The RUR Object Motion Sensor
Capabilities
The RUR Object Motion Sensor was originally designed to support the CogLaboration Project, but its capabilities lend itself to use in many other applications.
The RUR Object Motion Sensor is a small, lightweight, battery powered device that is capable of measuring and storing 3D orientation and 3D acceleration. Additionally, it has a four channel touch pad input that can be used to detect touch or button presses.
It is ideal for embedding inside the test objects used in experiments in human grasping, It can also be used for orientation determination in flying or ground-based robots or models.
Offline operation
In offline mode, the sensor measures and stores orientation, acceleration and touch data in onboard memory and requires no outside connection. Once data collection has finished, the sensor can be attached to a PC and the data retrieved.
The data can then be viewed using a Graphical User Interface or saved in a file for further analysis.
Alternatively, the sensor can be connected to a PC by a wire or wirelessly and the data can viewed on the GUI in real time.
Online operation
The sensor can be used in an online manner so that data can be viewed on the graphical user interface in real time. The connection between the sensor and PC can be made using a wire or by means of the optional wireless adapter.
In online mode, the quantity of data that can be gathered is not limited by onboard memory and so long duration experiments can be accomodated.
In wireless mode the sensor can be used up to 5m away from the host PC.
Suitable for Research Purposes
A number of features have been incorporated into the sensor's design that make it suitable for use in a research setting.
Each sensor has a unique ID that makes it possible to perform trials using many sensors whilst keeping the data from each sensor separate.
All data is time stamped. The supplied software synchronises the time on the sensor with the time on the host PC so that the data from multiple RUR Object Sensors or other sensors can be aligned in time.
The supplied software implements a "marker feature" via its ethernet connection. This allows events from other devices and systems to be recorded within the sensor data. This could be used, for instance, to denote the start and stop of individual experiments. The marker data that is stored is a 32-bit integer that can be used to encode relevant information. The information stored can be encoded freely in the 32 bits by using it as 32 boolean flags, numerical data fields or any required combination.
Dimensions: 50mm x 20mm x 10mm.
Weight: 20g.
Power Supply: In offline mode the sensor supports a runtime of 24 hours. Power saving features can extend this runtime if the sensor is kept motionless. In non-wireless online mode, the sensor is powered via the USB connection.
DatA Acquisition Rate: All data is measure and stored at a rate of 50Hz.
Data Storage: The onboard memory can store 10 hours of data when the sensor being moved, or the touch pads are active. The storage duration is extended if the sensor is kept motionless without the touch pads being activated.
Sensors Data: The sensor can determine orientation in 3 dimensions (roll, pitch and yaw), acceleration in 3 dimensions, jerk in 3 dimensions and 4 channels of touch data.
Orinetation Data Accuracy: Orientation: ±5° in roll, pitch and yaw.
Acceleration Data Accuracy: ±10% of reading along each axis.
Jerk Data Accuracy: ±10% of reading along each axis.
Touch Data Accuracy: This data is scaled in arbitrary uncalibrated units. Touch events are detected by means of changes from the baseline level and so calibration of the scale factor is not required. Accuracy cannot, therefore, be quoted.
Time-stamping: All data is time-stamped in a manner that can be accurately referenced to external system timing. Timing accuracy with respect to external system timing is better than one data sorage cycle (20ms).
System Interface: The RUR Object Sensor can be connected to a host system for data downloading using a USB interface using the supplied adapter, In wireless mode, a standard Bluetooth connection is used.
Operating System: The Graphical User Interface Software is intended to run on the Windows Operating System.
Sensor Identification: All sensors contain a unique identifier that is included in their downloaded data allowing multiple sensors to be used without confusion.
Data Markers: The Graphical User Interface monitors a TCP/IP socket to receive marker messages. When Marker Messages are received they are timestamped and the associated 32-bit marker data value is stored on the host computer. The marker data is integrated into a single file along with the sensor data stream when the sensor data is downloaded. The stored 32-bit marker data value can be used to encode any desired information by using it as 32 boolean flags, numerical data, or any required combination.
RU Robots Ltd
PO Box 248
Manchester
M28 1WF
United Kingdom
Email:
info@rurobots.co.uk
Phone:
(UK) 020 3239 3898
(Int) +44 20 3239 3898
