Tech Chat | How does angle sensor work?
In automated steering system, it is necessary to know the real-time orientation of the tractor and then make adjustments. In this process, in addition to the attitude data obtained by the gyroscope, the angle sensor is also very important to know how much the tractor has turned. So how does Angle sensor work?
The angle sensor is a sensor that can feel the measured angle and convert it into usable output signal. Angle sensors, as the name suggests, are used to detect angles. It has a hole in its body that fits the Lego shaft. When connected to the RCX, the angle sensor counts every 1/16 of the axis. When it turns in one direction, the count increases; when you change the direction, the count decreases. The count is related to the initial position of the angle sensor. When initializing the Angle sensor, its count is set to 0, and you can program it to reset if desired.
Position and velocity can be easily measured by calculating the angle of rotation. When an angle sensor is installed on the steering wheel of a tractor, the distance traveled can be inferred based on the angle of rotation and the number of wheel circles. And then you can convert that distance into velocity, which is equal to distance/time, or you can divide it by the time you spend.
At present, there are several common Angle sensors on the market: magnetic angle sensor, capacitive angular displacement sensor, inclination sensor.
Magnetic sensitive angle sensor
The angle sensor is a new generation angle sensor made of high-performance integrated magnetic sensor, non-contact characteristics of magnetic signal induction and intelligent signal processing with microprocessor.
Advantages:
- Magnetic steel position is not aligned with automatic compensation;
- Fault detection function;
- The non-contact position detection function is the ideal choice to meet the requirements of harsh environment application.
Capacitive angular displacement sensor
Capacitive angular displacement sensor is used to measure the rotation angle between fixed parts (stator) and rotating parts (rotor). Because of its simple structure, high measurement accuracy, high sensitivity, it is suitable for dynamic measurement and other characteristics, and is widely used in industrial automatic control.
The capacitive angular displacement sensor is composed of a sensitive component, a measuring circuit, an intelligent component and interface component. The measuring component is composed of a selection unit, an excitation source and a charge detection unit. The intelligent component is composed of I/O unit, A/D unit, filter unit, Angle calculation unit, etc. The interface component is composed of current output unit and RS232 communication unit.
Reflect the capacitance value of the angle position sensor detection, is the initial conversion unit of the sensor, measurement unit adopts the advanced small capacitance detection circuit stray resistance, and converts capacitance value to electrical signals, the main functions of the intelligent components is through the algorithm to calculate the angular displacement quantity proportion type, finally output Angle calculation results by the interface components.
Inclination angle sensor
The inclination sensor is often used for the level measurement of the system. From the working principle, it can be divided into three kinds of inclination sensors: "solid pendulum", "liquid pendulum" and "gas pendulum". The inclination sensor can also be used to measure the amount of inclination change relative to the horizontal plane.
The theory of inclination angle sensor is based on Newton's second law, according to basic physical principles, it says that inside a system, velocity cannot be measured, but acceleration can be measured. If the initial velocity is known, the linear velocity can be calculated by integration, and then the linear displacement can be calculated. So it's actually an acceleration sensor that uses the principle of inertia.
When the inclination sensor is at rest there is no acceleration in the side or vertical direction, then there is only gravitational acceleration acting on it. The angle between the vertical axis of gravity and the sensitive axis of the acceleration sensor is the tilt angle.
The SAgro100 automated steering system uses a non-contact magneto-sensitive angle sensor with the plug directly on the housing, providing high accuracy and long service life without mechanical wear. It can be used in harsh environments without any problems. The angle sensor is also an option for your various working environment and different requirements.
Learn more about SAgro100 automated steering system.
https://www.singularxyz.com/SAgro100_Automated_Steering_System.html
