The measurement of instantaneous angular speed

Many different methods have been developed for the measurement of angular speed. Each successive method has attempted to improve measurement performance using a different strategy to process encoder signals based on two basic principles: counting the number of pulses in a given time duration and measuring the elapsed time for a single cycle of encoder signal. A review of existing methods reveals that little effort has been made in the measurement of instantaneous, multi-channel, wide-range angular speed. As a result, this paper aims to develop a method that provides instantaneous speed information in the form of angular displacement. It addresses the general process and considerations that ensure effective measurement of instantaneous angular speed (IAS). The paper then presents two different techniques: one is based on a general-purpose data acquisition system, another uses pure software implementation. Both methods aim to maximise the use of hardware resources without incurring additional costs in the form of upgrades to the measurement system. Finally, an optimisation of measurement system parameters for a reliable IAS measurement has been carried out based on measurement error analysis.