Sensor Technologies for Automobiles and Robots

This paper reviews various sensor technologies with application in automobiles and robots. Several automotive sensors have been developed using the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technology. The technologies related to combustion pressure sensors, yaw rate sensors, acceleration sensors, and optical scanners are described here. The combustion pressure sensors are used for engine control, while the yaw rate sensors of quartz and silicon crystals and the acceleration sensors are applied for vehicle motion control. Optical scanners are developed for autonomous driving. Several automotive sensors have been significantly reduced in size and cost, and their performance has been improved dramatically by MEMS technology. The inertial force-sensing system with yaw rate and acceleration sensors enabled the assistant and partner robots to stand on two legs, walk, or invert and move on two wheels. Because the robots are required to have a variety of sensors, a nerve-net sensing system was developed. This sensing system has three layers: the host, relay, and sensor nodes. The sensor node is a special large-scale integration called a 'nerve-net chip.' A triaxial force tactile sensor integrated with the nerve-net chip was developed as a 2.8-mm square surface-mountable chip. A force and thermal tactile sensor was also developed, which detected heat flows and discriminated the materials of contacted objects. The heat flow sensor was thinned with thin-film technology. The sensor technologies will be used for eco cars and autonomous vehicles. Next-generation robots are also supported by several automotive sensor technologies. (c) 2020 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.