Sensors

Sensors for Autonomous Odometry Sensors

Robots Navigation Sensors

PERCEPTION AND
UNCERTAINTY MANAGEMENT

by Fernando Matía

Summary

Odometry and Introduction to the Problem

Locomotion Systems Angular Positioning Sensors

Locomotion Systems

Velocity and Acceleration Sensors

List of Symbols Dead Reckoning Systems

 Feedback variables  Abbreviation of Deduced Reckoning of

• x(k) = [x(k) y(k) (k)] : location at instant k Sailing Days
• v(k) = [v(k) w(k)] : velocity commands at k
 When the locomotion system are
 Measured variables wheels, they are called Odometry
• xodom(k) : location given by odometry
Systems
 Wheels movement
 They allow to deduce own’s position
• d(k) : linear position increment (k,k+1)
after moving for a known time at a fixed
• (k) : angular position increment (k, k+1)
velocity
 Odometry Systems Problem Statement

 Their origin must be found in the first  We want to obtain the position at k+1,
from the position at k
automobiles
 Solutions offered accumulative errors
 Nevertheless present methods are very
similar

 The difference x(k) = x(k+1) - x(k) may

be deduced from d(k), (k)

Wheels Movement Forward Movement

 d(k), (k) depend on the wheels

configuration:
• Forward motion
d(k) = fd(d1(k), …, dn(k), 1(k), …,  n(k))

• Angular motion
(k) = f (d1(k), …, dn(k),  1(k), …,  n(k))
• n : number of wheels  di (k) may be measured by a
sensor as r· (k)
r : wheel radius

Angular Movement Angular Positioning Sensors

 The transversal angle  i(k) may be  The most well known are described
measured with a sensor
• Potentiometers
• Synchros and resolvers
• Optical encoders

 Calculation of the effective displacement

 In both cases, angular positioning

sensors are needed
 Potentiometers Potentiometers

 They are fabricated from carbon,

ceramic plastic or a ceramic-metal mix
 They supply a discontinuous measure

• (k) = [ 2 / uREF ] u0(k)

Potentiometers Synchros

 They transmit angular information

 Advantages
through electromechanical systems
• Ease of interface
• Very low cost

 Disadvantages
• Easy to become dirty
• Sensible to electrical noise • Three-phase example
• Medium accuracy • Slave synchro receiver identical to transmiter
• Stator windings are in parallel

Synchros Resolvers

• When both rotors are aligned with their  A resolver is a particular case of synchro
stators, both outputs are identical, so current • Voltages proportional to sin and cos of the
flow is null. angle are generated
• ux = A sin  sin wt
• uy = A cos  sin wt
w is source frecuency
 is rotor angle
• When transmisor rotor moves, a voltage
• Resolver to digital
difference appears, so current flow is
converters produce an
induced at receptor rotor.
appropriate output
 Optical Encoders Incremental Optical Encoders

 Incremental  A light source generates wave pulses

• Measure angular velocity • Period is inversally proportional to speed
• Infer relative position • It is a single channel tachometer encoder

 Absolute
• Directly measure angular position
• Infer velocity

Incremental Optical Encoders Phase Quadrature Encoders

 Characteristics
• A higher number of pulses implies
more resolution
higher price
• For a 5 cm diameter encoder, a typical limit
is 2,500 encoder lines

 Disadvantages
• Noise appears at very low velocities • They use a double channel
Resolution increases
• They do not detect changes in rotation An electrical circuit detects which wave leads, and
sense so the rotation sense

Phase Quadrature Encoders Positioning and Homming

• 4 possible states
The circuit supplies a number of lines
in a 3 byte counter
The three ports may be read from a
user program
• A third channel C may exist
It is activated at an origin position
 Positioning
• From encoder line counts, forward and
angular wheel displacement may be
deduced
 Homming
• Mobile robots use an special mechanism to
locate wheels at a home position
Wheels rotate clock-wise slowly until the origin is
found
Then the wheel rotates anticlock-wise a bit to
compensate inertia (as printers)
 Absolute Optical Encoders Absolute Optical Encoders

 Binary code disk  Gray code disk

• For very low speeds • Only one bit changes at
• Return a code for each each step
absolute position • Ambiguities are
• Medium resolution is 1,000 eliminated
counts per revolution
H. R. Everett H. R. Everett
 Problems
• Electrical circuits are more complex  Comparison with incremental encoders
• Several bits change at each step • Absolute encoders give absolute position
Bit changes may not be detected at the same time • For the same resolution:
Electical tolerancies may produce ambiguities Incremental encoders are simpler and cheaper

Effective Movement Locomotion Systems

 The effective radius  The new location depends on the

• may be less than the real one r’< r locomotion system
• may not be equal for all wheels • Differential steering
• Ackerman steering
•  di(k) = r’ [ 2 / NT ] N(k) • Synchro drive
N(k) are encoder counts • Tricycle drive
NT is encoder lines • Omni-directional motion

 A location actualisation method is shown

 More problems will be shown later
depending on the locomotion system

Differential steering
Differential Steering
of the Robuter
V1
V2
Drive Drive
wheel r1 wheel

r2
Castors
Borenstein, Univ. of Michigan

 Drive wheels and Castors

• Two drive wheels haven’t angular motion
• A set of castors (free wheels)
 Two optical encoders give d1(k), d2(k)
 Differential Steering Differential Steering

d1(k) = (k) [ R(k) - a/2 ]  Advantage

d2(k) = (k) [ R(k) + a/2 ]
• High accuracy (in theory)
• d2(k) - d1(k) = (k) a
 Disadvantages
 (k) = [d2(k) - d1(k)] / a • Floor rugosity must be uniform
 d(k) = (k) R(k) • Angular motion produces high errors with
slippery floors
= d1(k) + a (k)/2 • “a” is an uncertain parameter
= d1(k) + [d2(k) - d1(k)] / 2
= [d1(k) + d2(k) ] / 2

Differential Steering Differential Steering

 Problems with steps (or floor rugosity)  Problems with slippery floors
 Tracked vehicles are a extreme case

• It is impossible
to eliminate
slipping
• One wheel moves d1(k), the other d2(k)
• In a straight line motion: • Odometry is not
(k) = [d2(k) - d1(k) ] / a useful
• After going up and down a step:
(k) = 2 [d2(k) - d1(k) ] / a Remotec’s Andros at the Univ. of Michigan

Encoder Trailer Assembled Encoder Trailer Detail

Side view Absolute

encoder
Extender
Left wheel boom
encoder

Slip
ring

Flexible link offset

Left measurement wheel

Remotec’s Andros at the Univ. of Michigan Univ. of Michigan

 Ackerman Steering
 It is mainly used in the automotive
industry
 It uses two direction
wheels
• Slipping is eliminated
by turning a bit more
the internal wheel than
the external one
• Perpendicular lines to
both wheels intersect at
the back edge
Ackerman Steering
 The angle of the virtual wheel may be
deduced from the angles of both wheels
tan  E = L / h
tan  C = L / (h - a/2)
• h = L / tan  E = L / tan  C + a/2
• cotan  E - cotan  C = a / 2L
 cotan  C = cotan  E - a/2L =
cotan  I + a / 2L
Ackerman Steering
 Wheels runways are concentric
circunference arcs
Ackerman Steering
 From the angle of the left wheel we can
obtain the angle of the right one
tan  E = L / h
tan  I = L / (h - a)
• h = L / tan  E = L / tan  I +
a
• 1/ tan  E - 1 / tan  I = a / L
 cotan  E - cotan  I = a / L
Ackerman Steering
 Advantages
• Accurate odometry
• It is almost always used in outdoors
applications
• Many systems have been developed
• It is easy to maintain it
 Disadvantages
• High slippery is present when more than two
edges are used, because there exists more
than one intersection edge
Ackerman Steering
• Linear and angular displacements d(k), (k), may
be obtained from back wheels movement d1(k),
d2(k) and forward angle  C(k)
d1(k) = (k) [ h(k) - a ] (right wheel)
d2(k) = (k) h(k) (left wheel)
d(k) = (k) [ h(k) - a/2 ] (virtual wheel)
 (k) = [d2(k) - d1(k) ] / a
 d(k) = [d1(k) + d2(k) ] /2
 (k) = tan  C(k) [d1(k) + d2(k) ] / 2a
 Ackerman Steering Synchro Drive

 In the first case two encoders are

 Three or more wheels are mechanically
enough
• d(k) = [d1(k) + d2(k) ] / 2 coupled
• (k) = [d2(k) - d1(k) ] / a  Wheels turn and move forward at the
 In the second case three encoders are same time
necessary
• (k) = tan  C(k) [d1(k) + d2(k) ] / 2a
• but we can use the third one to decrease
the error of the others

Synchro drive mechanism

Synchro Drive
of the MRV-4

•  1(k) =  2(k) =  3(k) =  4(k) =

(k)
• d1(k) = d2(k) = d3(k) = d4(k) = d(k)

Synchro Drive Synchro Drive

 Two encoders are enough  Advantages

• d(k) and (k) are directly measured from • Wheels synchronisation
encoders • High accuracy
• Motors generate the same torque at every
wheel
• Angle errors when forward movement does
not exist

 Disadvantages
• The driving belt may generate errors
• Wheels friction with floor in turns
 Tricycle Drive Tricycle Drive

 Solution is identical to that  Advantage

for the Ackerman steering
case
• d(k) = [d1(k) + d2(k)] /2
• (k) = [d2(k) - d1(k)] / a
• (k) = tan  C(k) [d1(k) +
d2(k) ] / 2a
• High simplicity
• Angle errors when forward movement does
not exist
 Disadvantages
• Center of gravity moves forward in inclined
terrains, with loss of stability

Omni-Directional Motion Omni-Directional Motion

 Omni-Directional • v1 = vx + wR
Wheelchair • v2 = -vx sin 30 - vy cos 30 + wR
• v3 = -vx sin 30 + vy cos 30 + wR
Fern Universitat

Omni-Directional Motion Omni-Directional Motion

 With four wheels (similar equations)

 Advantage
• High maneouverability
 Disadvantages
• High slippery
• low efficiency
 Omni-Directional Motion Location Actualisation

 From [x(k), y(k), (k)] we can obtain

[d(k), (k)]

 Provide omnidirectional
maneuverability:
• Sideway crabbing
• Diagonal
• Rotation on the spot

Borenstein, Univ. of Michigan

Location Actualisation Velocity Sensors

x(k+1) = x(k) + 2 d(k)/(k) sin (k)/2 cos ((k) + (k)/2)  Less common sensors
y(k+1) = y(k) + 2 d(k)/(k) sin (k)/2 sin ((k) + (k)/2)
 It may be obtained from location
(k+1) = (k) + (k)
 They use movement as source of energy
• x(k+1) = x(k) + d(k) cos ((k) + (k)/2) (passive sensors)
• y(k+1) = y(k) + d(k) sin ((k) + (k)/2)  Types of sensors
• (k+1) = (k) + (k) • Linear Velocity Sensors (LVT)
More difficult to measure
Usually we transform the problem into an angular
 No odometry is necessary if reactive control is movement
used • Angular Velocity Sensors

Angular Velocity Sensors Acceleration Sensors

 Tachometer  They measure absolute acceleration

• A proximity sensor measure the pass frecuency of a
rotatory element  They use a couple tender-mass
• It uses an exciter which accurately divides the wheel • From strengh and mass we can derive
(60 divisions) acceleration (Newton law)
• The discrete signal is changed to continuous
 Type of sensors
 Tachometric Generatrix
• Piezoelectric
• Proportional voltage to axis speed
e = N·B·A·w sin wt • Drags (galgas de arrastre)
• It works as a conventional electrical generator • Capacitives
• Servo-accelerometers
Velocity & Acceleration Sensors Doppler Navigation

 They measure neither absolute nor  Nautical and aerial applications for
incremental location from the wheels velocity meassurement in respect with
movement earth
 Sometimes they are used as an
odometry system complement
 Two examples are:
• Doppler navigation
• Inertial navigation

Doppler Navigation Doppler Navigation

 Iradiated energy reflects on a surphase

(ocean floor of earth surphase) which is • v = vD / cos
moving in respect with the emitter v : actual speed
 The best solution should be to use four vD : measured Doppler
speed
sensors situated at 90 degrees each
 Their high price makes it impossible in • fR = fE (s - vD) / s
robotics applications  Mobile observer & s : speed of sound
fixed sensor • fD = fE - fR = fE VD /s (D. frec.)
fE : emitted frecuency
fR : received frecuency
 v = s fD / 2 fE cos 

Doppler Navigation Doppler Navigation

 Advantage  Disadvantages
• Their use avoids slippery problems, terrains • High price
with low uniformity or vehicle roll due to • Errors due to vertical movement of the
weight balancing vehicle in respect with the floor
• Higher frecuency is received in the closer
region. We must filter it to extract main frec.
• If the floor moves (water), the sensor
indicates movement with the vehicle stopped
 Inertial Navigation Inertial Navigation

 It was initially thought for airplanes  A giroscope maintains a consistent

• Later on it was adapted for misiles and orientation of the three accelerometers
submarines
 It works like a bicycle
 It consists of a gyroscope, oriented with
• The wheel moves
respect to a fixed axis
• Inclining the bike (yaw),
• If the path follows one of the edges, it gives
the wheel turns (row)
the acceleration error
• Integrating twice we obtain the postion error

Inertial Navigation

 Advantage
• Their use avoids slippery problems, terrains
with low uniformity or vehicle roll due to
weight balancing

 Disadvantage
• They do not work with constant velocity