Sensors

In order for the robot to "see" the environment it is working in, sensors are used to provide such information. Sensors are vital to the robot's operation because they provide crucial information to the computer of the robot in order to do the task properly. The following is a short description of various sensors used in robots:

Tactile Sensors

This sensor is activated by a single touch and is used in areas where posses positional problem. Tactile sensor is capable to detect

• presence of objects.
• Shape, location, orientation of the object.
• Contact area and the pressure at that point.
• Magnitude, location and direction of the force.
• moments magnitude, plane and the direction

Force Sensors

This sort of sensors are used to measured the force applied on the object by the robot's arm during operation. The force can be worked out by using a force sensing wrist or by measuring the torque exerted at the joint of the arm.

Proximity Sensors

This sort of sensors are used to detect the surface of the object without making any contact. This sort of sensors provide information about the presence or absence of the object. There are three kinds of proximity sensors: optical proximity detectors, optical range sensor and triangulation proximity sensors.

Ultrasonic Sensors

This sort of sensors are used to measure the distance of the object by applying a pulse of high-frequency sound wave.

Infrared Sensors

This is an other type of sensors which detects the presence or absence of an object. Inferred sensors use a beam of inferred light to detect the object.

Vision Sensors

Vision sensors are used for viewing the work area of the robot and can also be used to provide latest information to compare the existing set of data about the work task.