Automated Data Acquistion & Wireless Additions for Student Sensor Labs

Overview

Recent additions to laboratory capabilities being developed to introduce students to sensor technology are described in this paper. During the school year a test fixture was developed to monitor air pressure using equipment which included a deadweight tester, Emerson pressure meter, diaphragm-capacitance pressure sensor and capacitance meter. A laboratory experiment was created and the test fixture is being used in student labs. During this school year the data acquisition process was improved using LabVIEW, a DAQ card and signal conditioning amplifiers to collect data from the Emerson meter, the capacitance meter, and a temperature sensor. A LabVIEW program was written to decode the BK Precision capacitance meter data and to store the data in files for future processing.