Types of Drone sensors | Sensors used in Drones | Basics

This page covers basic information and types of drone sensors.The page covers drone sensors viz. 3 axis accelerometer, 3-axis gyroscope, Magnetometer, Barometer, GPS Sensor, Distance Sensor etc.

3 axis accelerometer:
This sensor is very useful to stablilize the drone. 3-axis accelerometer provides linear acceleration in 3 axes.

3-axis gyroscope:
This sensor is used to provide angular motion to the drone. 3-axis gyroscope provides angular acceleration in 3 axes.

Magnetometer:
This drone sensor type is present in the drone which has GPS functionality. It is available in 1 to 3 axes. Magnetometer is basically a magnetic compass which can measure magnetic field of the earth. This feature is used to determine direction of compass used in the Drone. Compass direction is determined with respect to mangetic north.

Barometer:
As we know atmospheric pressure changes with respect to height from the sea level. This phenomenon is used in the barometer to determine height of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Barometer is also referred as pressure sensor. In most of the flight controllers additional measurement device based on GPS sensor is used to calculate height above sea level very accurately.

GPS Sensor:
This drone sensor type uses satellite launched around the Earth to determine specific geographic locations. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) use GPS sensors to determine the specific router without the presence of pilot. It can also return back to its original position with the use of GPS sensor.

Distance Sensor:
These type of sensors are used to sense the obstacles. The distance sensors are based on ultrasonic, laser based or LIDAR based.

The above mentioned drone sensors are useful in design and development of drone system. One can also refer links on different types of sensors mentioned below under title "Sensors and Transducers".

Drone Tutorial

Refer Drone tutorial which covers drone basics, frequencies and power used in drone, drone components, working of drone, drone applications etc.
Also refer Drone Vendors and Suppliers➤.

Other useful drone Sensors and Transducers Related Links

Article on basics of Sensors and transducers
Proximity Sensor
Occupancy Sensor vs Motion Sensor
LVDT and RVDT sensor
Position, displacement and level sensor
force sensor and strain sensor
temperature sensor
pressure sensor
IoT compliant sensors

RF and Wireless Terminologies