Sensors are ubiquitous in modern society. There are many factors that influence the choice and application of a sensor in a given situation. To familiarise you with some of these factors, we ask that each group undertake research and a literature review to enable you to complete a written assignment and an oral poster presentation. The poster will be presented to staff and students from the Physics and Engineering Departments, the assignment will be graded by the teaching staff. We encourage you to go into extensive detail - treat this as you would a research presentation to senior technical staff.

When writing and preparing your project, a partial (but not complete by any means) list of issues to address includes:

What sensor or sensors can be used for this task?

What is the physical properties of the sensor? i. e. how does it operate? Include both penomenological and theoretical descriptions.

What are the advantages and disadvantages (if any) to using this sensor? (consider both physical and operational issues) Why is it used?

What are the limitations of the sensor? How could they be overcome, if at all?

Discuss the sensor output, and what that imposes upon the sensing circuitry

It may be the case that you believe a recent physical or technological advance will allow a better sensor than is currently used. In such a case, we strongly encourage you to contrast the new and current technologies.

A list of projects follows. If you have a particular project in mind that does not appear on this list, please approach the lecturer who may approve it as a project. (The final decision rests with the lecturer). In all cases, once you have chosen a project, feel free to approach the lecturer to discuss the background, etc.

1. Measure the spacing between a hard disk surface and the reading head when operating.

2. Measure the thickness and roughness of paper to within 1%.

3. Measure the temperature of molten steel in a variety of situations (from a mill, in a crucible, etc).

4. Inspect operational aircraft for stress cracks.

5. Detect “legacy” mines in ex- war zones. (The sensor must be cheap, mass- produced & expendable).

6. Detect large moving objects underwater, and distinguish between natural and artificial objects.

7. Simultaneously profile the sea bottom and sea surface from the air to make up to date navigational charts.

8. Detect ore bodies from the air, and distinguish between different ores.

9. Detect ore bodies from the ground, and distinguish between different ores.

10. Noninvasively detect electrical and chemical activity within a human brain.

11. Measure the transit of a single electron in a nanocircuit.

12. Measure the conductivity of a single strand of DNA.

13. Detect any illicit explosive materials brought into a public airport.

14. Detect illicit fissile materials (e. g. for nuclear weaponry) at import sites (e. g. ports, airports, border crossings).

15. Design an ultraviolet dosimeter; measure the cumulative exposure to UV radiation. The dosimeter needs to be robust, cheap and portable.

16. Monitor for biological activity (e. g. legionaries disease) in an air conditioning plant. Real-time solutions preferred.

17. Measure continental drift in real time. (Australia drifts ~6 mm/ year).

18. Non- invasive detection of soft- tissue cancers (e. g. breast and testicular cancer).

19. Measure temperature and pressure in industrial boiler (~ 1400 °C @ 1100 psi).

20. Identify composition of an unknown sample at a crime scene (i.e. without having to send it back to the CSI lab).

21. Gauge the dimensions, to sub µm tolerance, of boiler of radius 10 m, height 40 m.

22. Monitor and measure seismic stress in earthquake region.

23. Measure composition of a “legacy”, i.e. undocumented, landfill.

24. Measure the temperature of the external skin on a satellite (varies from near absolute zero to hundreds of Kelvin).

25. Detect building movement to enable active stabilisation of building in earthquake zone.

26. Identify the origin of (i.e. the vessel responsible for) an oil slick.

27. Measure the effectiveness of sunscreens in vivo , i.e. when the sunscreen is on a person.

28. Perform high resolution imaging of a foreign object imbedded in a tissue-like turbid media.

29. Measure the length of a 1 m gauge block (used to define the metre) to sub µm precision with high time stability.

30. Image a jet of air in real- time.

31. Nondestructively detect original writing from a parchment that has been scraped clean and rewritten on.

32. Produce a 30 cm contour map of a 240 000 acre shire, for a cost of ~$ 20 / acre.

33. Measure the tension in bolts and other fasteners.

34. Detect postal items containing more than 50g of explosives.

35. Group choice, subject to approval by lecturers.