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Sensor List For Indoor Navigation Drone

Various sensors are used for indoor drone navigation including speed, distance, infrared, thermal, image, chemical, accelerometer, inertial measurement, tilt, current, magnetic, and engine intake flow sensors. Speed and distance sensors help drones avoid collisions while infrared and thermal sensors can detect temperature variations. Image sensors create digital photos and videos. Accelerometers, inertial measurement units, and tilt sensors maintain stability and orientation. Current, magnetic, and engine sensors monitor power usage, direction, and engine function.

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435 views8 pages

Sensor List For Indoor Navigation Drone

Various sensors are used for indoor drone navigation including speed, distance, infrared, thermal, image, chemical, accelerometer, inertial measurement, tilt, current, magnetic, and engine intake flow sensors. Speed and distance sensors help drones avoid collisions while infrared and thermal sensors can detect temperature variations. Image sensors create digital photos and videos. Accelerometers, inertial measurement units, and tilt sensors maintain stability and orientation. Current, magnetic, and engine sensors monitor power usage, direction, and engine function.

Uploaded by

chandrakanthats
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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sensor list for indoor navigation drone

Various sensor technologies are used in a variety of ways in modern drones.


TYPES OF SENSORS

There are different types of sensors that can be used in a drone to record
different types of changes and collect a variety of information.
1. Speed and Distance Sensors
These sensors can be used to detect the speed of the drone or measuring the
distance between drone and another object, without actual physical contact with
the object. This can be done in many ways, such as:
● Sonar-pulse distance sensing - Ultrasonic waves are sent from the sensor
and then collected back to estimate the distance of an object from the
drone in form of pulse width of the waves. But as it used sound waves, this
method can be irregular if too much noise is present in the environment.
● Light-pulse distance sensing - It is a direct measuring method which uses a
laser diode that emits extremely short, but powerful light pulses that are
reflected by the objects and then detected again by a light sensitive
receiver. Its advantage lies in its accuracy, noise immunity and precision.
● Magnetic-field change sensing - These sensors can be used to sense the
presence of magnetic objects and fields and can be helpful in determining
the position of the drone.
These sensors can help a drone to avoid collision, navigation, altitude detection
etc.
2. Infrared and Thermal sensors
The potential uses for infrared sensors, especially in cameras, are vast and
include search and rescue, surveillance, crop and forest health, pipeline
inspection, leak detection etc., depending upon the precision of the sensor.
Infrared is not visible to the human eyes but one can probably feel it sometimes
as radiated heat when its intensity is high. A thermal camera can hence detect
areas of higher temperatures. It can reveal overheating sections of electrical
equipment in various devices such as switch-gears and substations. A drone can
help to detect these sections from a distance and increase the safety of human
personnel. They can also be used for night vision and surveillance.
3. Image sensors
An image sensor can detect and convey information about what constitutes an
image. It is done by converting the variable attenuation of light waves into
signals. They are used in the cameras which the drones carry to create a digital
image of the pictures taken by the drone. They can be used for various purposes
such as thermography, creation of multispectral images, sensor arrays for x-rays
and other highly sensitive arrays for astronomy.
4. Chemical Sensors
A chemical sensor, in form is a self-contained device, can be attached to a drone
in order to provide information about the chemical composition of any
environment. With the change in the chemical composition of the environment,
analyte molecules inside the device interact selectively with the molecules
present on the environment. A transducer can be connected to this device which
would send signals when a change occurs.

Accelerometers

Accelerometers are used to determine position and orientation of the drone in


flight. Like your Nintendo Wii controller or your iPhone screen position, these
small silicon-based sensors play a key role in maintaining flight control. MEMS
accelerometers sense movement in several ways. One type of technology senses
the micro movement of very small structures embedded in a small integrated
circuit. The movement of these small 'diving boards' changes the amount of
electrical current moving through the structure, indicating a change of position
relative to gravity.

Another technology used in accelerometers is thermal sensing, which offers


several distinct advantages. It does not have moving parts, but instead senses
changes in the movement of gas molecules passing over a small integrated
circuit. Because of the sensitivity of these sensors, they play a role in stabilizing
on-board cameras that are vital for applications like filmmaking.

By controlling up and down movement, as well as removing jitter and vibration,


filmmakers are able to capture extremely smooth looking video. Additionally,
because these sensors are more immune to vibrations than other technologies,
thermal MEMS sensors are perfect in drone applications to minimize problems
from the increased vibration generated by the movement of rotating propulsion
fans and propellers.

Accelerometers

Accelerometers are used to determine position and orientation of the drone in


flight. Like your Nintendo Wii controller or your iPhone screen position, these
small silicon-based sensors play a key role in maintaining flight control. MEMS
accelerometers sense movement in several ways. One type of technology senses
the micro movement of very small structures embedded in a small integrated
circuit. The movement of these small 'diving boards' changes the amount of
electrical current moving through the structure, indicating a change of position
relative to gravity.

Another technology used in accelerometers is thermal sensing, which offers


several distinct advantages. It does not have moving parts, but instead senses
changes in the movement of gas molecules passing over a small integrated
circuit. Because of the sensitivity of these sensors, they play a role in stabilizing
on-board cameras that are vital for applications like filmmaking.

By controlling up and down movement, as well as removing jitter and vibration,


filmmakers are able to capture extremely smooth looking video. Additionally,
because these sensors are more immune to vibrations than other technologies,
thermal MEMS sensors are perfect in drone applications to minimize problems
from the increased vibration generated by the movement of rotating propulsion
fans and propellers.

Because they have no moving parts, accelerometers based on thermal sensing


technology offer much better stability and accuracy than mechanical based
sensors.
Inertial Measurement Units

Inertial measurement units combined with GPS are critical for maintaining
direction and flight paths. As drones become more autonomous, these are
essential to maintain adherence to flight rules and air traffic control.

Inertial measurement units utilize multi-axis magnetometers that are in essence


small, accurate compasses. These sense changes in direction and feed data into
a central processor, which ultimately indicates direction, orientation, and speed.

The INS380SA module pictured here is a complete inertial navigation system with
a built-in 48-channel GPS receiver.
Tilt Sensors

Tilt sensors, combined with gyros and accelerometers, provide input to the
flight-control system in order to maintain level flight. This is extremely important
for applications where stability is paramount, from surveillance to delivery of
fragile goods.

These types of sensors combine accelerometers with gyroscopes, allowing the


detection of small variations of movement. It is the gyroscope compensation that
allows these tilt sensors to be used in moving applications like motor vehicles or
drones.

Incorporating both an accelerometer and a gyroscope, Tilt sensors help drones


maintain level flight.

Current Sensors

In drones, power consumption and use are important. Current sensors can be
used to monitor and optimize power drain, safe charging of internal batteries, and
detect fault conditions with motors or other areas of the system.

Current sensors work by measuring electrical current (bi-directional) and ideally


provide electrical isolation to reduce power loss and eliminate the opportunity for
electrical shock or damage to the user or systems. Sensors with fast response
time and high accuracy optimize battery life and performance of drones.
Magnetic Sensors

In drones, electronic compasses provide critical directional information to inertial


navigation and guidance systems. Anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) permalloy
technology sensors, which have superior accuracy and response time
characteristics while consuming significantly less power than alternative
technologies, are well-suited to drone applications. Turnkey solutions provide
drone manufacturers with quality data sensing in a very rugged and compact
package.

Engine Intake Flow Sensors

Flow sensors can be used to effectively monitor air flow into small gas engines
used to power some drone varieties. These help the engine CPU determine the
proper fuel-to-air ratio at a specified engine speed, which results in improved
power and efficiency, and reduced emissions.

Many gas engine mass-flow sensors employ a calorimetric principal utilizing a


heated element and at least one temperature sensor to quantify mass flow. MEMS
thermal mass air flow sensors also utilize the calorimetric principal, but in a
micro scale, making it highly suitable for applications where reduced weight is
critical.

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