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Module 2
Exteroceptive or External sensors-contact type, noncontact type; Tactile, proximity- detection
of physical contact or closeness, contact switches, bumpers , inductive proximity, capacitive
proximity; semiconductor displacement sensor; Range sensors- IR, sonar, laser range finder,
optical triangulation (1D), structured light(2D), performance comparison range sensors; motion/
speed sensors-speed relative to fixed or moving objects, Doppler radar, Doppler sound;
Numerical problems; Examples of use of Exteroceptive sensors in robots.

Robot is complicated mechanical device, controlled by computer, equipped by many

sensors to get information from surrounding environment and many actuators for
manipulating with objects or self-manipulating.

Exteroceptive or External sensors:

External sensors are primarily used to learn more about a robot’s environment, especially the
objects being manipulated. External sensors can be divided into the following categories:
● Contact type, and
● Noncontact type

Contact sensor uses transducer for the sensing operation. Some mostly used sensors are
potentiometer, strain gauge etc. Contact or touch sensors are one of the most common sensors in
robotics. These are generally used to detect a change in position, velocity, acceleration, force, or
torque at the manipulator joints and the end-effecter. There are two main types, bumper and
tactile. Bumper type detect whether they are touching anything, the information is either Yes or
No. They cannot give information about how hard is the contact or what they are touching.
Tactile sensor are more complex and provide information on how hard the sensor is touched, or
what is the direction and rate of relative movement.

Non-contacting sensors are also a very important type of sensor, which detect parametric
information about the environment of the object. It is used to detect the existence, distance and
features of the object. There are mainly six types of non-contacting sensor are as: (1). Visual and
optical sensor. (2). Magnetic and inductive sensor. (3). Capacitive sensor. (4). Resistive sensor.
(5). Ultrasonic and sonar sensor. (6). Air pressure sensor

1. Limit Switch
The limit switch usually has a pressure-sensitive mechanical arm, as shown in Fig. When an
object applies pressure on the mechanical arm, the switch is energized. An object might have an
attached magnet that causes a contact to rise and close when the object passes over the arm.
The pull-up resistor keeps the signal at +V until the switch closes, sending the signal to ground.
Limit switches can be either Normally Open (NO) or Normally Closed (NC), and may have
multiple-poles.
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Limit switches are mechanical devices which have problems like

● they are subjected to mechanical failure
● frequent failures compared to noncontact sensors, and
● the speed of operation is relatively slow compared to the speed of
switching of photoelectric micro-sensors which is up to 3000 times faster.

Limit switches are used in robots to detect the extreme positions of the motions, where the link
reaching an extreme position switches off the corresponding actuator, thus, safeguarding any
possible damage to the mechanical structure of the robot arm.

2.Bumper sensor switch:

The robot mechanical bumper sensor gives you the ability to detect a collision before it really
happens. This sensor works by acting as a SPST switch. When the "whisker" bumps into a
foreign object it will make contact with a nut next to it, closing the connection and, by default,
turning off the motor. By attaching these mechanical bumpers to you robot the whisker will
bump something before your robot crashes into it

It can help the robot kit to avoid obstacles and move on the no obstacles

Noncontact Type force sensors:

1. Proximity Sensor: Proximity sensing is the technique of detecting the presence or
absence of an object with an electronic noncontact-type sensor. Proximity sensors are of
two types, inductive and capacitive.

The sensing capability depends on sensing area. Larger the proximity sensor, greater the sensed
distance.

Inductive proximity sensors are used in place of limit switches for noncontact sensing of metallic
objects, whereas capacitive proximity sensors can also detect nonmetallic objects.

a) Inductive proximity sensors:

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https://youtu.be/4GmDVMAdDDM

Four basic elements in inductive proximity sensors

● Sensor coil and ferrite core
● Oscillator circuit
● Detector circuit
● Solid-state output circuit

As shown in Fig., the oscillator circuit generates a radio-frequency electromagnetic field.

Detects iron, brass, copper, aluminum and stainless steel.The field is centered around the axis of
the ferrite core, which shapes the field and directs it at the sensor face. When a piece of
conductive metal enters the zone defined by the boundaries of the electromagnetic field, some of
the energy of oscillation is transferred into the metal of the target. This transferred energy
appears as tiny circulating electrical currents called eddy currents. This is why inductive proxes
are sometimes called eddy current sensors. This results in a loading or damping effect that causes
a reduction in amplitude of the oscillator signal. The detector (Schmitt Trigger) circuit detects the
change in the oscillator amplitude.

The detector circuit will ‘switch on’ at a specific operating amplitude. This signal ‘turns on’ the
solid-state output circuit. As the target leaves the sensing field, the oscillator responds with an
increase in amplitude. As the amplitude increases above a specific value, it is detected by the
detector circuit, which is ‘switched off’ causing the output signal to return to the normal or ‘off’
state. The sensing range of an inductive proximity sensor refers to the distance between the
sensor face and the target. It also indicates the shape of the sensing field generated through the
coil and the core. The usual range is up to 10–15 mm but some sensors have ranges as high as
100 mm.
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Inductive proximity sensor

b) Capacitive proximity sensor:

A capacitive proximity sensor operates much like an inductive proximity sensor. Capacitance is
the property of insulators to store the charge. A capacitor consists of two plates separated by an
insulator, usually called a dielectric.

The internal plate is connected to an oscillator circuit that generates an electric field. Figure
illustrates the principle of a capacitive sensor. One capacitive plate is part of the switch, the
sensor face is the insulator, and the target is the other plate. Ground is the common path. The
sensor consists of dielectric media), oscillator circuit, detector circuit, and solid-state output
circuit.

The oscillator circuit includes capacitance from the external target plate and the internal plate.
When an object is present, that changes the capacitance value and registers as the presences of
the object.
Major characteristics of the capacitive proximity sensors are as follows:
● They can detect non-metallic targets.
● They can detect lightweight or small objects that cannot be detected by mechanical limit
switches.
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● They provide a high switching rate for rapid response in object counting applications.
● They can detect limit targets through nonmetallic barriers (glass, plastics, etc.).
● They have long operational life with a virtually unlimited number of operating cycles.
● The solid-state output provides a bounce-free contact signal.

Capacitive proximity sensors have two major limitations.

● The sensors are affected by moisture and humidity, and
● They must have extended range for effective sensing.
Capacitive proximity sensors have a greater sensing range than inductive proximity sensors.
Sensing distance for capacitive switches is a matter of plate area, as coil size is for inductive
proximity sensors. Most capacitive proxes have sensitivity adjustment potentiometers.

A typical sensing range for capacitive proximity sensors is from a few millimeters up to about 1
in. (or 25 mm), and some sensors have an extended range up to 2 in.

Used in applications, where they must detect objects through some kind of material such as a
bag, bin, or box. They can tune out non-metallic containers and can be tuned or set to detect
different levels of liquids or solid materials.

2. Tactile sensing

Tactile sensing is usually interpreted as touch sensing, but tactile sensing is different from a
simple clamping where very few discrete force measurements are made. In tactile sensing, a
force distribution is measured, using a closely spaced array of force sensors and usually
exploiting the skin-like properties of the sensor array.

Tactile sensing is particularly important in two types of operations: (1) grasping and fine
manipulation, and (2) object identification.

In grasping and fine manipulation, the object has to be held in a stable manner without being
allowed to slip and without being damaged. Object identification includes recognizing or
determining the shape, location, and orientation of an object as well as detecting or identifying
surface properties (e.g., density, hardness, texture, flexibility), and defects.

Ideally, these tasks would require two types of sensing:

1. Continuous spatial sensing of time-variable contact forces
2. Sensing of surface deformation profiles (time-variable)
These two types of data are generally related through the constitutive relations (e.g., stress–strain
relations) of the touch surface of the tactile sensor or of the object that is being grasped.
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Applications in the robotics area:

Automated inspection of surface profiles and joints (e.g., welded or glued parts) for defects;
material handling or parts transfer (e.g., pick and place); parts assembly (e.g., parts mating); parts
identification and gauging in manufacturing applications (e.g., determining the size and shape of
a turbine blade picked from a bin); haptic teleoperation of a slave robot at a distant location using
a master manipulator; and fine-manipulation tasks (e.g., production of arts and craft, robotic
engraving, and robotic microsurgery).

Dexterity is an important consideration in sophisticated manipulators and robotic hands that

employ tactile sensing.

The light source, the beam splitter, and the solid-state digital camera form an integral unit, which
can be moved laterally in known steps to scan the entire array of optical fiber if a single image
frame of the camera does not cover the entire array. The splitter plate reflects part of the light
from the light source onto a bundle of optical fiber. This light is reflected by the reflecting
surface and is received by the camera. Since the intensity of the light received by the camera
depends on the proximity of the reflecting surface, the gray-scale intensity image detected by the
camera will determine the deflection profile of the tactile surface.

The tactile pressure is directly applied to a mesh of optical fibers. Since the amount of light
transmitted through a fiber will decrease due to deformation caused by the tactile pressure, the
light intensity at a receiver can be used to determine the tactile pressure distribution.
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3. Semiconductor displacement sensor

A semiconductor displacement sensor uses a semiconductor Light Emitting Diode (LED) or laser
as a light source, and a Position-Sensitive Detector (PSD). The laser beam is focused on the
target by a lens. The target reflects the beam, which is then focused on to the PSD forming a
beam spot. The beam spot moves on the PSD as the target moves. The displacement of the work
piece can then be determined by detecting the movement of the beam spot.

● Active Range Sensors

Active range sensors continue to be the most popular sensors in mobile robotics. For obstacle
detection and avoidance, most mobile robots rely heavily on active ranging sensors. Thus active
range sensors are also commonly found as part of the localization and environmental modeling
processes of mobile robots. It is only with the slow advent of successful visual interpretation
competency that we can expect the class of active ranging sensors to gradually lose their primacy
as the sensor class of choice in mobile robotics

1. IR Sensor

IR sensor is an electronic device, that emits the light in order to sense some object of the
surroundings. An IR sensor can measure the heat of an object as well as detects the motion.
Usually, in the infrared spectrum, all the objects radiate some form of thermal radiation. These
types of radiations are invisible to our eyes, but infrared sensor can detect these radiations.

The emitter is simply an IR LED (Light Emitting Diode) and the detector is simply an IR
photodiode . Photodiode is sensitive to IR light of the same wavelength which is emitted by the
IR LED. When IR light falls on the photodiode, the resistances and the output voltages will
change in proportion to the magnitude of the IR light received.
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There are five basic elements used in a typical infrared detection system: an infrared source, a
transmission medium, optical component, infrared detectors or receivers and signal processing.
Infrared lasers and Infrared LED’s of specific wavelength used as infrared sources.
The three main types of media used for infrared transmission are vacuum, atmosphere and
optical fibers.

Distinguishing Between Black and White Colors

It is universal that black color absorbs the entire radiation incident on it and white color reflects
the entire radiation incident on it. Based on this principle, the second positioning of the sensor
couple can be made. The IR LED and the photodiode are placed side by side. When the IR
transmitter emits infrared radiation, since there is no direct line of contact between the
transmitter and receiver, the emitted radiation must reflect back to the photodiode after hitting
any object. The surface of the object can be divided into two types: reflective surface and
non-reflective surface. If the surface of the object is reflective in nature i.e. it is white or other
light color, most of the radiation incident on it will get reflected back and reaches the photodiode.
Depending on the intensity of the radiation reflected back, current flows in the photodiode.
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If the surface of the object is non-reflective in nature i.e. it is black or other dark color, it absorbs
almost all the radiation incident on it. As there is no reflected radiation, there is no radiation
incident on the photodiode and the resistance of the photodiode remains higher allowing no
current to flow. This situation is similar to there being no object at all.

2. The Ultrasonic Sensor (time-of-flight, sound)

The basic principle of an ultrasonic sensor is to transmit a packet of (ultrasonic) pressure
waves and to measure the time it takes for this wave to reflect and return to the receiver. The
distance d of the object causing the reflection can be calculated based on the propagation
speed of sound c and the time of flight t.

The speed of sound c in air is given by

343m/s at 20°C
where
γ: ratio of specific heats

R: gas constant
T: temperature in degree Kelvin

Typically, a microcontroller is used for communication with an ultrasonic sensor. To begin

measuring the distance, the microcontroller sends a trigger signal to the ultrasonic sensor. The
duty cycle of this trigger signal is 10µS for the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor. When triggered, the
ultrasonic sensor generates eight acoustic (ultrasonic) wave bursts and initiates a time counter.
As soon as the reflected (echo) signal is received, the timer stops. The output of the ultrasonic
sensor is a high pulse with the same duration as the time difference between transmitted
ultrasonic bursts and the received echo signal.

A threshold value is set for triggering an incoming sound wave as a valid echo. This threshold is
often decreasing in time, because the amplitude of the expected echo decreases over time based
on dispersal as it travels longer. But during transmission of the initial sound pulses and just
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afterwards,
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the threshold is set very high to suppress triggering the echo detector with the outgoing sound
pulses. A transducer will continue to ring for up to several milliseconds after the initial
transmission, and this governs the blanking time of the sensor. Note that if, during the blanking
time, the transmitted sound were to reflect off of an extremely close object and return to the
ultrasonic sensor, it may fail to be detected. However, once the blanking interval has passed, the
system will detect any above-threshold reflected sound, triggering a digital signal and producing
the distance measurement using the integrator value.

The ultrasonic wave typically has a frequency between 40 and 180 kHz and is usually generated
by a piezo or electrostatic transducer. Most ultrasonic sensors used by mobile robots have an
effective range of roughly 12cm to 5 metres.

IR and Ultrasonic sensor

IR distance sensor Ultrasonic Sensor

Measure distance Measure distance through reflected sound

What it does
through reflected light waves waves

Triangulation: Angle of a reflected Time taken between transmitting

How it measures
IR beam is measured and receiving sound waves are recorded

Human
Invisible to the naked eye Unhearable
Relationship

Object Suitable to be used to measure Not suitable to measure objects with complex
Requirements complex objects surfaces

3. Laser Rangefinder (time of flight, electromagnetic)

The laser rangefinder is a time-of-flight sensor that achieves significant improvements over the
ultrasonic range sensor due to the use of laser light instead of sound. This type of sensor consists
of a transmitter which illuminates a target with a collimated beam (e.g. laser), and a receiver
capable of detecting the component of light which is essentially coaxial with the transmitted
beam. Often referred to as optical radar or lidar (light detection and ranging), these devices
produce a range estimate based on the time needed for the light to reach the target and return. A
mechanical mechanism with a mirror sweeps the light beam to cover the required scene in a
plane or even in 3 dimensions, using a rotating, nodding mirror.
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Laser rangefinders are devices containing a laser with which one can measure the distance to an
object. Typically, such a device works either with the direct time-of-flight method or with the
phase shift method.
Different devices have been developed. Some can measure object distances of multiple
kilometres (TOF), while others are designed for much smaller distances e.g. within a
building(Phase shift method).
Compared with ultrasonic or radio and microwave frequency devices (radar), the main advantage
of laser distance measurement techniques is that laser light has a much smaller wavelength,
allowing one to send out a much more concentrated probe beam and thus to achieve a higher
transverse spatial resolution.

Phase-Shift Measurement
Near infrared light (from an LED or a laser) is collimated and transmitted from the transmitter T
in figure and hits a point P in the environment. For surfaces having a roughness greater than the
wavelength of the incident light, diffuse reflection will occur, meaning that light is reflected
almost isotropically. The wavelength of the infrared light emitted is 824 nm and so most surfaces
with the exception of only highly polished reflecting objects, will be diffuse reflectors. The
component of the infrared light which falls within the receiving aperture of the sensor will return
almost parallel to the transmitted beam, for distant objects. The sensor transmits 100% amplitude
modulated light at a known frequency and measures
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The total distance D’ covered by the emitted light is

The required distance D, between the beam splitter and the target, is therefore given by

4. 1D Laser Displacement Sensors

As shown in the following figure, a laser hits the target, light reflected off of the target is
concentrated through the receiving lens and is focused onto the light receiving element. If the
distance from the sensor to the target changes, the angle of the reflected light changes causing the
position of the received light to change on the light receiving element. This change is
proportional to the movement amount of the target, because we know the distance between each
position on the light receiving element we are able to determine displacement.
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The distance is proportional to 1/x, therefore the sensor resolution is best for close objects and
becomes poor at a distance. Sensors based on this principle are used in range sensing up to one or
two meters, but also in high precision industrial measurements with resolutions far below one
μm. It is inexpensive as compared to ultrasonic and laser rangefinder sensors.

5. Structured Light (2D sensor)

If we replace the linear camera or PSD of an optical triangulation sensor with a two-dimensional
receiver such as a CCD or CMOS camera, then one can recover distance to a large set of points
instead of to only one point. The emitter must project a known pattern, or structured light, onto
the environment. Many systems exist which either project light textures or emit collimated light
(possibly laser) by means of a rotating mirror. Yet another popular alternative is to project a laser
stripe (fig. 4.15a) by turning a laser beam into a plane using a prism. Regardless of how it is
created, the projected light has a known structure, and therefore the image taken by the CCD or
CMOS receiver can be filtered to identify the pattern’s reflection.

The structured light sensor is an active device; so, it will continue to work in dark environments
as well as environments in which the objects are featureless (e.g. uniformly colored and
edgeless). The measured values in the system are αand u, the distance of the illuminated point
from the origin in the imaging sensor.
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Simple geometry shows that:

where f is the distance of the lens to the imaging plane. In the limit, the ratio of image resolution
to range resolution is defined as the triangulation gain Gp

This shows that the ranging accuracy, for a given image resolution, is proportional to source/
detector separation b and focal length f, and decreases with the square of the range z.

Laser stripe-based structured light sensors were common on several mobile robot bases as an
inexpensive alternative to laser range finding devices. Now commonly used in vision research.

Advantages of LiDAR
● High measurement range and accuracy
● Ability to measure 3D structures
● Fast update rate; suitable for fast-moving objects
● Small wavelengths as compared to sonar and radar; good at detecting small objects
● Applicable for usage in the day and night
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Disadvantages of LiDAR
● Higher cost as compared to ultrasonic and IR
● Harmful to the naked eye; higher-end LiDAR devices may utilize stronger LiDAR pulses
which may affect the human eye

Ultrasonic IR sensor LiDAR Time-of-

Sensors sensors Flight

Suitablility for Long Range Yes Yes

No No
Sensing

High reading frequency No No Yes Yes

Cost Low Low High Moderate

Suitability to use for No Yes Yes Yes

complex objects

Sensitive to external Yes No No No

conditions

3D imaging compatible No No Yes Yes

Motion/Speed sensors
Some sensors directly measure the relative motion between the robot and its environment. Since
such motion sensors detect relative motion, so long as an object is moving relative to the robot’s
reference frame, it will be detected and its speed can be estimated. For fast-moving mobile robots
such as autonomous highway vehicles and unmanned flying vehicles, Doppler-based motion
detectors are the obstacle detection sensor of choice.

1. Doppler Effect Based Sensing (radar or sound)

A transmitter emits an electromagnetic or sound wave with a frequency ft. It is either received by
a receiver (fig. 4.16a) or reflected from an object (fig. 4.16b). The measured frequency fr at the
receiver is a function of the relative speed v between transmitter and receiver according to
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f
Doppler shift, t

d
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.
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The Doppler effect applies to sound and electromagnetic waves. It has a wide spectrum of
applications:
• Sound waves: e.g. industrial process control, security, fish finding,
measure of ground speed
• Electromagnetic waves: e.g. vibration measurement, radar systems, object tracking
A current application area is both autonomous and manned highway vehicles. Both microwave
and laser radar systems have been designed for this environment. Both systems have equivalent
range, but laser can suffer when visual signals are deteriorated by environmental conditions such
as rain, fog, etc. Commercial microwave radar systems are already available for installation on
highway trucks. These systems are called VORAD (vehicle onboard radar) and have a total
range of approximately 150m. With an accuracy of approximately 97%, these systems report
range rate from 0 to 160 km/hr with a resolution of 1 km/hr. The beam is approximately 4° wide
and 5° in elevation. One of the key limitations of radar technology is its bandwidth. Existing
systems can provide information on multiple targets at approximately 2 Hz.
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