Omron Electronic Components Europe has released a high-performance optical sensor, able to identify reliably reflected, transparent and scattered surfaces, as well as others hardly detectable.
The new focused reflection sensor B5W by Omron detects defined objects much more reliably than a generic reflection photo-sensor; the detection is performed correctly even in case of surfaces that often represent a challenge, like reflecting, transparent, scattered or black surfaces. The converging light beam of the sensor is activated in presence of an object inside a very well defined area, ignoring any other object in the background or in the forefront. B5W consists of a combination of a cylindrical lens and a non-spherical one. The device has been designed to detect objects that are often a challenge for conventional sensors: transparent cups and glasses in automatic dispensers, diffuse surfaces that scatter incident light, such as carpets, or black surfaces that absorb light and mirror ones. A typical application is represented by the function of step detection in a robotic device. B5W can distinguish reliably wood, glass, fitted carpet and other surfaces that form the floor from the surface of a step positioned lower, thus preventing the robot fall. The B5W sensor detects items placed at a maximum distance of 70 mm and provides an analogue output signal.
