LASER PROFILE SCANNING OF VALVE BASE May 19, 2011 – Posted in: Updates

In this application, engineers tested the Acuity AP620-7 laser line sensor to make dimensional profiles of a small polymer part used in an industrial applications. Currently, the company uses calipers and comparators to measure this part. The area to be measured is a diameter at the circumferential “shoulder” formed by the floor of the part and an interior wall. Proper detection of the joint between the 30° wall and the horizontal surface was very important. Additionally, it was critical to align the laser line with the diameter of the circular part and not a chord. Any misalignment would result in a shorter diameter measurement. Engineers suggested scanning the part as it passed beneath the scan line and then capturing several cross-sectional frames. Software algorithms could be used to determine the maximum dimension of all collected and this number would be the diameter.

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Laser Altimeter Used in NASA Project M November 17, 2010 – Posted in: AR3000 Distance Measurement Sensor

Project M was a proposed project to land an operational humanoid robot on the moon in 1000 days (M is the Roman numeral for 1000). As with most autonomous vehicle projects, the design of the NASA RR-1 Lander required many sensors to fully control its flight. Design engineers contacted Acuity for a solution to measure the altitude of their RR-1 Lander. 

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