12  Measurement Errors

So far we have assumed measurements are, for the most part, free of errors. Save for when we discussed the process of digitization (quantization and sampling) we assumed that transformations between stages of the measurement system were lossless (i.e., information was preserved between stages). But as we all know, this is just an idealization and there are multiple sources of error that can corrupt the signals as they move along the measurement system.

This week we will be reviewing some concepts of probability theory, uncertainty quantificatoin and statistics in order to better understand these errors and their implications on our measurements. We will largely be drawing from Chapter 5 of Figliola and Beasley (2019).

Figliola, Richard S., and Donald E. Beasley. 2019. Theory and Design for Mechanical Measurements. Seventh edition. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.