A Time-of-Flight On-Robot Proximity Sensing System to Achieve Human Detection for Collaborative Robots

Abstract

The sensor system presented in this article demonstrates the results of designing an exteroceptive sensing device for proximity sensing for collaborative robots. The intention of this design's application is to develop an on-robot small footprint proximity sensing device. The design was assembled and put through a number of benchmark tests to validate the performance of the time-of-flight(ToF) sensor system when used in proximity sensing: Single Sensor Characterization, Sensor Overlap Characterization, and Sensor Ranging Under Motion. Through these tests, the ToF sensor ring achieves real time data throughput while minimizing blind spots.