title: Low-cost impact detection and location for automated inspections of 3D metallic based structures.
abstract: This paper describes a new low-cost means to detect and locate mechanical impacts (collisions) on a 3D metal-based structure. We employ the simple and reasonably hypothesis that the use of a homogeneous material will allow certain details of the impact to be automatically determined by measuring the time delays of acoustic wave propagation throughout the 3D structure. The location of strategic piezoelectric sensors on the structure and an electronic-computerized system has allowed us to determine the instant and position at which the impact is produced. The proposed automatic system allows us to fully integrate impact point detection and the task of inspecting the point or zone at which this impact occurs. What is more, the proposed method can be easily integrated into a robot-based inspection system capable of moving over 3D metallic structures, thus avoiding (or minimizing) the need for direct human intervention. Experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
authors.affiliation: Sensors and Actuators Group, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Juan de Herrera 6, Madrid 28040, Spain. carlos.moron@upm.es.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Morón
authors.affiliation: GITERM. ETS I. Navales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Arco de la Victoria 4, Madrid 28040, Spain. joseandres.somolinos@upm.es.
authors.forename: Marina P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Portilla
authors.affiliation: GITERM. ETS I. Navales, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Arco de la Victoria 4, Madrid 28040, Spain. joseandres.somolinos@upm.es.
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Somolinos
authors.affiliation: E.T.S.I. Industriales, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Albacete 02071, Spain. rafael.morales@uclm.es.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Morales
keywords: acoustic wave propagation; collision detection; metallic structures; robotized inspection