Choosing an Analogue to Digital Converter with Data Safety in Mind: The foundations of Industry 4.0

C. R. Tipton

doi:10.1595/205651325X17204277886072

ISSN: 2056-5135

oa Choosing an Analogue to Digital Converter with Data Safety in Mind

The foundations of Industry 4.0
By C. R. Tipton¹
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Affiliations: ¹ Johnson Matthey, PO Box 1, Chilton Office, Belasis Avenue, Billingham, TS23 1LB, UK
^*Email: [email protected]
Source: Johnson Matthey Technology Review, Volume 69, Issue 2, Apr 2025, p. 271 - 282
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1595/205651325X17204277886072
- Received: 12 Apr 2024
- Accepted: 08 Jul 2024

Abstract

Industry 4.0 is built upon the foundations of converting real world analogue effects into digitised binary data suitable for a computer to process. This needs to be done with care, particularly when the data is ingested by a safety critical system. A numerical study probing the limits of a typical analogue to digital converter (ADC) is presented here, highlighting some potential issues that should be identified. Initially a Monte Carlo approach is used to probe the impact of digitisation on an ADC using traditional experimental error analysis. A constant test signal 2.5 ± 0.01 V is used to understand the optimum level of digitisation. The analogue signal is assumed to have Gaussian noise which is then processed by a 5 V ADC. This investigation suggests an optimum digitisation level should be related to the standard error of a measured signal. The use of Bayesian inferencing using the Python package PyMC is then used to gain a better estimate of the underlying standard deviation when the signal has been digitised at the 8-bit level.

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