API Reference: Sensors

API Reference: Sensors

Sensor --- Represents a sensor with data, state channels, and threshold rules.

Inherits from: handle

Sensor is the central class of the SensorThreshold library. It bundles raw time-series data (X, Y) with a set of StateChannels (discrete system states) and ThresholdRules (condition-dependent limit values). The resolve() method evaluates all rules against the state channels to produce pre-computed threshold time series, violation indices, and state-band regions that can be rendered by a plotting layer such as FastSense.

Constructor

obj = Sensor(key, varargin)

SENSOR Construct a Sensor object. s = Sensor(key) creates a sensor with the given string identifier and default property values.

Properties

Property	Default	Description
Key		char: unique string identifier for this sensor
Name		char: human-readable display name
ID		numeric: sensor ID (e.g., from a database)
Source		char: path to the original raw data file
MatFile		char: path to .mat file with transformed data
KeyName		char: field name in .mat file (defaults to Key)
X		1xN double: datenum time stamps
Y		1xN (or MxN) double: sensor values
Units		char: measurement unit (e.g., 'degC', 'bar', 'rpm')
DataStore		FastSenseDataStore: disk-backed storage (set by toDisk)
StateChannels		cell array of StateChannel objects
ThresholdRules		cell array of ThresholdRule objects
ResolvedThresholds		struct array: precomputed threshold step-function lines
ResolvedViolations		struct array: precomputed violation (X,Y) points
ResolvedStateBands		struct: precomputed state region bands for shading

Methods

load(obj)

LOAD Load sensor data from a .mat file. s.load() populates s.X and s.Y by loading the file specified in s.MatFile using the field name s.KeyName. Requires MatFile and KeyName to be set.

addStateChannel(obj, sc)

ADDSTATECHANNEL Attach a StateChannel to this sensor. s.addStateChannel(sc) appends the given StateChannel object to the sensor's StateChannels list. During resolve(), each attached channel's key becomes a field in the state struct used to evaluate ThresholdRule conditions.

addThresholdRule(obj, condition, value, varargin)

ADDTHRESHOLDRULE Add a dynamic threshold rule to this sensor. s.addThresholdRule(condition, value, Name, Value, ...) creates a new ThresholdRule and appends it to the sensor's ThresholdRules list. All additional name-value arguments are forwarded to the ThresholdRule constructor.

toDisk(obj)

TODISK Move sensor X/Y data to disk-backed DataStore. s.toDisk() creates a FastSenseDataStore from the sensor's X and Y arrays, then clears X and Y from memory. The data remains accessible via s.DataStore.getRange() and s.DataStore.readSlice(). Subsequent calls to resolve(), addSensor(), and FastSense rendering all work transparently.

toMemory(obj)

TOMEMORY Load disk-backed data back into memory. s.toMemory() reads the full dataset from the DataStore back into s.X and s.Y, then cleans up the DataStore.

tf = isOnDisk(obj)

ISONDISK True if sensor data is stored on disk.

resolve(obj)

RESOLVE Precompute threshold time series, violations, and state bands. s.resolve() evaluates all ThresholdRules against the attached StateChannels and the sensor's own X/Y data. Results are stored in the ResolvedThresholds, ResolvedViolations, and ResolvedStateBands properties.

active = getThresholdsAt(obj, t)

GETTHRESHOLDSAT Evaluate all rules at a single time point. active = s.getThresholdsAt(t) builds the composite state struct at time t (by querying each StateChannel), then tests every ThresholdRule against that state. Returns a struct array of all rules whose conditions are satisfied, with fields Value, Direction, and Label.

n = countViolations(obj)

COUNTVIOLATIONS Count total violation points across all rules. n = s.countViolations() returns the total number of violation data points summed over all ResolvedViolations. Call resolve() first.

st = currentStatus(obj)

CURRENTSTATUS Derive 'ok'/'warning'/'alarm' from latest value. st = s.currentStatus() evaluates the sensor's latest Y value against all threshold rules active at the latest X time. Returns 'ok' if no thresholds are violated, 'warning' if a warning-level rule is violated, or 'alarm' if an alarm-level rule is violated.

---

StateChannel --- Discrete state signal with zero-order hold lookup.

Inherits from: handle

StateChannel models a piecewise-constant ("zero-order hold") time series representing a discrete system state (e.g., machine mode, recipe phase). Given a query time, it returns the most recent known state value. The class supports both numeric and string/categorical state values.

StateChannel is used by Sensor to condition ThresholdRule evaluation: each Sensor may reference one or more StateChannels whose values determine which threshold rules are active at any given moment.

Constructor

obj = StateChannel(key, varargin)

STATECHANNEL Construct a StateChannel object. sc = StateChannel(key) creates a channel with the given identifier and default properties.

Properties

Property	Default	Description
Key		char: unique string identifier for this state channel
MatFile		char: path to .mat file containing the state data
KeyName		char: field name in .mat file (defaults to Key)
X		1xN datenum: sorted timestamps of state transitions
Y		1xN numeric or 1xN cell: state values at each transition

Methods

load(obj)

LOAD Load state data from the external data source. sc.load() populates sc.X and sc.Y by loading the file specified in sc.MatFile. This is a placeholder that must be overridden or extended to integrate with your project's data loading library. Alternatively, set X and Y directly.

val = valueAt(obj, t)

VALUEAT Return state value at time t using zero-order hold. val = sc.valueAt(t) performs a zero-order hold lookup: it returns the last state value whose transition timestamp is at or before the query time t. If t precedes the first timestamp, the first state value is returned (clamp).

---

ThresholdRule --- Defines a condition-value pair for dynamic thresholds.

ThresholdRule pairs a state-condition struct with a numeric threshold value. A rule is "active" when every field in its Condition struct matches the current system state (implicit AND). An empty condition struct() means the rule is always active (unconditional threshold).

The Direction property determines whether the threshold is an upper limit ('upper' -- violation when sensor > Value) or a lower limit ('lower' -- violation when sensor < Value).

Constructor

obj = ThresholdRule(condition, value, varargin)

THRESHOLDRULE Construct a ThresholdRule object. rule = ThresholdRule(condition, value) creates a rule with default direction 'upper', empty label, and dashed line.

Properties

Property	Default	Description
DIRECTIONS	{'upper', 'lower'}	Allowed direction values
Condition		struct: field names = state channel keys, values = required state
Value		numeric: threshold value when condition is true
Direction		char: 'upper' or 'lower' violation direction
Label		char: display label for plots and legends
Color		1x3 double: RGB color (empty = use theme default)
LineStyle		char: MATLAB line-style specifier (e.g., '--', ':')

Methods

tf = matchesState(obj, st)

MATCHESSTATE Check if a state struct satisfies this rule's condition. tf = rule.matchesState(st) returns true if every field in the rule's Condition struct exists in st and has a matching value (implicit AND logic). An empty Condition always returns true, meaning the rule is unconditional.

---

SensorRegistry --- Catalog of predefined sensor definitions.

SensorRegistry provides a centralized, singleton-style catalog of all known Sensor objects in the SensorThreshold library. Sensor definitions are specified in the private catalog() method and cached in a persistent variable so that repeated lookups incur no construction overhead.

To add a new sensor, edit the catalog() method at the bottom of this file. Each entry creates a Sensor object, optionally configures its state channels and threshold rules, then stores it in the containers.Map keyed by a short string identifier.

Static Methods

SensorRegistry.s = get(key)

GET Retrieve a predefined sensor by key. s = SensorRegistry.get(key) returns the Sensor object registered under the string key. Throws an error if the key is not found in the catalog.

SensorRegistry.sensors = getMultiple(keys)

GETMULTIPLE Retrieve multiple sensors by key. sensors = SensorRegistry.getMultiple(keys) returns a cell array of Sensor objects, one per element of the input keys.

SensorRegistry.list()

LIST Print all available sensor keys and names. SensorRegistry.list() prints a formatted table of every registered sensor key and its human-readable name to the command window. Keys are sorted alphabetically.

SensorRegistry.register(key, sensor)

REGISTER Add a sensor to the catalog at runtime. SensorRegistry.register('myKey', sensorObj)

SensorRegistry.unregister(key)

UNREGISTER Remove a sensor from the catalog.

SensorRegistry.printTable()

PRINTTABLE Print a detailed table of all registered sensors. SensorRegistry.printTable() prints a formatted table with columns: Key, Name, ID, Source, MatFile, #States, #Rules, #Points.

SensorRegistry.hFig = viewer()

VIEWER Open a GUI figure showing all registered sensors. hFig = SensorRegistry.viewer() creates a figure with a uitable listing every sensor's Key, Name, ID, Source, MatFile, #States, #Rules, and #Points.