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SENSORS

Sensor Classification
Classification Sensor Type
Signal Characteristics Analog
Digital
Power Supply Active
Passive
Mode of Operation Null Type
Deflection Type
Subject of Measurement Acoustic
Biological
Chemical
Electric
Mechanical
Optical
Radiation
Thermal
Others
Quality Parameters of an
Instrumentation System
Sensor characteristics are described in terms of
seven properties:
- Sensitivity
- Resolution
- Accuracy
- Precision
- Backlash
- Repeatability
- Linearity
Sensitivity
Sensitivity is the ability of the measuring instrument to respond to changes in the
measured quantity. It can also be expressed as the ratio of change of output to change of
input.
Resolution
Resolution is defined as the smallest increment in the measured value that can be
detected. It is also known as the degree of fineness with which measurements can be made.
For example, if a micrometer with a minimum graduation of 1 mm is used to measure to the
nearest 0.5 mm, then by interpolation the resolution is estimated as 0.5 mm.
Accuracy
Accuracy is a measure of the difference between the measured value and actual value.
Ac-curacy depends on the inherent instrument limitations. An experiment is said to be
accurate
it is unaffected by experimental error. An accuracy of 0.001 means that the measured
value is within 0.001 unit of actual value. In practice, the accuracy is defined as a percentage
of the true value.
Percentage of true value = Measured value - True value (100)
True value
If a precision balance reads 1 g with error of 0.001 g, then the accuracy of the instrument is
specified as 0.1 %. The difference between the measured value and the true value is called
bias (error).
Backlash
Backlash is defined as the maximum distance or angle through which any part
of a me-chanical system can be moved in one direction without causing any
motion of the attached part. Backlash is an undesirable phenomenon and is
important in the precision design of gear trains.
Repeatability
Repeatability is the ability to reproduce the output signal exactly when the
same measurand is applied repeatedly under the same environmental
conditions.
Linearity
The characteristics of precision instruments are such that the output is a linear
function of the input. However, linearity is never completely achieved, and the
deviations from the ideal are termed linearity tolerances. The linearity is
expressed as the percentage of departure from the linear value, i.e., maximum
deviation of the output curve from the best-fit straight line dur-ing a
calibration cycle. The nonlinearity is normally caused by nonlinear elements
such as me-chanical hysteresis, viscous flow or creep, and electronic
amplifiers.
Precision
Precision is the abi1ity of an instrument to reproduce a certain set of readings within a
given accuracy. Precision is dependent on the reliability of the instrument
Poor Accuracy, High
Precision
!
High Accuracy,
High Precision
Good Accuracy,
Poor Precision
Poor accuracy,
poor precision
Items considered in selecting the transducer
Time constant
Maximum overshoot
The range of measurements
Stability for such measurements
Required resolution
Material of the measured object
Available space
Environmental conditions
Power available for sensing
Cost
Production quality
Measurement system
Sensors in Robotics
1- Internal sensors:
For measuring robot joints and links parameters such as
position, velocity, acceleration, force, and torque.
2- External sensors:
For measuring parameters in robot environments.
Distance sensors
Potentiometer
The rotary potentiometer is a variable resistance device
Used to measure angular position.
The o/p voltage is proportional to the i/p displacement.
(a) As the shaft of the potentiometer rotates, the wiper moves from one end of the resistive material to the other. (b)
The inside of a typical potentiometer, showing the wiper contacting a resistive strip.
The linear variable differential transformer (LVDT)
It measures linear displacement.
It must be excited by an ac signal to induce an ac response
in the secondary.
The o/p amplitude will increase a proportional amount
over a linear range around the null.
To determine the direction, the secondary coils can be
included in a modulation circuit.
A low pass filter may be used to convert the rectified o/p
into a smoothed signal.
Excitation frequency = 10 times the max. expected
frequency of core motion
Advantages: accurate in the linear range, o/p does not
require amplification, less sensitive to temperature changes
as potentiometer and encoders.
Disadvantages: limited range of motion and limited
frequency response (limited by core inertia, primary
excitation frequency and the filter cutoff frequency).
Output from a differential transformer.
An interface circuit for an LVDT.
Tachometer
2- A toothed-rotor tachometer.
1- An optical tachometer.
3- A direct current tachometer : it is essentially a DC generator that produces a DC output
voltage proportional to shaft velocity.
Incremental Digital Encoder
It consists of two tracks and two sensors whose o/p are
called channel A and B.
Pulse trains occur on these channels at a frequency
proportional to the shaft speed .
The phase between the signals yields the direction of
rotation.
Third channel called index produce one pulse/ revolution to
define zero position.
Quadrature signals are considered (1/4 cycle out of phase
between the two channels)
Relative position is determined.
No memory if the power is lost.
The digital optical encoder
Quadrature direction sensing and resolution enhancement
(CWclockwise, CCWcounter-clockwise).
Figure hows a simple circuit that utilizes exclusive-OR gates to
perform this function. For a Gray code to binary code conversion
of any number of bits N, the most significant bits (MSB) of the
binary and Gray code are always identical, and for each other bit,
the binary bit is the exclusive-OR combination of adjacent Gray
code bits.
Gray code to binary code conversion.
An incremental encoder interface circuit showing how the latch is
inhibited from changing when the counter is updated.
Absolute Encoder
It produces a digital word that distinguishes N distinct portions of the
shaft.
The most common encoding are gray and binary codes.
It has a memory
An absolute optical encoder using straight binary code.
An absolute optical encoder using straight gray code.
Acceleration Sensors
Piezoelectric accelerometers
Strain Gages
Electrical strain gages are divided into the following
classes: resistance, capacitance, photoelectric, and
semiconductor.
Advantages
small size and mass;
ease of production over a range of sizes;
robustness;
good stability, repeatability and linearity over large
strain range;
good sensitivity
Resistance Strain Gages
Principle
Stress = E * strain , E = Young modulus of elasticity
Force/ area = E * l/l
if R
o
= l
o
/ A
o
then
R 2 R
o
( l / l
o
)
Define gage factor GF as
GF = ( R / R ) / strain
Then Stress = (E / GF) * ( R / R )
Construction
- Used in two forms :
1- wire or foil ( change in length affects the electrical
resistance) GF= 2.0 2.5 m/m
2- semiconductor ( change in length affects
piezoresistivity) GF= -50 to 150 m/m (nonlinear)
- sensitivity in one direction only
- common available resistance for wire 60, 120 , 240, 350,
500, and 1000 .
- dummy gage is used to compensate for change in
resistance due to change in temperature.
R
T
= R
o
T
SignalConditioning
The Wheatstone bridge
- For metal gage amplification is required.
- For static balanced bridge R
1
= R
4
R
2
/ R
3
- For dynamic balanced
Example
A strain gauge with GF = 2.03 and R = 350 is used in Wheatstone bridge. The
bridge resistors are R
1
= R
2
= 350 , and the dummy gauge has R = 350. If a strain
of 1450 m/m is applied, find the bridge offset voltage if V
s
= 10.0 volts. Find the
relation between bridge off-null voltage and strain. How much voltage results from
a strain of 1 micro?
Solution
With no strain, the bridge is balanced. When the strain is applied, the gauge
resistance will change by a value given by
GF= (R/R) / Strain
R = (GF)(Strain)(R)
R = (2.03)(1.45 10-3)(350)
= 1.03
The new resistance R = 351 , The bridge offset voltage is
V = - (Vs/4)(R/R) = -0.007 V
so that a 7-mV offset results.
The sensitivity is
V = - ( 10/2)(2.03) l/l = -10.15 l/l
Thus for every micro of strain will supply only 10.15 V
Piezoelectric Transducer
The magnitude and polarity of the induced surface charges are proportional to the magnitude
and direction of the applied force
Q=dF
where d is the charge sensitivity (a constant for a given crystal) of the crystal in C/N. The
force F causes a thickness variation t meters of the crystal:
where a is area of crystal, t is thickness of crystal, and Y is Youngs modulus.
The charge at the electrodes gives rise to a voltage Eo = Q/C, where C is capacitance in farads
between the electrodes and C = a/t where is the absolute permittivity.
The voltage sensitivity = g = d/ in volt meter per newton can be obtained as:
d (pC/N) g(volt.m/N (pf/m)
Quartz 2.25 0.055 4.5
Barium- 78-130 0.012 1700
Titanate
Advantages:
- Compactness
- High sensitivity
- High frequency range
External Sensors
External sensors detect the robot environment.
They can be classified to:
1- Proximity sensors
2- Tactile sensors
3- Vision sensors
4- Ultra-sound sensors
Limit Switches
A typical limit switch consists of a switch body and an operating head.
The switch body includes electrical contacts to energize and de-energize
a circuit. The operating head incorporates some type of lever arm or
plunger, referred to as an actuator.
Break Contacts
Contact Arrangements
Proximity sensors
1- Capacitive proximity sensors
The capacitance for a parallel plate capacitor is given by:
,
where is the relative permittivity,
A is the area of the plates in square centimeters,
d is the separation between the two plates in centimeters.
If the two parallel plates move relative to each other, the distance and area of the plates
affecting the capacitance is altered, and a corresponding change in the capacitance
occurs. The relationship between capacitance and mechanical displacement for
a given system can be determined. Capacitive transducer systems have been used
to measure displacements in the micrometer range.
2- Inductive proximity sensors
Photoelectric proximity sensor configurations: (a) diffuse reflector; (b) retro
reflector; (c) through beam, (d) fixed focus, and (e) fiber optics.
3- Photoelectric proximity sensors
Comparison Between Proximity Sensors
Tactile Sensors
Some applications call for low-force sensors. For example, imagine the
sensitivity required for a robot gripper to hold a water glass without
slipping and without crushing it.
Strain gauges can measure low forces if they are mounted on an elastic
substrate, like rubberthen a small force will cause a significant
deflection and resistance change.
Another solution would be to construct a low-force sensor with a
spring and a linear motion potentiometer. The spring compresses a
distance proportional to the applied force, and this distance is
measured with the pot.
A very low-force tactile sensor can be made using conductive foam. This
is the principle used in membrane keypads illustrated in. The conductive
foam is a soft foam rubber saturated with very small carbon particles.
When the foam is squeezed, the carbon particles are pushed together,
and the resistance of the material falls. Therefore, in some fashion,
resistance is proportional to force. At present this concept has found
limited application in such things as calculator keypads; because of its
simplicity and low cost, however, it is a viable option for other
applications such as robot tactile sensors.
Finally, a very simple tactile sensor can be made with two or more limit
switches mounted side-by-side with spring actuators that are set to
switch at different pressures.
Vision Sensors
A vision sensor is a TV camera connected to a computer. Machine vision is
being used to perform inspections and to guide machine operations. For
example, a system might use machine vision to determine whether parts
had been made or assembled properly, or a vision system might be used to
reject blemished oranges from a fruit-processing line.
Alternatively, a vision system might be used to provide guidance to a pick-
and-place robot for doing such things as unloading boxes from a pallet or
inserting components in a circuit board.
Vision systems require computing power to process thousands of pixels of
information continuously in order to arrive at a go/no-go decision about
what is seen. The new generation of fast and powerful microprocessors
such as those using Pentium with MMX technology and the adoption of the
PCI expansion bus for PCs. PCI cards can communicate with the
microprocessor at a much higher data rate than the older ISA cards could.
Thus, technology has evolved to the point where relatively low-cost PCs
have the power to process video information effectively, making vision
systems practical. Vision-guided systems are now performing operations
that before had to be done by hand or with very long and complicated but
inflexible multi-sensor systems.
Formation of Electronic Images
When light rays strike the surface of a material, the internal
energies of the atoms at the surface will jump to higher levels.
The electrons orbiting the atoms will transit to outer stable
orbits. For some specific materials, the orbiting electrons of
the atoms will even jump out of the largest stable orbit. These
electrons become free moving electrons in a material. As a
result, the incoming light striking the surface will trigger the
release of electrons.
With the advent of semiconductors, the photoelectric effect
has become a practical way of developing image-sensing chips
for electronic cameras. Let us take a look at two examples: the
CMOS and CCD imaging sensors.
CMOS Imaging Sensors
generic architecture of a CMOS imaging-array having nxm
active pixels.
CCD Imaging Sensors
Most electronic cameras are based on CCD imaging
sensors (or chips). However, since the late 1990s, the
market share of electronic-imaging products was made
up of CMOS cameras. Today, however, CCD cameras
still dominate the high-end (high resolution and
quality) electronic-imaging products.
Charge-Coupled Devices (CCD)
A CCD can be treated as a pair of coupled capacitors:
one for light sensing and the other for charge storage.
The first capacitor is a photodiode that can serve as a
photosensitive cell which will convert incoming light
into corresponding electrical signals. Thus, a CCD can
also be called a CCD imaging element or CCD pixel.
generic architecture of a CCD-image sensing array having
n x m pixels.
Process of Visual Perception
Visual perception is an information process which takes digital
images as input, and produces descriptions of the objects in a
scene as output.
Visual Data Processing Techniques
There are a number of different approaches to processing the visual data;
which one used depends on the particular application. Probably the most
common system is based on edge detection.
Edge Detection Technique
the computer attempts to define the edges of the object. The computer
scans the entire frame looking for edgesit detects them on the basis of
changes in the gray-scale intensity. An edge is where there is a sharp
intensity discontinuity. It is detected on the basis of three parameters:
contrast, width, and steepness. Contrast is the numeric difference in
intensity between two adjacent areas of the frame; steepness is how quickly
the intensity changes between the areas; and width is the minimum size of
the uniform-intensity area on either side of the edge. The actual edge is
defined as the steepest place in the intensity curve. The threshold values of
contrast, steepness, and width that the computer uses to try to identify
edges can be tweaked to get the best performance in each particular
application. Also, bright lighting and contrasting backgrounds can be used
to accentuate the edges as much as possible.
Guidance Technique
Another use of vision systems is to guide pick-and-place robots. For this
task, the vision system tells the robot where the part is, and in what
orientation, so that the robot can grab it. For example, consider the case
where a robot needs to pick up the wrench in the Figure and put it in a
box. Once the computer has generated the image on the basis of edge
detection, it can process the shape mathematically to arrive at the
centroid (middle) and the long axis. Using this information, the robot
gripper can position itself over the wrench to pick it up.
pattern recognition technique
Pattern recognition is used when an object needs to be identified. For
example, in a system being used to sort parts into different bins, the
computer maintains a library of the expected part shapes and, by using
various best-fit algorithms, attempts to find the best match for each
particular image shape. In another application, the job of the computer
might be to scan the entire visual frame looking for a particular shape,
such as a hole pattern, in order to guide a robot to mount a component.

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