• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.39 no.10
• /
• pp.995-999
• /
• 2015

Inductive sensors are versatile and economical devices that are widely used to measure a wide variety of physical variables, such as displacement, force, and pressure. In this paper, we propose a simple inductive sensor consisting of a thin partial ring and a coil set. The self-inductance of the sensor was estimated using magnetic circuit analysis and validated through finite element analysis (FEA). The natural frequency of the ring was estimated using Castigliano's theorem and the method of equivalent mass. The estimation was validated through experiments and FEA. A prototype sensor with a signal processing circuit is built and applied to noninvasively sense the pressure inside a flexible tube. The obtained sensor outputs show quadratic behavior with respect to the pressure. When fitted to a quadratic equation, the least-square measurement error was less than 2%. The results confirm the feasibility of pressure sensing using the proposed inductive sensor.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.408-417
• /
• 2016

Purpose: Yield monitoring systems are an essential component of precision agriculture. They indicate the spatial variability of crop yield in fields, and have become an important factor in modern harvesters. The objective of this paper was to review research trends related to yield monitoring sensors for grain crops. Methods: The literature was reviewed for research on the major sensing components of grain yield monitoring systems. These major components included grain flow sensors, moisture content sensors, and cutting width sensors. Sensors were classified by sensing principle and type, and their performance was also reviewed. Results: The main targeted harvesting grain crops were rice, wheat, corn, barley, and grain sorghum. Grain flow sensors were classified into mass flow and volume flow methods. Mass flow sensors were mounted primarily at the clean grain elevator head or under the grain tank, and volume flow sensors were mounted at the head or in the middle of the elevator. Mass flow methods used weighing, force impact, and radiometric approaches, some of which resulted in measurement error levels lower than 5% ($R^2=0.99$). Volume flow methods included paddle wheel type and optical type, and in the best cases produced error levels lower than 3%. Grain moisture content sensing was in many cases achieved using capacitive modules. In some cases, errors were lower than 1%. Cutting width was measured by ultrasonic distance sensors mounted at both sides of the header dividers, and the errors were in some cases lower than 5%. Conclusions: The design and fabrication of an integrated yield monitoring system for a target crop would be affected by the selection of a sensing approach, as well as the layout and mounting of the sensors. For accurate estimation of yield, signal processing and correction measures should be also implemented.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Precision Engineering
• /
• v.32 no.10
• /
• pp.851-856
• /
• 2015

This study aimed to develop a sensory feedback system which could measure force and temperature for the user of myoelectric prosthetic hands. The Sensory measurement module consisted of a force sensing resistor to measure forces and non-contact infrared temperature sensor. These sensors were attached on the fingertips of the myoelectric prosthetic hand. The module was validated by using standard weights corresponding to external force and a Peltier module. Sensory transmission module consisted of four vibration motors. Eight vibration patterns were generated by combining motion of each vibration motor and were dependent on kinds and/or magnitude. The module was verified by using standard weigts and water at varying temperatures. There were correlations of force and temperature between the sensory measurement module and standard weight and water. Additionally, exact vibration patterns were generated, indicating the efficacy of the sensory feedback system for the myoelectric prosthetic hand.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
• /
• v.30 no.4 s.247
• /
• pp.364-372
• /
• 2006

In this paper, we present a finger tip tactile sensor which can detect contact normal force as well as slip. The sensor is made up of two different materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) known as piezoelectric polymer, and pressure variable resistor ink. In order to detect slip on the surface of the object, two PVDF strips are arranged along the normal direction in the robot finger tip and the thumb tip. The surface electrode of the PVDF strip is fabricated using silk-screening technique with silver paste. Also a thin flexible force sensor is fabricated in the form of a matrix using pressure variable resistor ink in order to sense the static force. The developed tactile sensor is physically flexible and it can be deformed three-dimensionally to any shape so that it can be placed on anywhere on the curved surface. In addition, a tactile sensing system is developed, which includes miniaturized charge amplifier to amplify the small signal from the sensor, and the fast signal processing unit. The sensor system is evaluated experimentally and its effectiveness is validated.

• Proceedings of the Korean Operations and Management Science Society Conference
• /
• 1994.04a
• /
• pp.596-605
• /
• 1994

An efficient measurement and evaluation system for hand tool tasks will provide a practical solution to the problem of designing and evaluating manual tool tasks in the workplace. Few studies on the biomechanical analysis of hand postures and tool handling tasks exist because of the lack of appropriate measurement techniques for hand force. A measurement system for the finger forces and joint angles for analysis of manual tool handling tasks was developed in this study. The measurement system consists of a force sensing glove made from twelve Force Sensitive Resistors and an angle-measuring glove (Cyberglove$\^$TM/, Virtual technologies) with eighteen joint angle sensors. A biomechanical model of the hand using the data from the measurement system was also developed. Systems of computerized procedures were implemented integrating the hand posture measurement system, biomechanical analysis system, and the task analysis system for manual tool handling tasks. The measurement system was useful in providing the hand force data needed for an existing task analysis system used in CTD risk evaluation. It is expected that the hand posture measurement developed in this study will provide an, efficient and cost-effective solution to task analysis of manual tool handling tasks. These tasks are becoming increasingly important areas of occupational health and safety of the country.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
• /
• v.56 no.1
• /
• pp.214-221
• /
• 2007

This paper presents a myoelectric hand prosthesis(MHP) with two degree of freedom(2-DOF), which consists of a mechanical hand, a surface myoelectric sensor(SMES) for measuring myoelectric signal, a control system and a charging battery. The actuation for the 2-DOF hand functions such as grasping and wrist rotation was performed by two DC-motors, and controlled by myoelectric signal measured from the residual forearm muscle. The grip force of the MHP was automatically changed by a mechanical automatic speed reducer mounted on the hand. The skin interface of SMES was composed of the electrodes using the SUS440 metal in order to endure a wet condition due to the sweat. The sensor was embedded with a amplifier and a filter circuit for rejecting the offset voltage caused by power line noises. The control system was composed of the grip force sensor, the slip sensor, and the two controllers. The two controllers were made of a RISC-type microprocessor, and its software was executed on a real-time kernel. The control system used Force Sensing Resistors, FSR, as slip pick-ups at the fingertip of a thumb and the grip force information was obtained from a strain-gauge on the lever of the MHP. The experimental results were showed that the proposed control system is feasible for the MHP.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2006.07d
• /
• pp.1846-1847
• /
• 2006

In this study, we developed the real-time controller for control loading system (CLS) of aircraft simulator. The CLS is given the forces as inputs: the exerted force by a pilot, which is determined according to the position of the control stick, and the calculated force by the host computer. And then CLS makes the pilot feel the back loading force by supplying the motor drive with the actuator signal. The developed real-time controller for CLS is organized into the five parts which are the position sensing part including a encoder, the A/D converter part for the analog load cell signal, the communication interface part to communicate with the host, the D/A converter for the actuator signal, and the CPU DSP2812 to carry out a control algorithm. We constructed the test control loading system and carried out the experiment with the developed real-time controller. The experimental results showed that the real-time controller generates the back loading forces similar to the desired back loading force graph.

• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.1808-1813
• /
• 2005

In this paper, we present the finger tip tactile sensor which can detect contact normal force as well as slip. The developed sensor is made of two different materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF) that is known as piezoelectric polymer and pressure variable resistor ink. In order to detect slip to surface of object, a PVDF strip is arranged along the normal direction in the robot finger tip and the thumb tip. The surface electrode of the PVDF strip is fabricated using silk-screening technique with silver paste. Also a thin flexible force sensor is fabricated in the form of a matrix using pressure variable resistor ink in order to sense the static force. The developed tactile sensor is physically flexible and it can be deformed three-dimensionally to any shape so that it can be placed on anywhere on the curved surface. In addition, we developed a tactile sensing system by miniaturizing the charge amplifier, in order to amplify the small signal from the sensor, and the fast signal processing unit. The sensor system is evaluated experimentally and its effectiveness is validated.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Manufacturing Process Engineers
• /
• v.3 no.3
• /
• pp.24-31
• /
• 2004

A successful on-line monitoring system for conventional machining operations has the potential to reduce cost, guarantee consistency of product quality, improve productivity and provide a safer environment for the operator. In fine-shape machining, typical signs of tool problems such as vibration, noise, chip flow characteristics and visual signs are almost unnoticeable without the use of special equipment. These characteristics increase the importance of automatic monitoring in fine-shape machining, however, sensing and interpretation of signals ar more complex. In addition, the shafts of the mini-tools break before the typical extensive cutting edge of the tool gets damaged. In this study, the existence of a relationship between the characteristics of the cutting force and tool usage was investigated, and tool breakage detection algorithm by LabVIEW was developed and the following results are obtained. It was possible to use a relative error compare which mainly used in established experiment and investigated tool breakage detection algorithm in time domain which can detect AE and cutting force signals more effective and accurate.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.11 no.5
• /
• pp.451-456
• /
• 2005

This paper describes three kinds of experiments and analysis of their results related to human tactile sensitivity using an integrated tactile display system. The device can provide vibration, normal pressure and lateral slip/stretch which are important physical quantities to sense texture. We have tried to find out the efficient method of stimulating, limitation of surface discrimination by kinesthetic farce feedback and the effectiveness of the combination of kinesthetic force and tactile feedback. Seven kinds of different stimulating methods were carried out and they are single or combination of the kinesthetic force, normal static pressure, vibration, active/passive shear and moving wave. Both prototype specimen and stimulus using tactile display were provided to all examinees and they were allowed to answer the most similar sample. The experimental results show that static pressure is proper stimulus for the display of micro shape of the surface and vibrating stimulus is more effective for the display of fine surface. And the sensitivities of active touch and passive touch are compared. Since kinesthetic force feedback is appropriate to display shape and stiffness of an object, but roughness display has a limitation of resolution, the concurrent providing methods of kinesthetic and tactile feedback are applied to simulate physical properties during touching an object.