Improving the Detection of the Contact Point in Active Sensing Antennae by Processing Combined Static and Dynamic Information.

Luis Mérida-Calvo,Vicente Feliu-Batlle,Daniel Feliu-Talegón

doi:10.3390/s21051808

Luis Mérida-Calvo, Vicente Feliu-Batlle + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/s21051808

Copy DOI

Abstract

The design and application of sensing antenna devices that mimic insect antennae or mammal whiskers is an active field of research. However, these devices still require new developments if they are to become efficient and reliable components of robotic systems. We, therefore, develop and build a prototype composed of a flexible beam, two servomotors that drive the beam and a load cell sensor that measures the forces and torques at the base of the flexible beam. This work reports new results in the area of the signal processing of these devices. These results will make it possible to estimate the point at which the flexible antenna comes into contact with an object (or obstacle) more accurately than has occurred with previous algorithms. Previous research reported that the estimation of the fundamental natural frequency of vibration of the antenna using dynamic information is not sufficient as regards determining the contact point and that the estimation of the contact point using static information provided by the forces and torques measured by the load cell sensor is not very accurate. We consequently propose an algorithm based on the fusion of the information provided by the two aforementioned strategies that enhances the separate benefits of each one. We demonstrate that the adequate combination of these two pieces of information yields an accurate estimation of the contacted point of the antenna link. This will enhance the precision of the estimation of points on the surface of the object that is being recognized by the antenna. Thorough experimentation is carried out in order to show the features of the proposed algorithm and establish its range of application.

Highlights

Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe first works on tactile sensors can be traced back to the early 1990s, e.g., [1].natural tactile sensors, such as whiskers and antennae, have been explored in more recent years, e.g., [2]
In the last two decades, a robust and compact sensor device has been developed that mimics the antennae that many insects have. This is called a “sensing antenna” and is an active sensor that consists of a flexible link moved by servo-controlled motors and a load cell placed between the beam and the motors
This paper addresses the idea of improving the accuracy of the estimation of the point at which contact is made between an active sensing flexible antenna and an object by combining static and dynamic information regarding the deflection of the antenna with information about the instant of the impact

Summary

Introduction

Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe first works on tactile sensors can be traced back to the early 1990s, e.g., [1].natural tactile sensors, such as whiskers and antennae, have been explored in more recent years, e.g., [2]. In the last two decades, a robust and compact sensor device has been developed that mimics the antennae that many insects have. This is called a “sensing antenna” and is an active sensor that consists of a flexible link moved by servo-controlled motors and a load cell placed between the beam and the motors. This device replicates the touch sensors that many insects have and carries out an active sensing strategy in which the servomotor iations

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion