Course detail

Electronic Measurement Systems

FEKT-MPC-EMSAcad. year: 2025/2026

The course deals with technical resources for measurement automation. Basic solutions for measurement systems’ design assembled from both specialized instrumentation and universal components is explained. Attention is especially focused on designing a system that meets the specified requirements, selection of suitable components and software implementation issues.

Language of instruction

Czech

Number of ECTS credits

7

Mode of study

Not applicable.

Guarantor

Ing. Zdeněk Havránek, Ph.D.

Department

Department of Control and Instrumentation (UAMT)

Entry knowledge

Knowledge in the Bachelor's degree level and basic usage of the development environment NI LabVIEW is required.

Rules for evaluation and completion of the course

Up to 30 points for laboratory exercises:
- theoretical test - up to 8 points (EEN, EKT, KAM)
- 2 projects (EEN, EKT) or 3 practical tests (KAM) - up to 22 points.
Credit is given for all tests or projects submissions and gain of minimal 10 points from all parts.
Up to 70 points for the final written exam (theoretical part - 30 points, practical problems - 40 points, gain for succesful exam of both parts is 50% of points).
Participation in laboratory exercises is not mandatory excluding tests. Assessment is based on submission of projects or tests in the selected exercises during the semester.

Aims

The course goal is to familiarize students with the process of design and implementation of measurement systems. Student will learn to work with common measurement systems and understand the problems of measurement automation. Student is able to choose an appropriate concept of measurement system, assemble it and determine its measurement uncertainty. He knows the way of description of the general properties and structure of the measurement system.
Graduate student knows:
- terminology of measurement systems,
- basic modular systems for automation of measurement and corresponding standards.
Graduate student can:
- perform theoretical design of the measurement system,
- determine sources of uncertainty in the measurement system,
- create simple measurement system including software implementation (NI LabVIEW),
- determine requirements for the robustness of the system and its operation.

Study aids

Not applicable.

Prerequisites and corequisites

Not applicable.

Basic literature

ČEJKA, M. Elektronické měřicí systémy. VUT-FEKT, 2002. Elektronická skripta - VUT v Brně (CS)
DI PAOLO EMILIO, M. Data Acquisition Systems: From Fundamentals to Applied Design. 2013. Springer. ISBN 978-1461442134. (CS)
EHSANI, B. Data Acquisition Using LabVIEW. 2016. Packt Publishing Ltd. ISBN 9781782172178. (CS)

Recommended reading

KOCOUREK, P. Číslicové měřicí systémy. Vydavatelství ČVUT. (CS)

Classification of course in study plans

  • Programme MPC-EEN Master's 2 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme MPC-EKT Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory-optional
  • Programme MPC-KAM Master's 1 year of study, summer semester, compulsory

Type of course unit

 

Lecture

26 hod., optionally

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Zdeněk Havránek, Ph.D.

Syllabus

1. Introduction, course content, design of measurement system, uncertainty of measurement.
2. Qualified estimation of uncertainty sources in measurement systems, examples for measurement devices and for sensors of non-electrical quantities.
3. Theoretical foundations of automation of measurement - typical measurement chain, analog circuits in measurement systems, sampling and its properties, aliasing effects and its limitations, multichannel data acquisition.
4. Communication inside measurement systems (RS-232, RS-422/423, EIA-485, USB, GPIB, Ethernet, PCI and PCIe).
5. Basic components for measurement systems consisting of specialized equipment, SCPI language.
6. Software tools for measurement systems and virtual instrumentation, NI USB hardware - specifications and DAQmx drivers.
7. Reliability and EMC.
8. Modular measurement systems - history, PXI and cDAQ.
9. NI cRIO system - characteristics, hardware model and data communication types, digital lines in measurement systems, signal switching - characteristics and construction.
10. Advanced programming and algorithmization in cRIO systems.
11. Metrology and standards for automated systems (CSN EN 60359), aplication od automated measurement systems in testing.

Laboratory exercise

39 hod., compulsory

Teacher / Lecturer

Ing. Zdeněk Havránek, Ph.D.

Syllabus

Practise KAM:
Block A: design of measurement system, quantification and estimation of uncertainty in measurement system, limits of system (3 weeks).
Theoretical test 1
Block B: SCPI language (2 weeks)
Practical test 1
Block C: design of applications with NI DAQmx drivers (2 weeks)
Practical test 2
Block D: work in NI cRIO systems
Practical test 3

Cvičení EEN, EKT:
Block A: design of measurement system, quantification and estimation of uncertainty in measurement system, limits of system (3 weeks).
Theoretical test 1
Block B: measurement devices, SCPI language, software tools for virtual instrumentation (3 weeks)
Block C - project 1 - design od application in SCPI language (2 weeks)
Block D - NI DAQmx fundamentals (2 weeks)
Block E - project 2 - design od application with NI DAQmx drivers (2 weeks)