Boost Robotic Efficiency with Advanced Sensing by ams OSRAM

Robotics Robots need to reliably sense their environment for efficiency, effectiveness and safety, whatever the application - ams OSRAM's sensing and illumination technologies are a key enabler.

Cameras capture 2D images, depth sensors add distance

From touchless taps to AR/VR headsets, robots and self-driving vehicles – products that “see” the world around them are becoming ever more ubiquitous. Camera sensors are the first technology of choice to make products that can “see”. However, a camera alone can only capture a 2D image. In practice, the world is three-dimensional. To work, most of these applications also need to know the depth. For example: touchless taps need to know the distance of a hand, robots and autonomous vehicles need to detect distance to objects to avoid collisions, and Augmented Reality experiences need a 3D map of the real-world scene.

Depth sensing techniques directly measure the distance from the sensor to objects around. Where needed, this can be combined with 2D image data to build up a full 3D map of the scene, and 6 degree of freedom position within it, using techniques such as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM)