User manual

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VIII. DTA5102 Two-Axis Tilt and Acceleration Sensor Module

VIII.1 Introduction

The DTA5102 Tilt and Acceleration Sensor Module is capable of measuring both the static

acceleration (tilt or orientation) caused by the Earth’s gravity or the shock caused by an impact. The

module uses a CMOS micro-machined accelerometer IC combined with on-board low-pass-filters and

signal amplifiers. The measurement range of the DTA5102 module is ±1 g.

VIII.1.1 Features

• ±1 g tilt and shock detection

• On-board low-pass-filters and signal amplifiers

• Linear output

• Plug-and-play in the WiRobot system

VIII.1.2 Applications

• Robotic application

• Vibration monitoring

• Impact/Acceleration measurement

• Tilt, orientation and posture measurement

• Handheld appliance control

• Virtual reality input devices

• Electronic diagnostic system

VIII.2 Operations

VIII.2.1 Theory of Operation

The structure of the micro-machined accelerometer is shown as Figure VIII.1. The sensing cell is a

micro-machined variable capacitive device. The center plate moves with the acceleration and hence

the values of the capacitors will change according to the distance between the plates. The change of

the value is then measured, converted, amplified and outputted.

Figure VIII.1 Equivalent accelerometer model

The acceleration sensing directions of the DTA5102 are shown as Figure VIII.2. The output signals

are basically consisting of static or low frequency data of tilt or orientation information and high

frequency data of vibration or impact information. Either analog or digital filter or both can be used to

extract relevant data for specific applications.