The application of the piezo driver on robot is mainly a proximity sensor (ultrasonic sensor) mounted on the robot.
The robot installs the proximity sensor mainly to obtain the necessary information for the next movement before touching the object. For example, detect the obstacles in the motion space of the robot hands and feet. If an obstacle is found, countermeasures should be taken in time to avoid collision; general information about the surface shape of the object can also be obtained.
Ultrasonic waves are mechanical waves that are invisible to the human ears. The frequency is over 20kHz (the sound vibration frequency range that can be heard by human ears is 20Hz-20,000Hz). Ultrasonic waves can become sonic rays and directionally transmit because of their short wavelength and small diffraction. Ultrasonic sensors are used to detect the distance between the surrounding objects and the measured object. It is generally used to detect large objects in the surrounding environment, but cannot measure objects at a distance of less than 30mm.
The ultrasonic sensor mainly includes four parts: an ultrasonic transmitter, an ultrasonic receiver, a timing circuit, and a control circuit. The working principle is roughly as follows: firstly, a series of pulsed ultrasonic waves are emitted from the ultrasonic transmitter to the measured object, and then the transmitter shuts itself down and stops emitting. At the same time, the ultrasonic receiver starts to detect the echo signal, and the timing circuit also starts timing. When the ultrasonic wave meets an object, it is reflected back. After the ultrasonic receiver receives the echo signal, the timing circuit stops counting. At this time, the time recorded by the timing circuit is the transmission time from the start of the transmission to the receipt of the echo signal. By using the transmission time, the distance between the measured object and the ultrasonic sensor can be converted. The main part of the ultrasonic receiver is the piezoelectric system. After receiving the ultrasonic echo, the piezoelectric ceramic is deformed and then converted into an electrical signal for subsequent sampling and calculation.
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