ROBOTIC

SENSING
WARM-UP ACTIVITY
Identify human senses and how we use them for
different tasks. Define the difference between a
sense and a sensor. Make student-generated lists of
senses and sensors on the board.
 ROBOTIC SENSING
Robotic sensing is the subarea
of robotics science intended to give the
robots sensing capabilities so that the
robots are more human-like, Robotic sensing
mainly gives the robots the ability to see,
touch, hear and move and it uses algorithms
that require the environmental feedback.
Robotic sensors are used to estimate the
robot’s condition and environment, These
signals are passed to the controller to enable
the appropriate behavior, The sensors in the
robots are based on the functions of the
human sensory organs, The robots require
the extensive information about their
environment in order to function effectively.
The sensors provide analogs to the
human senses, They can monitor
other phenomena for which the
humans lack explicit sensors and
they can measure the physical
properties such as the distance
between the objects.
Robots are machines that can sense, plan, and act.
To be a robot, a machine needs sensors. Some of
these sensors mimic or enhance human abilities,
and some sensors do things that humans can’t
perceive. Robot sensors allow them to reach
beyond human capabilities in order to achieve
new tasks, like exploring the surface of Mars or
delivering packages across the globe in record
time.
CHARACTERISTICS

There are some characteristics of robots given below:

Appearance: Robots have a physical body. They are held by the
structure of their body and are moved by their mechanical parts.
Without appearance, robots will be just a software program.

Brain: Another name of brain in robots is On-board control unit.

Using this robot receive information and sends commands as output.
With this control unit robot knows what to do else it’ll be just a
remote-controlled machine.
 Actuators: The robots move and the parts with the help of these robots move
is called Actuators. Some examples of actuators are motors, pumps, and
compressor etc. The brain tells these actuators when and how to respond or
move.
 Program: Robots only works or responds to the instructions which are
provided to them in the form of a program. These programs only tell the brain
when to perform which operation like when to move, produce sounds etc.
These programs only tell the robot how to use sensors data to make decisions.
 Behaviour: Robots behavior is decided by the program which has been built
for it. Once the robot starts making the movement, one can easily tell which
kind of program is being installed inside the robot.
 Sensors: The use of these sensors in robots is to gather info from the outside
world and send it to Brain. Basically, these sensors have circuits in them that
produces the voltage in them.
 SENSORS
The sensors can measure the presence
of light and the frequency of sound,
They can measure the object proximity,
They can measure the presence or the
absence of the object, bearing, the color
and the distance between the objects.
 SENSORS
The sensors can measure the presence
and concentration of chemicals or
reactants, They can measure
the presence, color and intensity of
light, They can measure the presence,
frequency and intensity of sound.
 SENSE & SENSOR
A sense is a way in which we perceive our
surroundings. Humans have a sense of
sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.
A sensor is a device that detects
something; for example, your nose is the
sensor you use in your sense of smell.
 MODEL
When designing and building a robot, engineers
often use human and animal models to decide
which sensors that robot might need. A model is a
representation of something that can be used or
applied to better understand a concept. For
example, engineers designing a sound detecting
robot might use bats as an animal model for
echolocation.
 SIGHT
 Robots detect vision in ways that are both like and unlike
human vision. Some robots have cameras that create
images similar to what we see with our eyes. Robots
process these images very differently than humans; human
brains give context to the images we see, while robot
computers process information as objects in space.
 Context is the interrelated information about something
that gives it meaning. A robot wouldn’t know that a chair
is a chair; it knows that there are rectangles and squares
next to each other in space.
Robots can see using sensors that detect
waves in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum,
the electromagnetic waves that travel through
space. Humans can see the part of the EM
spectrum known as visible light, i.e. the colors
of the rainbow. Robots can detect radio waves,
ultraviolet (UV) waves, infrared (IR) waves
and more—all of which are outside the range
of what humans can see.
 SOUND
 Robot sensors and ears detect EM waves. The sound
waves heard with human ears can also be detected by some
robot sensors, like microphones. Other robot sensors can
detect waves beyond our capabilities, such as ultrasound.

 A bird, a falling piano, rain on the roof and a ringing phone

all have different meanings to different people. We use
sounds both to tell where things are and to tell what those
things are. (Fun fact: people with low vision sometimes
use clicks to tell where things are around them!)
 TOUCH
Humans use touch to determine features of our surroundings, like
temperature, pressure and texture.

Robot sensors can sense these same qualities and more.

Some robots use sensors to detect objects through contact, like a

Roomba. Similar to sight and sound, a robot doesn’t necessarily
know the content of what they detect (a chair, a slimy banana peel, or
Grandma giving you a hug); it knows that there is an obstacle to be
avoided or to find.
 SMELL AND TASTE
 Smell and taste, seemingly straightforward senses, are actually very
complex and involve a lot of human memory in addition to the
sensing actions of the nose and tongue.
 Neuroscientists are still working to figure out exactly how these
complicated senses work.
 Robot sensors can mimic a nose or tongue by using chemical
detection technologies such as spectrometers or other filters that
react to certain chemicals (imagine a litmus paper, used inside a
robot). These sensors can go beyond human capabilities of smell
and taste, since there are some chemicals humans definitely would
not want to ingest. Robots don’t need to worry about getting sick!
PROPRIOCEPTION: A HIDDEN
SENSE
Proprioception is your body’s awareness of where it is in space. When you

stand up, your body is able to balance itself and recognize that you are
standing. This sense involves multiple sensors, including touch and your
body’s internal balancing mechanisms.
 Robots have many sensors that compare to this ability. Gyroscopes and
accelerometers detect movement and speed; air pressure sensors and other
touch sensors allow robots to position themselves for different tasks.
 Robots can also detect their exact position in space using sensors like the
Global Positioning System (GPS) – something we humans can only do with
our smartphones, thanks to robotics!
SOME COMMON ROBOTIC SENSORS AND THEIR FUNCTIONS ARE GIVEN IN THE TABLE BELOW.

Sensors Functions

Touch Sensing an object’s presence or absence

Vision Detecting edges, corners, holes

Force Measuring force along a single axis

Sound Presence, frequency and intensity of sound

Light Presence, color and intensity of light

Proximity Non-contact detection of an object

Physical orientation Co-ordinating the objects in space

Infrared wavelength (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) rays,

Heat
temperature, magnitude and directions

Chemicals Presence, identity and concentration of chemicals

 Sensors Functions

measure the distance between objects in the operation area. Range sensors are
Range
used for robot navigation and for avoiding obstacles.

specify the contact between an object and sensor. These sensors are divided in
Tactile
two types, namely:

Temperature provide voltage difference for a change in temperature.

Voltage convert lower voltages to higher voltages or vice versa.

electronic circuits which monitor the current flow in a circuit and output either a
Current
proportional voltage or a current.
THESE ARE THE SOME TYPES
OF ROBOTS
Articulated: The feature of this robot
is its rotary joints and range of these
are from 2 to 10 or more joints. The
arm is connected to the rotary joint and
each joint is known as the axis which
provides a range of movements.
CARTESIAN ROBOT
 These are also known as
gantry robots. These have
three joints which use the
Cartesian coordinate system
i.e x, y, z. These robots are
provided with attached
wrists to provide rotatory
motion.
 CYLINDRI
CAL
These types of robots have at least one rotatory
joints and one prismatic joint which are used to
connect the links. The use of rotatory joints is to
rotate along the axis and prismatic joint used to
provide linear motion.
SCAR
A:
These robots are mainly used
in assembly applications. Its
arm is in cylindrical in design.
It has two parallel joints which
are used to provide compliance
in one selected plane.
DELTA:
 The structure of these robots
are like spider-shaped. They
are built by joint
parallelograms that are
connected to the common
base. The parallelogram
moves in a dome-shaped work
area. These are mainly used in
food and electrical industries.