Industrial robots utilize a wide variety of sensors. These sensors can understand and measure the geometric and physical properties of objects in their surrounding environment, such as position, orientation, acceleration, distance, size, torque, brightness, and weight. Industrial robot sensors enable them to adapt to diverse tasks. Therefore, increasing the use of sensors is crucial for mitigating uncertainty and achieving higher productivity. The following section will primarily introduce several common types of industrial robot sensors.
There are five main types of industrial robot sensors:
1. Photosensitive sensor
The photosensitive sensor consists of two photoresistors located directly in front of the robot, and its resistance is affected by the intensity of the light shining on it. The photoresistors used in the Ability Storm intelligent robot have a resistance of several hundred kilohms in very dark environments, several thousand ohms under indoor lighting, and tens of ohms under sunlight or strong light.
2. Infrared sensor
The robot's infrared sensor comprises two components: an infrared emitter and an infrared receiver. The infrared receiver is located at the front of the robot, with two infrared emitters positioned on either side of the receiver. The infrared emitter emits infrared light, which is reflected back upon encountering an obstacle. The infrared receiver receives the reflected infrared light and converts it via an analog-to-digital converter (A/D converter) before sending it to the CPU for processing. The robot's infrared sensor can detect obstacles with an area of 210mm x 150mm within a 90° range of 10cm to 80cm in front of it.
3. Collision sensor
The collision sensor is the sensor that enables the Ability Storm intelligent robot to perceive collision information on the collision ring. Four normally open collision switches are located on the front left, front right, rear left, and rear right sides of the Ability Storm intelligent robot. These, together with the collision ring, constitute the collision sensor. The collision ring is flexibly connected to the chassis. When subjected to force, it undergoes relative displacement with the chassis, triggering the corresponding collision switch fixed to the chassis, causing it to close.
4. Microphone
The microphone on the Ability Storm intelligent robot is a sound sensor capable of identifying the intensity of sounds. The robot's "ears" can hear sound frequencies roughly the same as humans, approximately 16Hz-20000Hz mechanical waves. After hearing your voice command, the intelligent robot will take action according to your instructions (pre-programmed).
5. Photoelectric encoder sensor
An optical encoder is a sensor that transmits position information, consisting of an optical encoding module and a code disk. Optical encoders primarily serve as feedback signals for control. An optocoupler measures the rotation angle of the code disk, which rotates with the axle, to determine the number of revolutions the wheel has made, thereby measuring the distance.
