1 Answer
A **data acquisition system** (DAQ) is a system used to collect, measure, and analyze data from various sources, like sensors or instruments. These systems are often used in fields like engineering, scientific research, and industrial applications to monitor and control physical processes.
Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works:
1. **Sensors**: The system starts with sensors that detect physical signals like temperature, pressure, voltage, current, or speed. These sensors convert the physical data into electrical signals.
2. **Signal Conditioning**: The raw signals from sensors might be too weak, noisy, or in a form that the computer can’t process directly. Signal conditioning is used to adjust the signals — amplify them, filter out noise, or convert them to a suitable form.
3. **Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)**: Most of the time, the signals are analog, but computers work with digital signals. The DAQ system uses an ADC to convert the analog signal into a digital form that can be processed by a computer.
4. **Data Processing**: Once the data is digitized, it’s sent to a computer or microcontroller where it’s processed. This might include analysis, storage, or real-time monitoring.
5. **Display/Output**: Finally, the processed data can be displayed on a screen or used to control something in the system. For example, in a factory, the DAQ could be used to monitor equipment performance and alert operators if something is wrong.
To sum up, a data acquisition system is like a bridge that collects data from the physical world (via sensors), processes it, and makes it available for analysis or control purposes.
Here’s a simple breakdown of how it works:
1. **Sensors**: The system starts with sensors that detect physical signals like temperature, pressure, voltage, current, or speed. These sensors convert the physical data into electrical signals.
2. **Signal Conditioning**: The raw signals from sensors might be too weak, noisy, or in a form that the computer can’t process directly. Signal conditioning is used to adjust the signals — amplify them, filter out noise, or convert them to a suitable form.
3. **Analog-to-Digital Conversion (ADC)**: Most of the time, the signals are analog, but computers work with digital signals. The DAQ system uses an ADC to convert the analog signal into a digital form that can be processed by a computer.
4. **Data Processing**: Once the data is digitized, it’s sent to a computer or microcontroller where it’s processed. This might include analysis, storage, or real-time monitoring.
5. **Display/Output**: Finally, the processed data can be displayed on a screen or used to control something in the system. For example, in a factory, the DAQ could be used to monitor equipment performance and alert operators if something is wrong.
To sum up, a data acquisition system is like a bridge that collects data from the physical world (via sensors), processes it, and makes it available for analysis or control purposes.