17
votes
Why do people use camera instead of laser sensor for robot navigation?
A 3D laser range finder or LIDAR such as the one on the Google Car is far more expensive than a camera. The other reason is that while in case of a LIDAR the distance of every pixel is available, the ...
- 633
9
votes
Accepted
How do I determine the required encoder resolution for a control system?
First I would question your math that got you to the 12b sensor.
If you have a $dy$ of 1 mm over an arm that is $r = 1$ m long, then $\sin(\theta) = dy/r \rightarrow \theta = \mbox{asin}(dy/r)$. If ...
- 14.7k
8
votes
Are there surface texture sensors for integration in circuits?
You might try a simple microphone. They're available in tiny surface mount packages:
You'll need to rub it across the surface, and you should be able to recognise different surface textures by the ...
- 6,337
8
votes
Accepted
Instantaneous velocity calculation from accelerometer?
The only way to get a velocity from an accelerometer is to numerically integrate the output of the accelerometer. That is,
$$
v = v_0 + a*dT \\
$$
where $dT$ is the elapsed time between ...
- 14.7k
7
votes
Accepted
Why do 3-axis accelerometers seemingly have a left-handed coordinate system?
The answer is that 3-axis accelerometers don't have a left handed coordinate system just for the gravity. In static condition (i.e. if the accelerometer is not accelerating with respect to any ...
- 141
7
votes
How to estimate yaw angle from tri-axis accelerometer and gyroscope
Assuming your vehicle is roughly horizontal to the ground, you won't be able get a good estimate of yaw from the accelerometer. Consider the nominal case: when your accelerometer is pointing straight ...
- 2,679
7
votes
Plastic that's transparent to IR range sensors
FWIW, I once needed to create a plexiglass window/shell for a near-IR camera. Most CCD and CMOS sensors are sensitive in the near IR range (e.g. around 850nm), which is where @user3095849 suggested ...
- 193
6
votes
Accepted
How to prevent twisting of cables
What you're looking for is generally referred to as a slip ring. Here's a cheaper slip ring sold by Adafruit along with a video demonstrating how it works: http://www.adafruit.com/products/736. They ...
- 866
6
votes
What are the calculations for a badminton robot and mechanisms?
In short, what you are trying to do is well beyond the capabilities of top robotics research labs.
That said, here is a short list of general areas you need to look into:
Robotic arm dynamics (to ...
- 2,679
6
votes
Plastic that's transparent to IR range sensors
First you need to know the wavelength of the sensor. According to the sharp sensors datasheet for GP2Y0A21YK, the cover should efficiently transmit light throughout the wavelength range of the LED(λ = ...
- 408
6
votes
Accepted
How to localise a underwater robot?
Localization under water was always a problem in ocean robotics as electromagnetic signals do not propagate very well in water. I think your best localization sensor in that case would be the good old ...
- 661
6
votes
Accepted
Stabilising an inverted pendulum
There are lots of ways to solve this problem, which falls into the category of Control Engineering. There are two standard approaches:
Classical Control: The control command has to be proportional ...
- 1,238
6
votes
Accepted
What is the difference between active and passive sensors?
Let's recall that sensors are used to measure a physical quantity.
The distinction between passive and active sensor characterize the sensor ability to retrieve a measurement without or with inputing ...
- 1,327
6
votes
Accepted
PID and Kalman filters
There isn't really a relationship between them, unless you're asking how the dynamics feed each other when combined into a system.
If that's the case, then I would suggest maybe starting with a ...
- 14.7k
5
votes
Accepted
How to estimate yaw angle from tri-axis accelerometer and gyroscope
Gyroscopes will only give you the rate of change of the yaw angle, not the absolute yaw angle.
Unless you plan to set the yaw angle initially and have it drift further and further into garbage ...
- 10.8k
5
votes
Accepted
Does an electronic compass work underwater
A compass will work just fine under water, I am an avid scuba diver and a compass is a standard piece of kit for navigating.
- 1,909
5
votes
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Questions regarding 3D scanning and camera choice
My favorite is the Learning OpenCV book. It has a fantastic stereo / 3D section that introduces concepts from the ground up. If you're at a university, you might be able to find the digital version ...
- 176
5
votes
Accepted
Cheap and efficient 3D sensor?
Honestly it depends what you want, I will cover some options from cheapest to most expensive
Ultrasonic sensor on a servo 5-50$ depending on the model. It can be fairly accurate with around 1cm ...
- 1,909
5
votes
Accepted
Measure weight of an object using a servo
This is going to depend on the style of motor in the servo and the style of gearbox. If the servo can't be back-driven when unpowered, then it's likely some form of a worm gear assembly that will ...
- 14.7k
4
votes
Accepted
Multiple position estimates fusion
What you are describing is essentially a textbook case for using a Kalman filter. First you need a prediction step. Let's assume you are predicting the pose of the robot $(x,y,\theta)$, given the ...
- 950
4
votes
Absolute positioning without GPS
I know this is an old question but I will just add a bit to the currently existing answers. First, this is a very complex problem that everyone is trying to tackle, including google with their Tango ...
- 71
4
votes
Accepted
Stereo camera Vs Kinect
The Kinect is certainly a popular choice these days for robotics. However, time-of-flight, structured light, and stereo cameras all have their own strengths and weaknesses. These two threads have a ...
Ben♦
- 5,215
4
votes
How to localise a underwater robot?
If it's actually underwater, how about a webcam looking at the tile pattern on the floor? (Could be considered "cheating" as it will obviously fail in a natural lake, for example.)
You can find a ...
- 1,021
4
votes
How to localise a underwater robot?
One of the prime sensors for global localisation on land is GPS. This is not an option underwater because electromagnetic waves get absorbed quickly.
There are however alternatives, which provide ...
- 2,954
4
votes
Accepted
Sensors' field of view in car driving
How fast are you driving the car and are you allowing slip during turning?
From this powerpoint, the turning radius is given by:
$$
R = \frac{L}{\delta}
$$
where $R$ is the turning radius, $L$ is ...
- 14.7k
4
votes
How to have a 'Auto Go Home' feature, like the DJI Phantom 3, on a project built quadcopter?
I would go with one of two-ish methods to do this, but both methods require the craft to know its own position. You could do this with GPS, or an IMU, or any other means or combination of position ...
- 14.7k
4
votes
Why do people use camera instead of laser sensor for robot navigation?
In addition to those points in Bence's answer, cameras can:
Calculate many complex features that result in very robust matching between frames, and object recognition
High angular resolution (typical ...
- 872
4
votes
How can I compare robot and human hands?
The only benchmark I know in development is at NIST. Their Intelligent Systems Division project page should help. On that page they discuss the specific possible metrics of grasp cycle time, grasp ...
- 4,326
4
votes
Accepted
How can I compare robot and human hands?
You should check out:
The Yale-CMU-Berkeley (YCB) Object and Model set. It is designed for facilitating benchmarking in robotic manipulation. The set consists of objects of daily life with different ...
Ben♦
- 5,215
4
votes
Accepted
Is it better to use software or hardware for object sorting?
It really depends on the objects you are sorting, and the flexibility you're looking for as the system is maintained over the years.
Using physical methods to sort is very reliable. Many times you ...
- 4,326
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