Making sensors work

Electronic sensors are improving our lives everywhere, detecting everything from the pressure in our tyres to our fingers on a smartphone screen. But if they fail, the result could be disastrous. A new standard has just been developed to ensure their safety and performance.

Once limited to industrial labs and niche electronics, these miniature control system components collect, analyze, and process critical environmental data, transforming it into a usable output signal that allows the control system to execute its intended function.

Examples include those that detect the load size in washing machines, humidity in fridges, smoke in smoke detectors and tyre pressure in cars or the presence of other vehicles to prevent collisions. They are embedded in virtually every smart application, which is one of the reasons that the numbers of sensors has soared in recent years, with more than 7.2 billion smart sensor units deployed worldwide in 2024.

Yet if they malfunction, or fail, the consequences can be significant. If sensors in an HVAC system are faulty, for example, they could fail to detect harmful levels of gases such as carbon dioxide, preventing the activation of safety-related alarm systems. A false reading from a proximity sensor in an autonomous vehicle could lead to an accident, or an inaccurate temperature sensor in an industrial oven could cause overheating, damaging products and resulting in costly shutdowns. Energy wastage and even inappropriate medical treatments are other possible risks if sensors get it wrong.

Effective and consistent testing for accuracy, reliability and safety is, therefore, essential to ensure sensors perform as intended. The recently published IEC 60730-2-23 provides internationally agreed guidelines for how to do that, focusing on the safety and performance of electrical, electro-mechanical and electronic sensors including sensing elements and any conditioning circuitry. It helps manufacturers ensure that sensors perform safely, reliably and accurately under normal and abnormal conditions and that any embedded electronics deliver a dependable output signal.

The standard is part of the IEC 60730 series which covers the functional safety of automatic electrical controls and safety related systems. They are published by IEC TC 72, the IEC committee for automatic electrical controls used in household and similar applications. Its work supports global harmonization and enhances the safety and performance of devices used in everyday life.

The committee is always keen to hear from experts in the field, so if you design, manufacture, or work with sensor technologies and want to get involved, contact your IEC National Committee