Transducer vs. Sensor — What's the Difference?

A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another.Transducers are often employed at the boundaries of automation, measurement, and control systems, where electrical signals are converted to and from other physical quantities (energy, force, torque, light, motion, position, etc.).

In the broadest definition, a sensor is a device, module, machine, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and send the information to other electronics, frequently a computer processor. A sensor is always used with other electronics.

(Physics) A substance or device, such as a piezoelectric crystal, microphone, or photoelectric cell, that converts input energy of one form into output energy of another.

A device, such as a photoelectric cell, that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus.

(Biology) Something, such as a receptor in a cell membrane, that transmits a signal within a cell or from the exterior of a cell to its interior.

See sense organ.

A device that converts energy from one form into another.

A device or organ that detects certain external stimuli and responds in a distinctive manner.

(computing theory) A state machine that generates output based on a given input.

Sensory; as, the sensor nerves.

An electrical device that converts one form of energy into another

Any device that receives a signal or stimulus (as heat or pressure or light or motion etc.) and responds to it in a distinctive manner