Analog Sensors

These sensors are available for experimenting in the Lab. Some can be connected directly to an analog pin of the Arduino, but many require a voltage divider circuit.

The analog inputs (pins A0 to A5) of the Arduino Uno use the inbuilt ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) in the microcontroller to give us 10-bit values (between 0 and 1023). The Arduino has 0v and 5v as its reference values, so for example, 0v would give us 0, 5v would give us 1023, and 2.5v would give us about 511. To get these values we use the analogRead().

Many analog sensors are Resistive, which means they change their resistance in response to a specific stimulus. We can see that on the multimeter for a quick test, but the ADC on the Arduino on measures voltage, not resistance. We can easily solve this problem with a voltage divider circuit.

https://itp.nyu.edu/archive/physcomp-spring2014/sensors/Reports/Reports.html

Sliding/Rotating

Potentiometer

Data Sheet: PC16-SH

Tutorial: AnalogReadSerial

Linear Potentiometer

Data Sheet: Bourns PTA6043-2015DPB254

Movement

Flex Sensor

Data Sheet: Flex Sensor 4.5
Tutorial: Sensing a Bend

IR Distance Sensor

Data Sheet: Sharp GP2Y0A02YK0F
Tutorial: Are we getting close?

Touch

	Pressure sensor Data Sheet: FSR Integration Guide Tutorial: Force Sensitive Sensors
	Flexiforce Pressure sensor Data Sheet: FlexiForce 100lbs Tutorial: Sensing Weight
	HotPot Foil potentiometer Data Sheet: Linear 100mm Tutorial: Touch Sliders
	HotPot Rotary Potentiometer Data Sheet: Rotary Potentiometer Tutorial: Touch Sliders
	Piezo Element Data Sheet: 7BB-20-6LO Tutorial: Knock Sensor