Sensors in Robotics

• A sensor acquires a physical quantity and

converts it into a signal suitable for processing
(e.g. optical, electrical, mechanical)
• Nowadays common sensors convert
measurement of physical phenomena into an
electrical signal
Classification of Sensors used in robot
• Internal Sensor
o Position
o Velocity
o Acceleration
o Force
• External Sensor
o Contact type
o Non-contact type
• Position
o Linear
o Rotary
Example: Incremental encoder, Absolute
encoder, potentiometer, LVDT, resolver
• Velocity
Example: All position sensors, Tachometer, Hall
effect-sensor
• Acceleration
o All force sensors
• Force
o Strain Gauge
o Hall effect switch
o Piezoelectric switches
• Contact Type
Example: Limit Switch, Pneumatic switches,
piezoelectric sensors, pressure transducers.
• Non-Contact Type
Example: Proximity Sensors, Hall effect sensors,
Microwaves sensors, ultra sonic sensors, laser
sensors, vision sensors.
 Tactile sensors
• Tactile sensors are the devices which indicate
contact between themselves and some other
solid object.
• Tactile sensing devices can be divided into two
classes
– Touch sensors
– Force Sensors
Indicates not only contact has been made with an
object but also the magnitude of the contact force
between the two objects
 Touch Sensors
Provides a binary output signal which indicates
whether or not contact has been made with an object.

For example, they can be used to indicate the

presence or absence of parts in a fixture or at the pick
up point along the conveyor.

Another use for a touch sensing device would be as

part of as inspection probe which is manipulated by
the robot to measure dimensions on a work part
 Principle of working
• The working of a touch sensor is similar to that of a simple
switch.

• When there is contact with the surface of the touch

sensor, the circuit is closed inside the sensor and there is a
flow of current. When the contact is released, the circuit is
opened and no current flows.
 Touch Sensors
• Types of Touch Sensors
– Capacitive Touch sensors
– Resistive Touch Sensors
 Capacitive Touch Sensor
• The simplest form of capacitor can be made with
two conductors separated by an Insulator. Metal
plates can be considered as conductors. The
formula of capacitance is shown below.
C = ε0 * εr * A / d and C=Q/V
 Resistive Touch Sensor

• Resistive touch sensors are used for a longer

time than capacitive solutions as they are
simple control circuits. A resistive touch
sensor does not depend on the electrical
property of capacitance.
• In contrast to capacitive touch sensors which
measure the capacitance, resistive touch
sensors sense the pressure on the surface.
The functioning of a resistive touch sensor can be
explained using the following figure.
The resistor Rp is used to
protect the transistor from any
possible short circuit of the
electrodes.

The resistor Rb is used to keep

the base at the ground when
the circuit is open, i.e. there is
no finger.

When both the electrodes are

touched, small current flows
through the finger and the
transistor switches ON, as a
result the load becomes active.
 Force Sensors
• The capability to measure forces permits the
robot to perform a number of tasks.
• These include the capability to grasp parts of
different sizes in material handling, machine
loading and assembly work, Applying the
appropriate level of force for the given part.
 Range sensors
• Ranging sensors include sensors that require no
physical contact with the object being detected.
• They allow a robot to see an obstacle without
actually having to come into contact with it.
• This can prevent possible entanglement, allow for
better obstacle avoidance (over touch-feedback
methods), and possibly allow software to
distinguish between obstacles of different shapes
and sizes.
 Types of Range sensors
• Sonic Sensors
• Visible or Infrared Light-Based
 Force Sensors
• Force sensing in robotics can be accomplished in several
ways.
• A commonly used technique is force-sensing wrist. This
consists of a special load cell mounted between the gripper
and wrist.
• Another technique is to measure the torque being exerted
by each joint. This is accomplished by the motor currents
for each of the joint motors.

• Finally, third technique is to form an array of force-sensing

elements so that the shape and other information about the
contact surface can be determined.
 Proximity Sensors
• A proximity sensor is a device which detects
objects nearby without any physical
contact up to nominal range or sensor’s
vicinity.
• Sensors which convert information on the
movement or presence of an object into an
electrical signal are called proximity sensors.
 Types of Proximity Sensors

• Inductive Proximity Sensors (Electromagnetic

field)
• Capacitive Proximity Sensors (Electrostatic
Field)
 Types of Proximity Sensors
• Inductive Proximity Sensors (Electromagnetic field)
Capacitive Proximity Sensors (Electrostatic Field)
Capacitive Proximity Sensors (Electrostatic Field)
Applications of Proximity Sensors
• Parking assistance for car bumpers that sense
the distance to other nearby cars or objects
during the parking procedure.
• Conveyor systems.
• Vibration measurements of rotating shafts in
machinery.
• Roller coasters.
• Sheet break sensing in paper machines.
 Acoustic sensors
• An acoustic wave sensor is an electronic
device that can measure sound levels. They
are called acoustic wave sensors because their
detection mechanism is a mechanical (or
acoustic) wave.
 Types of Acoustic Sensor
• Condenser Microphone
• Electret Condenser Microphone
• Piezoelectric Microphone
• MEMS Based Microphone

The audio or sound to electrical energy transducer is the

microphone or simply called as mic. A microphone
produces electrical analog signals that are proportional to
the sound waves acting on its diaphragm.
 Condenser Microphone
• Condenser Microphone, as the name suggests is
a parallel plate capacitor and works on the
principle of a variable capacitance.
• It consists of two plates, one fixed (called the
back plate) and the other moveable (called
Diaphragm) with a small gap between them.
• An External electric potential charges the plate.
• When sound strikes the diaphragm it starts
moving, thereby changing the capacitance
between the plates which in turn results in a
variable electric current to flow.
Fig.1. Condenser Microphone
 Electret Condenser Microphone
 The electret condenser microphone uses a special
type of capacitor which has a permanent voltage
built in during manufacture. This is somewhat like
a permanent magnet, in that it doesn't require any
external power for operation.

 Other than this difference, you can think of an

electret condenser microphone as being the same
as a normal condenser microphone.
 Piezoelectric Microphones
• Certain crystalline materials
exhibit piezoelectric behaviour
when pressure is applied to
them.
• When you attach a diaphragm to
a crystal, sound waves hitting the
diaphragm will apply pressure to
the crystal causing it to change
shape (piezo in Greek means
pressure). This action generates
an electric current
 MEMS Based Microphone
• What is MEMS?
∙Micro – Small size, micro fabricated structures
∙Electro – Electrical signals/control(in/out)
∙Mechanical- Mechanical functionality(out/in)
∙Systems- structures, devices, system control
What is size of MEMS?
They range in size from the sub micron level to the millimeter
level and there can be any number, from a few to millions in
particular system.
 MEMS MICROPHONE
• MEMS microphones are similar to the standard ECMs
(electret condensor microphones) found in modern
consumer electronics,except that the components are
built onto a single chip using CMOS technology (material
deposition & etching), rather than assembled from
discrete parts.
• There are two main categories of MEMS microphones:
Analog MEMS Microphones convert a sound pressure
input into an analog voltage output.
Digital MEMS Microphones convert a sound pressure
input into a digital output signal, typically in pulse density
modulation format (PDM).
 Vision sensor systems
• Vision sensor is the most sophisticated sensor
used in robotics.
• Help the robots to look around and find the
parts for picking and placing the parts.
• CID (Charge Injection Device), CCD (Charge
Coupled Device), CMOS (Charged Metal Oxide
Semiconductor)
 CCD Sensor
• Charge Coupled Devices can be defined in different ways according to
the application for which they are used or based on the design of the
device.

• It is a device used for the movement of electrical charge within it for the
charge manipulation, which is done by changing the signals through
stages within the device one at a time.

• It can be treated as CCD sensor, which is used in the digital and video
cameras for taking images and recording videos through photoelectric
effect. It is used for converting the captured light into digital data, which
is recorded by the camera.

• It can be defined as a light-sensitive integrated circuit imprinted on a

silicon surface to form light-sensitive elements called pixels, and each
pixel is converted into an electrical charge.
 Charge Coupled Device’s Working
Principle
• The silicon epitaxial layer acting as a photoactive region and a shift-
register-transmission region are used for capturing images using a
CCD.
• Through the lens image is projected onto the photo active region
consisting of capacitor array.

• Thus, the electric charge proportional to the light intensity of the

image pixel color in the color spectrum at that location is
accumulated at each capacitor.

• If the image gets detected by this capacitor array, then the electrical
charge accumulated in each capacitor is transferred to its neighbor
capacitor by performing as a shift register controlled by the control
circuit.
In the above figure, from a, b and c, the transfer of charge
packets is shown according to the voltage applied to the
gate terminals.

At last, in the array electrical charge of last capacitor is

transferred into the charge amplifier in which the electric
charge is converted into a voltage.

Thus, from the continuous operation of these tasks, entire

charges of the capacitor array in the semiconductor are
converted into a sequence of voltages.
This sequence of voltages is sampled, digitized and then stored in
memory in case of digital devices such as digital cameras.

In case of analog devices such as analog video cameras, this

sequence of voltages is fed to a low-pass filter to produce a
continuous analog signal, and then the signal is processed for
transmission, recording and for other purposes..
 CMOS Sensor
• A CMOS sensor is an image sensor that
contains most of its functioning parts on a
single circuit.
• It adds image sensing capabilities to devices,
such as cell phone cameras and scanners, and
allows the user to convert a real life scene into
a digital image.
• A typical CMOS is an integrated circuit with an array of pixel
sensors.
• Each pixel sensor contains its own light sensor and active
amplifier.
• An analog-to-digital converter and other components
critical to the operation of the pixel sensors are located on
the CMOS sensor.
• Light comes through the lens and is processed by the color
filter before reaching the pixel sensor array.
• When the filtered light reaches the pixel array, each pixel
sensor converts the light into an amplified voltage signal
that can be further processed by the rest of the CMOS
sensor.
CMOS Sensor
• Color Filter
The color filter of a charged-coupled device
functions in the same way as the color filter in a
CMOS sensor.
• Pixel Array
The pixel array consists of millions of passive pixel
sensors responsible for capturing the intensity of the
light passing through.

The light intensity data is then combined before being

converted into an analog voltage signal, which is
outputted to an external circuit board to be further
processed .
Digital Control
• The digital controller is the set of circuitry integrated
on the CMOS sensor that controls the pixel array.
• It consists of multiple components, including the
clock/timing generator and oscillator to ensure that
every pixel in the array is in sync with each other.
• It is responsible for telling the pixel array to when to start
capturing light.
• Any other circuitry that is required for the array of pixels
to function orderly as a whole is included in the digital
controller.