TRANSDUCER
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(2) |
| ID | ◀ 3608 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
Some device or system that conveys matter, energy or information from a system, or subsystem to another one or, from or to the environment.
J. MILLER defines three types of transducers: input, internal and output transducers, all related to information processing. For matter-energy transport he uses three other labels, namely: ingestor, converter and extruder, which obviously correspond to the three information transducers.
Some authors, as for example T. ÖREN use the concept of “energy'' transducer” in the following way:
- “An energy transducer is a device that either:
1) converts an input energy into an output energy that is of a different nature than the input energy or
2) provides knowledge about the input energy.
An active transducer directly generates an output signal. A passive transducer requires additional excitation energy, which is modified by the transducer“ (1990, p.12).
ÖREN distinguishes the three following types of transducers:
- “The first type of transducer is an energy-converting device that can sense energy (heat, radiation, or sound) and convert it into electrical, pneumatic, hydraulic, or another form of output signal. Examples include microphones, thermocouples and piezoelectric transducers…
- “The second type of transducer: 1) receives stimulation from a physical situation or condition that is the object of measurement (the measurand) and 2) converts that stimulation into a definitely associated signal that is more appropiate or convenient as input to a measurement system.
- “A computer program is a knowledge transducer. Similar to any energy transducer, a computer program has an input knowledge and an output knowledge” (ÖREN, 1990, p.13).
MILLER's input, internal, and output transducers are other example of ÖREN's third type, but not only in man made mechanisms, since they exist at the eight complexity levels described by MILLER from the cell to the supra-national system with various kinds of energy and information inputs and outputs.
Moreover, it seems that the word “knowledge”, as used by ÖREN in the present context, could be replaced by the word “information” (see B. ZEIGLER comments on “knowledge” and internal representation, 1986).