Sensors for Robots

An overview Vclav Hlav

Czech Technical University in Prague Faculty of Electrical Engineering Department of Cybernetics Czech Republic http://cmp.felk.cvut.cz/~hlavac
Courtesy to several authors of presentations on the web.

Lecture outline
2

Note: students graduated from the bachelor KyR studied sensors in the course Sensors and Measurement (not specialized to robotics).

Motivation, why robots need sensors? Robotic sensor classification. Proprioception in humans. Touch sensors.

Where are the forkholes?

3

Autonomous forklift for material handling

Will robot hit anything?

4

Obstacle detection

Where is the cropline?

5

Autonomous harvesting

Where am I ?
6

Localization in the environment

Robot sensors, generally

7

Sensor constitute robots window to the environment. A robot needs to sense to be an active participant in the environment. Each sensor is based on a transduction principle - conversion of energy from one form to another. Sensors measure a physical quantity, they do not provide state.

Classification of sensors
8

Proprioceptive (sense of self, internal state).

Measures values internally to the system (robot), e.g. battery level, wheel position, joint angle, etc.

Exteroceptive (external state).

Observations of robot environment, objects in it.

Active (emits energy, e.g. radar) v.s. Passive (passively receives energy, e.g., camera).

General sensor classification

9

General sensor classification 2

10

Characterizing Sensor Performance

11

Measurement in real world environment is error prone. Basic sensor response ratings:
Dynamic range: Ratio between lower and upper limits, usually in decibels. Range: Difference between min and max. Resolution: Minimum difference between two values. Linearity: Variation of output signal as function of the input signal. Bandwidth or frequency: The speed with which a sensor can provide a stream of readings.

In Situ Sensor Performance

12

Characteristics that are especially relevant for real world environments

Sensitivity: Ratio of output change to input change. Cross-Sensitivity: Sensitivity to environmental parameters that are orthogonal to the target parameters. Error/Accuracy: Difference between the sensors output and the true value. Systematic/Deterministic Error: Caused by factors that can (in theory) be modeled, e.g., calibration of a laser sensor. Random Error: e.g., hue instability of camera, black level noise of camera. Reproducibility: Reproducibility of sensor results.

Proprioception: detecting our own movements

To control our limbs we need feedback on where they are. Muscle spindles (svalov vetnko). Golgi tendon organ. Pressure sensors in skin.

13

Pacinian corpuscle transient pressure response

Sensors, feedback in muscles

14

To control our limbs we need feedback. Muscle spindles

where: length how fast: rate of stretch

Golgi tendon organ

how hard: force

Neuron firing, example

15

Proprioception Some aquatic invertebrates

To detect the motion the whole body, the species have vestibular system based on statocyst. Statolith (calcium nodule) affected by gravity (or inertia during motion) causes deflection of hair cells that activate neurons.

16

Human vestibular system

17

Utricle and Saccule detect linear acceleration. Semicircular canals detect rotary acceleration in three orthogonal axes Fast vestibularocular reflex for eye stabilisation.

A simple on/off touch sensor

18

A simple switch
electrical flow

force

voltage measurement

Tilt sensor
19

Mercury tilt switch, obsolete

Dual axis inclinometer

gravity

Potentiometer
20

Resistance changes with the position of the dial

Whiskers
21

Springy wire suspended through conductive hoop. Deflection causes contact with hoop. Reaches beyond robot a few centimeters. Simple, cheap, provides the binary output.

Whiskers examples
22

Bumpers
23

Examples of microswitches
24

One-directional reed switch.

Omni-directional reed switch.

Roller contact switch.

Light sensors
25

Photoresistor.
Photodiode. Differential photodiode. Phototransistor.

Photoresistor example

Thermal sensor
26

Thermal resistor (thermistor) example

Proximity sensors
27

Non-contact. Devices that can be used in areas that are near to an object to be sensed. Types:
Photocells. Capacitance sensors. Inductive sensors.

Photocells
28

Emitters LEDs, receivers phototransistors. Diffuse mode photosensor. Retro-Reflective Photosensors. Thru-beam detectors.

Inductive proximity sensors

29

Detect Eddy current losses (viv proud). Usually on/off mode only. They typically oscillate in ranges: 3 KHz 1MHz.

Capacitance proximity sensors

30

Generate an electrostatic field. Consists of probe, oscillator, feliciter filter, output circuit. In absence of a target, the oscillator is inactive. An approaching target raises capacitance, which triggers the oscillator.

Capacitive sensors, use example

31

When properly calibrated, the sensor can detect any higher dielectric material thru any lower dielectric material. Typical Application of Capacitive Sensor: Detecting Liquid (H2O) levels in bottles.

Wheel / motor encoders

32

Measure position, speed, direction of revolution of the wheel. Odometry - wheel movements can be integrated to get an estimate of the robots position. Typical resolutions of 2000 increments per revolution.

Heading sensors
33

Heading sensors can be proprioceptive (gyroscope, inclinometer) or exteroceptive (compass). Allow, together with appropriate velocity information, to integrate movement to a position estimate. Used to determine the robots orientation and inclination. This procedure is called dead reckoning (from ship navigation).

Dead reckoning
34

Webster dictionary definition:

The determination without the aid of celestial observations of the position of a ship or aircraft from the record of the courses sailed or flown, the distance made, and the known or estimated drift.

Compass
35

The compass has been around since at least 2000 B.C. The Chinese suspended a piece of natural magnetite from a silk thread and used it to guide a chariot over land. Absolute measure for orientation based on Earth magnetic field.

Compass 2
Several ways how to measure Earth magnetic field:
Mechanical magnetic compass. Direct measure of the magnetic field (Hall-effect, magnetoresistive sensors).
36

Major drawback
Weakness of the earths magnetic field. Easily disturbed by magnetic objects or other sources. Not feasible for indoor environments.

Accelerometer
37

By virtue of Newtons second law (F = ma) a sensor may be made to sense acceleration by simply measuring the force on a mass. Sensing force:
Magnetic. Capacitive. Piezoelectric.

Gyroscope
38

Heading sensors, that keep the orientation to a fixed frame. Gyroscopes are used in aeroplanes, Segways. Two gyroscope principles:
Mechanical (flywheel). Electrical.

Mechanical gyroscope
39

A torque is applied to the frame of the gyro around the input axis, The output axis will rotate as shown in a motion called precession. This precession now becomes a measure of the applied torque and can be used as an output to, for example, correct the direction of an airplane or the position of a satellite antenna.

Mechanical gyroscope 2
40

No torque can be transmitted from the outer pivot to the wheel axis. Spinning axis will therefore be space-stable. Quality: approx. 0.1 in 6 hours.

The gyroscope was invented by Jean Bernard Lon Foucault, a French physicist, in 1852. He originally began studying medicine but gave that up as he was afraid of blood!

Electronic gyroscope
41

First commercial use started only in the early 1980s when they where first installed in aeroplanes. Heading sensors using two monochromic light (or laser) beams from the same source. One is traveling in a fiber clockwise, the other counterclockwise around a cylinder.

Electronic gyroscope 2
42

Sagnac effect. Laser beam traveling in direction of rotation has a slightly shorter path -> shows a higher frequency. Difference in frequency f of the two beams is proportional to the angular velocity.

Ground-Based Beacons
43

Active, passive. Human use beaconbased navigation.

Natural beacons (landmarks) like stars, mountains or the sun Artificial beacons like lighthouses.

Used often indoors. Outdoors GPS.

Global Positioning System

44

1 satellite = distance. 2 satellites = intersection of two spheres. 3 satellites = circle. 4 satellites = unique solution. Precision up to a few meters.

Differential GPS
45

Precision up to a few centimeters.