# Sensor and sensor instance
Source: [https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-88500-4/topic/sensor_and_sensor_instance.html](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-88500-4/topic/sensor_and_sensor_instance.html)
Sensors are producers and/or consumers of asynchronous data, while sensor instances
are created on-demand as determined by the sensor.
Each sensor can be instantiated one or more times as sensor instances and each instance
operates with a specific configuration. Any request to a sensor for data may result in
creation of a sensor instance or sharing of an existing instance.
Sensors fully manage the lifecycle and configuration of their corresponding instances and
are responsible for sending configuration updates and initial state events to their
clients. Vendors are strongly encouraged to serve all client requests with as few
instances as possible. A stream of data generated by an instance is sent to all active
clients.
A single sensor instance may be shared and configured by multiple sensors. This mode of
operation is typically for a combo driver for hardware sensors, where the sensors
represent the supported data types, and the sensor instance is the sole module
communicating and configuring the hardware.
Table : Sensor and sensor instance
| Sensor |
- An entity that produces a single type of data, for example,
accelerometer, gyroscope, timer, interrupt, rotation vector, and
so on
- SUID – 128-bit number unique to each sensor
- Publishes attributes (mandatory and custom)
- Manages its instances
|
| --- | --- |
| Sensor Instance |
- An active instance of a sensor that publishes output data
events
- Sensors may create an instance per client request or share an
instance between multiple client requests
- Physical sensors typically share a single instance
|
Figure : Example of sensor and sensor instance
**Parent Topic:** [Sensors](https://docs.qualcomm.com/doc/80-88500-4/topic/142_Sensors.html)
Last Published: Aug 18, 2023
[Previous Topic
Components of Sensors Execution Environment](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-88500-4/topics/components_of_sensors_execution_environment.md) [Next Topic
Sensor usage](https://docs.qualcomm.com/bundle/publicresource/80-88500-4/topics/sensor_usage.md)