Design of a self-organizing sensor system

Flexible sensor system is difficult to realize though it is required in many applications, because both the sensor hardware and software should be re-arranged when the specifications changes. This paper proposes a self-organizing sensor system, that is composed of standardized hardware and software modules. The system involves an expert system, and designs not only the hardware composition including the auxiliary motion, but also the software organization including the action sequence by itself. The concept was implemented on transputer-based parallel processing system, in which a combination of a CCD and an ultrasonic sensor is adopted with auxiliary rotary motion, and also a software system composed of several modules is organized. The system can identify the specified object while recognizing its position