Robot vision: An evaluation of imaging sensors

Robot vision, robotics vision, and computer vision are terms that have evolved over the past few years to include two separate but related functions that provide visual sensing for computerdriven robots. These two functions are “electro-optical imaging” and “image processing.” The purpose of electro-optical imaging is to convert optical radiation to an appropriate electronic signal for input to the robot's computer; whereas, the purpose of image processing is to extract useful information from the electronic image provided by the sensor. This article deals with the electro-optical sensing part of robot vision. It describes the operation and properties of electro-optical imaging sensors. The fundamental concepts of optical radiation, optical radiation quantities and units, and photon energies are defined. The fundamental principles for detecting optical radiation and definitions for the primary performance measures for optical detectors are given. A relatively comprehensive overview of the parameters used to describe imaging sensors is presented. Factors affecting these parameters and obtainable sensor performance are compared. Example design analyses are presented to show the interaction of various performance measures.