From Metrology to Digital Data

Most embedded systems, and surely their aggregation in sensor networks, are characterized by applications that take advantage of the available rich sensor platform. However, we should not forget that uncertainty affects the information content carried by sensor data when designing the application. The chapter introduces the basic concepts behind measure and measurements, e.g., accuracy, resolution, and precision and sheds light on the elements composing the measurement chain (transducer, conditioning stage, analog to digital converter, estimation module). Since measurements are affected by uncertainty, we need to investigate how uncertainty corrupts the final acquired data. This analysis sets the basis for the subsequent propagation of uncertainty within any computational chain as well as introduces constraints on accuracy for the final embedded application.