Smart Systems and Sensors

 Smart Systems

What is a smart system

A smart system is an intelligent system that is able to interact with its environment and with other systems. A smart system can sense its environment, process the information it receives, and act on the basis of that information.

What is physical computing

Physical computing is the use of hardware and software to build devices that can interact with the real world. Typically, this involves some electronic input and output devices and a microcontroller with associated software. A Microcontroller is essentially a chip-sized computer. Memory and processors are commonly found in microcontrollers, as well as input and output processing circuitry.

What is a digital system?

Digital systems use base 2 or binary.

when we measure something we can measure it in a continuous scale wether that be meters, millimetres etc.

Analogue can be seen as the same, we think of analog changes being on a continuous scale. A specific value is assigned to digital measurements: 100100110 or 10010011. There are no values in between; the values are discrete (separate). The higher the number of bits we use to represent data, the more precise our measurements will be. When data changes, we must take sufficient measurements to document the change. 

There are converts that we need to use to change analogue readings into digital values and vice versa. Analogue to digital/Digital to analogue (ADC/DAC).

Why is boolean useful?

Boolean logic is useful because different conditions must be met in different situations/environments. The activation of a light when it is dark and a person is present is an example of this. Both conditions must be met in this case. Another scenario is when we want to turn off the radio before leaving the room. Either of the two requirements must be met. There are gates for AND, OR, and NOT.

Design Task

Develop a specification for a 'robot' companion or smart toy for elderly people living on their own

what would an elderly person need:

Elderly people can be seen to be lonely and also need a bit of assistance around the house for example being able to to remember their medication or ordering utilities.

- Speech- input and output = this a can be a tool like voice xml this will tackle loneliness 

-Sounds- Output = Being able to play music to tackle boredom 

-Function to read out medication

-Function- to order set utilities at the same time of the week from Uber eats. For example everyday at 8.00am it will order food 

Task: 

Guess whether the following are Analogue or Digital:

-A modern watch - Digital

-Grandfather Clock- Analogue

-A light switch- Analogue

-Volume control on an MP3 player- Analogue

-The speed of a modern car - Analogue

-Sunlight levels - Analogue

What is a sensor

A sensor is an electronic device that can measure a physical quantity and convert it into an electrical signal. A sensor can be used to measure the temperature, pressure, humidity, light, or any other physical quantity. They are transducers, which is a device that converts one form of energy into another.We take sensors for granted and don't consider how many there might be in a room or on a street. 

Examples of sensors:

 

Actuators = An electric motor or a solenoid are examples of actuators. Any device that can be made to react as part of a Smart System is referred to as an actuator in Smart Systems.

Where is this Useful?

Moore's Law

Moore's Law is a prediction about transistor density on integrated chips made by Gordon E. Moore in 1965. From 1965 to 2013, the law was remarkably accurate, with transistor density doubling every two years. The trend has shifted slightly since 2013, with transistor density doubling every three years rather than every two. The increase in transistor density means chips will run faster. How much faster is determined by a number of factors, such as the clock speed of the chip. 

Falling Costs- Manufacturing costs are lower with increases in automation and globalisation.