1. The VODKA sensor: a bio-inspired hyperacute optical position sensing device
- Author
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Nicolas Franceschini, Lubin Kerhuel, Stéphane Viollet, Neurobiologie des réseaux sensorimoteurs (NRS (U7060)), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 (UPD5)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institut des Sciences du Mouvement Etienne Jules Marey (ISM), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-05-BLAN-0309,RETINAE,RETINAE : REflex Tricks In Natural and Artificial Eyes(2005), Neurobiologie des réseaux sensorimoteurs ( NRS (U7060) ), Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 ( UPD7 ) -Université Paris Descartes - Paris 5 ( UPD5 ) -Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ), Institut des Sciences du Mouvement Etienne Jules Marey ( ISM ), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique ( CNRS ) -Aix Marseille Université ( AMU ), ANR-05-BLAN-0309,RETINAE,RETINAE : REflex Tricks In Natural and Artificial Eyes ( 2005 ), and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)
- Subjects
0209 industrial biotechnology ,Engineering ,vision ,[ INFO.INFO-TS ] Computer Science [cs]/Signal and Image Processing ,Astronomy ,[ SPI.SIGNAL ] Engineering Sciences [physics]/Signal and Image processing ,02 engineering and technology ,law.invention ,[SPI.AUTO]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Automatic ,[ SDV.NEU.SC ] Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences ,020901 industrial engineering & automation ,[INFO.INFO-TS]Computer Science [cs]/Signal and Image Processing ,law ,[ SPI.AUTO ] Engineering Sciences [physics]/Automatic ,0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering ,Micro Aerial Vehicle (MAV) ,Computer vision ,photodiode ,Electrical and Electronic Engineering ,optical sensor ,Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) ,Instrumentation ,robotics ,business.industry ,Microscanning ,fly ,[SDV.NEU.SC]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Neurons and Cognition [q-bio.NC]/Cognitive Sciences ,Robotics ,Mobile robot ,Motion control ,hyperacuity ,photoreceptor ,Position Sensing Device (PSD) ,Photodiode ,Hyperacuity ,metrology ,[SPI.OPTI]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Optics / Photonic ,Robot ,020201 artificial intelligence & image processing ,[ SPI.OPTI ] Engineering Sciences [physics]/Optics / Photonic ,Artificial intelligence ,vibration ,business ,Actuator ,[SPI.SIGNAL]Engineering Sciences [physics]/Signal and Image processing - Abstract
International audience; We have designed and built a simple optical sensor called Vibrating Optical Device for the Kontrol of Autonomous robots (VODKA), that was inspired by the "tremor" eye movements observed in many vertebrate and invertebrate animals. In the initial version presented here, the sensor relies on the repetitive micro-translation of a pair of photoreceptors set behind a small lens, and on the processing designed to locate a target from the two photoreceptor signals. The VODKA sensor, in which retinal micro-scanning movements are performed via a small piezo-bender actuator driven at a frequency of 40Hz, was found to be able to locate a contrasting edge with an outstandingly high resolution 900-fold greater than its static resolution (which is constrained by the interreceptor angle), regardless of the scanning law imposed on the retina. Hyperacuity is thus obtained at a very low cost, thus opening new vistas for the accurate visuo-motor control of robotic platforms. As an example, the sensor was mounted onto a miniature aerial robot that became able to track a moving target accurately by exploiting the robot's uncontrolled random vibrations as the source of its ocular microscanning movement. The simplicity, small size, low mass and low power consumption of this optical sensor make it highly suitable for many applications in the fields of metrology, astronomy, robotics, automotive, and aerospace engineering. The basic operating principle may also shed new light on the whys and wherefores of the tremor eye movements occurring in both animals and humans.
- Published
- 2012
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