W.S.G. Isaac Newton

The Assignment

TheAssignment that Benchmark proposed was the verification and characterization of an optical velocity sensor in order to measure the performance of an optical velocity sensor on various material surfaces. In order to come to a conclusion, a test set-up was required to verify the sensor performance. This set-up had to be designed and verified. An ABB robot was available in order to make a prescribed motion. The measured sensor velocity then needed to be compared to the velocity profile of the robot. The assignment contained the following topics: Search and select optical velocity sensor; Setting up and validation the ABB robot; Reading out velocity of the end effector of the ABB robot; Design and build mounting for the sensor to the robot; Design and build substrate mounting; Read out sensor data and compare to velocity profile of ABB robot; Perform test with changing variables regarding distance, velocity, materials and disturbing light effects.

Personal Experience

The open workspace created for a social working environment, where colleagues both stimulated for motivation and made sure that no one was over-working, which helped me to find a balance between working and socializing. Even though, the assignment at Benchmark was not an ongoing project, I was placed at the designers area as though I was a regular colleague. The robot was placed in the lab, where I could tinker with all sorts of set-ups. Working with my hands gave me a completely new working experience. My time at Benchmark was truly eye-opening, where I got to finally see the true difference between studying at a University or working in a company. Simply put, most safety-margins are usually eye-balled and most memes about the workplace are true. Overall I had a great time and I think it was a really valuable experience