Question

Describe the type of timer (interval or absolute) needed and a reason for the following operations.

a.Alarm monitoring system

b.Climate control system

c.Elevator door opening/closing

d.Screen saver program

Answer 1

a. In the case of an alarm monitoring system, absolute timer is required to continuously monitor the data acquired by the system and alert the user on any detection. Since data needs to be monitored continuously an absolute timer would be the ideal choice in an alarm monitoring system.

b. In a climate control system, the data samples of weather at a place or a location are continuously analysed or periodically analysed based on the geographics of the area. Thus,the use of either of the absolute or interval timers can be done based on the situation and area of interest.

c. The elevator speed over a period of time is always constant. So, there is no need to continuously analyse the time during travel. After a fixed time interval, the door can be opened and after a certain time period the door can be made to close. Hence, an interval timer may be the ideal choice.

d. The screen saver program also follows the same idea of the previous question. The screen needs to go off after it has been inactive for a particular period of time set by the user. So, an interval timer is sufficient for a screen saver program.