Professions in electronics, electrical engineering, communication systems and new sensor technology
· Electronics industry, electrotechnics ;
· Instrumentation and microsystems.
Preamble
· Electronics have widely penetrated into our daily lives ;
· Portable ;
· equipment of our cars ;
· computers ;
· media players ;
· household appliances that we have at home ;
· …….
What is electronics?
1. Electronics is the science of controlling the movement of electrons.
2. Electronics is a branch of applied physics, dealing among other things with the shaping and management of electrical signals, making it possible, for example, to transmit or receive information. The adjective “electronic” also designates what is related to the electron.
What we call “electric current” is none other than a current, a movement of electrons. These can circulate freely in so-called conductive bodies, such as copper which is used to manufacture electrical cables.
Electronics professions
The professional fields that represent electronics professions are found in the following areas:
· Audiovisual-multimedia equipment ;
· Computer equipment ;
· Professional audiovisual equipment ;
· Home comfort equipment (domestic appliances) ;
· Household appliances ;
· Alarm and security equipment ;
· Telecommunications equipment and networks ;
· On-board electronic equipment ;
· Observation, analysis and measurement instrumentation equipment. etc. . . . .
Materials and current in electronics
The excellent conductivity of copper and its alloys explains its large-scale use in the electronics industry. Copper allows electronic installations to operate faster, reduce heat generation and last longer: in short, to have ever higher performance.
Electronics is the field par excellence of “low currents” whose intensity level is of the order of a milliampere.
What is electrical engineering?
Electrical engineering is the study of the technical applications of electricity,
the discipline which studies the production, transport, treatment, transformation and use of electrical energy,
Traditionally we associate electrical engineering with “strong currents” as opposed to “weak currents” which would be the exclusive domain of electronics.
Application fields
It is extremely vast and concerns many industrial companies, in the areas of:
1. The production and transport of electrical energy (thermal power plants, nuclear power plants, solar power plants, wind fields, electricity transmission networks, transformation station, etc.
2. Manufacture of electrical equipment (electric motors, circuit breakers, contactors, switches, etc.)
Electrical engineering is closely linked to electronics and automation to which it frequently uses, in particular for motor control.
Electrical engineering professions
The professional fields which represent the electrical engineering professions are found in the following areas:
1. Electrical machines (electric motors, generators, alternators, converters, etc.);
2. Electrical voltage transformers;
3. Electricity networks (BT, MT, HT);
4. Storage, (battery, Capacitors);
5. Electrical installation and safety equipment (meters, circuit breakers, disconnectors, electrical cables, etc.)
Communication systems
Function
The function of a communication system is to ensure the transport of information between a transmitter and one (or more) receiver(s) connected by a communication channel or medium.
This information is transported in the form of a signal. Examples of communication systems taken outside the computer science field are: the telephone, television, hi-fi devices.
What is a communications protocol?
A protocol is a standard specification that allows communication between two devices. These are rules and procedures that define the type of encoding and speed used during communication, as well as how to establish and terminate the connection.
There are a multitude of communication protocols, such as VPN (Virtual Private Network) protocols, the aim of which is to create a direct link between remote computers.
Function of the communications system engineer
The communications systems engineer imagines, designs, develops, manages and secures communications networks promoting the exchange of information in the form of signals, images, sounds and films. Their field of activity lies at the crossroads of: computer science, mathematics and telecommunications.
Their fields of application range from smart cards to remote surgery, including mobile phones, laptops, servers, the Internet, the web and business networks.
The scope of communication systems engineers is vast and constantly evolving.
Professional outlook
1. Companies or administrations which must set up and manage an IT network (multinationals, banks, hospitals),
2. Telecommunications companies;
3. Service companies that develop around the Internet.
4. Research & teaching;
5. Consulting engineering offices; etc . . . . .
Sensors
Devices used in the detection & measurement of physical quantities. They fall into the field of instrumentation.
They transform the state of the physical quantity into an exploitable quantity, very often an electrical current or voltage.
They rely on a multitude of physical principles (induction, photoelectricity, piezoresistivity, laser, etc.).
New Sensor Technology
· Based mainly on microelectronics ;
· These are so-called “intelligent” on-board sensors (automobile, airplane, etc.) ;
· They communicate with each other ;
BusCan currently used for data transmission in most gear.
What is Automatic?
The automatic is a science that deals with the modeling, analysis, identification and control of dynamic systems. It includes cybernetics in the etymological sense of the term, and has as theoretical foundations mathematics, the theory of signal and theoretical computer science. Automatic control makes it possible to control a system while respecting specifications (speed, overrun, stability, etc.).
Automatic professionals are called automation engineers.
The objects that automatic allows us to design to proceed with the automation of a system (automata, regulators, etc.) are called automation systems or the control-command bodies of a controlled system.
Example of automation
1. Programmable controller for production systems, microprocessor card for industrial or home automation applications,
2. Supervision systems that can process information from a large number of sensors in real time and control multiple actuators (electricity production plants, continuous industrial systems, air or rail traffic control),
3. Industrial and autonomous robots,
4. Embedded applications for automobiles (ABS, ESP, hybrid engine) or avionics, etc.
History and evolution of computing
The goal of the industrial revolution was to replace man in physical work. This technology was primarily geared toward force transmission, manipulation, and force control.
A parallel technology relating to the manipulation and transmission of information has come to support it. The latter aims to replace man with the monotony of mental exercise.
The history of computing can be divided into three main parts:
a. The period before the Second World War which corresponds to the invention of mechanical calculating machines and the first electromechanical calculators;
b. The period of the Second World War which was decisive and even decisive in the manufacture of the first computers;
c. The period after the war which saw computing enter industry, services, schools and homes.
Professions in automation and industrial computing
a. The automation technician or engineer knows everything about robots and programmable controllers, from their design to their commissioning, including their maintenance. He can work in:
b. The manufacturing industry,
c. Processing industries,
d. Home automation but also in special machines.
e. Process industries such as cement, oil exploitation or chemical industries, most of them occupy the functions of control, command or instrumentation engineer.
f. Automation engineers who specialize in the creation of special machines must be versatile, mastering mechanics with software such as SEE Electrical or Autocad or even Catia, pneumatics, hydraulics and electrical engineering.
g. Automation specialists who specialize in industrial computing must know inside out industrial networks or fieldbuses, databases and modes of communication with programmable controllers.
