Juhana Leiwo – Marco Torti
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Position and movement
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Direction of acceleration (gravity)
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Proximity and collision sensing
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3-dimensional spatial mapping
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Camera vision
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Heat detection (to recognize humans, for
example)
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Sound sensing (for voice commands and
human activity sensing)
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Not all possible applications of the robot
necessarily need all types of sensors.
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For a multifunctional robot it could be useful
to determine a number of basic senses
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The price of the robot is critical because the
mapping feature is impostant in houses
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Data from different sensors can be combined
to gain a more reliable representation of the
robot's environment and its focus of
attention. (For example, compare the camera
view image with a projection of the 3d map to
determine the robot's pose or the camera
image and the heat sensor can establish if
something is an object or a living)
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With stepped motors and servos, the position
of the robot's joints is known by definition.
Compact and reasonably priced
accelerometers and gyroscopes are
commercially available. Using these, the
robot can have an accurate sense of balance.
Quickly googled link:
http://www.coolcomponents.co.uk/catalog/index.p
hp?cPath=36
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For proximity and collision sensing there are a number
of alternatives. Depending on the application, they
can be used alone or as a combination.
 Ultrasound range measurement, as used in car parking
sensors
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXzwWr6b8m8&fea
ture=related
 Light reflection using LEDs and photocells (or just LEDs,
they work as photocells too, see link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kzIHMpOt20&featu
re=related )
 Touch whiskers mounted on displacement sensors:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFKhD1_GB00
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The camera vision and 3d mapping can be
combined. Structured light triangulation is a
simple way of making 3d scans, probably
suitable for the ceilbot. It uses a planar (or
other shape) laser beam with a variable angle
and a camera to record the beam's reflection.
http://www.david-laserscanner.com/
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One camera would be enough for vision and
spatial mapping.
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For heat detection, a single infrared heat
sensor could be used instead of a heat camera,
if no high resolution heat images are needed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passive_infrared_sensor
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Use many sensors combined or a single
sensor for a given purpose? For example,
using just a few proximity sensors simplifies
wiring and circuitry, but covering the whole
robot in them could make it very agile and
capable of operating in a tightly packed
space.
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Where to mount the sensors? For example,
mounting the camera on the main body
simplifies navigation calculations, but
mounting it on the arm enables close viewing
and removes the need to calculate which part
of the camera image is in fact the robot's own
arm. Maybe use two cameras?
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What functions (if any) are more important
than others? What functions are needed to
complete a given task? For example, does a
vacuum cleaner robot need a camera, or is a
mapping and collision avoiding system
enough? What senses are necessary to make
a multifunctional robot?
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How best to combine the data from different
types of sensors so that they support the same
operation? Should the robot have separately
processed reflexes and planned operating, or
should all data be treated with equal attention?
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What sort of memory structure would the robot
have? Should it be able to learn, or should it just
rely on preprogrammed atomic actions?
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For the mapping feature the user interface
has not to be very complex: in almost all
cases the robot can define when start the
mapping
It should be possible to start the mapping
with a “keyword” that can be set by a user
The mapping should be stopped by user in
every moment without losing all the
informations.