MODULE 2

Sensors:
Types and applications of sensors in Robotics,
Position and displacement sensors, Strain gauge based force-torque
sensors, Tachometers.

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Robotic drive systems and actuators:
Hydraulic, Pneumatic and Electric drives. Specification, principle of
operation and areas of application of: Stepper motor,
Servo motor and brushless DC motor.

Microprocessor control of electric motors, speed control using PWM

and direction control using H- Bridge
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 SENSORS
• Sensors in robots are used for interacting to the external
world
and internal adjustments.

• Sensors can be broadly classified into two groups:

1. External sensors: Used to interact with the
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E.g.: Vision, Force/Torque, Touch, Proximity
sensors etc.
2. Internal Sensors: Used for self adjustment of the
different joints and links of the robots for proper
functioning or in other words ‘it is used for
closing the loop in feedback control’.
E.g.: Position,
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KTU STUDENTS

External sensors
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Position and Displacement Sensors

• Position sensors are used to measure the displacement

(both in
angular and linear) as well as movement of robots and its
arm.
• Using these sensors, it is possible to find the location of
the KTU STUDENTS
robotic arm, position of end effector etc.

E.g.: Potentiometer, Encoders, Linear and Variable

Differential
transformer (LVDT), Resolvers, Linear Magnetostrictive
displacement For
transducer (LMDT), Hall effect sensor
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1. Potentiometer
• Potentiometer is a variable resistor.
• The output voltage of potentiometer is proportional to the
position of a wiper.
• This principle is used in robots to convert the position
information to a variable voltage .

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STUDENTS
Based on resistance values:

R1
Based on the position of the wiper:

Where, θact = actual position of the wiper (in radian)

θtotal = total possible travel for the wiper (in radian)
Kp = Voltage constant of wiper (in volt per radian)
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• Potentiometers are available in both single turn and multi-
turn.
• Single turn has maximum available travel is 360O and for
multi-turn, the wiper can move several 360O turn.
• These are generally used as internal feedback sensors to
identify the position of joints and links.
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E.g.:
Find the output voltage and Voltage constant of a potentiometer. Given
excitation voltage = 12V, available wiper travel = 320O and wiper
Ans:
Kp = 0.0375
position V/degree
= 64 O
Vout = 2.4V
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2. Resolvers
• An analog device whose output is proportional to the angle
of
rotating element with respect to a fixed element.
• Used to find the angular motion.
• A simple resolver has a single winding on its rotor and a
pair of
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winding on its stator. STUDENTS

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• Stator windings are 90O apart.

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• If the rotor is excited with a signal Vin = A.sin(ωt)
• Then, the voltage at the two stator winding will be:

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3. Encoders
• Encoders are used to measure position and velocity.
• It is used along with microcontrollers or digital ICs.
• Two type: Incremental and Absolute

Incremental encoder transform a mechanical angular

position
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of a shaft into an electronic signal that can be processed
by a
microcontroller.
Absolute encoder is can provide unique position values
from
the moment they are switched on. All positions in these
systems have a unique code. Even movements that occur
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• Commonly used incremental encoder is a Optical encoder
• It consist of a disk marked with alternating transparent and opaque
slots/strips aligned radially.
• A Photo transmitter (LED) and photo-receiver (generally photo diode)
are
placed at the opposite sides as shown below.
• As the disk rotates, the light beam passes though the stripes and falls
on the
receiver alternatively, produces a train of pulse at the output of the
receiver. KTU STUDENTS

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• Frequency of the pulse is proportional to the speed of the rotation.
• Typically two transmitters and receivers are aligned 90O out of phase.
• This arrangement will provide the direction of rotation.
• To increase the resolution, two disks are used in parallel.

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• Absolute encoder uses a unique ‘code word’ for each slots in the disk.
• It will provide information regarding the absolute position of the
encoder.
• Each slot will be represented using a binary code/gray code/BCD
• Generally Gray code is used.

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Resolution of the absolute encoder = 2n

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Linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)

• The LVDT converts a position/linear displacement from a mechanical

reference
(zero, or null position) into a proportional electrical signal containing
phase (for
direction) and amplitude (for distance) information.
• It has three coils placed end-to-end around a tube. The centre coil is the

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primary, and the two outer coils are the top and bottom secondary.
• A cylindrical ferromagnetic core, attached to the object whose position
is to be
measured, slides along the axis of the tube.

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• An AC drives the primary and causes a voltage to be induced in each
secondary proportional to the length of the core linking to the
secondary.

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• As the core moves, the primary's linkage to the two secondary coils
changes
and causes the induced voltages to change.
• The coils are connected
For so
morethat the output voltage is the difference
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• When the core is displaced toward the top, the voltage in the top
secondary
coil increases and the voltage in the bottom decreases. The resulting
output
voltage increases from zero. This voltage is in phase with the primary
voltage.

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• When the core moves in the other direction, the output voltage also
increases from zero, but its phase is opposite to that of the primary.
The
phase of the output voltage determines the direction of the
displacement
(up or down) and amplitude indicates the amount of displacement.

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Hall Effect Sensor
• Based on Hall effect.
• Output voltage of a current carrying conductor changes in
the
presence of magnetic field.
• Output is a analog signal, which has to converted to digital.
• In the picture, wheel with two equally spaced magnets.
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• The voltage from the sensor will peak twice for each
revolution.
• This arrangement is commonly used to regulate the speed
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 Strain gauge based force-torque sensors

Force Sensor
• Strain is a measure of deformation representing the
displacement
between particles in the body relative to a reference length
• A strain gauge is a device used to measure strain on an
object.KTU STUDENTS
• The strain gauge can be used measure the Force.
• strain gauge consists of a metallic foil pattern supported by
a
insulated backing.

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• When a force is applied, the resistance of the gauge varies proportionally.
• So strain gauges are used to measure the force at the end effector and
wrists of
robots.
• It can also be used to measure the load on the joints and links.
• Generally the strain gauges are used along with a Wheatstone bridge.
• Points A and B are at same potential (zero current flow) under balanced
state. • When force is applied, balance in the
bridge get alter. This cause a current
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to flow through the Galvanometer.
• By measuring the resistance change
required in R4 to balance the bridge will
help to determine the amount of force.

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 Tachometers

• Used for measuring the angular velocity.

• It is basically a DC generator, providing an output voltage proportional
to the
angular velocity of the armature.

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Where Kt:tachometer constant (V/rad/sec)and
ω is the angular velocity (radian/sec)

• Two basic types: DC tachometer and AC tachometer

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 DC tachometer:
•A coil is attached with the shaft and this coil can rotate in between two permanent
magnets.
• So, when tachometer is attach with rotating shaft it rotate in between magnets
and cut
the magnetic field.
• Thus, according to Faraday’s law, voltage will be produced in coil
• This produced voltage is proportional to coils speed alternatively proportional to
shaft
speed.
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• Voltage generated inside is calibrated in terms of RPM and hence tachometer
shows RPM of shaft.
• In this, DC voltage is produced.

AC tachometer:
• In AC tachometer, shaft is connected to the permanent magnet, which rotate
inside the
coil and hence AC voltage is produced.

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 Robotic drive systems and Actuators

• Actuators are the muscles of a robot.

• It helps the links and joints to move or rotate.
Types:
• Hydraulic actuators
• Pneumatic actuators
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• Electric motors STUDENTS
• Electric motors are the most commonly used.
• Hydraulic systems are used for large robots.
• Pneumatic systems are used in small robots

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Hydraulic actuators:

• Mainly used for large robots/ heavy loads

• A simple hydraulic actuator is basically a cylinder piston
arrangement where a fluid (oil) is allowed to move inside the cylinder
• The pressure exerted by the fluid on the piston is converted in
the form of force or torque.
• Based on the volume of fluid going into the cylinder and the rate of flow,
it is KTU STUDENTS
possible to determine the displacement and velocity of the piston.

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 Force delivered by a linear hydraulic cylinder:

where p : working pressure of the fluid

A : effective area of the piston.
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Torque produced by a rotary hydraulic cylinder:

where p : working pressure of the fluid

t : thickness/width of a rotary cylinder.
r1, r2 are the inner and outer radii of the
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rotary cylinder. STUDENTS

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Features:
• It provides high power to weight ratio
• Large force at low speeds
• They produce high torque without the use of gears.
• Provide both linear and rotary actuation
• compatible with microprocessor and electronic
controls
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• Can use at extreme hazardous environments.

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Pneumatic actuators:

• Similar to the hydraulic system in its operation.

• Instead of liquid, compressed air is used to provide the
motion
• The power to weight ratio is lower than hydraulic systems.
• Mainly used for 1/2 DOF joints.
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• One major drawback is that air is compressible and as a
result its
volume changes under load.

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Electric Motors:

• Commonly used actuator

• They provide excellent controllability with minimum
maintenance.

E.g.:
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DC motors Servo motors Stepper motor etc.

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Basic Working Principle of motors:

When a current carrying conductor is placed in a magnetic

field, it will experience a force which is normal to the plane
formed by the magnet and the current.

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• The torque produced in the motor is proportional to the
current
flowing through the armature.
Where Km: motor torque constant
Ia(t): Armature current
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Back EMF:
• When the armature rotates inside the magnetic field, induce a voltage in
the
armature due to generator action.
• This voltage (back emf) is proportional to the angular velocity of the rotor.
where K : voltage constant
b
ω(t): Angular Velocity

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• The back EMF will be opposite to the applied input voltage (Vin).
• So, the net current flowing through the armature:
where Ra: Armature resistance

• As the motor velocity increases, the back emf voltage increase accordingly, the
current available to the armature decreases.
• Decreasing current reduces
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the torque generated by the rotor, that leads to
DC Motors

• DC motor typically consist of a set of permanent magnet

acting
as the stator, creating a fixed magnetic filed.
• The armature winding is acting as the rotor and carries a
current.
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• The current is connected to the power supply through the
brushes and commutator of the motor.
• The commutator is used to change the direction of current
flow
for continuous rotation of the rotor.
• The direction of rotation is given by Fleming's left hand rule
DC MOTOR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAtPHANEfQo
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Brushless DC Motor:
• In bushed DC motors, the continuous rotation will wear out the brushes
and
commutator and cause death of the motor.
• So they need more maintance at regular intervals.
• Because of the friction at the brushes and commutator, heat will be
generated
and can damage the motor.
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• A brushless DC motor uses Permanent magnets as the rotor
and
Armature windings as the stator.
• Because of this arrangement, the need of brushes and
commutators can be eliminated.
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• For the smooth rotation of the rotor, more than one pair of
field
winding will be used.
• Each of the winding should be energized separately
according to
the position of the magnet.
• This switching action of the field winding is carried out by a
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separate electronic control unit or using a position sensor
like Hall
effect sensor.
• This control unit will be generally attached with motor.

BLDC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCEiOnuODac

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Stepper Motor
• The rotor moves in discrete steps as commanded, rather than rotating
continuously like a conventional motor.
• It is a brushless DC electric motor that divides a full rotation into a
number of
equal steps.
• Because of these steps, it is possible to control the angle of rotation
and easy
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to find the position of the shaft.

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There are three main types of stepper motors:
1. Permanent magnet stepper (canstack)
2. Variable reluctance stepper
3. Hybrid synchronous stepper

• Permanent magnet motors use a permanent magnet (PM) in the rotor

and
operate on the attraction or repulsion between the rotor PM and the
stator KTU
electromagnets.
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• Variable reluctance (VR) motors have a soft iron-toothed rotor. It operate
based
on the principle that minimum reluctance occurs with minimum gap,
hence the
rotor points are attracted toward the stator magnet poles.
• Hybrid stepper uses permanent magnet toothed rotor.
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Working Principle

Step 1

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Step 3
Step 2

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 Half Step

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• The angle of rotation I one step is known as Step angle.
Which
varies from 180o to fraction of a degree.
• So to reduce the step angle, one way is to increase the
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• To reduce the step angle further, a toothed magnetic rotor
and
stators are is used.
• Each teeth of the rotor will act as a magnetic pole.

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Where N = no. of teeth on the rotor
m = no. of teeth/phase on the stator

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Canstack Motors
• The rotor is a cylinder with alternate strips of north-
south
polarities. Usually made of resins with ferrite
particles.
• A typical rotor will have 24 pairs of poles and can
have
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7.5o step angle. STUDENTS
• The rotor is made up of four plates each with 12
teeth,
stacked on top of each other
• The four plates create two independent magnets on
top
of each other, each with a winding that is center
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• Above fig. is the cross section of canstack stator windings and plates.
• When coil A1 is energized, plate 1 will be north and plate 2 will be south.
If A2 is turned on, the polarities will be reversed.
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• Similarly for coil B1 and B2, which polarize the plates 3 and 4.
• During the operation of the stepper motor, two coils will be turned on in
the following sequence resulting in the indicated polarities.

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• During each step, the poles on the rotor will align themselves between the
stator
poles with least reluctance such that any south pole will be in between
north poles and north pole will be in between south poles.
• In the figure, arc of S-N shows the polarities of the poles at each step. At
the end of four steps, the rotor will be exactly in the situation as in the
beginning. So repeating the four steps will make the rotor continuously.

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Assignment:
Que: Briefly explain the following types of stepper motors.
1. Hybrid stepper motor
2. Unipolar stepper motors
3. Bipolar stepper motors
4. Bifilar stepper motors
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Servo Motors
• Back-emf is an important problem in a electric motor.
• When the coil rotates in the magnetic field, an emf will be
induced
in the coil. This induced emf will be opposite to the applied
input
voltage.
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• Back-emf is proportional to theSTUDENTS
angular
where kt : frequency or speed
Torque constant
of ω(t): Angular Velocity
rotation.

• So the effective speed of the rotor is depends upon both

where R: Motor resistance
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• From the equ. of the Torque, it can be observed that, as
applied
voltage V increases, output torque and angular velocity
increases
correspondingly. But when angular velocity increases, back-
emf
increases and that will lead to decrease in the torque.
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• So, when ω = 0, torque is greatest (stalled motor) and when
ω is
at its nominal maximum value, torque will be zero and the
motor doesn’t produce any use-full torque.
• This relation ship is shown below.

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• For a constant voltage V, if a load is applied to motor, it will slow down,
resulting in
a smaller back emf and larger effective current and positive net torque.

• The larger the load, slower the motor, larger will be the torque.
• As we increase the load, current will be large and that lead to heat
generation.

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• So to increase the motor torque while maintaining a desired speed, the
input
voltage V (or current) to the motor must be increased.
• By varying the voltage, the speed – torque balance can be maintained as
desired.
• This system is called servo motor.
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• A servo motor is a DC, AC brushless or even stepper motor with a
feedback circuit that can be controlled to move at a desired speed and
torque for desired angle of rotation.
• At a higher load, the speed is lower than the desired value, then the
voltage is increased until the speed is made equal to the desired value.
Similarly if the speed is high, the voltage is reduced to keep the speed at
the desired value.
• Similarly a servomotor uses position feedback to control its motion and
final position.
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• The input to its control is a signal (either analogue or digital)
representing
the position commanded for the output shaft.

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• The motor is paired with an encoder to provide position and speed
feedback.
• The measured position of the output is compared to the command
position,
• If the output position differs from that required, an error signal is
generated
which then causes the motor to rotate in either direction, as needed
to bring
the output shaft to the appropriate position. As the positions
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approach, the STUDENTS
error signal reduces to zero and the motor stops.

• Servomotors are not a specific class of motor although the term

servomotor
is often used to refer to a motor suitable for use in a closed-loop
control
system.
• Servomotors are usedForinmore
applications such as robotics, CNC machinery
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 Microprocessor control of Electric Motors
Speed Control

• If a motor is connected to the power supply, the speed of the motor is

proportional to the current flowing through the winding or applied
voltage.
• To control the speed, we need to control the applied voltage.
• But if a DC supply is connected, it not possible to vary the voltage
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since it is a
constant.
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• In such cases, the only way to control the speed is switching on and off
the
power supply.
• This lead to the use of PWM waves to control the motor.
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 PWM:
• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), is a method of transmitting information
on a
series of pulses.
• By varying the width of these pulses, it is possible to control the amount
of
power being sent to a load.

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• The signal remains "ON" for some time and "OFF" for some time.
Time Period(T) = Ton + Toff

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 Duty Cycle = 12.5%

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Duty Cycle = 75%

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• The voltage given to the motor for controlling the speed will be equal
to the average value of the PWM pulses.

• So the speed of the motor will be proportional to the average voltage.

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Direction Control of DC Motors with H Bridge
• Controlling the direction of motion of a rover type robot is
important task.
• These robots are made using DC motors.

• The direction of rotation of a DC motor depends upon the

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polarity in which it is connected to the battery.

• To change the direction, the connection to the battery has

to be
changed accordingly.

• This change of polarity is done by a microcontroller with

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Forward Reverse Breaking

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Rover Type Robot Direction Control

W W

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 LF
L R
LB
RF
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