‘Revolutionary’ magnetic guide sensor unveiled
1 min read
US firm Roboteq has introduced a new magnetic guide sensor for robotic vehicles that is capable of detecting and reporting the position of a magnetic field along its horizontal axis.
The 160mm wide sensor uses advanced signal processing to accurately measure its lateral distance from the centre of an invisible magnetic track, with millimeter resolution and from a height up to 60mm.
Its developers say it could be used for automatic shelf replenishing in supermarkets, patient transport in hospitals, stage theatre props, or rail-less tramways.
The tape position information can be output in numerical format on the sensor's RS232, usb, CANbus, analogue or pwm ports. The sensor can be interfaced directly to any of the company's motor controllers, and can also be connected to any plc using a choice of analogue, pwm, RS232 or CANbus interfaces.
The sensor is designed to detect and manage up to two way forks and can be instructed to follow the left or right track using commands issued via its digital inputs, the serial, usb or CANbus ports.
In addition to detecting a magnetic guide track to follow, the sensor can detect and report the presence of magnetic markers that may be positioned on the left or right side of the track.
The sensor is equipped with several leds for easy monitoring and diagnostics and incorporates a high performance, basic scripting language that allows users to add fully customised functionality to the sensor.
