Automotive Car Sensors List | Functions of car sensors
This page covers list of automotive sensors used as car sensors. It mentions functions of these car sensors. It also mentions manufacturers of car sensors.
Introduction:
Sensor is basically a device which converts one form of paramater to the other form which can be
measurable or used to perform some action. It senses any physical, chemical or biological conditions.
Sensor is one type of transducers.
Example: Temperature sensor detects the temperature and convert it into voltage or current.
The converted voltage/current can be displayed in analog/digital form with the help of scale/display.
Sensors used in automobile industry is known as automotive sensors. Sensors used in the car is known as car sensors. Sensors usually operate in harsh conditions which involve extreme temperatures, vibrations and exposure to environmental contaminants.
All the sensors inside the car or vehicle are connected to the ECU (Electronic Control Unit). The ECU consists of hardware and software (i.e. firmware). Hardware refers to PCB with all the components. Firmware refers to embedded software on MCU (Micro-Controller Unit). MCU processes inputs obtained from various sensors in the real time.
Car sensors are used to monitor vehicle engines, fuel consumption/emissions, along with aiding and protecting drivers/passengers. These sensors help in making of cars which are safer, fuel efficient and more comfortable with all the required features. These sensors have realized in manufacturing of autonomous cars or driverless cars. Due to use of sensors, long wires are not required and hence it makes design of car very simple to manage and repair. Due to these numerous benefits, use of sensors have increased in the modern cars. Various interfaces such as CAN, LIN, FlexRay and BroadR-Reach are used in the design of cars.
Automotive Car Sensors List | Functions of car sensors
Following table mentions list of automotive car sensors and their functions.
| Car sensors | Functions |
|---|---|
| Engine Coolant Temperature Sensor | It measures engine temperature. |
| Fuel temperature sensor | It ensures right amount of fuel is injected to keep the motion smooth. |
| Engine Speed sensor | It monitors spinning speed of the crankshaft. |
| Voltage sensor | It manages speed of the car and ensures speed can be controlled. |
| Spark knock sensor | It ensures fuel is burned correctly. |
| MAP sensor | It measures manifold pressure both inside and outside of the car. |
| MAF sensor | It calculates density and volume of the air taken in by the engine. |
| Oxygen sensor | It measures unburned oxygen presented in the exhaust pipe. |
| Crank Position Sensor | It monitors piston's top dead center position in engine. |
| Air Fuel Ratio sensor | It monitors correct air to fuel ratio of the engine. |
| Cam Position Sensor | It monitors position of valves in the engine. |
| Knock Sensor | It detects engine knocking due to timining advance. |
| Throttle Position Sensor | It monitors position of throttle in the engine. |
| LIDAR | It is the primary sensor used in driverless cars. Lidar uses emitted light and yields high resolution of images. It is not affected much due to intensity of light at any point of the time (i.e. day or night). Hence results are very accurate. |
Manufacturers of car sensors
Following table mentions popular car sensors manufacturers.
| Manufacturers | Description |
|---|---|
| Bosch | www.bosch.com |
| Continental | continental-automotive.com |
| Delphi Automotive | delphi.com |
| Denso | denso.com/global/en/ |
| First Sensor AG | first-sensor.com |
| Honeywell | honeywell.com |
| Luminar Technologies Inc. | luminartech.com |
| Micro-Epsilon | micro-epsilon.com |
| Sensata Technologies | sensata.com |
| Wells Vehicle Electronics | wellsve.com |
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