Sample Time

Sample time is the entire period of time from the instance a sensor captures (transduces) a physical quantity to the time that software is made known aware of it. Many factors affect the sample time of a sensor. The sensor itself, conditioning circuits and the processor each plays a part in the determination of sample time.

Short sample time is always desireable. This is because a robot is likely to be in motion during sample time. This means by the time software reads the value, the robot is no longer at the same location, or the physical quantity to measure has already changed.