Networked transducer interface module design and its application in bionic robotic sensing system

A smart transducer network consisting of a set of transducer nodes with digital bus was introduced in this paper for robot sensing system real-time measurement and control. The design idea was based on IEEE1451 transducer interface standards, which utilize existing controlling network technology and develop standardized connection methods for smart transducers to controlling networks. Some requirements, such as ´plug-and-play´ capability, system integration and dynamic reconfiguration, were described, which is achieved through a ´transducer electronic data sheet´ (TEDS) in our networked transducer module. The TEDS contains fields that fully describe the type, operation, and attributes of one or more transducers and its data formats are defined. The paper also specifies a digital interface for connecting transducers to access this data sheets for reading sensor data and setting actuators. In the end, a bionic robotic sensing system based on the networked sensor system is present.