Proximity Sensors
Proximity sensors are extremely vital in industrial automation. They're designed to work on the principle of detecting objects without them making physical contact with the sensor. They use signals and ranges of different kinds of waves to effectively communicate that an object exists within a predefined space, and as a result, a sensor is fully capable of nearly non-contact detecting a range of different kinds of objects. Inductive proximity sensors work best with detecting metallic objects. Inductive sensors are capable of working through a number of non-metallic materials, too, but metal is a domain in which they operate well. A magnetic proximity sensor detects the presence of magnetic objects or fields using permanent magnets or electromagnetic principles.
Capacitive sensors detect the presence of any object with a dielectric constant different from the surrounding air by measuring changes in capacitance. Versatile capacitive proximity sensors detect all sorts of objects, not just metallic ones. Several industries find them valuable. The obvious is packaging. It's hard to package liquid in a way that doesn't involve some kind of capacitive sensing. Agriculture, where you want to know what's going on with your corn from a distance, might use a capacitive sensor to "see" through the stalk.
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