Sensors are important components for any automatic process. Their function is to measure physical variables, and thus to allow automatic actions in a technical process, for example in a manufacturing sequence or a measurement. Selecting a sensor for a process, it is mostly overlooked that actuators used in a process also have sensory properties. The reactions of actuators to the state of a process give the possibility to extract relevant information out of the process with actuators. In using the sensory properties of actuators the costs for additional sensors can be saved. Even more important, under some circumstances it may not even be possible to place a special sensor directly at the location of interest: In that case the information about the physical variable is only accessible by analyzing the return signal of the actuator. An example of such a smart actuator combining active and sensory properties is demonstrated in a simple experiment. This experiment shows a steel ball supported as a pendulum. The steel ball can be pushed off, and on swinging back it can be caught in a single pass without any bounce. The actuator uses the piezoelectric effect which shows the underlying principle most clearly: Application of the reversibility of physical effects. In this case mechanical energy can either be produced or absorbed. This experiment is means as a demonstration model for students. It is also used for preliminary investigations developing a fast, actively damped tipping mechanism (optical scanner).
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