Robotic Sensors

Sensors
• Sensors are important elements in robotic
systems.
• They makes the systems more intelligent and
enables the robots work in nanostructured and
random environment
• Sensors are based on transduction principle i.e.
conversion of one form of energy to another.
• When exposed to physical phenomenon (such as
temperature), they roduce a proportional output
signal (such as voltage)
 Sensors
• Sensors can be passive or active.
• Passive sensors does not require external
power source - eg thermocouple.
• Active require external power source to
operate – eg optical encoder.
• Sensors can also be analogue or digital.
• Analogue sensors produces continuous
signals that are proportional to the sensed
parameters.
 Sensors
• Analogue sensors require analogue-to-digital
conversion before feeding to digital
controllers.
• Digital sensors produce digital outputs that
can be directly fed to digital controller.
 Robotic Sensors
• Sensors produces sensory feedback in robotic
systems that enables robots to:
– Locate randomly placed objects;
– Allow for variations in the shape of objects;
– Protect against dangerous and unexpected situations;
– Allow intelligent recovery from error conditions;
– Perform quality control.
 Robotic Sensors Classification
• Robotic sensors can be classified as:
– Proprioceptive (Internal state sensors);
– Exteroceptive (External state sensors)
• Proprioceptive sensors measures values
internally to the system (robot), e.g. battery
level, wheel position, joint angle, etc.
• These sensors includes potentiometers;
tachometers; optical encoders;
accelerometers, gyroscopes etc.
 Robotic Sensors Classification
• Exteroceptive sensors monitors the
relationship between the robot kinematics
and/or dynamics with its task, surrounding, or
the objects it manipulated.
• Exteroceptive sensors are classified as contact
and noncontact sensors.
• Contact sensors sense through contact.
• Noncontact sensors sense the presence of an
object without contact.
 Contact Sensors
• Contact sensors include:
– Force sensors – measures the amount of exerted force
on its surface
– Pressure sensors – measures the amount of exerted
pressure on its surface
– Torque sensors – measures the turning effort required
to rotate a mass though an angle.
– Tactile sensors – Detect the presence of an object by
touching the object.
 Noncontact Sensors
• Noncontact sensors includes:
– Proximity sensors – sense the presence of nearby
objects relative to another object by induction
capacitance , light/sound reflection or eddy current.
– Range sensors – use for distance measurement.
– Speech sensors – enables robot responds to spoken
words.
– Vision sensors – enables robots to see an object or it’s
surrounding.
 Tactile Sensors
• Tactile sensors are mainly used for collision
detection
• If the switch connects, electricity passes and
we can detect
 Tactile Sensors
• If the switch connects, electricity passes and
collision can be detected

• Switch open switch closed

 Infrared (IR) Sensors
• IR sensors are example proximity sensors.
• They Works based on Infra-Red light (invisible
to humans)
 Infrared (IR) Sensors
The working Procedure is:
– Send light and start a timer (t1 = 0 sec)
– Wait for reflected light, and stop timer (t2 =
12 sec)
– Calculate the time difference (t1 – t2 = 12
sec)
– Use time difference to calculate distance
(distance = speed of light * time)
 Ultrasonic Sensors
• Very similar to the light sensor, but works by
sending sound waves instead!
• We can’t hear the sound waves, but they
bounce off the target and come back to the
sensor
• We measure the distance in the same manner
as we do it for light
 Optical Encoder
• Measure position, speed, direction of
revolution of the wheel.
Optical Encoder