Reflective Spider Feet?

[dtengineering]

We have done some experiments with IR sensors on diamond plate... perhaps a simple reflective sensor may not have the same problems, but with the Sharp IR rangefinders we have found them to have serious challenges when the diamond plate is at anything other than exactly 90 degrees... horizontally and vertically... to the sensor. This is, perhaps, as one might expect, but it was worth trying anyways. Diffuse (non-relfective) objects work great... but the shinyness of the diamond plate is a real pain in our application.

We are going to try some sonar rangefinders, and do have a few applications in mind for the IR, but make sure you test your device on aluminum diamond plate at the earliest opportunity.

Good luck,

Jason