UNIT III

SENSORS AND MACHINE VISION

Prepared by
B.Balasubramanian
AP/MECH
CCET
 Syllabus
Requirements of a sensor, Principles and Applications of the
following types of sensors- Position sensors - Piezo Electric
Sensor, LVDT, Resolvers, Optical Encoders, pneumatic Position
Sensors, Range Sensors Triangulations Principles, Structured,
Lighting Approach, Time of Flight, Range Finders, Laser Range
Meters, Touch Sensors ,binary Sensors., Analog Sensors, Wrist
Sensors, Compliance Sensors, Slip Sensors, Camera, Frame
Grabber, Sensing and Digitizing Image Data- Signal Conversion,
Image Storage, Lighting Techniques, Image Processing and
Analysis-Data Reduction, Segmentation, Feature Extraction,
Object Recognition, Other Algorithms, Applications- Inspection,
Identification, Visual Serving and Navigation.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-
tAgggJH7c
 Introduction
Sensing includes seeing, hearing, touching,
smelling and measuring
Definition: A sensor is a transducer used to
make a measurement of a physical variable.
 Characteristics of sensors (consideration in
selection)
Range: This refers to the minimum and maximum change in
input signal to which the sensor can respond. The sensor should
possess a wide operating range
Response: The sensor should capable of responding to changes
in the sensed variable in minimum time. Ideally the response
should be instantaneous
Accuracy: The accuracy of the measurement should be as high as
possible. The output of the sensing device should properly
reflect the input quantity being measured or sensed
Sensitivity: It refers to the change in the output exhibited by the
sensor for a unit change in input. The sensitivity should be as
high as possible
Linearity: The sensory device should exhibit the same sensitivity
over its entire operating range.
 Other consideration in selection
• The device should not disturb or have any effect
up on the quantity it senses or measures
• The device should be suitable for the
environment in which it is to be employed
• Ideally the device should include isolation from
receiving excess signals or electrical noise that
could give rise to the possibility of misoperation
or damage of the sensor, circuit or system
• The physical size, cost and ease of operation
 TOUCH or CONTACT SENSOR
Touch Sensors respond to physical contact between
the manipulator hand and objects in workspace.
Sensor. Examples: touch, slip, force and torque sensors
Categories:
• Binary or touch sensors: Provides a binary output
signal which indicates whether or not contact has
been made with the object
• Analog or force sensors: Provides an output signal
proportional to a local force
 Binary sensors
• Binary sensors are used to indicate that contact has been
made between two objects without regard to the magnitude
of the contacting force
• They uses simple devices such as limit switches, micro
switches, etc
• A switch is placed on the inner surface of each finger of a
manipulator hand
• Multiple sensors can be used on the inside and outside
surface of each finger to provide further tactile information
• The latter use is for providing control signals useful for
guiding the hand throughout the workspaces
Robot hand with micro switches
 Analog sensors
• The capacity to measure forces permits the robot to perform
a number of tasks like grasping parts of different sizes
• Force being vector quantity must be specified both in
magnitude and direction
• Force sensing in robotics can be accomplished in several ways
 Wrist sensing – Strain gauges mounted between the tip of a robot
arm and the end-effector
 Joint sensing – Joints driven by d.c. motor, sensing is done simply by
measuring the armature current for each of the joint motors
 Array of sensing elements – shape and other information about the
contact surface can be determined
 Wrist Sensors
• The purpose of a force sensing wrist is to provide
information about the three components of force (Fx,
Fy & Fz) and the three moments (Mx, My & Mz) being
applied at the end of the arm
• Wrist sensors are small, sensitivity, light in weight and
relatively compact in design
• Most wrist force sensors function as transducers for
transformation forces and moments exerted at the
hand in to measurable deflection or displacements at
the wrist
 Wrist sensor
a) eight pairs of strain gauge 3F & 3M
b) 3F & 3T
 Slip sensor
• The fingers are closed on the object to secure gripping
• Electrical strain gauges on the lever measures strain due to the
effort required to close the finger and the gripping force
• A specially mounted, rubber padded and spring loaded wheel in
contact with the upper surface of the object measures the degree
of slip through the positional rotation of a potentiometer
• Dead weights are placed on the weighing pan to induce slip
between the fingers and the object being gripped
• The movement of the slider point of the potentiometer varies with
the slip and analog voltage signal obtained is digitized and fed to a
microprocessor
• When there is a slip, the microprocessor detects it and sends a high
value signal through an open collector buffer to the I/O module of
the robot controller
Slip sensor
Slip sensor system component
 POSITION SENSOR
• Piezo Electric Sensor
• LVDT
• Resolvers
• Optical Encoders
• Pneumatic Position Sensors
 Piezoelectric Sensor
• Piezoelectric materials when stretched or compressed generate
electric charges with one face of the material becoming
positively charged and the opposite face negatively charged
• As a result a voltage is produced
• The net charge q is proportional to the amount x by which the
charges have been displaced and since the displacement is
proportional to the applied force F
q= kx = SF
Where k is a constant and S is charge sensitivity
Applications: Piezoelectric Sensors are used for the measurement
of pressure, force and acceleration
LVDT (Linear variable transformer)
• It consist of three coils symmetrically placed along an insulated
tube
• The central coil is primary coil and the other two are identical
secondary coils which are connected in series
• As a result of the displacement, a magnetic core is moved
through the central tube which in turn results in voltage changes
Applications:
• LVDTs are very widely used as primary transducers for
monitoring displacements
• They are also used as secondary transducers in the
measurement of force, weight and pressure; these variables are
transformed in to displacements which can then be monitored
by LVDTs
 Optical Encoders
• An encoder is a device that provides a digital
output as a result of a linear or angular
displacement
• Position encoders can be grouped in to two
categories: incremental encoders and absolute
encoders
• Incremental encoders detect changes in rotation
from some datum position
• Absolute encoders give the actual angular position
Incremental encoders
Absolute encoders
 Pneumatic position sensor
• Pneumatic sensors involve the use of compressed air,
displacement of an object being transformed in to a change in
air pressure
• Low pressure air is allowed to escape through a port in the front
of the sensor
• This escaping air in the absence of any close by object, escapes
and in doing so also reduces the pressure in the near by sensor
output port
• However if there is a close by object the air cannot so readily
escape and the result is that the pressure increases in the sensor
output port
• The output pressure from the sensor thus depends on the
proximity of objects
• Such sensors are used for the measurement of displacements of
fractions of millimeters in range which typically are bout 3 to
12mm
 PROXIMITY SENSOR
• Inductive Sensor
• Hall Effect Sensor
• Capacitive Sensor
• Ultrasonic Sensor
• Optical Proximity Sensors
 Inductive
• This consists of a coil wound round a core
• When the end of the coil is close to a metal
object its inductance changes
• This change can be monitored by its effect on
a resonant circuit and the change used to
trigger a switch
• It can only be used for the detection of metal
objects and is best with ferrous metals
 Hall Effect sensor
• A current flowing in a conductor is like a beam of
moving charges and thus can be deflected by a
magnetic field. This effect is called as Hall effect
Potential difference V = KH BI/t
Where
B is magnetic flux density at right angle to the plane
I is the current through it
t is the plate thickness
KH is a constant
 Hall effect sensor
• Hall effect sensors are generally supplied as an
integrated circuit with the necessary signal
processing circuits
• There are two basic forms of such sensor
Linear: output varies in a reasonably linear
manner with the magnetic flux density
Threshold: output shows a sharp drop at a
particular magnetic flux density
Linear vs Threshold
 Hall Effect sensor
Advantages:
• able to operate as switches which can operate up to
100 KHz repetition rate
• Cost less than electromechanical switches
• Do not suffer from the problems of contact bounce
• Sequence of contacts rather than single clear contact
• Immune to environmental contaminants and can be
used under severe service conditions
Applications:
• Used as position, displacement and proximity sensors
if the object being sensed is fitted with a small
permanent magnet
 Capacitive elements
• The capacitance C of a parallel plate capacitor
is given by
C = (εrε0)A/d
Where
εr = the relative permittivity of the dielectric between the plates
ε0 = the permittivity of free spce
A = the area of overlap between the two plates
d = the plate separation
 Range Sensor
• The distance between the object and the robot hand is
measured using the range sensors.Within it is range of
operation.
• The calculation of the distance is by visual processing.
Range sensors find use in robot navigation and avoidance
of the obstacles in the path.
• There are several approaches like, triangulation method,
structured lighting approach and time of flight range finders
etc.
• In these cases the source of illumination can be light source,
laser beam or based on ultrasonic.
 Triangulation Method
• The object is swept over by a narrow beam of
sharp light.
• The sensor focused on a small spot of the
object surface detects the reflected beam of
light.
Triangulation Method
 Time of Flight
• Optical Time of flight – round trip estimation
of an light wave emitted from the sensor to the
target object, and then reflected from the
object back to the sensor
Time of Flight
Time of Flight
Time of Flight
 Applications
• Manufacturing and automation application
• AGV
• Robot navigation
• Collision detetction
 Non contact Range sensor Types
• Active: Involves some form of controlled
energy projected from the sensor to the target.
• Passive: These detect the target on the basis of
externally available.
• Radar - Radio Detection and Ranging
• Lidar – Light Detection and Ranging
• Sonar – Sound Navigation and Ranging
Comparison
 Ultrasonic Sensor
• Ultrasonic sensor uses sonar to determine
distance to an object like bats or dolphins do.
Ultrasonic Sensor
 Ultrasonic Sensor
• Operation is not affected by sunlight or black
material.
• Ultrasound is sound waves with frequencies
higher than the upper audible limit of human
hearing.
 Optical Proximity Sensors
• Optical proximity sensors consist of a light source called an emitter
(either internal or external to the sensor) and a receiver, which senses the
presence or the absence of light.
• The receiver is usually a phototransistor, and the emitter is usually an
LED.
• The combination of the two creates a light sensor and is used in many
applications, including optical encoders.
• As a proximity sensor, the sensor is set up such that the light, emitted by
the emitter, is not received by the receiver, unless an object is close-by.
• Figure is a schematic drawing of an optical proximity sensor.
• Unless a reflective object is with in the range of the switch, the light is
not seen by the receiver, and therefore, there will be no signal.
 Robot vision (or) Computer vision (or)
Machine vision
Robot vision may be defined as the process of extracting, characterizing and
interpreting information from images of a three-dimensional world.
The operation consists of three functions, broadly
1. Sensing and digitizing – It is the process that yields a visual image of
sufficient contrast that is typically digitalized and stored in the computer
memory (Low level vision)
2. Image processing and analysis – the digitized image is subjected to image
processing and analysis for data reduction and interpretation of the image. It
may be further sub divided in to
– Preprocessing (Low level vision)
– Segmentation (Medium level vision)
– Description (Medium level vision)
– Recognition (Medium level vision)
– Interpretation (High level vision)
3. Application – inspection, part identification location and orientation
Machine vision system
Vidicon camera
CCD(Charge coupled device)
Line scan sensor
CCD(Charge coupled device)
Area scan sensor
 illumination Techniques
Lighting Devices in robot vision:
• Diffuse surface devices
• Condenser projectors
• Flood or spot projectors
• Collimators
• Imagers
illumination techniques in robot vision:
• Front lighting
• Back lighting
Basic types of illumination
Basic illumination techniques
 Analog to digital (A/D) signal conversion

It consists of three phases

• Sampling: The analog signal periodically at a proper
sampling rate
• Quantization: Each sampled voltage level is quantized in
to a finite number of defined amplitude levels which
correspond to the gray scale used in the system.
• Encoding: the quantized amplitude levels are changed in
to digital code. It involves the representing an amplitude
level by a binary digit sequence.
 Image storage
Frame grabber is an image storage and
computation device which stores a given pixel
array.
• Preprocessing deals with techniques like noise
reduction and enhancement details
• Segmentation partitions an image in to
objects of interest
• Description computes various features like
size, shape, etc. suitable for differentiating one
object from another
• Recognition identifies the object
• Interpretation assigns meaning to an
ensemble of recognized objects in the scene
 Applications of robot vision system

The use of machine vision in robotic applications

falls in to three broad categories as follows:
• Inspection
• Identification
• Navigation
 Inspection
The objective of vision inspection include
• Checking for surface defects
• Verification of the presence of components in
assembly
• Measuring for dimensional accuracy
• Discovery of flaws in labelling during final
inspection
• Checking for the presence of holes and other
features in a part
 Identification
• To recognize and classify an object rather than to inspect it
• The part itself or its position or orientation is determined
followed by a subsequent decision and action taken by the
robot

Applications:
• Part sorting
• Palletizing and depalletizing
• Picking parts that are randomly oriented from a conveyor
or a bin
 Navigation
To direct the actions of the robot and other devices in the robot
cell based on visual input
Industrial application:
• Part positioning
• Retrieving and reorienting parts which are moving along a
conveyor
• Assembly
• Bin picking
• Seam tracking in continuous arc welding
• Automatic robot path planning and collision avoidance using
visual data