Lab Report-06

(MECHKIT)
Group Number-08
Rahul Kumar
B12089
Electrical Engineering(3rd Year)
Group Member- Reeta Meena (B12037)
Seela Aiswarya

Objective- Calculate gain and offset for Sonar, Optical Position, Magnetic field and Encoder.
Theory- Mechatronics engineering is a cross-disciplinary field that combines mechanical and
electrical design in control systems architecture though the application of computer
programming. Mechatronic kit has many sensors that are used in all type of industries. It has 10
types of sensors. In lab we calculated gain and offset for Sonar, Optical Position, Magnetic field
and Encoder.

Sonar: - Often used in mobile robotics, sonar sensors are fitted with an emitter that
generates ultrasonic waves and receiver that captures them after hitting a target. A timer
calculates how long it takes for the signal to return and given the speed of sound in air, the
distance of the remote target is measured.
Sonar sensors are great for long-distance measurements. These devices generally dont have
good close-range measurements and their resolution can be relatively coarse.
This is the non-contact sensor that measure the distance of a target using sound wave. Sonar sensors
are fitted with an emitter that generates ultrasonic waves and a receiver that captures them after
hitting a target.
Sonar sensor is linear.
Y=ax +b
, where a is rate of change and b is offset.

Observation Data
Target Range(cm)

Sensor Measurement

Target range (calibration)cm

15

0.24

14.8

16

0.25

15.2

18

0.28

18.2

20

0.30

18.5

22

0.32

21.6

24

0.33

25.2

26

0.35

25.8

Gain = 98.7V = slope

Offset = -9.05 in = Intercept.

Optical position: This is a short range sensor. It is used to measure the distance of target
in close proximity. An infrared emitting diode and an NPN silicon phototransistor are
mounted side by side and are used to measure the position of a target. This sensor has a
range of 0.25 inches.
It is exponential.
Y=a*exp(bx), where a is gain and b is damping factor.
Observation Data
Target Range(cm)

Sensor Measurement

Target range (calibration)cm

0.01

0.11

0.009

0.05

0.81

0.02

0.1

2.82

0.20

0.15

2.94

0.23

0.2

2.98

0.24

0.3

3.02

0.26

0.4

3.06

0.27

a = 0.00779
b = 1.21

Magnetic field: A magnetic field transducer outputs a voltage proportional to the

magnetic field that is applied to the target. The magnetic field sensor is the chip located on
the bottom. It applies a magnetic field perpendicular to the flat screw head. The position of
the magnetic field transducer has a similar range to the optical position sensor. i.e., this is
also a short range sensor.
This is also a short range sensor. A magnetic field transducer outputs a voltage proportional
to the magnetic field that is applied to the target. Range is 0.25 inches.
Magnetic field sensor is exponential.
Y=a*exp(bx), where a is gain and b is damping factor.

Observation Data
Target Range(cm)

Sensor Measurement

Target range (calibration)cm

0.01

1.1

0.002

0.05

1.75

0.028

0.1

2.06

0.094

0.15

2.22

0.175

0.2

2.30

0.24

0.3

2.37

0.32

0.4

2.40

0.37

a = 2.1 x 10^-5 = amplitude. b = 4.07 = damping.

Encoder:
Encoder can be used to measure angular position. The angle they measure depends on the
last position and when it was last powered.
As the disk rotates, the light from LED shines through the pattern and is picked up by a
photo sensor. This effectively generates the A and B signals. An index pulse is triggered once
for every full rotation of the disk, which can be used for calibration.

Encoder A and B voltages vs time(in sec)-

Encoder Index(V) vs time(sec)-

Clockwise counts: Encoder A and B (in V) vs time(sec)-

Encoder Index (in V) vs time(sec)-

Counter-clockwise counts: Encoder A and B (in V) vs time(sec)-

Encoder Index(V) vs time(sec)-

Result:
Sonar, Optical position, Magnetic field sensors are calibrated with the parameters
obtained from the collected data. Encoder is also been studied.