Position sensor

A position sensor is a sensor that facilitates measurement of mechanical position. A position sensor may indicate absolute position (location) or relative position (displacement), in terms of linear travel, rotational angle, or three-dimensional space. Common types of position sensors include:

• Capacitive displacement sensor
• Eddy-current sensor
• Hall effect sensor
• Inductive sensor
• Laser Doppler vibrometer (optical)
• Linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)
• Photodiode array
• Piezo-electric transducer (piezo-electric)
• Position encoders:
  • Absolute encoder
  • Incremental encoder
  • Linear encoder
  • Rotary encoder
• Potentiometer
• Proximity sensor (optical)
• String potentiometer (also known as string pot., string encoder, cable position transducer)
• Ultrasonic sensor

Literature

• David S. Nyce: Linear Position Sensors: Theory and Application, New Jersey, John Wiley & Sons Inc. (2003)