The development of sensors in the direction of miniaturization

With the continuous improvement of science and technology, sensors are also continuously developing towards miniaturization. This is not a distant dream, but a reality that is within reach.

At present, in order to change the situation in which traditional sensors are bulky, heavy, and costly, the global industry is actively promoting the miniaturization of sensors. Under the support of precision machining, microelectronics and other technologies, the size of sensor sensors is moving from micrometer to millimeter or even nanometer. At the same time, the rapid development of integrated technology has also boosted the miniaturization trend of the sensor. The integrated sensor technology that encapsulates tiny sensitive components, signal processors, and data processing devices on a chip is continuously evolving, helping the sensor to “slim and thin again. ".

Sensors are being given more and more wisdom. Compared with the traditional “dumb” type sensor that only collects and uploads information, the smart sensor has a built-in processor, so it can be equipped with auto-zeroing, self-calibration, and self-calibration functions, as well as logical judgment and information processing capabilities. The measured signal is signal conditioning or signal processing.

For sensors, intelligence is very necessary. With the increasing use of sensors, the amount of information generated by sensors is moving toward massive scale. According to GE's data, a natural gas turbine equipped with 100 sensors can generate 1000 data per second. If traditional sensor workflows are followed, these data will be uploaded to the CPU. That will undoubtedly Bring unimaginable data processing. In the working mode of the smart sensor, the smart sensor can analyze and judge the data and only upload useful information. For example, the smart sensor only uploads abnormal information of the natural gas turbine equipment, so that the processing efficiency of the CPU can be greatly improved. It is more conducive to the application and promotion of sensors in more fields in the future.

Sensors are drawing closer distances between smart terminals and people, but at the same time, the large-scale application of sensors will inevitably bring about problems of information security and privacy leakage. How do we make intelligent sensors "understand" us without "harming" them? This is a major issue for us to test the industry.