Choosing Sensors for Your Robot

Sensors are devices that turn worldly events into electric signals. Choosing sensors for a robot can be one of the hardest tasks in the entire build process.

A typical robot needs more than just one sensors. Even with the world's best mechanics and programming, a robot with a poor sensor suite will be severely handicapped. Sensors are hands-down the most important part of an autonomous robot, and also typically the most expensive part.
 

Throughout this tutorial I'll discuss issues that affect the performance of various sensors. I'll also go into more detail about the more common sensors, possibly only providing links for some of the less common or more complex or advanced sensors.

Basic Categories of Sensors
We can break the world of sensors into several categories:

• Proximity sensors, such as bumpers tell us if something is hitting the robot. They give a simple yes/no answer.
• Range sensors, such as IR and sonar rangers tell us how far away an object is.
• Global navigation sensors, such as compasses, GPS, and encoders.
• Proprioceptive sensors which measure internal systems.
• Other sensors such as Cameras, UV sensors, and heat detectors.

Sensor Characteristics to Evaluate
Not all sensors are created equally. Understanding how your sensor works, and what it tells you, are important to utilizing a sensor correctly. There are several key characteristics to evaluate when choosing sensors:

• How does it interface with your controller?
• What is it's resolution, repeatability and overall accuracy?
• What is it's range?
• What is the voltage level and power consumption?

Global Navigation Sensors

In addition to sensors that tell you where objects might be, there are other sensors that can be useful for navigation. These sensors give you information about where a robot is, or where it is heading.

• Compasses
• GPS
• NorthStar
• Encoders

See More: http://forums.trossenrobotics.com/tutorials/introduction-129/choosing-sensors-for-your-robot-3254/