skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Proximity sensor system development. CRADA final report

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/663257· OSTI ID:663257
 [1];  [2]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States)
  2. Merrit Systems, Inc. (United States)

Lockheed Martin Energy Research Corporation (LMERC) and Merritt Systems, Inc. (MSI) entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for the development and demonstration of a compact, modular proximity sensing system suitable for application to a wide class of manipulator systems operated in support of environmental restoration and waste management activities. In teleoperated modes, proximity sensing provides the manipulator operator continuous information regarding the proximity of the manipulator to objects in the workspace. In teleoperated and robotic modes, proximity sensing provides added safety through the implementation of active whole arm collision avoidance capabilities. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), managed by LMERC for the United States Department of Energy (DOE), has developed an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design for the electronics required to support a modular whole arm proximity sensing system based on the use of capacitive sensors developed at Sandia National Laboratories. The use of ASIC technology greatly reduces the size of the electronics required to support the selected sensor types allowing deployment of many small sensor nodes over a large area of the manipulator surface to provide maximum sensor coverage. The ASIC design also provides a communication interface to support sensor commands from and sensor data transmission to a distributed processing system which allows modular implementation and operation of the sensor system. MSI is a commercial small business specializing in proximity sensing systems based upon infrared and acoustic sensors.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-96OR22464
OSTI ID:
663257
Report Number(s):
ORNL/M-6358; ON: DE98051590; CRN: C/ORNL--94-0263; TRN: 99:000011
Resource Relation:
Other Information: PBD: [1998]
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English