Introduction

• Industrial robot requires sensory feedback to:

1. Locate randomly placed object;
2. Allow for variations in shape of objects;
3. Protect against dangerous and unexpected situations. Especially if the robot must
work close to humans:
4. Allow “intelligent” recovery form error conditions;
5. Perform quality control.
• The main objective of incorporating sensors in robotic system is to
enable robots to work in nonstructural and random environments.
• Sensors will make robots more intelligent. But the associated robotic
software must have the ability to receive data from the sensors and to
process the necessary real time information and commands needed for
the decision making.

1
 What is Sensing ?
• Collect information about the world
• Sensor - an electrical/mechanical/chemical
device that maps an environmental attribute to a
quantitative measurement
• Each sensor is based on a transduction
principle - conversion of energy from one form
to another
 Transduction to electronics
• Thermistor: temperature-to-resistance
• Electrochemical: chemistry-to-voltage
• Photocurrent: light intensity-to-current
• Pyroelectric: thermal radiation-to-voltage
• Humidity: humidity-to-capacitance
• Length (LVDT: Linear variable differential
transformers) : position-to-inductance
• Microphone: sound pressure-to-<anything>
 Human sensing and organs
• Vision: eyes (optics, light)
• Hearing: ears (acoustics, sound)
• Touch: skin (mechanics, heat)
• Odor: nose (vapor-phase chemistry)
• Taste: tongue (liquid-phase chemistry)

Counterpart?
 Extended ranges and modalities
• Vision outside the RGB spectrum
– Infrared Camera, see at night
• Active vision
– Radar and optical (laser) range measurement
• Hearing outside the 20 Hz – 20 kHz range
– Ultrasonic range measurement
• Chemical analysis beyond taste and smell
• Radiation: a, b, g-rays, neutrons, etc
 Electromagnetic Spectrum
Visible Spectrum

700 nm 400 nm
Sensors Used in Robot
 Gas Sensor
Accelerometer Gyro

Metal Detector
Pendulum Resistive
Tilt Sensors Piezo Bend Sensor
Gieger-Muller
Radiation Sensor

Pyroelectric Detector

UV Detector
Resistive Bend Sensors

CDS Cell
Resistive Light Sensor
Digital Infrared Ranging

Pressure Switch
Miniature Polaroid Sensor
Limit Switch Touch Switch
Mechanical Tilt Sensors

IR Pin IR Sensor w/lens

Diode
Thyristor
Magnetic Sensor

Polaroid Sensor Board

Hall Effect
Magnetic Reed Switch Magnetic Field
IR Reflection
IR Amplifier Sensor Sensors
Sensor
IRDA Transceiver

IR Modulator
Lite-On IR Radio Shack Solar Cell
Receiver
Remote Receiver Remote Receiver
Compass Compass
Piezo Ultrasonic Transducers
 Sensors used in robot
navigation
• Resistive sensors
– bend sensors, potentiometer, resistive photocells, ...
• Tactile sensors
– contact switch, bumpers…
• Infrared sensors
– Reflective, proximity, distance sensors…
• Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
• Inertial Sensors (measure the second derivatives of position)
– Accelerometer, Gyroscopes,
• Orientation Sensors
– Compass, Inclinometer
• Laser range sensors
• Vision
• Global Positioning System
 Classification of Sensors
• Internal state (proprioception) v.s. external state
(exteroceptive)
– feedback of robot internal parameters, e.g. battery
level, wheel position, joint angle, etc,
– observation of environments, objects
• Active v.s. non-active
– emitting energy into the environment, e.g., radar,
sonar
– passively receive energy to make observation, e.g.,
camera
• Contact v.s. non-contact
• Visual v.s. non-visual
– vision-based sensing, image processing, video
camera
 Robotic Sensor Classification
• In general, robotic sensors can be divided into two classes:

i. Internal state sensors - device being used to measure the

position, velocity and acceleration of the robot joint and/or
end-effector. These devices are potentiometer, tachometers,
synchros, resolvers, differential transformers, optical
interrupters, optical encoders and accelerometer.

ii. External state sensors – device being used to monitor the

relationship between the robot kinematics and/or dynamics
with its task, surrounding, or the object being manipulated.

11
 Sensor Selection/Sensing Taxonomy
• There are many different types of robot sensors available and
there are many different parameter measured by these sensors.
• The application process, should be carried out in a top down
manner, starting with task requirements, and going through
several levels of analysis, eventually leading to the selection of a
specific device.
• A taxonomy for sensing to aid this process consists of five levels of
refinement leading to sensor selection:
1. Specification of task requirements :eg localization, slippage detection,
size confirmation, inspection, defect testing.
2. Choice of modality :eg,vision, force, tactile
3. Specification on sensor attributes :eg,output, complexity, discrete or
continuous variable, imaging or non-imaging, local or global
4. Specification of operational parameters :eg size, accuracy, cost
5. Selection of mechanism :eg switching devices, inductive sensors, CCD
vision imaging

12
•Some tasks requirements features:

•Insertion Monitoring
•Assembly Verification
•Detection of Reject Parts
•Recognition of Part Types
•Assembly Test Operations
•Check Gripper/Tool Operation
•Location & Orientation of Parts
•Workspace Intrusion Detection
•Check Correct Manipulation of Parts
•Analysis of Spatial Relations Between Parts

13
Some typical sensor
operational data:
• Ultrasonics
• Resistive Effects Primary physical mechanisms
• Capacitive Efects employed in sensors:
• Piezo-Electric Effects
• Visible Light Imaging Cost
• Photo-Electric & Infrared Range
Accuracy
• Mechanical Switching
Repeatability
• Inductive Effects Power Requirements
• Thermal Effects Output Signal Specification
• Hall Effect Processing Reuirements
Sensitivity
Reliability
Weight
Seze
14
SENSORS FOR INDUSTRIAL
ROBOTS
Proximity and Range Sensors
Tactile Sensors
Vision Sensors
Miscellaneous Sensors
PROXIMITY AND RANGE
SENSORS
 I

• It is a technique of detecting the presence or

absence of an object with electronic
noncontact sensors.
• Typical application of proximity sensors
includes:
‫ ש‬Object detection
‫ ש‬Collision avoidance
‫ ש‬Object verification & counting
• Commonly available proximity sensors are:
1. Photoelectric/optical sensors
2. Inductive proximity sensors
3. Capacitive proximity sensors
4. Ultrasonic proximity sensors

17
 Resistive Sensors
Bend Sensors
• Resistance = 10k to 35k
• As the strip is bent, resistance increases
Resistive Bend Sensor

Potentiometers
• Can be used as position sensors for
sliding mechanisms or rotating shafts
• Easy to find, easy to mount
Potentiometer
Light Sensor (Photocell)
• Good for detecting direction/presence of
light
• Non-linear resistance
• Slow response to light changes Photocell
R is small when brightly
illuminated
 Applications Sensor

 Measure bend of a joint

 Wall Following/Collision Sensors

Detection

 Weight Sensor Sensor

 Inputs for Resistive Sensors
Voltage divider:
V

You have two resisters, one R1

is fixed and the other Vsense
varies, R2
as well as a constant
A/D converter
voltage R
Vsense  2
V micro
R1  R2
V

+ Binary Digital I/O

- Threshold

Comparator:
If voltage at + is greater than
at -, digital high out
 Infrared Sensors
• Intensity based infrared
– Reflective sensors
– Easy to implement
– susceptible to ambient light

• Modulated Infrared
– Proximity sensors
– Requires modulated IR signal
– Insensitive to ambient light

• Infrared Ranging
– Distance sensors
– Short range distance measurement
– Impervious to ambient light, color and reflectivity of object
 Intensity Based Infrared

Break-Beam sensor

Reflective Sensor
Increase in ambient light
raises DC bias

voltage
• Easy to implement (few components) time
• Works very well in controlled environments voltage

• Sensitive to ambient light

time
 IR Reflective Sensors
• Reflective Sensor:
– Emitter IR LED + detector photodiode/phototransistor
– Phototransistor: the more light reaching the phototransistor, the
more current passes through it
– A beam of light is reflected off a surface and into a detector
– Light usually in infrared spectrum, IR light is invisible

• Applications:
– Object detection,
– Line following, Wall tracking
– Optical encoder (Break-Beam sensor)

• Drawbacks:
– Susceptible to ambient lighting
• Provide sheath to insulate the device from outside lighting
– Susceptible to reflectivity of objects
– Susceptible to the distance between sensor and the object
 Modulated Infrared
• Modulation and Demodulation
– Flashing a light source at a particular frequency
– Demodulator is tuned to the specific frequency of light flashes.
(32kHz~45kHz)
– Flashes of light can be detected even if they are very week
– Less susceptible to ambient lighting and reflectivity of objects
– Used in most IR remote control units, proximity sensors

Negative true
logic:
Detect = 0v
No detect = 5v
 IR Proximity Sensors
amplifier bandpass filter integrator
limiter demodulator comparator

• Proximity Sensors:
– Requires a modulated IR LED, a detector module with built-in modulation
decoder
– Current through the IR LED should be limited: adding a series resistor in
LED driver circuit
– Detection range: varies with different objects (shiny white card vs. dull
black object)
– Insensitive to ambient light
• Applications:
– Rough distance measurement
– Obstacle avoidance
– Wall following, line following
 IR Distance Sensors
• Basic principle of operation:
– IR emitter + focusing lens + position-sensitive detector

Modulated IR
light

Location of the spot on the detector

corresponds to the distance to the target
surface, Optics to covert horizontal distance to
vertical distance
 IR Distance Sensors
• Sharp GP2D02 IR Ranger
– Distance range: 10cm (4") ~ 80cm (30").
– Moderately reliable for distance measurement
– Immune to ambient light
– Impervious to color and reflectivity of object
– Applications: distance measurement, wall
following, …
Range Finder
(Ultrasonic, Laser)
 Range Finder
• Time of Flight
• The measured pulses typically come form
ultrasonic, RF and optical energy sources.
– D=v*t
– D = round-trip distance
– v = speed of wave propagation
– t = elapsed time
• Sound = 0.3 meters/msec
• RF/light = 0.3 meters / ns (Very difficult to
measure short distances 1-100 meters)
 Ultrasonic Sensors
• Basic principle of operation:
– Emit a quick burst of ultrasound (50kHz), (human hearing: 20Hz to
20kHz)
– Measure the elapsed time until the receiver indicates that an echo is
detected.
– Determine how far away the nearest object is from the sensor

D =v*t
D = round-trip distance
v = speed of propagation(340 m/s)
t = elapsed time

Bat, dolphin, …
 Ultrasonic Sensors

• Ranging is accurate but bearing has a 30 degree

uncertainty. The object can be located anywhere in the arc.
• Typical ranges are of the order of several centimeters to 30
meters.
• Another problem is the propagation time. The ultrasonic
signal will take 200 msec to travel 60 meters. ( 30 meters
roundtrip @ 340 m/s )
 Ultrasonic Sensors
• Polaroid ultrasonic ranging system
– It was developed for auto-focus of cameras.
– Range: 6 inches to 35 feet
Ultrasonic
Transducer Ringing: transducer
 transmitter + receiver @ Electronic board
50 KHz
 Residual vibrations or
ringing may be interpreted
as the echo signal
 Blanking signal to block
any return signals for the
first 2.38ms after
transmission

http://www.acroname.com/robotics/info/articles/sonar/sonar.html
 Operation with Polaroid Ultrasonic
• The Electronic board supplied has the following I/0
– INIT : trigger the sensor, ( 16 pulses are transmitted )
– BLANKING : goes high to avoid detection of own
signal
– ECHO : echo was detected.
– BINH : goes high to end the blanking (reduce blanking
time < 2.38 ms)
– BLNK : to be generated
t if multiple echo is required
 Ultrasonic Sensors
• Applications:
– Distance Measurement
– Mapping: Rotating proximity scans (maps the
proximity of objects surrounding the robot)
Doorway

Robot
Length of Echo

chair chair

Scan moving from left to right

Scanning at an angle of 15º apart can achieve best results

Noise Issues
 Laser Ranger Finder
• Range 2-500 meters
• Resolution : 10 mm
• Field of view : 100 - 180 degrees
• Angular resolution : 0.25 degrees
• Scan time : 13 - 40 msec.
• These lasers are more immune to Dust and
Fog

http://www.sick.de/de/products/categories/safety/
TACTILE SENSORS
• Tactile sensing includes any form of sensing which
requires physical touching between the sensor and
the object to be sense.
• The need for touch or tactile sensors occurs in many
robotic applications, from picking oranges to loading
machines. Probably the most important application
currently is the general problem of locating,
identifying, and organizing parts that need to be
assembled.
• Tactile sensor system includes the capability to detect such things as:
1. Presence
2. Part shape, location, orientation, contour examination
3. Contact are pressure and pressure distribution
4. Force magnitude, location, and direction
5. Surface inspection : texture monitoring, joint checking, damage detection
38
6. Object classification : recognition, discrimination
• The major components of a tactile/touch
sensor system are:

1. A touch surface
2. A transduction medium, which
convert local forces or moments
into electrical signals.
3. Structure
4. Control/interface

39
 Resistive
• It is the transduction method in
tactile sensor design which has
received the most attention. It
is concerned with the change in
resistance of a conductive
material under applied
pressure.

• This technique involves

measuring the resistance either Resistive Tactile Element –
through or across the thickness
of a conductive elastomer. Most Resistance Measured Through
elastomers are made from The rubber
carbon- or silicon-doped rubber.

40
• Advantages:
1. Wide dynamic range
2. Durability
3. Good overload tolerance
4. Compatibility with integrated
circuitry, particularly VLSI.

• Disadvantages:
1. Hysteresis in some designs.
2. Elastromer needs to be optimized
for both mechanical and electrical
properties.
3. Limited spatial resolution
compared with vision sensors.
4. Larger numbers of wires may have
to be brought away from the Resistive Tactile Element –
sensor.
Resistance Measured Across the rubber
5. Monotonic response but often not
linear.

41
 Piezoelectric & Pyroelectric Effects
• Piezoelectric effect is the
generation of a voltage across a
sensing element when pressure
applied to it. The voltage generated
is proportionally related to the
applied pressure. No external
voltage is required, and a
continuous analogue output is
available from such sensor.
• A pyroelectric effect is the
generation of a voltage when the
sensing element is heated or
cooled.
• Polymeric materials with
piezoelectric and pyroelectric
properties are appropriate for use Piezoelectric/Pyroelectric
with sensors.
Effects Tactile element

42
• Advantages:
1. Wide dynamic range
2. Durability
3. Good mechanical properties of piezoelectric from pyroelectric materials
4. Temperature as well as force sensing capabilities

• Disadvantages:
1. Difficult of separating piezoelectric from pyroelectric effects
2. Inherently dynamic - output decay to zero for constant load
3. Difficult of scanning elements
4. Good solution are complex

43
 CAPACITIVE TECHNIQUE
• Tactile sensors within this category are concerned with measuring
capacitance, which made to vary under applied load.

• The capacitance of a parallel plate capacitor depends upon the

separation of the plates and their area, so that a sensor using an
elastomeric separator between the plates provides compliance such
that the capacitance will vary according to applied load.

44
Capacitive Tactile Element

45
• Advantages:
1. Wide dynamic range
2. Linear response
3. Robust
• Disadvantages:
1. Susceptible to noise
2. Some dielectrics are temperature sensitive
3. Capacitance decreases with physical size ultimately limiting spatial
resolution.

46
Mechanical Transduction
• A Linear Potentiometer

• Advantages:
1. Well known Technology
2. Good for probe application

• Disadvantages:
1. Limited spatial resolution
2. Complex for array construction

Mechanical Transducer
A linear Potentiometer

47
Magnetic Transduction Methods
• Sensors using magnetic
transduction are divided into two
basic categories:
Groups together sensors which use
mechanical movement to
produce change in magnetic flux.
• Advantages:
1. Wide dynamic range
2. Large displacements possible
3. Simple
• Disadvantages:
1. Poor spatial resolution
2. Mechanical problems when Magnetic tactile Element
sensing on slopes.

48
2. Concerns magnetoelastic
materials which show a change
in magnetic field when
subjected to mechanical stress.

• Advantages:
1. Wide dynamic range
2. Linear response
3. Low hysteresis
4. Robust
• Disadvantages:
1. Susceptible to stray field and Magneto resistive tactile Element
noise.
2. A.C. circuit required

49
 Optical Transduction Methods

• Advantages:
1. Very high resolution
2. Compatible with vision
sensing technology
3. No electrical interference
problems
4. Processing electronics can
be remote from sensor
5. Low cabling requirements
• Disadvantages: Optical Tactile Element
1. Dependence on elastomer Pressure to light Transduction
in some designs – affects
robustness
2. Some hysteresis

50
VISION SENSORS
• Vision is the most powerful robot sensory capabilities.
Enables a robot to have a sophisticated sensing mechanism
that allows it to respond to its environment in intelligent and
flexible manner. Therefore machine vision is the most
complex sensor type.
• Robot vision may be defined as the process of extracting,
characterizing, and interpreting information from images of
a three-dimensional world. This process, also known as
machine or computer vision may be subdivided into six
principle areas. These are:
1. Sensing : the process that yields visual image
2. Preprocessing : deals with techniques such as noise reduction and
enhancement of details
3. Segmentation : the process that partitions an image into objects of
interest
4. Description: deals with that computation of features for example size or
shape, suitable for differentiating one type of objects from another.
5. Recognition: the process that identifies these objects (for example
wrench, bolt, engine block, etc.)
6. Interpretation: assigns meaning to an ensemble of recognized objects.
52
IMAGING COMPONENTS
• The imaging component, the “eye” or sensor, is the first link in
the vision chain. Numerous sensors may be used to observe the
world. There are four type of vision sensors or imaging
components:

• 1. Point sensors

capable of measuring light only at a single point in space. These

sensor using coupled with a light source (such as LED) and used
as a noncontact ‘feeler’
It also may be used to create a higher – dimensions set of vision
Information by scanning across a field of view by using
mechanisms such as orthogonal set of scanning mirrors

53
Noncontact feeler-point sensor

54
Image scanning using a point sensor
and oscillating deflecting mirrors
55
 2. Line Sensor
• Line sensors are one-dimensional
devices used to collect vision
information from a real scene in the
real world.
• The sensor most frequently used is
a “line array” of photodiodes or
charger-couple-device components.
• It operates in a similar manner to
analog shift register, producing
sequential, synchronized output of
electrical signals, corresponding to
the light intensity falling on an
integrated light-collecting cell.
Circular and cross configurations
of light sensors

56
 An automated robot sorting
system using
a line scan camera to generate
two-dimensional images.

• Line array may be used to image scene. E.g. by fixing the position of a straight-line
sensor and moving an object orthogonally to the orientation of the array, one may
scan the entire object of interest. 57
 3. Planar Sensor

• A two dimensional configuration of the line-scan concept. Two generic

types of these sensors generally in use today are scanning
photomultipliers and solid-state sensors.
• Photomultipliers are represented by television cameras, the most
common of which is the vidicon tube, which essentially an optical-to-
electrical signal converter.
• In addition to vidicon tubes, several types of solid-state cameras are
available. Many applications require the solid-state sensors because of
weight and noise factor (solid-state arrays are less noisy but more
expensive). This is important when mounting a camera near or on the end-
effector of a robot.

58
 4. Volume Sensor

• A sensor that provide three-

dimensional information. The
sensor may obtain the
information by using the
directional laser or acoustic
range finders.

Schematic representation
of a triangulation range finder

59
 IMAGE REPRESENTATION

• From the diagram below. F(x,y) is used to denote the two-dimensional

image out of a television camera or other imaging device.
• “x” and “y” denote the spatial coordinates (image plane)
• “f” at any point (x,y) is proportional to the brightness (intensity) of the
image at that point.
• In form suitable for computer processing, an image function f(x,y) must be
digitized both spatially and in amplitude (intensity). Digitization of the
spatial coordinates (x,y) will be known as image sampling, while amplitude
digitization is known as intensity or grey-level quantization.
• The array of (N, M) rows and columns, where each sample is sampled
uniformly, and also quantized in intensity is known as a digital image. Each
element in the array is called image element, picture element (or pixel).

60
Effects of reducing sampling grid size.
a) 512x512.
b) 256x256.
c) 128x128.
d) 64x64.
e) 32x32.

61
Effect produced by reducing the number of intensity levels while maintaining the
spatial resolution constant at 512x512. The 256-, 128- and 64-levels are of
acceptable quality.
a) 256, b) 128, c) 64, d) 32, e) 16, f) 8, g) 4, and h) 2 levels
62
 ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUES
• Illumination of a scene is an important factor that often affects the
complexity of vision algorithms.
• A well designed lighting system illuminates a scene so that the complexity
of the resulting image is minimised, while the information required for
object detection and extraction is enhanced.
• Arbitrary lighting of the environment is often not acceptable because it
can result in low contras images, specular reflections, shadows and
extraneous details.

• There are 4 main illumination techniques for a robot work space :

63
 ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUES

1. DIFFUSE-LIGHTING
• This technique is for smooth, regular
surface object. It is used where surface
characteristic are important.
• Example:

Diffuse-lighting technique

64
 ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUES

2. BACKLIGHTING
• Produce black and white image.
This technique suited for
applications in which silhouettes
of object are sufficient for
recognition or other
measurement.
• Example:

Backlighting technique

65
ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUES
3. STRUCTURED LIGHTING

• Consist of projecting points, stripes,

grids onto work surface.
• This lighting technique has 2
important advantages:
1. It establishes a known light pattern
on the work space and disturbances
of this indicate the presence of an
object, thus simplifying the object
detection problems. Structured lighting technique
2. By analysing the way which the light
pattern distorted, it is possible to
gain insight into three-dimensional
characteristics of the object.

66
 (a) Top view of two light planes
intersecting in a line sight
3. STRUCTURED LIGHTING (cont.)

• The following figure illustrates the

structured lighting technique using two
light planes projected from different
directions, but converging on a single
stripe on the surface. The two light
sources guarantee that the object will
break the light stripe only when it is
directly below the camera.
• This technique is suitable for moving
object.
• Note: “The line scan camera sees only
the line on which the two light planes
converge, but two-dimension
information can be accumulated as the
object move past the camera”

(b) Object will be seen by the camera only

When it interrupts both light planes
67
 ILLUMINATION TECHNIQUES

4. DIRECTIONAL LIGHTING

• This method is used to inspection of

object surfaces.
• Defects on the surface such as scratches,
can be detected by using a highly directed
light beam (such as laser beam) and
measuring the amount of scatter

Directional lighting technique

68
 ROBOT VISION SYSTEM
• There are several commercial packages that can be bought for vision processing work.
A typical hardware configuration is shown below.
• Based on the technique used, the robotic vision systems can be grouped into the
following major types:
1. Binary vision systems 4.Structured light vision systems
2. Gray-level vision systems 5.Character recognition vision systems
3. Ad hoc special-purpose vision systems

Vision system hardware

69
• A typical system will have facilities for controlling the camera remotely and perhaps
interfaces for remote lighting control.

• The main problem with commercial vision packages is that they have to be general purpose
in order to be applicable in many situations. This very requirement sometimes means that
they are not suitable or are over complicated for a particular robot task in hand.

• In industrial robot world, vision is not used in an exploratory sense but is used to confirm or
measure or refine existing known data.

• Whichever commercial vision system one purchases, one is likely to use it for applications
such as those listed in the next section.

70
 Vision Dev. Tools: Survey
• Commercial products • Free tools
– Matrox: MIL, Inspector – Intel: Open Source Computer
– Coreco Imaging: Sapera, Vision
MVTools, WiT – Microsoft: Vision SDK
– MVTec: Halcon – XMegaWave: XMegaWave
– Euresys: eVision, EasyAccess
– UTHSCSA: ImageTool
– AAI: Aphlion

Slide borrowed from CAIRO

71
 VISION APPLICATIONS
• 1. OBJECT LOCATION
Used in object handling and processing:
-Position -Orientation
• 2. OBJECT PROPERTIES
Used in inspection, identification, measurement:
-Size -Area
-Shape -Periphery length / area ratio
-Texture -Repetition of pattern
-Properties of internal features
• 3. SPATIAL RELATIONS
Used in measurement and task verification
-Relative positions
-Relative orientations -Occlusions
-Alignments -Connectivity
• 4. ACTION MONITORING
Used in actuator control and verification:
-Direct feedback -Error measurement
-Action confirmation -Inspection
-Collision avoidance planning. 72
MISCELLANEOUS SENSORS

73
MISCELLANEOUS SENSORS
POSITION, VELOCITY&
ACCELERATION SENSORS

• There are several type of sensor that

can be used to determine the
position of robot joints like
potentiometer, optical encoder,
Linear Variable Differential
Transformer (LVDT) Force & Torque
Sensors.

74
 Potentiometer

• Potentiometer transducers can be

used to measure both linear and
angular displacement

(a) Potentiometer
(b) (b) Schematic diagram of the potentiometer
75
 Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

• LDVT is a robust and precise

device which produce a
voltage output proportional
to the displacement of a
ferrous armature for
measurement of robot joints
or end-effectors. It is much
expensive but outperforms
the potentiometer
transducer.

Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT)

76
 Force & Torque Sensors

• Force transducers are often

based on displacement principles.
There various type force and
torque transducer available
commercially

A force-measuring device based on

a compression spring and LDVT.

77
This figure illustrate a tension load cell.
It can be used to measure the force
required to pick up heavy load in industry

78
 Force & Torque Sensors

• Force can be measured using

piezoelectric principle.

• Figure shows a load washer

type piezoelectric force
transducer. It is designed to
measure axial forces. It is
preloaded when
manufactured and can
measure both tensile and
compressive forces.

79
 Force & Torque Sensors

• Measured using piezoelectric

principle.

• Figure shows a three-

component dynamometer
type piezoelectric force
transducer that measures
three orthogonal components
of force.

80
Motor Encoder
 Incremental Optical Encoders
• Incremental Encoder:
light sensor
- direction
decode - resolution
light emitter circuitry

grating

• It generates pulses proportional to the rotation speed of

the shaft.
• Direction can also be indicated with a two phase encoder:
A

B A leads B
 Absolute Optical Encoders
• Used when loss of reference is not possible.
• Gray codes: only one bit changes at a time ( less uncertainty).
• The information is transferred in parallel form (many wires are
necessary).

Binary Gray Code

000 000

001 001

010 011

011 010

100 110

101 111

110 101

111 100
 Other Odometry Sensors
• Resolver

It has two stator windings

positioned at 90 degrees. The
output voltage is proportional to
the sine or cosine function of the
rotor's angle. The rotor is made
up of a third winding, winding C

• Potentiometer
= varying resistance
 Inertial Sensors
• Gyroscopes
– Measure the rate of rotation independent of the
coordinate frame
– Common applications:
• Heading sensors, Full Inertial Navigation systems (INS)
• Accelerometers
– Measure accelerations with respect to an inertial frame
– Common applications:
• Tilt sensor in static applications, Vibration Analysis, Full INS
Systems
 Accelerometers
• They measure the inertia force generated
when a mass is affected by a change in
velocity.
• This force may change
– The tension of a string
– The deflection of a beam
– The vibrating frequency of a mass
 Accelerometer
• Main elements of an accelerometer:
1. Mass 2. Suspension mechanism 3. Sensing element

2
d x dx
F  m 2  c  kx
d t dt

High quality accelerometers include a servo loop to improve the

linearity of the sensor.
 Gyroscopes
• These devices return a signal proportional to the
rotational velocity.
• There is a large variety of gyroscopes that are based
on different principles
 Global Positioning System (GPS)
24 satellites (+several spares)

broadcast time, identity, orbital

parameters (latitude, longitude,
altitude)

Space Segment

http://www.cnde.iastate.edu/staff/swormley/gps/gps.h
 Global Positioning System (GPS)
24 satellites (+several spares)

broadcast time, identity, orbital

parameters (latitude, longitude,
altitude)

Space Segment

http://www.cnde.iastate.edu/staff/swormley/gps/gps.h
 Noise Issues

• Real sensors are noisy

• Origins: natural phenomena + less-than-ideal
engineering
• Consequences: limited accuracy and
precision of measurements
• Filtering:
– software: averaging, signal processing algorithm
– hardware tricky: capacitor
Thank you!