Surface-Trace Feasibility for IR-Based Position-Sensing Devices

Feasibility of using infrared (IR)-based short-range position-sensing devices (PSDs) to trace the surfaces of objects that would be encountered by robots, or requested in the production line of factories, is examined. Performance of the IR-based PSD is evaluated from points of view of range reproducibility, edge detection capability, and surface-trace feasibility in order to know whether the IR-based PSD can be applied to capture of the outline of various objects. Experiments demonstrate the successful capture of the outline of several objects, although the simple PSD still reveals specific characteristics to obstruct the outline capture. An advanced method to eliminate difficulties is also proposed, and its validity is examined experimentally.