Data Acquisition: Applications

Data acquisition refers to the process of sampling signals that measure real world physical conditions and converting the resulting samples into digital numeric values that can be manipulated by a computer. Data acquisition systems usually change analog waveforms into digital values for processing. The components of data acquisition systems consist of sensors, to convert physical parameters to electrical signals; signal conditioning circuitry, to convert sensor signals into a form that can be converted to digital values; analog- to-digital converters, to convert conditioned sensor signals to digital values. Data acquisition applications are typically controlled by software programs developed using numerous general purpose programming languages. Data acquisition systems have various applications. This book emphasizes on the application of data acquisition in various fields.