AiVibeAnalogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC)
An analogue-to-digital converter is an electronic circuit that converts a continuous voltage or current into a discrete digital number, forming the core of every data acquisition system, digital sensor and controller analogue input.
An ADC samples the input at discrete moments and quantises each sample into one of a finite number of levels set by its resolution: an N-bit converter distinguishes 2 to the power N levels across its input range. Common architectures include successive approximation (SAR) converters, which balance speed and resolution, sigma-delta converters, which use oversampling and digital filtering to achieve high resolution at moderate rates, and very fast pipeline converters.
ADCs appear in PLC and DCS analogue input modules, DAQ hardware, vibration and acoustic sensors, energy meters, smart transmitters and the microcontrollers inside IIoT devices. Sigma-delta converters are widely used for precision measurement of temperature, strain and weight and for high-dynamic-range vibration acquisition, while SAR converters suit multiplexed, multi-channel inputs.
Effective resolution is usually lower than nominal resolution because of noise, so specifications such as effective number of bits (ENOB), signal-to-noise ratio, integral and differential non-linearity, offset and gain error and temperature drift give a truer picture. The input range should match the signal to make use of the available resolution. Multiplexed converters sample channels one after another, which introduces time skew unless simultaneous sampling is used.
Key points
- Converts continuous signals into discrete digital values
- An N-bit converter resolves 2 to the power N levels
- Common types: SAR, sigma-delta and pipeline
- Effective resolution (ENOB) is lower than nominal resolution
- Multiplexed converters introduce time skew between channels
Where AiVibe comes in
AiAmbA IoT is AiVibe's edge protocol layer: it discovers devices and normalises industrial signals, with supported protocols including Siemens S7, Mitsubishi MC, Delta Modbus, OPC UA and MQTT, and driver availability confirmed per installation. Writes to machines are deny-by-default.
Related terms
- Data Acquisition (DAQ)Industrial IoT & Edge
- Sampling Rate and the Nyquist CriterionIndustrial IoT & Edge
- Signal ConditioningIndustrial IoT & Edge
- Vibration Sensor (Accelerometer)Industrial IoT & Edge
- Energy Metering (Sub-Metering)Industrial IoT & Edge