power beer analogy
Posted inElectrical & Electronics

Motors: Active, Reactive, and Apparent Power

There are a bunch of confusing powers involved when we look at motors, especially with DC brushless motors. When your boss comes and asks you to measure the electrical power that your motor is using, it is often not straight forward. Typically the easiest way to get the current used by a motor is to measure the current draw going…
velodyne laser
Posted inSystems & Sensors

Sensor types (modalities) for robots to experience the world

Hi all There are many different sensor types that can be used on a robot, and most robots will have many different sensor types. I am going to talk about the common types and avoid some of the more application specific sensors such as environmental, radiation and chemical. When I think of sensors I divide them into two categories. You…