Diploma Level

Sensors and Applications

The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of various sensor technologies, their operating principles, and key characteristics. It also focuses on interface electronics and practical applications, preparing students to design and implement sensor-based systems in automotive, consumer, power, and medical fields.

Taught by Prof. Boby George , Prof. Chinthaka P. Gooneratne

Code EE3103

Credits 4 Credits

Type Diploma

Prerequisites

EE2102

Core Competencies

What You'll Learn

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Classify sensors and evaluate them using standard performance characteristics.
Analyze resistive sensing elements (potentiometers, strain gauges, RTDs) and the associated signal-conditioning circuits.
Apply Maxwell's equations to understand electromagnetic-based sensing, including search coils, eddy-current methods, and inductive sensors.
Explain the operation of widely used magnetic sensors — fluxgate magnetometers, AMR/GMR/TMR sensors, and Hall-effect devices — and their applications.
Design and analyze capacitive, piezoelectric, acoustic, and optical sensing systems along with the associated electronics.

12-Week Roadmap

Course Structure & Syllabus

For details of standard term assessment timelines and exam structures, visit our Academics page.

Week 1

Introduction to sensors, Overview of different types of sensors, Classification of sensors, Performance characteristics of sensors

Week 2

Resistive linear position sensor, Resistive potentiometer, Application of displacement sensors – Joystick, Inclinometer, Resistive–capacitive position sensor

Week 3

Resistive strain gauges, Quarter Wheatstone bridge, Rosette strain gauges, Applications of strain gauges – Designs using cantilever, The load cell.

Week 4

Applications of the load cell, Torque transducers, Resistance Temperature Detector (RTD), Representing RTD response with higher-order polynomials, Effect of self-heating and lead-wire resistance in RTD measurements

Reading List

Prescribed Books & References

Pallas-Areny Ramon, John G. Webster. Sensors and signal conditioning. New York: Wiley, 2001.
De Silva, Clarence W. Sensors and actuators: Engineering system instrumentation. CRC Press, 2015.
Ripka, Pavel, Alois Tipek, eds. Modern sensors handbook. John Wiley & Sons, 2013.
Khazan, Alexander D. Transducers and their elements: design and application. Prentice Hall, 1994
Fraden, Jacob. Handbook of modern sensors: physics, designs, and applications. Springer Science & Business Media, 2004.
Tumanski, Slawomir. Handbook of magnetic measurements. CRC Press, 2016.

Faculty & Experts

About the Instructors

Prof. Boby George

Professor , Department of Electrical Engineering , IIT Madras

LinkedIn Faculty Webpage

Dr. Boby George received the M. Tech. and Ph. D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from IIT Madras. He is a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering at IIT Madras. His research areas include Sensor Interface Electronics, Electric and Magnetic field Based Sensors and their Applications, Sensor Systems for Water Quality and Quantity Monitoring, and Biomedical Instrumentation. He also serves as Associate Editor for IEEE Sensors Journal, IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, and IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics.

Other Courses by Instructor:

EE1101 • Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits EE3104 • Electromagnetic Fields and Transmission Lines

Prof. Chinthaka P. Gooneratne

Professor , Department Of Electrical Engineering , IIT Madras

Chinthaka P Gooneratne (Senior Member, IEEE) received the B.Eng. (Hons) and M.Eng.

(First Class Hons) degrees in Information and Telecommunications Engineering from Massey

University, New Zealand, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. He received the Monbukagakusho

scholarship from the Government of Japan in 2006 and graduated with a Ph.D. in Electrical

Engineering from Kanazawa University in 2009, where he was the recipient of the Kanazawa

University President’s Award for his doctoral work on sensor development for hyperthermia

cancer treatment. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Department of Electrical

Engineering, IIT Madras. As the Technical Leader for Sensors and IoT and the Technical

Manager of the multiple award-winning Drilling at the Edge (DATE) program at Saudi

Aramco, he was the recipient of the 2020 SPE Drilling Engineering Award for the Middle

East and North Africa in recognition of work to develop new sensors and IoT edge platforms

for digital transformation of the drilling industry.

He is a Fellow of the IET and the EI, and an Associate Editor of the IEEE Sensors Journal. He holds 62 granted U.S. patents and has published 44 peer-reviewed journal articles, 1 book, 9 book chapters, and 60 conference papers in the areas of Sensors, MEMS devices, IoT and Digital Transformation.

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