Institute for Mechatronics in Mechanics M-4
Institute for Mechatronics in Mechanics M-4
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Designing, simulation, and building of a tactile sensor for surface scratch monitoring

The aim of this project is the design and implementation of a tactile sensor to gather surface profile information of turbines and identify scratches' locations. The sensor is meant to be used by an unmanned vehicle navigating any 3D surface especially turbines to locate and get the required information of scratches such as width and depth to be able to deal with them accordingly. The sensor depends on accelerometers and Gyroscopes to obtain depth and position of scratches respectively. Accelerometers are fixed on very thin pins that are supposed to move along the surface and fill the scratches or move along any bumps as well. To avoid losing contact with the surface, some springs are fixed to the sensor casing. Two designs are presented and one is chosen to be simulated for its practical feasibility by using Solidworks and Simulink models.

Concept

To fulfill the requirements of the project, it demands innovative solutions in different technological domains. The development is therefore structured into four main sub-functions, to help the project to an effective outcome. 

The sub-function of ...

Mechanism Design includes the design of a system to detect each scratch on the surface. To reach this aim, the requirements of the system such as forces, range of movements, and keeping the contact with the surface should be considered

   Control includes the design of a controlling system to guide the system and check the data and control the movement of the robot

Haptic includes the transferring of scratch sensing for more analyzing.

Data analyzing checks the data that needs to be filtered to give a better result.