UNIT III

ROBOT SENSORS :
Transducers:
A transducer is a device that converts energy from one form to another. Usually a transducer
converts a signal in one form of energy to a signal in another.

Types of Transducers:
There are various types of transducers such as piezoelectric transducer, pressure transducer,
temperature transducer, ultrasonic transducer, and so on. Let us see the use of these types of
transducers in practical applications.

Piezoelectric Transducer:
Piezoelectric transducers are a special type of sensors, using these piezoelectric transducers
mechanical energy can be converted into electrical energy and similarly, electrical energy can
be converted into mechanical energy

Pressure Transducer:

Pressure transducer can be defined as a special type of pressure sensor that converts the pressure
imposed into electrical signals. Pressure transducers are also termed as pressure indicators,
transmitters, manometers, piezometers, and pressure sensors.
Temperature Transducer:

Temperature transducer can be defined as a device that converts temperature of a system or device
into other quantity such as electrical energy or mechanical energy or pressure, which is then sent to
the control system for controlling the temperature of the system.
Ultrasonic Transducer:

The transducers that convert ultrasound waves to electrical signals and similarly, electrical signals to
ultrasound waves are called as ultrasonic transducers. These types of transducers are also termed as
piezoelectric or capacitive transducers.

Robotic sensors:

Robotic sensors are used to estimate a robot's condition and environment. These signals are passed
to a controller to enable appropriate behaviour.

Sensors in robots are based on the functions of human sensory organs. Robots require extensive
information about their environment in order to function effectively.

Types of sensors:

1) Light Sensor

Light sensor is a transducer used for detecting light and creates a voltage difference equivalent to
the light intensity fall on a light sensor.
Photovoltaic Cells

Photovoltaic cells are energy conversion device used to convert solar radiation into electrical
electric energy. It is used if we are planning to build a solar robot. Individually photovoltaic cells are
considered as an energy source, an implementation combined with capacitors and transistors can
convert this into a sensor.

Consider the circuit diagram of photovoltaic cell is,

2) Proximity Sensor
Proximity sensor can detect the presence of nearby object without any physical contact.
The working of a proximity sensor is simple. In proximity sensor transmitter transmits
an electromagnetic radiation and receiver receives and analyzes the return signal for
interruptions. Therefore the amount of light receiver receives by surrounding can be
used for detecting the presence of nearby object.

Consider the types of proximity sensors used in robotics are:-

Infrared (IR) Transceivers - In IR sensor LED transmit the beam of IR light and if it
find an obstacle then the light is reflected back which is captured by an IR receiver.

Consider the PCB board layout of IR Transceiver circuit:

Ultrasonic Sensor - In ultrasonic sensors high frequency sound waves is generated by
transmitter, the received echo pulse suggests an object interruption.

In general ultrasonic sensors are used for distance measurement in robotic system.

Consider the interfacing of ultrasonic sensor with Microcontroller unit:

3) Sound Sensor
Sound sensors are generally a microphone used to detect sound and return a voltage
equivalent to the sound level. Using sound sensor a simple robot can be designed to
navigate based on the sound receives.

Implementation of sound sensors is not easy as light sensors because it generates a

very small voltage difference which will be amplified to generate measurable voltage
change.

Consider the sound sensor based switching circuit:

4) Temperature Sensor
Temperature sensors are used for sensing the change in temperature of the surrounding.
It is based on the principle of change in voltage difference for a change in temperature
this change in voltage will provide the equivalent temperature value of the surrounding.

Few generally used temperature sensors IC?s are TMP35, TMP37, LM34, LM35, etc.

Consider the temperature sensor pin diagram description is,

5) Acceleration Sensor
Acceleration sensor is used for measuring acceleration and tilt. An accelerometer is a
device used for measuring acceleration.
The two kinds of forces which affect an accelerometer is:-

o Static Force - It is the frictional force between any two objects. By measuring
this gravitational force we can determine the how much robot is tilting. This
measurement is useful in balancing robot, or for determining whether robot is
driving on a flat surface or uphill.
o Dynamic Force - It is the amount of acceleration required to move an object.
Measurement of dynamic force using an accelerometer tells about the
velocity/speed at which robot is moving.

Accelerometer is comes in different configuration. Always use the one which is most
appropriate for your robot. Some factors need to be considered before selecting
accelerometer is:

1. Sensitivity
2. Bandwidth
3. Output type: Analog or Digital
4. Number of Axis: 1,2 or 3

Consider the schematic diagram of basic accelerometer:

What is a Tactile Sensor?

A tactile sensor is a device. It measures the coming information in response to the
physical interaction with the environment. The sense of touch in humans is generally
modeled, i.e. cutaneous sense and the kinesthetic sense. Cutaneous touch has a capability
of detecting the stimuli resulting from the mechanical simulation, pain, and temperature.
The kinesthetic touch receives sensor inputs from the receptors present inside the
muscles, tendons and joints.

Types of Tactile Sensors

There are different types of tactile sensors which are given below
 Force/ torque sensor
 Dynamic sensor
 Thermal sensor
Force/ Torque Sensor
Force/ torque sensors are used in combination with a tactile array to give the information
for force control. This types of sensors can sense load anywhere like the distal link of a
manipulator and in constrains as a skin sensor. The skin sensor generally provides more
accurate force measurement at higher bandwidths. If the manipulator link is defined
generally, and the signal point contact is assumed, then the force/ torque sensor can give
the information about the contact location of force and moments- it is called as an
intrinsic tactile sensing. The image of the torque sensor is shown below.

Force or Torque Sensor

Dynamic Sensor
Dynamic sensors are smaller accelerometers at the finger strips or at the skin of the
robotic finger. They general function like pacinian corpuscles in humans and have equally
large respective field; thus one or two skins accelerometer are sufficient for entire finger.
These sensors effectively detect the making and breaking of contact, the vibrations linked
with the sliding over textured surfaces.

Dynamic Sensor
A stress rate sensor is the second type of a dynamic tactile sensor. If the fingertip is sliding
at the speed of a few cm/s overall small bumps or pits in a surface, the temporary changes
in the skin became important. A piezoelectric polymer such as PVDF produces charge in
response to damage can be applied to produce a current, which is directly proportional
to the range of change.
Thermal Sensor
Thermal sensors are important to the human ability to identify the materials of the
objects made, but some are used in the robotics as well. The thermal sensing involves
detecting thermal gradients in the skin, which are correspondent to both the temperature
and the thermal conductivity of an object. Robotic thermal sensors are involved in the
Peltier junctions in combination with the Thermistors.

Thermal Sensor

Working principle and Circuit Diagram of the Tactile Sensor

The tactile sensors are developed to provide tactile sensing abilities for tele-operational
manipulators and intelligent robots. Tactile sensors can identify a normal force applied
to the tactile pixels for mesmerizing the force control and the tactile images and to
generate object recognition. However, to obtain tactile images and normal forces, the
information of tangential is critical for force control and slide prevention, which is
mesmerizing to task success – thus the three dimensional tactile sensors are required.
 Circuit Diagram of
Tactile Sensor
X

There are several three dimensional tactile sensors developed by using the
Piezoresistive, capacitive, and optional sensing elements and these tactile sensors are
fabricated by the MEMS technology. The integrated sensing elements and the
preprocessing circuits are for the compactness but these are too weak and easily broken
for most of the applications; and, for an example, the force range of a tactile sensor is only
0.01 N w4x and the other tactile sensors are not provided by the MEMS technology. The
below circuit diagram shows a tactile sensor circuit.
The Tactile Sensor in Robotics
The tactile sensor which is used in the NASA robots is given below

 One of the examples directly related to the planetary exploration.

 NASA usesthese sensor at the international space station for helping humans with
repairing/maintenance in the environment
 NASA has tried many tactile sensors in robotics which are in the initially stage. They have
used Force Sensing Resisitor, and now quantum tunneling composites are in use
 Multiple load buttons and cells are made practicle to develop tactile sensors are produced
by industrial robot
Tactile Sensor Applications
Tactile sensor applications are used in
 Robotics
 Computer hardware
 Security system
 Touch screen devices on mobile phone
 Computing
Advantages of Tactile Sensor
The advantages of tactile sensor are given below:

 They offers easy to use tactile sensor solutions

 Tactile sensor have no external components and cables
 Compact extraction
 Verified tactile sensing technology from robotics.
This is about the tactile sensor’s working principle and applications. we hope that the
given information is helpful in providing some good information and understanding of
the project. Furthermore, if you have got any queries regarding this concept on
the electrical and electronic projects, you can comment in the below section. Here is a
question for you – what are the functions of tactile sensors?
Photo Credits:
 Tactile Sensor squarespace
 Force/ Torque Sensor transducertechniques
 Dynamic Sensor vernier
 Thermal Sensor images-amazon

Sonic Sensors[edit]
Sonic sensors use sound waves, usually ultrasonic, through a medium as their means of
detection. The medium is typically the atmosphere or a body of water. A pulse of sound is
emitted from some source. One or more receivers then pick up the sound wave after it
has bounced off any obstacles. This echo is then interpreted in various ways to obtain
information about an obstacle.
 Sonic Ranging[edit]
Sonic ranging sensors, sometimes referred to
as SONAR send out a pulse of sound and wait for
the echo to return. The time it takes for the echo to
return is used to determine the distance to the
obstacle. They are popular in hobby and research
robotics due to their simplicity and relatively low
cost. These sensors are generally limited to about
a 6m range.[1][2] Divergence can be a problem
because the sound wave spreads out rapidly as it
moves away from the source. The sensor cannot
determine where along this projected arc an
obstacle was found. 'Ghost' echoes can cause
problems as well when the sound wave bounces
off multiple obstacles before returning.[3]

 Sonic Ranging Single Ultrasonic Range Finder

o Pros
 Cheap
 Easy to Use
o Cons
 Resolution rapidly decreases with
distance
 Ghost echoes can give false readings
 Physical properties of objects can
give very different responses
Animation of basic SONAR operation
Scanning Ranging[edit]
Sonic scanning ranging sensors are often (and
hereafter) referred to as SONAR or SONAR arrays. SONAR uses the same principle as
sonic ranging but with more sophisticated detecting hardware. Typically a SONAR
system will produce multiple pulses of sound and utilize multiple detectors (called an
array) to calculate the distance and shape of objects with greater accuracy than one
stationary sensor/emitter pair can achieve. However, SONAR performance can be poor
in situations similar to those of other sonic ranging systems. Dense obstacle distribution
or complex surfaces can produce overwhelming ghost echoes or poor echo returns.
Sensing joint forces:
Simscape™ Multibody™ provides force and torque sensing in joint blocks. You can use this
sensing capability to compute and output various types of forces and torques acting directly at
joints. Force and torque types that you can sense include those due to:
 Joint actuation inputs
 Joint constraints
 Joint actuation inputs, constraints, and internal mechanics combined
In this tutorial, you explore the different types of force and torque sensing that Simscape
Multibody joint blocks provide.
Open Model
At the MATLAB® command prompt, enter smdoc_rack_pinion_c. Simscape Multibody opens
a rack and pinion model that you can use to explore the force and torque sensing capability of
joint blocks.

Why You Should Add Robotic Vision Systems

Add a vision system to a robot and you give it eyes, the robot can find objects in its
working envelope — reducing the need for complex and expensive fixtures. This
increases the flexibility of robotic automation, adapting to variation in part size, shape
and location — ultimately reducing cell complexity. By adding a vision system robot
palletizing and de-palletizing becomes practical, components can be assembled,
dies unloaded, and parts lifted off racks and out of bins. It's even possible to track
and pick parts in motion on a conveyor.

How Does Robotic Visioning work?

Robotic vision systems consist of one or more cameras, special-purpose lighting,
software, and a robot or robots. The camera takes a picture of the working area or
object the robot will grip and software searches the image for features that let it
determine position and orientation. This information is sent to the robot controller and
the programmed positions are updated. Depending on the application, the camera
might be mounted on the robot or could be in a fixed position within the cell.
Calibration is usually needed to relate the vision system coordinate space to the
robot. Robot companies like FANUC offer robotic vision systems with vision software
tightly integrated with the robot controller, so simplifying programming and use.

Many applications only need X- and Y-axis information plus rotation — this is easily
extracted from an image. Sometimes though, it's important to have height
information too, for example, when unloading a pallet, especially if the cartons or
bags differ in size, or when picking parts from a bin. There are several ways to get
height information, such as using stereo cameras. However, in many cases, laser
triangulation or part size are the best options. In laser triangulation, height is derived
from the line position projected onto the target surface and viewed from an angle by
a camera. One limitation though is that either the part or the laser line must move.
Alternatively, when the part size is known, camera distance can be determined by
the part’s appearance in size. This technique is common in vision guided de-
palletizing.

Robotic Vision System Applications

Conveyor tracking is often useful in packaging applications. Product moves into the
robot cell on a conveyor without stopping. A vision system determines accurate belt
position and the robot controller adds speed information from the belt encoder —
letting the vision system robot track and pick while the product is in motion. This
eliminates any need to stop the belt or use expensive fixturing. Rather than
presenting every piece in precisely the same location and orientation for the robot to
pick up, a vision system simplifies cell design and can lower costs, making robotic
automation even easier to justify.

Robotic vision: Refer in pdf as chapter 3 for images.