 0.6250 Output is 1
0.6250 ≤ input ≤ 0.9375 Output is 2
⁞
4.6875 ≤ input ≤ 5 Output is 15
We have mapped any analog value to a digital value and can now work with it.
Why does this matter?
Some sensors have very small voltage outputs
If you use too large a range, or too small number of bits, you won’t be able to
see changes in input, or measure changes in the environment
Pick your ADC to match what you expect input from sensor to be.
FYI Our DAQ is a 12-bit ADC
This should be sufficient to do the
measurements you need in this class.
This information will also give you some
idea of how accurate your measurements
can be.