How do you tell whether your sensor is detecting a crate or the diamond plate?

[Greg Ross]

Has anyone considered this yet?

If your optical sensor is pointing perpendicular to the diamond plate, the reflection of its beam on the mirror-like finish is going to look just like the retro-reflective tape on a crate (I think). Any ideas on how to differentiate?

[Kris Verdeyen]

If you angle the sensor up or down, it will still pick up the tape, but not the diamond plate - for the sensor to detect the diamond plate, it needs to be pointed straight on.

Or you could simply mount the sensor so that it's looking above the diamond plate (although you'll have to check the lexan to see if the sensor sees that as well). You don't see small stacks, but one could argue that you don't really need to see small stacks.

[rbayer]

At anything more than a yard or two, the optical sensors won't pick up anything except retro-reflective tape unless they are PERFECTLY perpendicular to it. Last year, before we got the retroreflective tape, we played with the optical sensors and a small hand mirror. It took me several minutes to line up the mirror properly so that the sensor would "see" it, and as soon as someone so much as bumped the table, it lost it.

Finally, the diamond plating in front of the operators station starts a full 17' from your robot. The max range on the sensors is approx. 20-25', and that's with the retro-reflective tape. Simple mirrors is a whole lot less, meaning there's a good probability that they can't even see far enough for this to become an issue.

[Josh Hambright]

thanks for the info

[illumanat'i]

its not an issue unless your robot is moving around trying to find the stack, then you might get caught on the wall....

i guess keeping the sensor angled so you hit the floor or go above the wall before you get close enough would be the best...