comp.robotics Frequently Asked Questions

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Subject: comp.robotics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) part 4/5

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Summary: This posting contains a list of Frequently Asked Questions

and their answers about robotics. It should be read by anyone

who wishes to post to the comp.robotics newsgroup

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Archive-name: robotics-faq/part4

Last-modified: Mon Dec 12 12:00:45 1994

This is part 4 of 5 of the comp.robotics Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list.

This FAQ addresses commonly asked questions relating to robotics.

____________________________________________________________________________Pa

This FAQ was compiled and written by Kevin Dowling with numerous

contributions by readers of comp.robotics. Acknowledgements are listed

at the end of the FAQ.

Dowling. Distribution through any means other than regular Usenet

channels must be by permission. The removal of this notice is

forbidden.

This FAQ may be posted to any USENET newsgroup, on-line service, or

BBS as long as it is posted in its entirety and includes this

gain. This FAQ may not be included in commercial collections or

compilations without express permission from the author.

Changes, additions, comments, suggestions and questions to:

Kevin Dowling tel: 412.268.8830

Robotics Institute fax: 412.268.5895

Carnegie Mellon University net: nivek@ri.cmu.edu

Pittsburgh, PA 15213

___________________________________________________________________________

Part 4/5

[10] What Robotics related products are there?

[10.1] Sensors

[10.1.1] Cameras

[10.1.2] Inertial measurement devices and gyros

[10.1.3] Rangefinding devices

[10.1.4] Force/torque, accelerometers, tactile

[10.1.5] Sonar sensors

[10.1.6] Pan/tilt mechanisms

[10.1.7] Measuring robot position

[10.1.8] Measuring linear motion

[10.1.9] Interfacing sensors

[10.2] Actuators

[10.2.1] RC-Servos

[10.2.2] Shape memory materials

[10.2.3] Stepper Motor Controller

[10.3] Imaging for Robotics

[10.4] Wireless Communication

[10.4.1] RF Modems

[10.4.1] RF Video

[10.4.2] RF Ethernet

[10.5] Robot Parts: Suppliers and Sources

____________________________________________________________________________

[10] What Robotics related products are there?

Robots are amazingly interdisciplinary; systems are comprised

of mechanics, electronics, hardware and software and issues germane to

all these catagories. As a result, the design and constructions of

such systems requires a corresponding variety of components and parts.

This section provides information about products available for some of

these areas.

------------------------------

[10.1] Sensors

This list covers only the most frequently requested types of

robot sensors. These include point-range sensors, cameras, and

acoustic devices. See Sensors magazine <in periodical section of this

FAQ> directory for a large and comprehensive list. This list covers

the following:

[10.1.1] Cameras

[10.1.2] Inertial measurement devices and gyros

[10.1.3] Rangefinding devices

[10.1.4] Force/torque, accelerometers, tactile

[10.1.5] Sonar sensors

[10.1.6] Pan/tilt mechanisms

[10.1.7] Robot position and 3DOF input devices

[10.1.8] Measuring linear motion

[10.1.9] Interfacing sensors

------------------------------

[10.1.1] Cameras

There are a large number of cameras on the market and even

many consumer products such as the smaller camcorders are inexpensive

and suitable for some imaging applications. I'll try to list some

different and unusual ones here.

Note that although some of these cameras are very small many

of them are appended to a large box of electronics via a cable that

supplies power and transmits video. For mobile applications DC power

inputs may be an issue as well. I've also included servo-lens products

as well in this section.

CCTV Corporation

280 Huyler St.

South Hackensack, NJ 07606

tel: 201.489.9595

tel: 800.221.2240

fax: 201.489.0111

CCTV makes a number of small CCD surveillance cameras. Some as

small as a pack of cigarettes that sell for less than $300. Small

cameras -- 'Pincam' 1.5"x1.5"x.75" pinhole camera for $200. MOD-250

and MOD-275 are all single PC board cameras with wide angle 3.6 mm

lenses 514x491V resolution, and composite outputs. Other cameras come

in unique enclosures for surveilance (e.g. cigarette packs, clocks,

smoke detectors).

Cohu

P.O. Box 85623

San Diego, CA 92186-5623

tel: 619.277.6700 X225

fax: 619.277.0221

Cohu makes a number of solid state cameras including board

level and remote head devices. The 1100 series is designed for OEM

use. It outputs standard RS-170 with 768x494 CCD resolution.

10cmx4.5cmx1.6cm w/o lens. Other units include the 550 series

Intensified Monochrome CCD Camera for low-light applications. The 4110

has digital output (eliminates pixel jitter), The 6X00 series are

small monochrome remote head cameras and the 8000 series cameras are

color remote head devices. A variety of ouputs are available

includeing NTSC, RGB, PAL/Y-C. A high resolution unit, the 8410

series, provides 1134x486 pixels (850 horz TV lines)

DAK Industries

8200 Remnet Ave

Canoga Park, CA 91304

tel: 800.325.0800 (ordering)

tel: 800.888.9818 (technical)

fax: 818.888.2837

DAK sells all kinds of gadgets for the home and business. One

device is a security camera that is smaller than a credit card (length

and width) and 38mm deep. B/W 251,904 pixels, 60 degree lens and

built-in microphone. Has built-in IR transmitters for seeing in total

darkness. $199 for camera, 20m cable, AC adapter and stands. Other

packages include monitors and two-camera switcher for $299 total.

Extra cable is $29.90

Dalsa Inc

605 McMurray Rd.

Waterloo, ON, Canada N2V 2E9

tel: 519.886.6000

Modular cameras -- you choose the entire configuration from

the CCD device to the video output format. Known for their large

selection of high speed, high sensitivity and high resolution CCD

chips (up to 25 million pixels on a single chip CCD).

Electrim Corp.

P.O. Box 2074

Princeton, NJ. 08543

tel: 609.683.5546

fax: 609.683.5882

Offers digitial cameras and acquisition cards in an integrated system

for use with PC's. The EDC-1000C is a complete image acquisition

system with a 751x488v resolution camera that supports 24 bit color for $950

(including the PC interface card). The EDC-1000HR is the monochrome version.

A recently released system (11/94) offers a ADSP2101 DSP on board the

acquisition card.

Elmo Mfg Corp

70 New Hyde Park Rd.

New Hyde Park, NY 11040

tel: 516.775.3200

800.974.ELMO

fax: 516.775.3297

Micro-sized cameras including a 12mm color unit, the UN411E.

The ME441E is a remote head B&W ccd camera for machine vision

applications. 17mm, 14g. Wide variety of features including

electronics shuttering, field/frame modes, interlace and non-interlace

etc.

Fortunel Systems, Inc.

103 Ivywood Lane

Cary, NC 27511

tel: 919-851-9100

fax: 919-859-9800

Internet: fortunel@vnet.net

Servolens is a video-based computer-controlled motorized lens designed

for active vision. It is connected to the computer through a standard

RS232 serial port. Each axis (field of view, focusing distance, iris

opening) is independently controlled and fully calibrated (encoder

feedback). The following auto functions are supported: auto-iris,

auto-focus and auto-zoom (keeps apparent size of object constant). Two

models are available, based on zoom factor: x6 and x10. A C++ class

library in source code format is also available to control the lens

on DOS and UNIX platforms.

Gateway Electronics, INC.

8123 Page Blvd.

St. Louis, MO 63130

tel: 314.427.6116

Ultra Minature Camera $149.50. 1.6" X 1.8" X 1" with a 3.6 mm

wide angle lens a 1/3 CCD sensor 380 lines of resolution and

electronic sutter time of 1/60 - 1/50,000 sec. 12 VDC Video Camera and

monitor combination 9" solid state monitor. This is a closed circuit

camera monitor system that runs on 115 VAC. There is also a microphone

in the Camera. $125.00

Hamamatsu Corp.

360 Foothill Road

Bridewater, NJ 08807-0910

908 231-1116

908 231-0852 (fax)

Offers a linup of general purpose single CCD cameras. The

C4200 is a 768x493V single CCD color camera. The C3967 is a 3 CCD

remote head color camera with 786x493V resolution. They also offer

off-the-shelf image improvement/enhancing hardware and CCD chips

(1024x1024V)

Images Company

P.O. Box 140742

Staten Island, NY 10314

tel: 718.698.8305

Microminature B/W video camera $200.00. TV Transmitter (KIT)

$45.00

Marshall Electronics

Culver City, CA

Contact: Steve Kraig

tel: 310.390.6608

World's smallest low-cost digital camera on a single chip;

under $10 for volume users. It is the first commercially available

image sensor to have a built-in A/D converter. The Digital Video

Camera Chip, VVL1070 delivers a digitized B&W image through

processor-compatible serial and parallel ports. The IC uses a

proprietary CMOS sensor technology developed by VLSI Vision Ltd.,

which also is developing a whole series of single-chip EIA cameras

that will be shortly introduced to the American market.

The chip features a 160 x 160 pixel array. Pixel size is 10.5 x 10.5

microns. All circuitry to drive and sense the array is packaged in a

single Optical Quad Flatpak. The digital converter provides an 8-bit

digital output for serial or parallel interface. Other features

include an analog output with sync pulses, wide-range electronic

exposure control for use with a variety of low-cost fixed-aperture

lenses and automatic black level circuitry. Power consumption is less

than 100mw.

An Engineering Level Evaluation Kit is available to reduce development

costs and allow designers to rapidly develop a prototype using their

own defined interface circuitry. The kit includes a fully operational

PCB using an LCC with glass lid mounted in an anodized aluminum

enclosure with both a "C" mount 12mm lens and a wide-angle 4.3mm

fixed-focus lens.

Also offers both a 330 line and 510x492v resolution miniature color cameras.

Micro Video Products

16201 Osborne

St. Westminster, CA 92683

tel: 714.842.4648

tel: 800.473.0538

Mini B/W camera $179.00 2.5x2.5x5cm and 70g. 7-14 VCD and

80 milliamps Also carry underwater cameras, and transmitter/recievers

for video.

NEC America

1555 Walnut Hill Lane

Irving, TX 75038

tel: 214.751.7000

tel: 800.323.6656

Offers many types of general purpose monochrome cameras as

well as a 811x508V resolution color camera with a variety of output

formats (RGB, NTSC, Y/C). The TI-324A is a small high-res B/W CCD

camera designed for machine vision and robotics applications. A

variety of other B/W and Color CCD cameras are also made.

Panasonic

tel: 201.392.4576

John Gregler - sales rep

Sells a complete line of monochrome cameras and a high performance

broadcast quality 3 CCD RGB color camera.

Pulnix America Inc.

1330 Orleans Dr.

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

408 747-0300

800 445-5444 x127 Katie McVeigh - sales rep

Offers gereral purpose, reasonably priced CCD cameras. The TMC-7RGB is a

768x494V resolution color camera with electronic shutter for $1100.

Many monochrome cameras are available including a high resolution 1024x1024V.

The 'Card-Cam' line of cameras are small PC board cameras with simple C-mount

remote heads.

Resources UN-LTD.

8030 South Willow Street, Bldg 2

Manchester, NH 03109

tel: 603.668.2499

CCD Micro Camera From Chinon. $159.00 B/W 1/3" CCD with a full

250,000+ pixels. 350 lines of resolution. Auto gain control and

electronic shutter. 9 VDC at 80 milliamps. Adjustable focus 4mm, f 1.8

lens (provides 78 degree FOV, 10mm to infinity). Standard Composite

video out. Weighs 14g, IR Sensitive.

Sony Electronics Inc.

1200 N. Arlington Heights Road

Itasca, IL 60143

tel: 708.773.7604 Karel Heike -- sales rep

Sony XC/999/999P is a nice small color CCD camera the size of

a microphone. CCD resolution is 768Hx493V. The 999 is NTSC and the

999P is the PAL format. XC-75 has small camera head and separate

electronics. The XC711 is a nice general purpose single CCD color

camera with 768x493V resolution, but not as expensive as to XC999.

The XC-711 RR is the remote head version. An appreciable lineup of

monochrome cameras are offered as well.

Supercircuits

13552 Research Blvd #B

Austin, TX 78750

tel: 512.335.9777

fax: 512.335.1925

net: info@ccd.scx.com

Electronic timers and beepers, miniature cameras and

transmitters. Super Circuits specializes in affordable microvideo

products. One of the tiny cameras, the PC-9XS is about the size of a

silver dollar, has 380 lines resolution, 1 lux rating at a price of

only $149. Some of the cameras go down to .2 lux. Other products

include small color cameras, ATV UHF transmitter kits, Short range

transmitter sets, and other specialty video products.

Texas Instruments

TI makes a $35 CCD Imager, the TC-211, with 192x165 resolution.

Following article is on a design for a camera using this chip over a

parallel port from a PC. Telescope Making, Issue 46, Winter 91/92

Newark Electronics sells the TC211-M for around US$50.00 See TI's

Array Image Sensor Products data manual for more details.

Toshiba America

Information and Imaging Technologies Group

1010 Johnson Drive

Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-6900

tel: 800.253.5429

fax: 708.541.1927

Toshiba IK-M40A high resolution microminiature color camera.

Camera head is 39mm long, 17mm diameter and weighs 16g. 1/2" CCD w/

410,000 pixels, high sensitivity (5 lux at F1.6) and electronic

shutter. RGB output standard. uses cables up to 30m. Several lenses

available. About $2K.

Toshiba also makes a very small C-mount Lens color CCD camera,

the IK-C40A. It is only slight larger than a 30mm cube.

Wintriss Engineering Corp

6342 Ferris Square

San Diego, CA 92121

tel: 619.550.7300

tel: 800.733.8089

Wintriss makes a 2048 pixel line scan camera that can be used

for object imaging, velocity measurement and positioning with multiple

cameras. Can be used to determine spped and trajectory of objects in

flight. This has been used in archery applications. RS485 interface

with 8Mb/sec serial data rate. Can be linked directly with Wintriss

DSP boards for post-processing and communications. Price $1250.

Xillix Technologies Corporation

Suite 200

2339 Colombia Street

Vancouver B.C. V5Y 3Y3

tel: 604.875.6161

fax: 604.872.3356

Specializing in High-res CCD cameras. Product line includes a

12-bit 1317x1035 pixel resolution. Target market has been medical

imaging. Full computer control and compatible with a number of image

capture and display boards.

------------------------------

[10.1.2] Inertial measurement devices and gyros

This includes such devices as accelerometers such as

accelerometers, gyros, and inertial devices used for measuring

orientation or acceleration of moving vehicles. Accelerometers are

devices for measuring the rate of change in velocity and can provide

estimations of distance or be used to detect high forces.

There are several gyros mainly for radio controlled helicopters. These

are rate gyros, used to sense the rate of turn about a particular axis

(usually vertical, for tail rotor control), and are designed to

connect between an R/C receiver and a servo.

These gyros work by modifying the PWM signal that the rx produces,

before it gets to the servo. The sensing is usually done by a linear

hall effect device, which senses the position of a magnet on the

bottom of the flywheel assembly. The gyros have both sensitivity and

gain controls, and some can be switched on and off remotely. They have

been used for sensing rotation about an axis for a VR headset, with

some success. The big advantage is they are relatively cheap, the big

disadvantage is high drift rate.

Andrew Corporation

10500 W. 153rd Street

Orland Park, IL 60462

tel: 708.349.5957

fax: 708.349.5294

Fiber-optic gyro. 77mm diameter by 88mm high. Analog out

porportional to rotation rate. Also digital version available. Rate

+/- 100 degrees/sec. Stable over -40C to +85C. Power 8-13.5VDC at

250mA. Bias drift 0.005 deg/sec (18 deg/hr). 0.63kg $1100.00 for

digital version, $950 for analog.

BEI - Systron Donner

2700 Systron Drive,

Concord, CA 94518-1399

tel: 510.682.6161

fax: 510.671.6590

GyroChip - a very small solid state angular rate sensor. Based

a quartz tuning fork device - all support electronics are included.

Max range available: +/-10 deg/sec to +/-1000 deg/sec. Input +/- 5VDC

Output scale +/- 2.5VDC. Systron Donner also makes a variety of linear

accelerometers and inertial measurement products.

Solid state six axis inertial sensor. It provides analog

signals for 3 axis acceleration and 3 axis rate. The package is

7.5cmx7.5cmx8cm, weighs ~600grams and takes +-15V unreg in (7W). Bias drift

is on the order of 0.005 deg/sec short term (0.1deg/sec long term).

Cost is $12,000 for one or $10,000 for 2-9 (a good single axis

rate gyro usually costs $6K+). Various acceleration and rate range

combinations are available (up to +- 20g). Delivery is about 6wks.

A new Gyrochip two is available as well. Specs aren't quite as good

but it is cheaper.

Gyration Inc.

Saratoga CA

tel: 408.255.3016

fax: 408.255.9075

Sells small vertical and directional gyros for ~$500. These

are standard gimballed gyros, but the drift specs probaly aren't as

good as aircraft-quality gyros. Now also sell innovative computer

pointers and devices termed 'Gyroengines' that provide quadrature

outputs from heading devices. Gyroengines are $3.5K

Honeywell

11601 Roosevelt Blvd

St. Petersburg, FL 33716

tel: 813.579.6604

fax: 813.579.6696

Honeywll manufactures the modular azimuth and postioning

system (MAPS) and utilizes ring-laser gyros. (RLG). The RLG uses two

beams of laser light rotating in opposite directions along a path

within a sealed and enclosed cavity. As the unit changes heading, the

distances the beams travel differ. This difference is can be measured

and is directly related to heading. When combined with linear

accelerometers the unit provides position and orientation. MAPS has an

RS-422 interface, is approx 22x27x38cm and is 20kg. 100W power draw.

[Rad hard and rated for howitzer gunfire!]

Humphrey

[Need Address]

Wide variety of gyro and accelerometer devices.

KVH Industries

110 Enterprise Center

Middletown, RI 02840

tel: 401.847.3327

Nice small well-designed units that provide heading data. About $1K

w/ RS232 adapter.

Lucas NovaSensor

1055 Mission Court

Fremont, CA 94539

tel: 510.490.9100

Lucas makes a 1"x1"x0.5" accelerometer for about $200. Good noise

immunity but fragile.

Murata Erie North America

2200 Lake Park Drive

Smyrna, GA 30080

tel: 800.831.9172

fax: 404.436.3030

Gyrostar piezoelectric vibrating gyroscope. Uses equilateral

triangular prism with PE elements attached to faces of prism. High

precision compared to other vibration gyroscopes. Measures augular

velocity with good linearity. Max augular vel +/- 90 deg/sec, No

hysteresis, 58x25x25mm, 45g, output is DC voltage porportional to

angular rate. 22.2mV/deg/sec scale factor.

Gerhard Weiss has provided some results of experiments with the unit:

location: ag_vp_file_server.informatik.uni-kl.de [131.246.192.2]

directory: /Public/Gerd/Public/

filename: Gyrostar.ps

Pewatron AG

Hertistr. 27

CH-8304 Wallisellen

Swiss

Tel: +41 1 830 29 44

Fax: +41 1 830 51 57

Two-axis Inclinometer. Weight: 2.3gr, voltage: 5V, current:

20mA, dimension: 12 x 12 x 7 mm, Output: 2 analog output. Sine and

cosine for 360 degree, voltage swing: +/- 0.4V, Price: about $100.

Rumored to have a US distributor: Dinsmore. [if you have further info,

please send it to me - nivek]

Summitt Instruments

Ohio

tel: 216.659.3312

Three-axis accelerometer. A tiny cube just under 2.5cm on a

side. Approx $1K

Sundance Model Products

2427 W. Adrian St.

Newbury Park, CA 91320

tel: 805.498.8857

Lists a solid state gyro for model helicopters. The SSG/1 is

38mm x 38mm x 13mm and weighs 43g. Completely solid state with no

motor or moving parts. Claims to draw 10% of the power of a gyro with

moving parts. No drift specs.

Electrolytic tilt sensors or clinometers (not using anything so

nasty as mercury, but a conductive fluid whose resistance across

various electrodes provides an analog signal proportional to tilt

angle). They're not too expensive, although they do tend to have

long settling times (up to a few seconds). A couple of US sources:

The Fredericks Company

tel: 215.947.2500

fax: 215.947.7464

Applied Geomechanics

tel: 408.462.2801

fax: 408.462.4418

The smallest, cheapest model is 5x5x2 cm and about $250. It

has a 5-terminal electrolytic cell that can measure tilt in two axes

to +-20 degrees (optional +-45 degrees). The characteristic "slosh"

frequency is about 10 Hz, and it exhibits sub-second settling times

and a resolution of 0.01 degrees. The output is two analog signals (X

and Y, or Roll and Pitch, if you prefer). It runs off of a 9-volt

battery.

------------------------------

[10.1.3] Rangefinding devices

Principles

There are four basic techniques for distance measurement using electro

magetic radiation.

These are

1 Pulse Timing

2 Phase Comparison

3 Doppler Methods

4 Interferometry

All are used in practice for distance measurement depending on the

particular application.

Pulse timing, as the name suggests, involves measuring the round time

for a signal to be transmitted to a reflective surface and return.

This is the principle used in Radar, DME for aircraft, LORAN,

Satellite Altimetry, Airborne RADAR Altimetry, Lunar Laser Ranging

etc. Some of the newer EDM instruments used by surveyor are also using

pulse timing and accuracies of +/- 5mm are possible. Most of the

military range finders also use pulse timing. The GPS system uses

pulse timing for coarse distance measurement. Very Long Base

Interferometry (VLBI) is also a pulse timing technique where signals

>from pulsars are timed from two or more radio telescopes and the

difference in times of arrival are converted to intercontinental

distances with a precision of a few centimetres.

Phase difference involves the use of a carrier wave which may be

modulated at different wavelengths. By measuring the difference in

phase between the transmitted signal and the received signal after it

has been reflected from the other end of the target, the distance can be

determined as an integer number (unknown) of wavelengths plus a

fraction of a wavelength which is known from the phase comparison. By

using a range of modulation frequencies the ambiguity can be

resolved. There are many applications of this technique. A wide range

of carrier frequencies are used ranging from visible through infra red

to microwave and right down to VLF. Typical instruments used by

surveyors have accuracies of +/-(1to2 mm +1to3 parts per million) and

use infra red as the carrier. Precise positioning using GPS can be

achieved by phase comparison of the carrier wave signals of the

various satellites. Accuracies in position of better than 1 part per

million can be achieved.

Doppler techniques were used in the earlier satellite positioning

systems. The received frequency of a low orbit satellite is compared

with the actual transmitted signal as a function of time. The rate of

change of frequency gives the slant range between the satellite and

the observer while the instant when the two freqencies are the same

gives the point of closest approach. By knowing the orbital parameters

of the satellite which are transmitted, the observers position can be

determined.

Interferometric methods are the same as those used in the original

Michelson Interferometer. It is used for metrology, high precision

distance measurement over short distances (up to 60 metres) and in the

definition of the metre.

There are a variety of laser rangefinding devices that have

been built and used over the past decade for robotics use. The 3D

devices are still large, power hungry and heavy but give very nice

images suitable for fast map building and navigation work. Expect to

pay over $50K for these time-of-flight devices. Most AM Lidars measure

phase shift between outgoing and reflected beams. A mirror system

rasters the beam forming a video-camera-like image. Some devices

supply the reflectance image as well as range which is nice for

corresponding the two. Comprehensive references include:

Electronic Distance Measurement by JM Rueger, Springer-Verlag

P. Besl, ``Active, Optical Range Imaging Sensors'', Machine Vision and

Applications, v. 1, p. 127-152, 1988.

A longer version of Besl's paper appears in ``Advances in Machine

Vision: Architectures and Applications'', J. Sanz (ed.),

Springer-Verlag, 1988.

Other good surveys are Ray Jarvis' article in IEEE TPAMI v5n2 and

Nitzan's article in IEEE PAMI v10n2.

A good report on the characterization of a particular scanner is:

Experimental Characterization of the Perceptron Laser Rangefinder, In

So Kweon, Regis Hoffman, and Eric Krotkov. Carnegie Mellon University

Technical Report, CMU-RI-TR-91-1. 1991.

M. Hebert and E. Krotkov. 3-D Measurements from Imaging Laser Radars:

How Good Are They? Int. Journal of Image and Vision Computing,

10(3):170-178, April 1992

International Journal of Robotics Research, Vol. 13, No. 4,

Aug. 1994, pp 305-314. {get title}

A number of laboratory works have also demonstrated FM or chirp

systems which can be highly accurate (e.g. high resolution elevation

maps of coins) but these are very specialized and I don`t know of

commercial devices currently.

-----

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL)

contact: Narinder Bains (nbains@bart.candu.aecl.ca)

net: 905.823.9040 x6120

Laser Eye ranging system. It consists of a robotic head with a

combined vision / range sensor. The sensor provides colour images and

distance to an object in the centre of the camera field of view. There

is of course software to process images from the camera and detect a

target, to control the head, communication, nice GUIs, etc. Is being

used for vehicle navigation.

From the head position you get the bearing to the target and the

rangefinder provides you with the distance. Angular resolution is

better than 0.05 degree, the distance can be measured up to 100m with

accuracy of ~5 cm. Note that the range measurement is 1D along the

camera axis.

The cost of the vision system and complexity of the software depends

on your specific application: how difficult is it to detect and track

your vehicle, how fast is it moving, is it possible to use special

markers, is illumination constant, etc.

-----

BCT GmbH

Martin-Schmeisser-Weg 9

D-44227 Dortmund

BCT in Germany makes laser-3D-scanners with a CAD-interface

-----

ERIM (Environmental Research Institute of Michigan)

ERIM has built a number of custom AM laser rangefinders

including those used in the ALV (Autonomous Land Vehicle) program. CMU

and Martin Marietta have both used this systems in extensive work.

Basic system was a 128x64 2fps 20m (ambiguity interval) system.

-----

Erwin Sick GmbH.

UK:

Erwin Sick

Optic-Electronic Ltd.

Waldrich House

39 Hedley Road

St. Albans

Herfordshire AL1 5BN

tel: 0727/831121

fax: 0727/856767

PLS-100: This device measures distance by TOF from 4 cm up to 80 m,

guaranteed range of 4 m (at a black lether target), is eye-safe (IEC

Class 1), takes a 180 degree scan in 20 ms, total 25 scans a second,

angle resolution 0.5 degree (361 scan points in a scan). This device

is build in a industrial IP65 case. And it is rather cheap (6.900,- DM

+ VAT, in Germany).

-----

ESP Technologies

21 LeParc Drive

Lawrenceville, NJ 08648

tel: 609.275.0356

fax: 609.275.0356

$15K LED based IR ranging system. 15cm diameter rotating scanning

device with collimated LED light beam that uses phase differences to

calculate distance. Range 0.6 to 6m. 2.5cm resolution, 15cm accuracy.

1Khz update rate

-----

Hammamatsu Corp.

New Jersey

tel: 908.231.0960

fax: 908.231.1539

Hamamatsu S4282 Light Modulation Photo IC The size of a normal

transistor (approx 1/4" square). It has 4 leads, Vcc, Gnd, Vout,

LED. All you do is attach an IR LED to the LED lead to give you an

instant IR proximity detector (the photo diode detector is built into

the part). Two can be aimed at each other and they won't interfere

since they'll be out of phase. They have another model with a lens

over the photo diode that is claimed could be used up to 30 feet!

Hammamatsu also sells a number of photo sensors like color sensors,

position sensitive detectors, pyroelectric sensors.

S4282-11 short range $7.75 single unit

S4282-72 long range $19.00 single unit

-----

IBEO Lasertechnik

Ingenieurburo fur

Elektronik + Optik

Fahrenkron 125

D 2000 Hamburg 71

tel: 040 645 87 - 01

fax: 040 645 87 - 101

2D and 3D laser scanners. 8frame/sec, 220 degree view, 4600

points/sec. Accuracy +/- 20mm (1 sigma) from 0.5 - 500? 24W power.

System specs can be configured for variety of applications

-----

LaserMax

Rochester, NY

tel: 716.272.5420

Manufactures semiconductor laser diode packages and cylindrical

lenses. Packages and small and rugged.

-----

Odetics

1515 South Manchester Ave

Anaheim, CA 92802-2907

tel: 714.758.0300

Odetics has made a number of smaller laser scanners. That is, smaller

than their larger ERIM and Perceptron brethren. I have not heard any

independent reviews of the product however.

-----

Origin Instruments

854 Greenview Drive

Grand Praire, TX 750750-2438

tel: 214.606.8740

fax: 214.606.8741

The Dynasight sensor is a 3-D optical radar that provides real-time

3-D measurements of passive targets with sub-millimeter resolution.

Automatic search and track is provided, eye-safe operation and no

adjustments or alignment required. Original application was head

tracking of computer users but end- effector tracking is also viable.

Operatin range depends on target size 0.1-1.5m for 7mm target, 0.3-4m

for 25mm target and 1 to 6m for 75mm targets. RS-232 interface.

Accuracies 1mm cross range and 4mm down range, resolutions 0.1mm cross

range and 0.4mm down range.

A number of labs have built light stripe devices using projected light

LCD shutters and laser line projectors determine distance through

geometry (as opposed to directly measuring distance through

time-of-flight means) One common need is that of generating the laser

line.

-----

Perceptron

23855 Research Drive

Farmington Hills, MI 48335-2643

tel: 313.478.7710

tel: 800.333.7753

fax: 313.478.7059

A spin-off of ERIM, Perceptron has also built a number of

AM laser rangefinders. CMU and Caterpillar have used these for map

building and obstacle avoidance work in rough terrain navigation.

LASAR product - provides range and reflectance. Programmable

field of view (15 to 60 deg) Vertical viewing angle from 3 to 72

degrees. Depth of field from 2 to 40 meters. Up to 1024 x 2048 pixels

per image (programmable) and 360,000 pixels/second data acquisition.

VME and PC-compatible interface cards available. Windows software

provides starting point for custom applications. Less than $50K with a

variety of performance and interface options.

-----

Riegl Laser Measurement Systems

[company HQ is Dr. Johannes Riegl GmbH, 85 km, NW of Vienna, Austria]

Riegl USA

8516 Old Winter Garden Road

Suite 101

Orlando, FL 32835

tel: 407.294.2799

fax: 407.294.3215

Laser range finders, laser speed sensors, laser distance

meters, motor scanners, laser radar systems. Pulsed laser devices. One

of the neatest is the Laser Scout, which gives range, azimuth and

inclination to the target and can be used with GPS to give position

coordinates of the device you are pointing at. $10K. Accuracy up to

+/- 10cm (depending on model)

Laser Radar Scanner (LRS 90-3) is a 1D scanner with 36 deg

field of view and a +/- 3cm accuracy. 2-80m distance, $10K. There are

several other distance models as well.

-----

Schwarz Electro-Optics

3404 N. Orange Blossom Trail

Orlando, FL 32804

tel: 407.298.1802

fax: 407.297.1794

Schwarz makes some very nice point range laser ranging devices. These

devices are slightly bigger than a soda can. About $6-12K. CMU

experience for use in simulated unmanned air vehicle platform worked

well. Their MARS (marine angle range system) is a rotating laser

device that reflects off targets in the environment. Max range up to

1000meters using corner prisms. Accuracy +/- 1m. Erebus (Dante)

Scanner used Schwarz device as base.

------------------------------

[10.1.4] Force/torque, accelerometers, tactile

Force measurement provides indications of magnitude and direction of

forces for use in manipulation or locomotion. A variety of control

schemes have been implemented in force controlled systems to allow

smooth and accurate control in situations that would otherwise be

precluded without such devices. A number of load cells and

acceleration measuring devices are described here:

Rich Voyles embarked on a force/torque sensor comparison many months ago and

compiled some of the results in a paper that is available via Mosaic

or anonymous ftp.

http://www.cs.cmu.edu:8001/afs/cs.cmu.edu/user/deadslug/ftp/home.html

ftp://ftp.cs.cmu.edu/usr/anon/user/deadslug/ft.sensor.ps.Z

The paper is woefully incomplete. The JR3 sensor we borrowed

was broken so we borrowed another and got limited data. The

old Lord data collection is incomplete and the Assurance

Technologies data is not fully included in the report. There

is some data from California Cybernetics. If there is

sufficient interest, we can finish the compilation.

By the way, we only seek to provide the data we gathered an

make no claims as to its accuracy or completeness. Use at your

own risk. The opinions expressed do not represent those of

Carnegie Mellon University nor any of its sponsors.

Send e-mail to robodude@cmu.edu with the subject "More Force

Data" if you read the report and would like to see it

expanded. Any other comments can be put in the body.

-Richard Voyles

-----

Analog Devices

tel: 617.937.1426

Analog Devices have the ADXL50 accelerometer which comes in a 10-pin

TO-5 can. It is primarily used with air-bags and has a 1994 projected

price of $5 in quantities. In the Electronic Design August 8, 1991

issue it quoted the current price as $21.75 for 1000 off quantities.

Analog Devices ADXL50 accelerometer.

Power Supply........................... +5V (+/- 5%)

Measurement Range...................... +/- 50g

Pre-Amp Zero-g output level............ +1.8V

Pre-Amp output span.................... +1.8V (+/-1.2V) at +/-50g

Uncommitted amp output range........... +0.25V to +4.75V

Overall Accuracy....................... 5% of Full Scale

Linearity.............................. 0.5% of Full Scale

Bandwidth.............................. DC to 1kHz

Voltage Noise (p-p)

at BW = 0.3kHz..................... +/-0.24% of Full Scale

at BW = 1.0kHz..................... +/-0.48% of Full Scale

Transverse Sensitivity................. 2%

Unpowered Shock Survival............... 2000g

Assurance Technologies (ATI)

(formerly Lord Industrial Automation)

503D Highway 70 East

Garner, North Carolina 27529

tel: 919.772.0115

fax: 919.772.8259

Largest supplier of multi-axis force sensors. Use silicon rather than

foil strain gages for lower strain levels and increased life. F/T

sensor ratings from +/- 15lbs to +/- 150lbs (+/- 15 in-lbs to +/- 600

in-lbs) weights are 0.4 and 2.2 lbs for the 4 available sensors.

Serial or parallel digital interface or analog interface. ATI also

makes robotic tool-changers and an RCC device for assembly operations.

An ATI sensor is also incorporated in the Hughes SMARTee end-effector.

Bonneville Scientific

1849 W. No. Temple, Bldg E.

Salt Lake City, UT 84116

tel: 801.359.0402

fax: 801.359.0416

Array sensor system that uses PVDF ultrasonic

emmitter/detector attached to an elastomer material. Time-of-flight of

the pulse as it bounces off of other side of the material is

porportional to distance through the elastomer. The distance is

porportional the pressure on the pad. Bonneville claims it can be made

thin enough for a skin and they have pictures of it being used on a

robot finger picking up a washer which can be recognized on their

output graphics. Example product:

Model 300 - 16x16 tactile sensor system - $5K

TOF resolution - 12.5 ns

Sheet thickness resolution - 6 microns

Pressure resolution - 0.5 psi (3.4 kPa)

Force resolution - 1g

Rubber linearity - 5-15% deviation

Overload - > 1000PSI (7000kPa)

Spatial resolution - 1.8mm

Scan rate on 16x16 pad - 240 Hz

An evaluation kit is available SE-1 Evaluation Kit - $99.00 includes

SE-1 sensor and electronics. SE-1 Sensor is $42 in single quantity.

California Cybernetics

10322 Sherman Grove

Sunland, CA 91040

tel: 818.353.5991

fax: 818.951.3889

Six DOF F-T devices. Up to 1000Hz sampling rate, reportedly easy to

interface.

Cybernet

1919 Green Road

Suite B-101

Ann Arbor, MI 48105

tel: 313.668.2567

fax: 313.668.8780

net: <heidi_jocobus@um.cc.umich.edu>

PER-force - A 6dof compact force-reflecting controller. Can be used

for teleoperationor interactive graphics applications.

Ercon

Need addresses

Somewhere in MA

Conductive rubber and conductive inks. You build a semi-rigid

circuit board with inter-digitated fingers to apply to one side of the

rubber. The rubber has a rough surface that under increasing load

allows more rubber to contact. They can make rubber with all sorts of

conductive properties.

Force Imaging

3424 Touhy Avenue

Chicago, IL 60645-2717

tel: 708.674.7665

tel: 800.348.3240

fax: 708.674.6355

Uniforce Force Sensors. They function similiar to a variable

resistor in an electrical circuit. As a force is exerted on the

sensor, the two layers of pressure sensitive material compress

together and cause a change in resistance which corresponds to a

change in pressure. As force increases, resistance decreases.

A Uniforce experimenters kit is available for $550 and

includes PC-AT card, cables, software, manual and nine Uniforce

sensors in three force ranges. They have ISA boards, PCMCIA version

and a PPIO version as well. Sensors available in ranges from 0-500g to

0-400kg. Uniforce sensors can be provided in a wide variety of shapes,

sizes and force ranges. Software is also available to display force

values in real-time.

Hughes STX

4400 Forbes Blvd

Lanham, MD 20706

tel: 301.794.5016

fax: 301.306.0963

A 6-dof end-effector with automatic load sensing and compensation.

Control modes include position control (cartesian with user spec-ed

poses and frames), impedence and force control modes. Programmable

behaviors (sliding, hinge, move-to-touch, guarded move, follow etc),

open architecture (VxWorks, VME, user-linakable libraries) and a lot

more. Interfaces available included RS-232, ethernet, RS-422 and SCSI.

Pretty amazing end-effector!

Interlink Electronics

1110 Mark Ave.

Carpinteria, CA 93013

tel: 805.484.8855

805.484.1331 (product support)

fax: 805.484.8989

Force Sensing resistors made from polymer thick films. Very

thin. Response is approx. 1/R to force. Article in March 1993 issue

of Electronics Now/Radio Electronics.

JR3

22 Harter Avenue

Woodland, CA 95695

tel: 916.661.3677

6-DOF force-torque sensors. Strain gage technology. Newer packages

have all electronics built into the sensor. Make some high-force

devices as well. CMU's Ambler used JR3's on all the feet with good

success. Complete force torque data at 8Khz, signal digitization

within sensor body, low noise susceptibility, synch serial at 2MHz,

inexpensive cabling.

Merritt Systems, Inc.

P.O. Box 2103

Merritt Island, FL 32954-2103

Contact: Dr. Dan Wegerif

tel: 407.452.7828

MSI is involved in the development of "Whole-Arm Sensor

Technology" under 2 NASA Phase II SBIR's. Their proximity sensing

technology is based on IR arrays which they call "SensorCells". It

allows the use of IR, acoustic and capacitive (under-development)

sensors in the same sensor skin.

Silicon Designs, Inc.

1445-NW Mall Street

Issaquah, WA. 98027-5344

Tel: (206) 391-8329

Fax: (206) 391-0446

Silicon Designs makes capacitive accelerometers.

Model 1010, Digital output:

Produces Digital pulse train in which the density of pulses

(number of pulses a second) is proprtional to applied acceleration.

It operates with a single +5 volt power supply and requires a clock of

100kHz - 1MHz. The output is ratiometric to the clock frequency and

independent of the power supply voltage. Two forms of digital signals

are provided for direct interfacing to a microprocessor or counter.

This devices comes in a PLCC package that is smaller than a penny.

Model 1210, Analog output:

Provides two analog outputs, 1-4 volts, or 4-1 volt, with O g's at

2.5 volts. The outputs can be used either differentially or single

ended referenced to 2.5 volts. Two reference voltages--+5.0 and +2.5

volts (nominal)-- are required; the output scale factor is ratiometric

to the +5 volt reference voltage.

Prices start at about $100 and they offer a digital accelerometer

evaluation board for $200.

Silicon Microstructures, Inc.

46725 Fremont Boulevard

Fremont CA. 94538

tel: 510.490.5010

fax: 510.490.1119

Model 7170 series and 7130 series capacitive accelerometers.

These are relatively large devices with built in ASIC signal

processing. They have very good accuracy specs and are

pre-calibrated. They also make pressure sensors.

Spectra Symbol

3101 West 2100 South

Salt Lake City, UT 84119

Bend sensor for glove device. Their business is custom

membrane controls: switches, membrane potentiometers, and the bend

sensors.

------------------------------

[10.1.5] Sonar sensors

The time it takes for an acoustic pulse to propagate through

air or water, reflect from the environment and return to a detector is

porportional to the distance.

Acoustic time-of-flight devices have been around for awhile

now. The ubiquitous Polaroid device is cheap and easily integrated and

has has found wide use in robotic devices. Other companies have

developed nice complete turnkey sonar devices though and Polaroid is

no longer the only choice.

Polaroid

119 Windsor St,

Cambridge, MA 02139

tel: 617.577.4681

fax: 617.577.3213

tel: 800.225.1000 ordering

tel: 800.225.1618 technical assistance

Polaroid Ultrasonic Components Group offers two ultrasonic ranging kits:

Specs:

Distance range: 0.26 to 10.7 meters

Resolution: Nominal +- 3mm to 3m, +-1% over entire range

Sonar acceptance angle: approx. 20 degrees

Power Requirement: 6VDC, 2.5 Amps (1 ms pulse), 150mA quiescent

Weight: Transducer, 8.2gm, Ranging module, 18.4 gm

Designer's Kit:

1 transducer, 1 ranging module, electronics display accurate

to 1/10th meter. Cost is $169

OEM kit:

2 transducers, 2 ranging modules. $99.

NEW Piezotransducer kit

2.5cm-1500cm +/- 1%, RS-232 port and analog output, extra real

estate, $299

This section describes a simple addition to the drive circuitry, the

Polaroid ranging system can detect objects as close as 10cm.

The board has two extra signals: BLNK and BINH. Asserting BLNK

(driving it HIGH) resets the ECHO RS-latch, and asserting BINH

shortens the internal blanking interval (which is 2.38 ms by default).

Thus, the solution would seem to lie in asserting BINH after a

reasonable amount of time (< 2.38 ms after asserting INIT) to detect

objects closer than 1.3 feet. This doesn't work very well because

BINH is very susceptable to noise, and attaching a driver to it wreaks

havoc possibly because of the anomalous current sink during the

transmit phase. This can be fixed by asserting BLNK during the

blanking period (ie the new blanking period) while negating BINH and

asserting BIHN after the blanking period while negating BLNK. This

can be done easily with a one-shot or some other timing device (eg

computer timer, etc).

A computer timer can be used. The timer goes HIGH tblank ms after INIT

is asserted, where tblank=0.15*dist and dist is the threshold distance

in inches). The timer output goes to BINH and the inverted timer

output goes to BLNK. The timer output should be inverted with an

LS/TTL inverter to delay the negation of BLNK, otherwise the RS latch

may do weird things.

[From Richard LeGrand]

Siemans - nice complete sensor package, 5 degree cone angle

Massa - components

Texas Instruments

Type SN28827 Sonar Ranging Module

See TI Applications Notes D2780

Under $50, needs only 5VDC

Not sure if these units are still manufactured but they are often in

surplus catalogs.

------------------------------

[10.1.6] Pan/Tilt devices

A common robotic need. Most pan-tilts sold today by companies

such as Pelco and Vicon are for CCTV applications for continuous

scanning or remote operation. At most these will have potentiometers

for feedback. A number of undersea companies make pan-tilt devices as

well that are rugged and nicely packaged, but these tend to be heavier

and more expensive than their terrestrial counterparts.

-----

Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. (AECL)

contact: Narinder Bains (nbains@bart.candu.aecl.ca)

net: 905.823.9040 x6120

P02 pan/tilt head. High speed with digital servos (120

deg/sec), encoders and continuous rotation. Controller as well.

-----

Brooks Support Systems

Williamson, NY

tel: 800-836-0285

contact: Frank Dickey

BSS makes a small pan/tilt unit:

4.5" high by 3.5" wide x 3.5" long

40 oz.

12V dc

operating current 150 mA

pan 359 degrees

tilts 160 degrees

Price: $3100

-----

CameraMan

CameraMan is a pan/tilt device built to support any camcorder

and has a wireless interface to an external remote control. 360 deg

pan and 50 deg of tilt. The unit is made by ParkerVision and sold

through Columbia AudioVideo (and probably other suppliers)

-----

CCTV Corporation

315 Hudson Street

New York, NY 10013

tel: 800.221.2240

fax: 212.463.9758

Standard CCTV pan-tilt devices like those from Vicon and

others. Inexpensive but no computer control. $557 - $1400

-----

Directed Perception

1451 Capuchino Avenue,

Burlingame, CA 94010

tel: 415.342.9399

Small computer controlled pan-tilt unit Model PTU-46-17.5

Weighs 1kg and can support ~1.5kg camera payload. Very nice specs:

330 deg/sec slew, 3.06 arcmin accuracy, on-the-fly position and speed

changes. 11-40VDC unregulated power input, RS-232 interface. Can use

RS-485 using RJ-11 to provide control of multiple PT units. Cost:

$1935 Includes PT unit, controller, cable and power supply.

$1800 w/o power supply.

-----

Emco Intertest Inc

27-1 Ironia Road

Flanders, NJ 07836

tel: 201.927.2900

fax: 201.927.8004

MicroPan PTX-400 very small P/T designed for remote viewing

with micro-CCD cameras. Weight 115g. Height under 7cm.

-----

Fujinon

10 High Point Drive

Wayne, NJ 07470

tel: 201.633.5600

fax: 201.633.5216

Fujinon CPT-10. 300 deg pan, =/- 95deg tilt. 15 deg/sec speed.

2kg. Payload 4kg. Analog input control.

-----

Omniview

tel: 615.690.5600

Instead of a conventional camera, you use one with a very wide

fish-eye lens. The (very distorted) image is then sent thru a box

that digitizes and processes the data in order to simulate a regular

camera. You can (completely in software) pan, tilt, rotate, and zoom

the image with great flexibility. $10K.

-----

Photosea

6377 Nancy Ridge Drive

San Diego, CA 92121

tel: 619.452.8903

Underwater pan-tilts including Cobra, very small design.

-----

Remote Ocean Systems

5111-L Santa Fe Street

San Diego, CA 92109

tel: 619.483.3902

fax: 619.483.2407

Underwater P/T systems, expensive but very nicely packaged. PT-5 is

a new subminature P/T device that can accomodate a small CCD color

camera and mini wet&dry lights. The P/T is 13.5cm high and 10cm wide.

Uses small brushless motors with harmonic drives. Radiation tolerant

and corrosion resistant. 360 scan on both axes.

-----

RSI Research Ltd.

Pacific Marine Technology Center

#3-203 Harbour Road

Victoria, BC. CANADA V9A 3S2

(604) 360-1025 FAX: (604) 360-1161

Underwater Pan/tilt devices.

-----

Telemetrics

Hawthorne, NJ

tel: 201.423.0347

Computer controlled P/T devices - fairly large though.

-----

TeleRobotics International, Inc.

7325 Oak Ridge Hwy Suite 104

Knoxville, TN 37931

tel: 615.690.5600

fax: 615.690.2913

An all-electronic pan/tilt/zoom resampler. That is, they put a box

behind a camera with a fish-eye lens. The box has digital inputs for

pan, tilt, zoom, rotation. The box resamples the video signal and

produces an output as though the image were acquired by a camera with

those parameters. Used as an alternative to pan/tilt devices.

-----

Zebra Kinesis

(spin-off of Zebra Robotics)

Jeff Kerr

tel: 415.328.8884

Small Pan/tilt head.

------------------------------

[10.1.7] Measuring robot position

How do I measure the postion of my arm/mobile robot/thing?

In many applications there is a need to accurately measure the

position of an end-effector (hand or gripper) or find coordinate

locations on objects, or track motion, or give a time and position

history of a moving object. Virtual reality applications need this

kind of device to provide realtime adjustments to views that are

projected to VR users. See news:sci.virtual-worlds for discussions on this

topic. Robotics people have needed this to provide accurate

assessments of manipulator motions and mobile robot positions.

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is an excellent positioning system

that is useful in outdoor settings, although recent developments in

Psuedolites (Pseudo Satellities) may bring GPS technology indoors and

to urban envrionments. While accuracy is intentionally degraded by the

US Military recent advances in differential systems and innovative

tracking techniques can give 20cm real-time accuracy. Even newer

techniques such as carrier-phase are bringing this figure into the mm

range for real-time. See news:sci.geo.satellite-nav for full

discussions of this technology.

Papers:

Useful papers to solve for transforms from positioning devices for

multiple reference frames:

Roger Tsai and Rainer Lenz, IEEE Trans. on Robotics and Automation,

Jun 1989.

C. C. Wang, IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation, April 1992.

Useful papers for evaluating 3 ad 6 DOF human input devices:

Shumin Zhai, Investigation of Feel for 6 DOF Inputs: Isometric and

Elastic Rate Control for Manipulation in 3D Environments, Proc. Human

Factors and Ergonomics Society 37th Annual Meeting,Seattle, WA,

October 1993.

Shumin Zhai and Paul Milgram, Human Performance Evalulation of

Manipulation Schemes in Virtual Environments", Proc. Virtual Reality

Annual International Symposium, IEEE, Seattle, WA, September 1993.

Shumin Zhai and Paul Milgram, Human Performance Evalulation of Isometric and Elastic Rate Controllers in a 6 DOF Tracking Task, Proc. SPIE vol. 2057, Telemanipulator Technology", Boston, MA, September 1993.

Commercial Devices:

-----

Blevins Enterprises

tel: 208-885-3805

contact: Nick Sewell

Blevins writes their own utilities and sell 3D digitizers

starting @ around $2,400 on up to around $75,000. Software is

compatible with Lightwave and 3D Studio modelling programs and will be

ported to SGI and PC's soon. Provide software to talk with Polhemus, a

sonic digitizer and a jointed-arm unit from Immersion.

-----

Cyberware

8 Harris Court 3D

Monterey, CA 93940

tel: 408.373.1441

fax: 408.373.3582

Italian distributor:

91-22-6409-949

Has 3D scanner. Cyberware has software for editing 3D models,

and stitching multiple scans into a single coherent whole. Software

is $5-10K each. Cyberware 3030RGB/HIREZ scanner with MM motion

platform, complete with all software, training and one-year support

costs [US] $75,200.

-----

Intelligent Solutions Inc.

One Endicott Avenue

Marblehead, MA 01945

tel: 617.639.8144

fax: 617.639.8144

net: isi@world.std.com

contact: Jim Maddox

Intelligent Solutions Inc. was formed in Nov. of 1993 by four of the

former engineers of Denning Mobile Robotics. They are focusing on building

smart sensors and their first product is the EZNav Position Sensor.

EZNav is a precision optical position sensor that can be used

on moving platforms such as automated guided vehicles, robots, or

material handling equipment. EZNav uses an eye safe scanning laser

with a 360 degree field of view to measure the azimuth angle to wall

mounted reference reflectors. This angle data can be used to

triangulate the position and heading relative to the known target

locations. EZNav is unique in its ability to use passive reflectors

as well as coded electronic targets. Current work includes adding

the triangulation calculations to the EZNav sensor and a new

Ultrasonic based position sensor.

Specs:

Target Range 30m passive up to 180m active

Abs. Accuracy +/- 0.03 degrees RMS

Scan Rate 12 per second

Data Rate 9.6k baud RS 232

Power 24 volts at 300 ma

Size 30cm Dia x 35cm High

Weight 4.5kg

An EZNav sensor with 10 passive targets costs $6,600. There

is a ten percent discount for educational uses.

-----

Polhemus Inc.

tel: 802.655.3139

fax: 802.655.1439

Burlington, VT

3Space, Isotrak, FasTrak:

Electromagnetic devices for sensing xyz and rotations

remotely. Limited to 1m or so radius. Sensitive to metallic objects

in vicinity. Approx $3k

-----

Ascension Technology Corporation

PO Box 527

Burlington VT 05402 USA

tel: 802.860.6440

fax: 802.860.6439

net: ascen@world.std.com

Sales: Jack Scully

Technical Support: Steven Work

Product is called Flock of Birds. A 6d0f measuring device.

Ftp site is ftp://ftp.std.com/ftp/vendors/Ascension/

gen_lit.txt - Contains general literature on 6D motion tracking

system. Accuracy Specifications, comments from prominent

users, list of 3rd party software vendors, FAQ on

tracking system, etc. Ascii text.

tecpaper.wp6 - Technical Description of Flock of Birds (TM) 6D

tracking system. In Binary WordPerfect 6.0 format.

userware.zip - Latest version of our User Software, including source

code. Enjoy. pkzipped binary file.

manual.wp6 - Latest version of our User Manual. In Binary

WordPerfect 6.0 format.

readme.txt - more info on files located in Ascension's FTP

directory. Ascii text.

Sensitivity to metal is claimed to be on the order 5 to 10 times less

than Polhemus tracker. Range and specifications are much better as

well.

The Ascension Flock of Birds tracker is DC pulsed, where the Polhemus

is AC magnetic field. The AC field set up standing waves in metal

(conduction and ferris) which magnify the distortion effect.

Charts provided by Acension:

KEY PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS OF ASCENSION & POLHEMUS TRACKING DEVICES

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Parameter Ascension Polhemus Polhemus

Flock of Birds Isotrak II Fastrak

Measurement Rate

(Measurements/sec)

1 Receiver 144 60 120

2 Receivers 144 30 60

@ Max Number of Rcvrs 144 30 30

Maximum Number of Receivers 30 2 32

Number of Transmitters to 1 1 4

Support Max Number of Receivers

Maximum Data Output Rate 312K 115K 115K

(Baud or Bytes)

Lag Increase with Multiple No Yes Yes

Receivers**

Range - Standard Transmitter 3' 5'* 10'*

- Extended Transmitter 8' N/A N/A

Accuracy Degradation Due to:

Conductive Metals Low High High

Stainless Steel None High High

(300 series)

CRT Interference Rejection Yes No Yes

LCD Noise Susceptability No Yes Yes

Unit Cost (1 Receiver) $2,695 $2,875 $5,750

* Note 1: Polhemus specifies range at maximum transmitter-sensor

separation distances. At these ranges, outputs will contain significant

amounts of noise, which may render their measurements worthless. We

will provide you with a number of references who have independently

assessed actual range performance of both Ascension and Polhemus trackers.

** Note 2: For a complete discussion of latency in competitive motion

trackers, contact Ascension.

Specifications:

Technical

Translation range: plus or minus 3'(8' optional) in any direction

Angular range: plus of minuw 180 degrees Azimuth & Roll

plus or minus 90 degrees Elevation

Translation accuracy: 0.1" RMS

Translation resolution: 0.03"

Angular accuracy 0.5 degrees RMS

Angular resolution 0.1 degrees RMS @ 12"

Update rate: Up to 144 measurements/second

Outputs: X,Y,Z positional coordinates and orientation

angles or rotation matrix

Interface: RS-232C with selectable baud rates to 115,200; or

RS-422/485 with selectable baud rates to 310,000

Format: Binary

Modes: Point or stream

Physical

Transmitter: 3.75-inch cube (internally mounted in Enclosure or

externally mounted with 10' cable) or extended range

transmitter option: 12-inch cube externally mounte with

20' cable

Receiver: 1.0" x 1.0" x 0.8" cube (or optional 3-button mouse)

with 10' or 25' cable

Enclosure: 9.5" x 11.5" x 2.6"

Power: User provided or optional external plug-in: US/European

version

Environment: Large metallic objects in operating volume may degrade

performance

-----

RSI Research Ltd.

Pacific Marine Technology Center

#3-203 Harbour Road

Victoria, BC. CANADA V9A 3S2

tel: 604.360.1025

fax: 604.360.1161

RSI Research makes a 6 DOF joystick. It has a medium workspace

(about 10 cm radius) and several buttons.

-----

Shooting Star Technology

1921 Holdom Avenue

Burnaby, B.C.

Canada V5B 3W4

tel: 604.298.8574

fax: 604.298.8580

ADL-1 6DOF tracker. Gives position/orientation measurements up

to 240 times/second, with low latency (0.35 to 1.88 milliseconds.)

-----

Abrams-Gentile Entertainment, Inc.,

244 West 54th Street,

9th Floor, New York, NY 10019

tel: 212.757.0700.

Mattel marketed the PowerGlove for use in gaming

(Nintendo). It tracked finger motions through small bend sensors. The

Mattel PowerGlove was developed by Abrams-Gentile. The sensors

themselves are simple resistors varying from about 200K to 500K ohms

depending on the amount of flex.

-----

Denning Branch International Robotics

1401 Ridge Avenue

Pittsburgh, PA 15233

tel: (412) 322-4412

fax: (412) 322-2040

email: Soon. Messages to hpm@cs.cmu.edu will be forwarded.

Denning-Branch is a merger of Denning Mobile Robotics, once

located in the Boston area, and makers of human-size mobile

robots since 1983, and Branch and Associates, of Hobart,

Australia, designers and builders of smaller mobile robots

since 1979.

LaserNav

Robot-mounted scanning infrared laser unit that uses wall

mounted bar-coded retroreflectors or active transponders to navigate

to centimeter precision in 10-meter-scale areas. $8K

-----

Guidance Control Systems

44 Hidcote Road, Leicester

011 44 455 822 441 ext 3808

fax 011 44 455 824 551

Contact: Malcolm Roberts

GCS's core group developed the rotating scanner and passive

target system. Featured in several papers out of Oxford. Caterpillar

has North American rights for materials handling applications. Uses

passive targets with barcodes. Targets have unique ID's and surveyed

positions. Rotating laser gives angles between targets. Target

positions combined with angles gives vehicle position and heading. 2Hz

scan rate but clever use of dead reckoned information and kalman

filtering can give very impressive results.

-----

MacLeod Technologies

315 Littleton Rd.

Chelmsford, MA 01824

tel: 508.250.4949

Update speed: 20 hz

position accuracy: +/-0.05inches (1.27 mm)

direction accuracy: +/- 0.05 degrees

3 D reference points cover 1 acre

1D, 2D or 3D feedback

Cost: About $5K for positioning system

They claim to be able to get this kind of accuracy even while

the robot is moving at several meters/sec.

-----

Selspot Systems Ltd

1233 Chicago Road

Troy, MI 48083

tel: 313.583.6940

fax: 313.583.1746

In Sweden:

tel: +46-31-878110

fax: +46-31-278992

Two camera system registers 3D position of IR LED's at very

high rates. Selspots Robot Check System can provide non-contact 3D

measurement and analysis of robot motion at 500 Hz rate. System has

been used for over 20 years. Used in motion studies for people,

animals and robots.

-----

Qualisys AB

Ogardesvagen 4

S-433 30 Partille

Sweden

MacReflex system uses CCD-based cameras for non-contacting

measurement of robots. Two camera system is typical. Uses small

passive targets and IR LED's colocated with the cameras lens. Video

processor calculates centroid of markers and displays in

real-time. Information is used to provide data and analysis of

position, velocity, acceleration, angles, angle velocity and

acceleration and position vs. time. Specs: Noise level 1:200000,

Resolution 1:70000, Relative accuracy: 1:30000, and absolute accuracy

1:10000. Accuracy is defined as standard deviation of difference

between measured and true positions/longest diagonal in measurement

volume.

Qualisys

41C New London Turnpike

Glastonbury, CT 06033

tel: 203.657.3585

fax: 203.657.3595

Selspot is marketed by:

Innovision Systems

30521 Schoenherr, Ste 104

Warren, MI 48093

tel: 313.751.0600

fax: 313.573.9845

Coordinate Measuring Machines are now widely used for process control,

statistical monitoring, entering 3D from a physical part into a CAD

system and many other uses. CMM's tend to be large and expensive.

-----

Supraporte Inc

5145-I Avenida Encinas, Carlsbad, CA 92008

Portable 6-axis measuring system. Model 2000

now available with battery power pack.

Very accurate. Very expensive.

-----

Faro

125 Technology Park

Lake Mary, FL 32746-6204

tel: 800.736.6063

tel: 407.333.9911

fax: 407.333.4181

Metrecom: 6DOF articulated pointer, like a portable CMM.

Endpoint accuracies are around .005" -> .025", depending on model.

Counterbalnaced design. Three models from 1.8m to 2.4m reach and

accuracies ranging from +/- .635mm to .127mm and prices from $14.4K to

$51.4K respectively.

-----

Cheasapeake Laser Systems

222 Gale Lane

Kennett Square, PA 19348

tel: 215.444.2300

fax: 215.444.2323

Laser metrology systems. CMS-3000 is a servo controlled

tracking laser interferometer measureing tool. The tracker follows a

retroreflective target whil providing real-time coordinate information

of the retro center location. Position of the target is provided in

XYZ coordinates via linear distance and two high accuracy angular

encoders. CMS-3000 can provide measurements over a large volume. 30m

radial, > 110 degrees elevation, > 270 horizontal. Down to 0.6 micron

resolution, 2 parts in 10^5 accuracy for range. (1m/sec tracking) up

to 6m/sec tracking at 5 micron resolution. Lightweight and cost

effective versus CMM's and offers speed and accuracy advantages over

theodolites and photogrammetry equipment. System can be leased by

hour/week/month. About $180K to buy.

------------------------------

[10.1.8] Measuring linear motion

There are very few devices to directly give absolute position

for linear motions. Often rack and pinion drives are combined with

geared rotary encoders to give absolute position. Here are some

manufacturers of Magneorestrictive sensors for measuring absolute

linear position. Accuracy is usually around 0.05% of full

scale. Futaba also makes an absolute linear position glass scale

device.

Gemco Magnetek

1080 N. Crooks Road

Clawson, MI 48017-1097

tel: 313.435.0700

fax: 313.435.8120

Balluff

PO Box 937

8125 Holton Drive

Florence, KY 41042

tel: 800.543.8390

fax: 606.727.4823

MTS Systems Corporation (Temposonics)

Sensors Division

Box 13218

Research Triangle Park, NC 27708

tel: 919.677.0100

fax: 919.677.0200

Norstat

PO Box 377

Hibernia, NJ 07842

tel: 201.586.2500

fax: 201.586.1590

------------------------------

[10.1.9] Interfacing sensors

Atmos Technology,Inc

1060 Lincoln Av,

San Jose Ca 95125

tel: 408.292.8066

fax: 408.292.8241

The AT1000A is a single chip sensor interface circuit that has

been used in pressure, acceleration, temperature and humidity

applications. 20 PIN SOIC Package, 12-Bit A/D Converter, 64 Bits

EEPROM memory. Programmable pulsed current source via EEPROM memory.

Three channel A/D: Iout1,Iout2, and Vdiff.

------------------------------

[10.2] Actuators

[This is a new section and there is much to add - contributions welcome]

How do I get a motor under computer control? What kind of

motor should I use? What are the differences between actuator types?

What other types of actuation are there?

Types of motors:

Synchronous

Stepper

AC servo

Brushless DC servo

Brushed DC servo

------------------------------

[10.2.1] RC-Servos

R/C servos for model airplanes, cars and other vehicles are light,

rugged, cheap and fairly easy to interface. For prices etc see one of

the many Radio Control magazines on the market.

Three wire connector for RC-servos:

Pin 1 = White = Signal

Pin 2 = Red = +5

Pin 3 = Black = Signal and Power Ground

[Tang = pin 1]

The signal is a variable width pulse ranging from 1-2ms in duration

and repeating every 12-20 ms. The output shaft rotates to a position

porportional to the input pulse width. Input pulse width is compared

to an internal timer pulse. The timer period is controlled by a pot

coupled to the servo's output shaft. The difference between the two

pulse widths is an error signal. The servo attempts to reduce or

eliminate the error signal by driving the output shaft in the

appropriate direction. When the error signal is within about 5

micro-seconds the drivers are turned off to preventing oscillation or

'hunting'.

How to reverse a servo?

The easiest way to do this is to hit your R/C hobby shop and buy a

servo reverser. This is a dedicated electronic module that plugs

between the servo and the controller (usually the R/C receiver) and

processes the pulse to "reverse" it. Basically, the device uses a 3

msec one-shot and an XOR gate. If your local hobby shop doesn't have

them, check Ace R/C catalog. See ads in any R/C magazine.

A harder way is as follows.

You have to reverse both the motor and the potentiometer leads.

It would be much easier to reverse the control input. All modern

radios have "reverse" switches for all channels. In the past you

could have one of 3 solutions:

a. Live with the servo as-is. Design your model with the servo

direction in mind.

b. Some companies had "reversed" servos. Probably no longer available.

c. Use a gadget between the receiver and radio that reverses

the servo. Possibly a single 4538 (Motorola MC14538) with 2

resistors, 3 capacitors and a trimmer pot.

d. Modify the servo. This is the most difficult and least desired

solution. Impossible if the motor is soldered directly to the

PCB (seen in some servos). [from Itai Nashon]

The following article is an excellent source on servo facts and a

PIC-based circuit to control R/C Servos. (See the Microcontrollers

Section for more info on the PIC)

The Juggler's Delight: PIC-based Controller For Up To

Eight Servos by Scott Edward. The Computer Applications Journal,

October 1994 p14 [A kit is available as well for the circuit,

including PC board, IC's etc]

Commercial controller for RC servos:

Pontech

401 E 17th St Suite B

Costa Mesa, CA 92627

tel: 714.642.8458

Pontech has a SV100 Servo Motor Controller which is based on the PIC

16C84 microcontroller. It accepts RS232 serial data signal from a

host computer and poutput PWM to control up to four RC servo motors.

Multiple boards can be parallel together to allow more servos. They

also sell FUTABA FP-S148 servos. boards: $49.95, servos: $16.95, +

$5.00 shipping and handling

Vantec

460 Casa Real Pl.

Nipomo, CA 93444

tel: 805.929.5055

Design and manufacture of Electronic Systems for remote

control mobile robots and vehicles. Vantec makes a servo control that

has been used successfully in this type of application and can be used

for velocity or position closed loop control. We can also modify R/C

transmitters for operation on special frequencies.

contact: Rich Howe <rhowe@pinot.callamer.com>

------------------------------

[10.2.2] Shape memory materials

Nickel-titanium alloys were first discovered by the Naval Ordinance

Laboratory decades ago and the material was termed NiTinOL. These

materials have the intriguing property that they provide actuation

through cycling of current through the materials. It undergoes a

'phase change' exhibited as force and motion in the wire.

Research into shape memory alloys, polymer gels and micromechanism

devices is ongoing. Library browsing is a must to get recent

information on these areas.

-----

Mondotronics

524 San Anselmo Ave.,

#107

San Anselmo, CA 94960

tel: 415.455.9330

tel: 800.374.5764

fax: 415.455.9333

net: <mondo@holonet.net>

A number of muscle wire (nitinol) projects including a small

walking machine. Book and sample kit with 1m each of 50,100 and 150

um wire - enough to build all 14 projects in book.

-----

Memry Technologies

57 Commerce Drive

Brookfield, CT 06804

tel: 203.740.7311

fax: 203.775.2359

Memry sell a Mitsubishi developed polyurethane based Shape

Memory Polymer. The material undergoes property changes in hardness,

flexibility, elastic modulus and vapor permeability under temperature

change. Medical applications is one focus for this material.

-----

Milford Instruments

United Kingdom

tel: (0977) 683665

fax: (0977) 681465.

Importers of the Parallax BASIC Stamps and Muscle Wires into

the UK.

-----

Bridgestone Corporation

3-2-25 Nishikubo,

Musashino City, Tokyo 180.

tel: 0422 54 5820

Rubbertuators: Rubber-based device that bends under applied

pneumatic pressure. For a rotation unit typical rotation angles are

360,120,90 degrees for linear unit the contraction rate cannot exceed

20%.

-----

TiNi Alloy Company

1621 Neptune Drive

San Leandro, CA 94577

Sheets and wire of NiTinOL alloys.

------------------------------

[10.2.3] Stepper Motor Controller

Wally Blackburn <wrb@ccsitn.cs.att.com> has provided a stepper motor

controller design that easily connects to a parallel port:

ftp://ft.bode.ee.ulaberta.you/pub/cookbook/unsorted/pc_stepr.zip

This is the info file for the Opto-Isolated Stepper Motor Controller.

While the info is oriented towards control via a PC parallel port, the

controller can really interface to just about anything.

The controller uses a UCN5804B controller IC from Allegro. This chip

can control motors at up to 35V and 1.25A continuously. Peaks of up

to 50V and 1.5A can be tolerated according to the data sheet.

The inputs to the UCN5804B are optically isolated from the control

circuitry. Input control voltages from 3 to 12V are acceptable.

Diodes are used to protect the UCN5804B from negative transients from

the motor windings. For efficient low-voltage operation, Schottky

diodes are used.

I have recently rewritten the instructions and included a

simple parallel port control program in QuickBASIC. The Turbo

C source is still included also. I still have kits for the

controller.

Wally Blackburn

wrb@ccsitn.cb.att.com

Here are some files on the operation and use of stepper motors from

Steve Walz:

ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/rstevew/

stepper.viz

steppers.tut

ibmlpt.faq

tomlpt.faq

____________________________________________________________________________

[10.3] Imaging and Vision for Robotics

[This is a new and incomplete section - need more information here]

There are a wide variety of frame grabbers, computer vision systems

and image processing tools available. For VME, Multibus, PC Bus, even

SBUS and STD, there are a number of options for getting images into

your computer.

-----

Analogic Corporation

8 Centennial Drive

Peabody, MA 01960

508 977-3000 Howard Cohen

508 977-6813 (fax)

DASM-VIP

Input: RGB, Y/C, NTSC, RS-170A, CCIR, RS-343A

Memory: up to 16mb

Bus: SCSI (2.5 Mb/s asynch, or 5 Mb/s synch.) Can be interfaced

to PC/ISA via SCSI card.

Processing: TMS320C31 33.3 MHz, 33.3 MFLOPs, 16.7 MIPS. Analogic also

provides an 'ISA bus Floating-Point DSP Signal Processor'

AP85c with a SCSI port and 5 TMS320C31 processors for 200 MFLOPs,

and up to 16Mb of global DRAM and upt to 1Mb of local SRAM

per processor.

Other: RS-343A, CCIR, NTSC, or S-Video display output. User programmed

RS-232 port for debugging, or whatever. An optional multi-tasking

realtime DSP operating system written by Analogic is available.

DASM-VIP with 16Mb costs $5995. The AP85c with 16Mb is $12,600.

-----

Cognex Corp.

One Vision Drive

Natick, MA 01760-2059

508 650-3000 Joseph B. Considine - sales rep

508 650-3332

Offers a vision system mostly targeted for industry. Good

selection of image processing routines.

5000 Series

Input: Up to 4 cameras multiplexed, RS-170 or CCIR 12 bit grey scale

Memory: up to 16Mb

Bus: ISA

Processing: 25Mhz 68030, 68882 Floating point coprocessor, 'VC-1' custom

ASIC for 2D correlation, blob analysis, histograms, and

various transforms, 'VC-2' custom ASIC for character recognition,

line finding, edge detection, Gaussian and LaPlacian filtering.

Other: Functions as VGA adapter eliminating the need for a separate

video card -- allows display of images. Also provides RGB and

monochrome video outputs.

-----

Coreco Inc.

6969 Trans-Canada Highway

Suite 113

St. Laurent Quebec

Canada H4T 1V8

514 333-1301

800 361-4914 (USA) Ralph Tesson - sales rep

514 333-1388 (fax)

A variety of ISA DSP-based bus frame grabbers and imaging

cards for PCs. Inputs for many cards includes RGB, NTSC, RS-170, CCIR,

or PAL 24 bit color, Y-C, RS-330, up to 16Mb VRAM and 64Mb

DRAM. DSP-based boards. Outputs include external display support,

composite video etc. Wide variety of convolutions and logical

operations on images available including histogramming.

-----

Current Technology Inc

97 Madbury Road

Durham, NH 03824

603 868-2270 Michael Glover

603 838-1352 (fax)

FF1 Frame Grabber

Input: RS-170 or CCIR

Memory: up to 1024x1024x16 bits image memory.

Bus: Half-size XT slot.

Processing: Analog Devices ADSP 2105 DSP (20 MOPs). Performs 3x3 convolution

in 390 ms.

Other: Library of C callable functions, and windows DLL. Very

inexpensive -- $995.

-----

Data Cube

[real-time frame buffers and imaging analysis]

[need address]

-----

Data Translation

100 Locke Drive

Marlboro, MA 01752

tel: (508) 481-3700

tel: (800) 525-8528

fax: (508) 481-8627

Offers 8 different models of general purpose monochome frame

grabbers with various resolutions and memory sizes.

-----

Dipix

1051 Baxter Road

Ottawa, Ontario

Canada K2C 3P1

613 596-4942

800 724-5929 ext 146 Paul Lamar - sales rep

Dipix offers 3 general purpose frame-grabbers:

Comet: captures RGB or 3 NTSC or PAL monochrome channels. 2Mb framestore and

24-bit RAMDAC for RGB display.

Magic: captures RGB, RS-170, CCIR, NTSC, PAL, or Y/C. 3Mb framestore and

EISA bus compatible

IP-8: low-cost monochrome (RS-170A or CCIR) framegrabber with color display

capability.

XPG-1000 Power Grabber

Input: RS-170, CCIR, digital, or programmable. Multiple input modules

Memory: up to 256Mb of image memory, 512Kb cache

Bus: ISA/VL and PCI bus

Processing: 50 Mhz TMS320C40 DSP from TI (which is programmable in C) and

'Power Processing Module'

Other: Functions as SVGA adapter eliminating the need for a separate

video card -- allows display of images. Also provides RGB and

XPG-360F Power Grabber

Input: 4 analog or one 8 or 16-bit digital input, programmable, or

RS-170, RS-330, CCIR

Memory: up to 80Mb

Bus: ISA/VL

Processing: TMS320C30 DSP from TI (which is programmable in C). DT-Connect

bus.

Other: Realtime display available

-----

ImageNation Corporation

P.O. Box 276

Beaverton, OR 97075

tel: (503) 641-7408

tel: (800) 366-9131

fax: (503) 643-2458

Cortex I Video Frame Grabber features half-slot card, real

time imaging with display output, 8 bit, RS-170, CCIR formats

available, Binary, TIFF file formats, EISA & STD bus products

available, single 512 x 484 or four 256 x 242 images

-----

Imaging Technology Inc.

55 Middlesex Turnpike

Bedford, MA 01730-1421

617 275-2700

217 275-9590 (fax)

Offers a modular vision system that can be taylored for the

application. Both VME and PC ISA/VL-bus platforms are supported. It

seems likely, however, that when all the required modules are

selected, the system will have a fairly large pricetag.

A system consists of an 'image manager' or IML which is either a VME

or PC ISA/VL-bus compatible board. It contains some framstore memory

and a slot for the 'acquisition module'. For the PC version, the IML

can be used as the system VGA adapter, eliminating the need for a

separate display card or module. To add one of the many available

computational modules, the 'Computational Module Controller' or CML

must be purchased, which also plugs onto (sort of) the IML. The CML

has slots for either one or two plug-on computational modules. So, as

you can see, it adds up quick. About $23k for a system with 2

C31 DSP computational modules. Device drivers are available for

DOS/Windows, VxWorks, OS-9, and Solaris.

There are 4 available acquisition modules:

Variable Scan: interfaces to RS-170 and CCIR cameras

Fast Analog Acquisition: interfaces to high frame rate analog cameras

Color Acquisition: interfaces to NTSC, PAL, RGB or multiple RS-170/CCIR

cameras. One interesting feature of this module is the ability to program

your own color space. Otherwise, it supports HSI, YUV, YIQ and YCrCb

color spaces.

Digital Acquistion: interfaces to RS-422 or TTL video sources.

There are 5 available computational modules:

Convolver/Arithmetic Logic Unit (CM-CLU): Accelerates convolution. e.g.

a 4x4 convolution on an 8-bit 512x512 image takes 7.5 ms.

Programmable Accelerator (CM-PA): Contains a TMS320C31 DSP from TI (which

can be programmed in C), 4Mb image memory and 1Mb of EEPROM.

Histogram/Feature Extraction Processor (CM-HF): Performs realtime histograms

and feature detection.

Median and Morphological Processor (CM-MMP): performs morphological filtering,

erosion, and dilation.

Binary Correlator (CM-BC): Performs high-speed template matching and binary

morphology.

-----

Mandex Technology, Inc.

1191 Chicago Road

Troy, MI 48083

tel: 810.585.1165

fax: 810.585.3745

contact: M. Gupte

SMART EYE I: DSP-based real-time image processing system

designed specifically for mobile and fixed base robotics

systems. Stand-alone image processing system on a single board. Low

power consumption, small form factor, and low weight. The single

board system includes: four monochrome camera inputs, video digitizer

(gain and offset software adjustable), input look-up table, two frame

grabbers, additional two video buffers, color mappable image display

buffer, color mappable graphics overlay buffer, RGB display driver,

serial communications port, and application program RAM and

EPROM. Program code can be burned into EPROM. Wide variety of language

and development platform support. Additional hardware expansion to

provide addtional I/O capabilities.

-----

Matrox International Corp.

1055 St. Regis Blvd. Dorval

Quebec, Canada H9P 2T4

514 685-2630

800 361-4903 Spiro Plagakis - sales rep

514 685-2853 (fax)

The IMAGE series consists of the following mutually compatible hardware:

IMAGE-1280 Baseboard consists of a TMS34020 GSP, TMS34082 FPU, 4Mb of DRAM,

custom ASICS for fast data transfer, and a high resolution RGB display

driver.

IMAGE-ASD is a monochrome acquisition card that plugs into the ISA bus.

IMAGE-CLD is a color acquisition card that does realtime RGB to HSI conversion

and also plugs into the ISA bus.

IMAGE-RTP performs a whole slew of processing functions using a bunch of

ASICS (e.g. histograms, LaPlacians, morphologies, logical operators, erosion,

dilation, centroids, pattern matching, more)

IMAGE-FPU accelerates large kernel convolutions and FFTs

Matrox also offers an extensive image processing library and utilities

that run under Windows.

-----

Sharp Electronics

16841 Armstrong Ave.

Irvine, CA 92714

714 261-6224

800 562-7427

714 261-9321 (fax)

The basic system that Sharp offers is the GPB-1

Input: 4 multiplexed RS-170 inputs 8 bit greyscale. Optional 'Incard'

allows 3 parallel camera inputs, or one RGB input, but occupies

another ISA slot.

Memory: 12 512x512x8 bit framestores.

Bus: ISA

Processing: High-speed ASICS which perform convolution, histogram analysis,

feature extraction, connectivity analysis, more. These operations

all take place at 40 ns/pixel. Thus, for example, a 3x3

convolution takes 12 ms for a 512x512x8 bit image. Other

processing boards (see below) are available and external

interfaces are provided for the addition of a separate Alacron

i860 card with 80 Mflops of performance (available 2/95).

Other: VGA output for displaying images. An optional 'Single monitor

adapter' acts as the system VGA adapter.

There are 3 function-specific computational cards that plug into the GPB-1:

Alignment card: performs normalized correlation with model data.

Auxlut card: has dual 64k 16 bit input 8 bit output lookup tables.

A possible application would be RGB to HSI conversion.

Auxwarp Card: 'a pixel re-sampler that may be used to modify the

geometric shape of an object.'

Memory Mapping: Maps large amounts of image data to ISA bus and allows

random access of regions of interest, say. Also it allows new GPB-1

commands to be loaded in and ready to go while the GPB-1 is busy with

its current command. Occupies a separate ISA slot.

Sharp also has available a Windows algorithm development tool which allows

the user to develop algorithms using interpreted scripts -- thus eliminating

the compiling step. The scripts can then be converted to C-code and

compiled, if appropriate. Over 250 C-callable image processing functions are

provided.

The basic GPB-1 system costs $11,000. A system with an Incard, and Auxlut

runs around $20,000.

-----

Teleos Research

576 Middlefield Road

Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA

Tel: 415/328-8800

Fax: 415/328-8880

E-mail: info@teleos.com

URL: http://teleos.com/

Advanced Vision Platform, AVP-100 provides:

- stereo range measurements

- motion measurements

- 3D model-based object tracking

- video frame rate performance

AVP-100 consists of a video processing unit containing an

embedded processor, the new PRISM-4 accelerator board, and interface

modules. To use the system, all that is required is a camera and a

host processor with an Ethernet interface.

Connect to http://teleos.com/">http://teleos.com/ for more

information or send e-mail to info@teleos.com with the subject

'AVP-100'.

TIM-40 PC-based Vision Systems

------------------------------

There are about a handful of companies that support TIM-40 module platforms.

(TIM-40 is a specification developed by TI and industry to incorporate

the TMS320C40 into a flexible, modular architecture. A single TIM-40

module is 2.5" x 4.2".) The C40 is often referred to as a 'next generation

transputer' because of its six 20Mb per sec. comports which make connecting

multiple C40s together very easy. The speed at which data can be exchanged

makes it well suited for multiprocessor image processing. A system consists

of a computer host-specific motherboard (that the TIM-40 modules plug into)

and the appropriate TIM-40 modules. All companies listed below support both

VME and PC/ISA daughter boards, however, only the PC/ISA boards are described.

Since these systems typically consist of more than one processor, development

software that supports multiple processors would be nice. 3L Parallel C is an

ANSI C compiler that allows you to write multitasked software and divide the

tasks between the available processors at compile time. It's built ontop

of the TI C compiler which is known for its optimizing and efficient

instruction scheduling. Data is sent between arbitrary tasks (which may

reside on separate processors) by sending C structures. Thus, the

development environment is comfortable and intuitive. All companies listed

offer 3L Parallel C.

-----

Transtech Parallel Systems Corp.

20 Thornwood Drive

Ithaca, NY 14850-1263

607 257-6502 Andy Stevens - sales rep

607 257-2980 (fax)

TIM-40 PC/AT motherboard: 4 TIM-40 sites. Communication between one TIM-40

slot and PC takes place through 1K FIFO buffer. JTAG support for debugging.

RGB/Composite framegrabber module: occupies 2 TIM-40 slots and accepts

RS-170 RS-330, CCIR, NTSC, PAL, Y/C or RGB. Has an onboard 50Mhz TMS320C40

(50 MFLOPs). 3Mb of VRAM and up to 4Mb of DRAM is available.

Flexible Memory TIM-40: occupies 1 TIM-40 slot, has onboard 50 Mhz TMS320C40s

(50 MFLOPs) and up to 4Mb of DRAM.

Dual C40 TIM-40: occupies 1 TIM-40 slot, has 2 onboard 50 Mhz TMS320C40

(100 MFLOPs) and 512k SRAM per processor.

Display TIM-40: allows display of RGB images.

-----

Spectrum Signal Processing Inc.

8525 Baxter Place, 100 Production Court

Burnaby, BC, Canada V5A 4V7

604 421-5422

604 421-1764 (fax)

508 366-7355 Mark Coutour

800 232 1842 Paul DeBruyn

800 663-8986

QPC40 Motherboard: 4 TIM-40 sites. Communication between any of the

4 TIM-40 slots and the PC takes place through 2 16 bit ISA bus locations

(one for transmit, one for receive) per TIM-40 slot. JTAG support for

debugging.

RGB/Composite framegrabber module: occupies 2 TIM-40 slots and accepts

RS-170 or RGB. Has an onboard 50Mhz TMS320C40 (50 MFLOPs) and a RAMDAC

for displaying RGB images. 32kb of EEPROM, 512kb of SRAM, and up to 16Mb of

DRAM is available. Currently, (11/94) this module is not supported by 3L

Parallel C, nor does it have framegrab software source available.

Several single C40 TIM-40 modules are offered that differ in memory models --

some have EEPROM for boostrapping, or up to 8Mb of DRAM offered on a single

TIM-40, or up to 65Mb od DRAM on a double TIM-40.

Dual C40 TIM-40: occupies 1 TIM-40 slot, has 2 onboard 50 Mhz TMS320C40

(100 MFLOPs) and 512k SRAM per processor.

Spectrum also offers ILIB -- an image processing library with routines to

perform convolution, LaPlacians, high and lowpass filtering, more.

-----

Traquair Data Systems Inc

Tower Building, 112 Prospect St.

Ithaca, NY 14851

607 272 4417 Steve Bradshaw

697 272 6211 (fax)

HEPC2 Motherboard: 4 TIM-40 Sites. Communication between one TIM-40 slot and

the PC host takes place through 2 16 bit ISA locations (one for transmit,

one for receive). JTAG support for debugging.

CFG-RGB framegrabber module: occupies 2 TIM-40 slots and accepts

RS-170 or RGB. Has an onboard 50Mhz TMS320C40 (50 MFLOPs). 1Mb of VRAM

framestore and 4Mb of DRAM memory onboard. Frame grab software and source

is provided.

VIPTIM convolution accelerator: occupies 2 TIM-40 slots. Contains a

50MHz TMS320C40 and ASICs that can convolve at 12.5 million pixels per sec.

with kernels up to 7x6 or 14x3. 3, 1Mb VRAM framestores and 4Mb DRAM memory

onboard.

HETwin dual C40 TIM-40: occupies 1 TIM-40 slot, has 2 onboard 50 Mhz

TMS320C40s (100 MFLOPs) and 512kb SRAM per processor. Similar model with

2 C44s and 1Mb SRAM per processor will be available early 95.

HEQUAD quad C44 TIM-40: occupies 1 TIM-40 slot, and has 4 onboard

TMS320C40s (200 MFLOPs) and 512kb SRAM per processor.

occupies 1 TIM

Traquair also offers the following software:

EYELIB: image processing library (different than ILIB (?)) that

performs convolution, histograms, logical operations, more.

CDSOFT: a utility that works with 3L Parallel C that allows the display

of RGB image data to the PC host's VGA monitor in less than realtime.

Mathlib: a math library accelerator for the C40 that in many cases more

than doubles the speed of some floating point calculations (e.g. sin).

Matlab interface: allows an arbritrary C40 processor to execute functions

in Matlab (that's running on the PC host).

------------------------------

[10.4] Wireless Communication

Tethers for supplying power and communication are sometimes

impractical and at best an annoyance. Digital communication via RF

and IR links is becoming cheaper and a number of companies are

providing off-the-shelf solutions. For basic serial line communication

a wide variety of radio modems are available that use fixed

frequencies or spread spectrum techniques. In many cases they are also

transparent. That is, you plug them directly into serial ports on the

robot and off-board computing directly. Higher bandwidths such as

Ethernet or high speed synchronous serial require different hardware.

However, with high speed serial communication you may even be able to

SLIP (Serial Line Internet Protocal) or PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)

instead of using a LAN-based device.

This area of communication is changing very quickly and new

products and companies are appearing every day.

[10.4.1] RF Modems

[10.4.1] RF Video

[10.4.2] RF Ethernet

See also a nice list at: [LIST IS NO LONGER THERE - AWAITING NEW SITE]

ftp://csd4.csd.uwm.edu/pub/Portables/Wireless/wireless-modems

or gopher://csd4.csd.uwm.edu

[Maintained by David Kent <dkent@world.std.com>]

------------------------------

[10.4.1] RF Modems

Comrad, Communications Research and Development Corporation

7210 Georgetown Road, Suite 300

Indianapolis, IN 46268

tel: 317.290.9107

fax: 317.291.3093

Comrad CCL901-DP 900 MHz Wireless Data Link. 500 meter range

can be extended through additional transponders. RS232 - 38Kbaud.

Battery pack available for portable applications. Two transceiver

units, software, power adapter, serial cables for $449.95. Modems. Two

channels: 1200-38,400 baud, 100m range, 20m range through two

walls. Easy to set up.

Cylink

310 N. Mary Avenue

Sunnyvale, CA 94086

tel: 408.735.5800

tel: 800.533.3958

fax: 408.735.6643

AirLink - series of highspeed synch or async modems to

256kb/s. Interfaces include V.11, RS-232, EIA-530. Spread spectrum

device operating in 902-928Mhz range.

GRE America,

Belmont, CA,

tel: 800.233.5973

GINA 6000, spread spectrum, smart wireless modem, up to 128

Kbps, 902MHz, 1 watt

Hamtronics, Inc.

65-D Moul Rd.

Hilton, NY 14468-9535

tel: 716.392.9430

fax: 716.392.9420

1200 and 9600 baud units/modules for a few hundred dollars.

Micrilor Inc

17 Lakeside Park,

Wakefield, MA 01880

tel: 617.246.0130

fax: 617.246.0157

RS-232, T1221 and R1221 transmitters. 902-928MHz, no FCC

license required. Data rates to 64k-baud. >100m range. Power 35mA@3VDC,

Antenna is 60cm RG174 coax. Price: $550 ea.

Monicor Electronics

Fort Lauderdale, FL

tel: 305.979.1907

fax: 305.979.2611

System 310 two-card OEM set for use in palmtops and handheld

computing. System 310 board set transmits at 1mW to 2W for a range of

3 to 3km range. Priced at $660 in quantity. Model IC-15-48 - rugged

RS232 4800 baud modem. Can network a number of these portables. $1630.

Motorola Radio-Telephone Systems Group

Arlington Heights, ILL

tel: 708.632.5000

AltairNet: 18GHz-based system design for wireless, indoors

networking. The boxes are fairly large, about the size of a shoebox,

and are relocatable but not portable. Problem is that is that they

really aren't for mobile applications. The reception area has holes

like swiss cheese. Not a problem with some fine adjustment in

stationary applications but a big problem for mobile devices.

Pacific Crest Corporation

1190 Miraloma ay, Suite W

Sunnyvale, CA 94086-4607

tel: 408.730.5789

tel: 800.795.1001

fax: 408.730.5640

DDR-96 and RDDR-96 Radio modems. To 9600 baud. 2W. Point-to-point

communcations. Uses standard RS-232 9pin DB style connectors. Can also

be used in packet switching networks. Forward error correction

techniques and PLL synchronization. The RDDR is a ruggedized version.

Cost is about $1100 and $1230 respectively. FCC license required.

Proxim, Inc.

Mountain View, CA,

tel: 800-229-1630

Proxlink XR, spread spectrum, smart wireless modem, up to 256

Kbps, 902MHz, 500mW, 800 ft range.

----

Other with little information:

NCR sells the WaveLAN, which has about a 1Mbit/sec data rate. Not

exactly "ethernet", but interfaceable to most networks using MS-DOS

boxes as routers.

Tetherlink in California is experimenting with a 2Mbit/sec cellular

system that is designed for roving portables. [Need address]

O'Neil provides bidirectional 19.2Kps RS-232 links that

you can run a terminal emulator or SLIP over, range about 100 ft.

[need addresses]

A number of articles have also been posted about the modification of

inexpensive walkie-talkies for wireless communication. Typical

bandwidths are limited to about 1200 baud. This may be sufficient for

simple command-level control of a mobile mechanism. See Archives.

------------------------------

[10.4.1] RF Video

For regular frame rate video over relatively short distances

it's hard to beat the price and availability of several consumer

products in the $100 range. Check local stores or place like the

Sharper Image (Gemini Rabbit is one of the companies making these

units) Microwave systems require line-of-site communication,

licensing, and are expensive.

------------------------------

[10.4.2] RF Ethernet

There are some related articles in the Feb/93 Byte Magazine.

Proxim Inc.

295 North Barnardo Ave.

Mountain View, CA 94043

tel: 415.960.1630

fax: 415.964.5181

A product announcement for wireless LAN board on p.68 in May/92 Byte Magazine

Price: $495

Range: 800 ft.

Data Rate: 242 Kbps

Channels: 3

Telesystems SLW

85 Scarsdale Road, Suite 201

Don Mills, Ontario, Canada

ARLAN radio LAN

We've used ARLAN with CMU's Ambler work. It's an ethernet

bridge and it smart about routing traffic across the repeater. The 620

is about $5K. Can be used without a license in the US. (spread

spectrum) 6 miles range.

------------------------------

[10.5] Robot Parts: Suppliers and Sources

Many inquiries on comp.robotics are of the form: Where can I find X?

where X might be motors, gears, fasteners, connectors etc. The

following companies carry a wide selection of electronics and

mechanical parts. With the possible exception of computing these

companies should have all you need to build robot mechanisms.

Also see the file regularly posted to sci.electronics and a number of

the radio newsgroups:

ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/sci.electronics/My_List_of_Mail_Order_Electronics_Companies

All Electronics Corp.

P.O. Box 567

Van Nuys, CA 91408

tel: 800.826.5432

Electronics parts.

Allied Devices

2365 Milburn Avenue,

PO Box 502

Bladwin, NY 11510

tel: 516.223.9100

fax: 516.223.9172

Standard precision mechanical components

American Science and Surplus

3605 Howard St.

Skokie, IL 60076

tel: 708.982.0870

fax: 800.934.0722

C&H Sales

2176 E. Colorado Blvd.

Pasadena, CA

tel: 818.796.2628

tel: 800.325.9465

Surplus parts. Motors etc.

Digi-Key Corp.

701 Brooks Avenue South

P.O. Box 677

Thief River Falls, MN 56701-0677

tel: 800.344.4539

Distributor of electronics components and semiconductors.

Edmund Scientific

101 E. Gloucester Pike

Barrington, NJ 08007-1380

tel: 609.573.6250 order

tel: 609.573.6260 customer service

Lots of optics, science and educational items. A little pricey

but nice selection. Edmund also has a Robotic Technology Curriculum

with lessons and tests featuring the Movit robots. Curriculum is $65.

Electronic Goldmine

PO Box 5408

Scottsdale, AZ 85261

tel: 602.451.7454

Fascinating Electronics

P.O. Box 126

Beaverton, OR 97075

tel: 503.292.5233

Experimenter's kits and other electronics.

Graymark

Box 5020

Santa Ana, CA 92704

tel: 800.854.7393

Robot and electonics kits, tools and instruments.

Herbach and Rademan Co.

18 Canal St.

P.O. Box 122

Bristol, PA 19007-0122

tel: 800.848.8001 (orders)

tel: 215.788.5583 (office)

fax: 215.788.9577 (fax)

Electro-mechanical "surplus" parts, equipment and insturments.

JDR Microdevices

1850 South 10th st

San Jose, CA 95112-9941

tel: 408.559.1200, 800.538.5000

fax: 800.538.5005

bbs: 408.494.1430

Surplus and lots of electronic components including cameras and

some sensors. Some recent components have included:

TV transmitter (part # RK-TV6, $19.95 US) transmits composite video +

audio to any television set withing 600' on one of channels 2 - 6.

Runs on 12VDC.

Microwave doppler radar sensor. Claims to detect a person or animal up

to 12' away (part number RK-MD3, $19.95 w/o case. Claims to come with

complete circuit theory and instructions.

Marlin P. Jones

tel: 407.848.8236

Lots of neat surplus stuff.

McMaster-Carr Supply Company

PO box 440

New Brunswick, NJ 08903-0440

tel: 908.329.3200

fax: 908.329.3772

An amazing catalog of hundreds of thousands of parts. Lots of

mechanical things but not much for electronics or computing.

MECI

tel: 800.344.4465

Mendelson Electronics Co., Inc

tel: 800.422.3525

Newark Electronics

500 N. Pulaski St.

Chicago, IL 60624-1019

tel: 312.784.5100 (check locally)

Major distributor of electronics components and equipment (1200+

pages) with branches throughout the US.

Nordex

50 Newton Road

Danbury, CT 06810-6216

tel: 203.792.9050

Gears, cams, universals etc.

PIC Design

PO Box 1004

Benson Road

Middlebury, CT 06762-1004

tel: 800.243.6125 (except CT)

tel: 203.758.8272

Bearings, clutches, brakes, couplings, tools, belts, pulleys, gears

etc.

Pure Unobtainium [GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!!!]

13109 Old Creedmoor Road,

Raleigh, NC 27613-7421

tel: 919.676.4525

net: 74065,1363@compuserve.com

All kinds of unusual and hard-to-find parts. I2C8 bus parts, stepper

motor drivers, microcontrollers, digital power drivers, isolators,

muxes, switching regulators, IR remote control, etc etc. No credit

cards.

Radio Shack

Electronic parts and kits. Local retail stores in just about every

city)

SECS, Inc.

520 Homestead Avenue

Mt. Vernon, NY 10550

tel: 914.667.5600

Gears and gear assemblies, belt drives, couplings, bearings, small

parts.

Seitz

Box 1398

Torrington, CT 06790

tel: 203.243.5115

Drive components, gears etc.

Servo Systems

115 Main Road

PO Box 97

Montville, NJ 07045-9299

tel: 201.335.1007

fax: 201.335.1661

Surplus pieces and prices, motors, actuators, geardrives,

controllers, robots, encoders, transducers, amplifiers.

Small Parts Inc.

6891 NE Third Ave

PO Box 381966

Miami, FL 33238-1966

tel: 305.557.8222

fax: 305.751.6217

Lots of neat small supplies including: materials, metal stock,

fasteners, tools etc. This company is the "misc parts" supplier to

the "U.S. FIRST" competetion where corporations and HS Students form

partnerships to build competing robots like Dr Flowers' ME class at

MIT.

Stock Drive Products

2101 Jericho Turnpike

Bobx 5416

New Hyde Park, NY 11042-5416

tel: 516.328.3300

fax: 516.326.8827

Great set of handbooks of thousands of components.

Winfred M. Berg

499 Ocean Ave.,

East Rockaway, LI, NY 11518

tel: 516.599.5010

Precision Mechanical Components

Any technical library should have catalogs from the larger

distributors. These include McMaster-Carr, Grainger, Allied, Newark,

etc.

____________________________________________________________________________

End of Part4.--

aka: Kevin Dowling Carnegie Mellon University

tel: (412) 268-8830 The Robotics Institute

adr: nivek@ri.cmu.edu Pittsburgh, PA 15213

aka: Kevin Dowling Carnegie Mellon University

tel: (412) 268-8830 The Robotics Institute

adr: nivek@ri.cmu.edu Pittsburgh, PA 15213

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