WO2017103606A1

WO2017103606A1 - Orientation and/or position monitoring and control

Info

Publication number: WO2017103606A1
Application number: PCT/GB2016/053962
Authority: WO
Inventors: Amir RABANI
Original assignee: The University Of Nottingham
Priority date: 2015-12-16
Filing date: 2016-12-16
Publication date: 2017-06-22
Also published as: GB201522174D0

Abstract

An apparatus comprising: one or more controllers configured to cause at least the following to be performed: receiving orientation and/or position data of a plurality of sensor modules; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and transmitting at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules.

Description

TITLE

Orientation and/or Position Monitoring and Control FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention relate to orientation and/or position monitoring and control.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

In some systems, such as assemblies of large structures, heavy parts manipulations or manufacturing objects are physically manipulated. The objects may be heavy and/or require precise alignment. The objects may be physically separate, uncoupled objects that are to be connected together.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising: one or more controllers configured to cause at least the following to be performed: receiving orientation and/or position data of a plurality of sensor modules; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and transmitting at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation of at least one of the sensor modules.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a method comprising: causing reception of orientation and/or position data originating from a plurality of sensor modules; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and causing transmission of at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules.

The at least one control signal may be configured to control at least one further apparatus to change the orientation and/or position of the at least one sensor module.

The at least one control signal may be configured to control at least one further apparatus that is supporting the at least one sensor module.

The at least one further apparatus may be a manufacturing apparatus.

The at least one further apparatus may be an apparatus for use in connecting a first object to at least a second object.

The at least one further apparatus may be a machine.

The method may further comprise: causing reception of orientation and position data of a plurality of position sensors; and determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and position data, the relative orientations and positions of the plurality of position sensors.

The method may further comprise causing transmission of at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and position of at least one of the sensor modules.

The method may further comprise: causing automatic detection of the plurality of sensor modules able to be communicated with. The method may further comprise: causing display of a representation of the plurality of sensor modules. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a computer program comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, enable an apparatus at least to perform: receiving orientation and/or position data originating from a plurality of sensor modules; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and transmitting at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method as described in any preceding paragraph.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a physical entity embodying the computer program as described in any preceding paragraph. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided an electromagnetic carrier signal carrying the computer program as described in any preceding paragraph.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising means for performing the method as described in any preceding paragraph.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, enable the apparatus to perform the method as described in any preceding paragraph.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a system comprising: an apparatus as described in any preceding paragraph; a first sensor module comprising one or more sensors for determining orientation data and/or one or more sensors for determining position data of the first sensor module and a communication unit for transmitting the orientation and/or position data of the first sensor module to the apparatus; and a second sensor module comprising one or more sensors for determining orientation data and/or one or more sensors for determining position data of the second sensor module and a communication unit for transmitting the orientation and/or position data of the second sensor module to the apparatus.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a system comprising a plurality of systems as described in any preceding paragraph. According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided a method comprising: positioning at least one sensor module on a host object; receiving orientation and/or position data of the at least one sensor module; determining the orientation and/or position of the host object relative to at least one further object; and transmitting at least one control signal to control a machine to change the orientation and/or position of the host object to compensate for a mismatch between the orientation and/or position of the host object and the orientation and/or position of the at least one further object.

According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments of the invention there is provided an apparatus comprising: one or more controllers configured to cause at least the following to be performed: receiving positional data of a plurality of sensor modules; determining, based at least in part on the received positional data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and transmitting at least one control signal configured to cause a positional change.

Positional data may include only orientation data, only position data or both orientation and position data.

In examples where positional data includes only orientation data a positional change may mean a change in orientation only. In examples where positional data includes only position data a positional change may mean a change in position only. In examples where positional data includes orientation and position data a positional change may mean a change in orientation and position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of various examples of embodiments of the present invention reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig 1 schematically illustrates an example of a system;

Fig 2 schematically illustrates an apparatus and a single sensor module according to an example;

Fig 3 schematically illustrates an example of an application of a system;

Fig 4 schematically illustrates an example of a plurality of systems connected together to form a system of systems;

Fig 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method; Fig 6 illustrates examples of representations of sensor modules; Fig 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

The Figures illustrate an apparatus 10 comprising: one or more controllers 12 configured to cause at least the following to be performed: receiving orientation and/or position data 14, 32 originating from a plurality of sensor modules 16; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data 14, 32 relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules 16; and transmitting at least one control signal 18 configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules 16.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example of a system 66 comprising an apparatus 10 and a plurality of sensor modules 16.

The apparatus 10 includes one or more controllers 12. The apparatus 10 may be, for example, a chip-set, a mobile telephone, a tablet computer, a desktop computer and/or a workstation computer for industrial control systems (ICS) such as supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), distributed control systems (DCS) and programmable logic controllers (PLC) and so on. The one or more controllers 12 may also be referred to as, for example, control apparatus, control unit or control circuitry.

In some examples, the apparatus 10 may be a module. As used here, 'module' refers to a unit or apparatus that excludes certain parts/components that would be added by an end manufacturer or a user. For example, where the apparatus 10 is a module, the apparatus 10 may only include the one or more controllers 12 and any other components may be added by another manufacturer.

Implementation of the one or more controllers 12 can be in hardware alone (a circuit, a processor and so on), have certain aspects in software including firmware alone or can be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware). For example, the one or more controllers 12 may include a microprocessor and/or a Field-programmable Gate Array (FPGA).

The one or more controllers may be implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable computer program instructions in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor that may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory etc) to be executed by such a processor.

A processor 1 1 is configured to read from and write to a memory 13. The processor 1 1 may also include an output interface via which data and/or commands are output by the processor 1 1 and an input interface via which data and/or commands are input to the processor 1 1 .

The memory 13 stores a computer program 48 comprising computer program instructions (computer program code) that controls the operation of the apparatus 10 when loaded into the processor 1 1 . The computer program instructions, of the computer program 48, provide the logic and routines that enables the apparatus to perform the methods illustrated in Fig 5 and Fig 7. The processor 1 1 by reading the memory 13 is able to load and execute the computer program 48.

The computer program 48 may arrive at the apparatus 10 via any suitable delivery mechanism 56, 58. The delivery mechanism 56, 58 may be, for example, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium 56, a computer program product, a memory device, a record medium such as a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM) or digital versatile disc (DVD), an article of manufacture that tangibly embodies the computer program 48. The delivery mechanism may be a signal 58 configured to reliably transfer the computer program 48. The apparatus 10 may propagate or transmit the computer program 48 as a computer data signal.

Although the memory 13 is illustrated as a single component it may be implemented as one or more separate components some or all of which may be integrated/removable and/or may provide permanent/semi-permanent/ dynamic/cached storage.

Although the processor 1 1 is illustrated as a single component it may be implemented as one or more separate components some or all of which may be integrated/removable.

References to 'computer-readable storage medium', 'computer program product', 'tangibly embodied computer program' etc. or a 'controller', 'computer', 'processor' etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having different architectures such as single /multi- processor architectures and sequential (Von Neumann)/parallel architectures but also specialized circuits such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), application specific circuits (ASIC), signal processing devices and other processing circuitry. References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should be understood to encompass software for a programmable processor or firmware such as, for example, the programmable content of a hardware device whether instructions for a processor, or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array or programmable logic device etc.

In the example illustrated in figure 1 the system 66 also includes a plurality of sensor modules 16. The sensor modules may also be referred to as, for example, sensor units, sensor apparatus or sensor circuitry. Three sensor modules 16 are illustrated in Fig 1 however there may be any number of sensor modules 16.

The apparatus 10 may be arranged to automatically detect the sensor module or modules 16 able to communicate with the apparatus 1 0. For examples, the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 may be configured to cause automatic detection of signals sent by the sensor modules 16 within range of the apparatus 10. Additionally/Alternatively in some examples a user may manually choose which sensor modules 16 are to be in operation in the system 66. For example, a user may choose the sensor modules 16 are to be in operation via a user interface. A sensor module 16 may include one or more orientation sensors 68 arranged to measure the orientation of the sensor module 16. In more detail, the one or more sensors 68 of the sensor module may be arranged to determine orientation data of the sensor module 16. The one or more sensors 68 may be any suitable sensor or sensors for measuring the orientation of the sensor module 16. For example, the one or more sensors 68 may include one or more accelerometers, gyroscopes and/or magnetic sensors. The one or more sensors 68 may measure the orientation of the sensor module relative to a reference orientation 42. The reference orientation 42 may be global, applying to all sensor modules 16 or, in other examples, the reference orientation may be local, applying to a subset of the sensor modules 16, including one sensor module 16. This will be discussed further in the following paragraphs in relation to Fig 3. In some examples the one or more sensors may measure the pitch and/or roll and/or yaw of the sensor module 16. A sensor module 16 may include an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) for providing a measurement of the pitch and roll of the sensor module 16 relative to a reference orientation 42 (see Fig 3). In other embodiments a sensor module 16 may include an Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) for providing measurements of pitch, roll and yaw of the sensor module. An IMU includes a gyroscope and an accelerometer. An AHRS includes a gyroscope, an accelerometer and a magnetometer.

In some examples a sensor module 16 may include an Inertial Navigation system (INS) which includes an IMU/AHRS and a position sensor 34.

In some examples the plurality of sensor modules 16 may all include the same sensors 68 for measuring the orientation of the sensor modules 16. In other examples the sensor modules 16 may not all include the same sensors 68. For example, some of the sensor modules 16 may include a first type of orientation sensor and some of the sensor modules 16 may include a second, different type of orientation sensor. In general, the sensor modules 16 may include any combination of orientation sensors. Additionally/Alternatively a sensor module 16 may include one or more position sensors 34 arranged to measure the position of the sensor module 16. In more detail, the one or more position sensors 34 may determine position data of the sensor module 16. In some examples, the position data 32 of the sensor module 16 may be transmitted to the apparatus 10 via the communication unit 70.

The position sensors 34 may be separate from the orientation sensors 68 and may, for example, be added to the orientation sensors 68 by a different manufacturer or vice versa. In other examples the position sensors 34 may remain separate from the orientation sensors 68. The one or more position sensors 34 may be any suitable sensor or sensors for determining the position of the sensor module 16. For example, the one or more position sensors 34 may include one or more mechanical or optical linear, rotary encoders, and/or one or more relative position sensors such as ultrasonic sensor, laser rangefinder, capacitive sensor, capacitive displacement sensor, Doppler effect sensor, Eddy-current sensor, Inductive sensor, magnetic sensor, passive optical sensor, thermal infrared sensor, photocell sensor, radar sensor, sonar sensor and so on. In some examples, the one or more position sensors 34 may include one or more receivers arranged to operate in a satellite positioning system such as Global Positioning System (GPS), Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS), Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), BeiDou Satellite Navigation System (BDS) and/or GALILEO.

Additionally/Alternatively the one or more position sensors 34 may be arranged to operate in a Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) such as an Indoor Positioning System (IPS). In some examples the one or more position sensors 34 may be arranged to operate in a vision based positioning system.

The one or more position sensors 34 may measure the position of the sensor module 16 relative to a reference position 43. The reference position 43 may be global, applying to all sensor modules 16 or, in other examples, the reference position 43 may be local, applying to a subset of the sensor modules 16, including one sensor module 16. This will be discussed further in the following paragraphs in relation to Fig 3.

In the example illustrated in figure 1 the plurality of sensor modules 16 further include communication units 70. However, in other examples the communication units 70 may be separate from the sensor modules 16 and may, for example, be added to the sensor modules by a different manufacturer. In other examples the communication units 70 may remain separate from the sensor modules 16.

The communication units 70 are arranged to transmit data from and, in some examples, receive data at the sensor modules 16. The communication units 70 may include any suitable transmitter and/or receiver and/or transceiver.

In the example of Fig 1 the sensor modules 16 are able to transmit data to and receive data from every other sensor module 16 as indicated by the curved arrows at the left side of Fig 1 .

However, in some examples only some of the sensor modules 16 may be able to communicate with each other. In other examples the sensor modules 16 are not able to communicate with one another.

In examples where at least some of the sensor modules 16 can communicate with one another the communication can be via wireless connection, wired connection or a combination of wireless and wired connection. The sensor modules 16 may communicate using any suitable communication method. For example, the sensor modules 16 may communicate via dedicated wires, multiplexed wires, radio links, relayed radio links via satellites and/or towers, fiber optic transmission and/or the internet. In some examples the sensor modules 16 may communicate using Zigbee wireless communication. In the illustrated example the sensor modules 16 are shown communicating directly with one another. In other examples the sensor modules 16 may not communicate directly with one another and any number of intervening elements may exist. For example, communication between the sensor modules 16 may go via the apparatus 10.

In some examples, the apparatus 10 includes a communication unit 71 which may be controlled by the one or more controllers 12 (see Fig 2). The communication unit 71 may be arranged to receive data from the plurality of sensor modules 16, for example orientation data 14 and/or position data 32. The communication unit 71 of the apparatus 10 may also be arranged to transmit data/commands to the sensor modules 16.

The communication unit 71 may also be arranged to transmit a control signal 18 which is, for example, for controlling a further apparatus such as machinery. In other examples the one or more controllers 12 may be configured to transmit the control signal. This will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs with reference to Fig 3.

In other examples the communication unit 71 may be separate from the apparatus and may, for example, be added to the apparatus by a different manufacturer. In some examples the communication unit may remain separate from the apparatus 10.

The communication unit 71 of the apparatus 10 may include any suitable transmitter and/or receiver and/or transceiver. The communication unit 71 of the apparatus 10 may be the same as the communication units 70 of the sensor modules 16 or it may be different to the communication units 70 of the sensor modules 16.

The apparatus 10 may store received data 15 in a memory 13. The stored data 15 may be used by the apparatus 10.

Communication between the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 can be via wireless connection, wired connection or a combination of wireless and wired connection. The communication can be via any suitable communication method. For example, the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 may communicate via dedicated wires, multiplexed wires, radio links, relayed radio links via satellites and/or towers, fiber optic transmission and/or the internet. In some examples the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 may communicate using Zigbee wireless communication.

In the illustrated example the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 are shown communicating directly with one another. In other examples the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 may not communicate directly with one another and any number of intervening elements may exist. For example, communication between the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 may go via a further apparatus such as a server.

Communication between the sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 may be uni-directional or, as illustrated by the straight arrows between the apparatus 10 and the sensor modules 16 in Fig 1 , bi-directional. The sensor modules 16 and the apparatus 10 can be connected through any suitable network topology such as ring, bus, tree, mesh or star topology or a combination of network topologies.

The sensor modules 16 may be referred to as an array or cluster of sensor modules 16. The system 66 can be extended to be a larger system 76 having two or more arrays/clusters of sensor modules 16 with the associated apparatuses 10 communicating with each other for example. This will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs with reference to Fig 4. In the illustrated embodiment the apparatus 10 is separate from the sensor modules 16. However, in other examples the apparatus 10 may be combined with one or more of the sensor modules 16. This will be discussed in greater detail in the following paragraphs with reference to Fig 2. In some examples the apparatus 10 may be separate from but co-located with one or more of the sensor modules 16. In general, the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 are configured to cause at least reception of orientation and/or position data 14, 32 from the plurality of sensor modules 16; determination of relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules 16; and transmission of at least one control signal 18. The control signal 18 may be configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules 16.

The one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 may be configured to cause display of a representation of the plurality of sensor modules 16 which may be real time. For example, the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 may cause display of a three dimensional representation of the plurality of sensor modules 16 showing their respective orientations and/or positions. In some examples the apparatus 10 may further include a display for displaying the representation. In other examples the display may be separate from the apparatus 10.

In more detail, Fig 2 schematically illustrates an apparatus 10' and a single sensor module 16 according to an example. In Fig 2 the apparatus 10' includes one or more controllers 12 and a communication unit 71 . The one or more controllers 12 and the communication unit 71 may be as described above with reference to Fig 1 . The apparatus 10 illustrated in Fig 1 is different to the apparatus 10' illustrated in Fig 2 as the apparatus 10 of Fig 1 may not include a communication unit 71 .

In the illustrated example of Fig 2 the one or more controllers 12 are arranged to communicate with the communication unit 71 as indicated by the arrow between the one or more controllers 12 and the communication unit 71 . The one or more controllers 12 and the communication unit 71 may communicate directly as illustrated or, in other examples, there may be any number of intervening elements. The sensor module 16 in the example of Fig 2 includes one or more orientation sensors 68, one or more position sensors 34 and a communication unit 70. The one or more orientation sensors 68, the one or more position sensors 34 and the communication unit 70 may be as described above with reference to Fig 1 .

The sensor module 16 in the example of Fig 2 additionally includes one or more controllers 17. Although the one or more controllers 17 may include a plurality of controllers they will be referred to herein as controller 17.

In other examples the controller 17 may be separate from the sensor module 16 and may, for example, be added to the sensor module by a different manufacturer. In other examples the controller 17 may remain separate from the sensor module 16.

In some examples the controller 17 enables local data processing at the sensor module 16. For example, the controller 17 of the sensor module 16 in Fig 2 may enable the sensor module 16 to send and/or receive data and/or commands to other sensor modules 16 in the cluster/array.

Additionally/Alternatively the functionality of the apparatus 10 may be enabled by the controller 17 of one or more of the sensor modules 16 in a cluster/array. In such examples the apparatus 10 forms part of one or more of the sensor modules 16 and the separate apparatus 10 that is present in the example illustrated in Fig 1 may be omitted.

In the illustrated example of Fig 2 the one or more orientation sensors 68 and the one or more position sensors 34 are arranged to communicate directly with each other and the controller 17 as indicated by the arrows joining those elements. In other examples, there may be any number of intervening elements. Additionally/Alternatively, in some examples the one or more orientation sensors 68 may not be arranged to communicate with the one or more position sensors 34.

Similarly, in the example of Fig 2 the communication unit 70 is arranged to communicate directly with the controller 17 as indicated by the arrow joining the two elements. In other examples, any number of intervening elements may exist.

Additionally/Alternatively communication between the various elements of the apparatus 10' and the sensor module 16 may not be as shown in the example of Fig 2. For example, the one or more orientation sensor 68 and/or the one or more position sensors 34 may be arranged to communicate directly with the communication unit 70. The description above regarding the sensor module 16 illustrated in Fig 2 may apply to any/some/all of the sensor modules 16 illustrated in Fig.1 .

Fig 3 schematically illustrates an example of an application of a system 66. In the example of Fig 3 the system 66 includes an apparatus 10 and six sensor modules 16. Three of the sensor modules 16 are located on a first object 26 which may also be referred to as a first host object 26. The other three sensor modules 16 are located on a second object 28 which may also be referred to as a second host object 28.

In other examples there may be fewer or more sensor modules 16 on the first object 26 or the second object 28. Additionally/Alternatively there may be a different number of sensor modules 16 on the first object 26 and second object 28. For example, the first object 26 may have more sensor modules 16 on it than the second object 28 or vice versa. The sensor modules 16 may be attached temporarily or permanently to the first and second objects 26, 28. In other examples the sensor modules 16 may be integrated into the first and/or second objects 26, 28. It is also possible to have any combination of temporarily attached, permanently attached and integrated sensor modules 16 on the first and second objects 26, 28.

The sensor modules 16 may be attached to the first and second objects 26, 28 by any suitable method. For example, the sensor modules 16 may be glued, bonded, clamped (mechanical, pneumatic and/or magnetic clamps) and/or fixed by attaching means such as screws to the objects 26, 28. In some examples the sensor modules 16 may additionally or alternatively be attached by magnetism or suction and so on. Additionally/Alternatively the first and/or second objects 26, 28 may include one or more receptacles arranged to releasably hold the sensor modules 16.

The first and second objects 26, 28 may be any objects that are to be manipulated. For example, the first and second objects 26, 28 may be separate, uncoupled objects that are to be attached to each other and/or attached to one or more further objects (not illustrated). The first and second objects 26, 28 may be physically and/or operationally separate objects.

There are also two further apparatuses 22 in the example of Fig 3. The further apparatuses 22 may be machines, for example, manufacturing apparatuses 24 or apparatuses for use in connecting a first object 26 to a second object 28.

In the example of Fig 3 the further apparatuses 22 are arranged to connect the first and second objects 26, 28. This may be for example a part of a manufacturing or construction process. The further apparatuses 22 are supporting the first and second objects 26, 28 and are therefore also supporting the sensor modules 16 located on the first and second objects 26, 28. In Fig 3 the further apparatuses 22 are supporting the objects 26, 28 by two arms. The further apparatuses 22 are arranged to manipulate the orientation and/or position of the first and second objects 26, 28 in order to connect the objects 26, 28.

In other examples the further apparatuses 22 may support the objects 26, 28 in any suitable way. For example the objects 26, 28 may be supported from above and may be hanging, or the objects 26, 28 may be supported from below and may be resting on a surface, or any combination of supporting methods may be used.

In addition, the objects 26, 28 may not be supported by the further apparatus 22 instead being supported in some other way, such as at rest on a surface. In such examples the further apparatuses 22 may be arranged to change the orientation and/or position of the objects 26, 28 by manipulating the objects 26, 28 on the surface. For example, the further apparatuses 22 may push, pull or rotate the objects 26, 28 on the surface.

The sensor modules may be as described above with reference to Fig 1 or Fig 2 and are arranged to measure their orientation 20 and send orientation data 14 to the apparatus 10. The sensor modules 16 may measure their orientation 20 relative to a reference orientation 42. In Fig 3, the reference orientation 42 is a global reference orientation and applies to all sensor modules 16. Alternatively, the reference orientation 42 may be local to the sensor modules 16 and may be, for example, the initial orientation of the sensor module 16 when located on the object 26, 28. In some examples the sensor modules 16 may additionally/alternatively be arranged to determine their positions and send position data to the apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 is arranged to receive the orientation data 14 from the sensor modules 16 and to determine the relative orientations of the sensor modules 16 and also therefore of the first and second objects 26, 28. In some examples the apparatus 10 may additionally/alternatively be arranged to receive position data and to determine the relative positions of the sensor modules 16 and also therefore of the first and second object 26, 28.

In Fig 3 the apparatus 10 is also arranged to transmit at least one control signal 18 to one or both of the further apparatuses 22. The control signal 18 is configured to control one or both of the further apparatuses 22 to change the orientation and/or position of the first and/or second objects 26, 28 and the associated sensor modules 16. For example, the apparatus 10 may transmit a control signal 18 to the further apparatus 22 supporting the first object 26 to control the further apparatus 22 to change the orientation and/or position of the first object 26 to bring it into alignment with the second object 28. Advantageously, this allows for precise alignment of the first and second objects 26, 28 prior to connection of the two objects.

Furthermore, this also allows for, for example, automation of a manufacturing process including assembly of parts. Communication between the apparatus 10 and the further apparatus 22 may be bidirectional, as illustrated by the arrow connecting those elements in Fig 3, or unidirectional from the apparatus 10 to the further apparatuses 22.

In the example of Fig 3 both further apparatuses 22 can be controlled by the apparatus 10. However, in some examples one of the further apparatuses 22 may be controllable and the other further apparatus may not be controllable but may hold the object 26, 28 in a fixed position. In some examples the apparatus 10 may be part of the overall control system of a further apparatus 22. In such examples the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 may also be one or more controllers of the further apparatus 22.

The apparatus 10 may be part of the overall control system of both further apparatuses 22 in Fig 3. In such an example the control system of both further apparatuses 22 may perform the functionality of the apparatus 10.

Although two further apparatuses 22 have been shown in Fig 3 there may be any number of further apparatuses 22 one or more of which are controllable by the apparatus 10. The further apparatuses may not be the same and may be, for example, different machines.

Fig 4 schematically illustrates an example of a plurality of systems 66 connected together to form a system 76 of systems 66. The systems 66 may be the same as the system 66 described above with reference to Fig 1 .

The apparatuses 10 of the systems 66 are arranged to communicate with each other. The apparatuses 10 of the systems 66 can be connected through any suitable network topology such as ring, bus, tree, mesh or star topology or a combination of network topologies.

The apparatuses 10 of the systems may transmit data, such as orientation and/or position data, or command signals to one another. In some examples the apparatuses are arranged to communicate via communication units 71 . In other examples the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatuses 10 may be arranged to communicate with each other, either directly or indirectly. For example, the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatuses 10 may form part of single server.

In other examples there may be a further central apparatus 80, for example a server, arranged to communicate with one, some or all of the apparatuses 10. The central apparatus 80 comprises one or more controllers. The implementation of the one or more controllers is as described above with regard to the implementation of the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 of Fig 1 .

The central apparatus 80 may also comprise a communication unit arranged to communicate data and/or commands with the apparatuses 10. In other examples the one or more controllers of the central apparatus may be arranged to communicate with the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatuses 10, either directly or indirectly.

The central apparatus 80 may be arranged to control the overall operation of the system of systems 76. The operation of the apparatus 10 is described in the following paragraphs with reference to Figs 5 and 6.

Fig 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 500. Block 502 of the method 500 is an optional block. At block 502 of the method 500 the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 control the apparatus 10 to automatically detect the sensor module or modules 16 that are able to communicate with the apparatus 10. For example, the one or more controllers 12 may control the apparatus 10 to receive and analyse signals sent from the sensor modules 16 within communication range. In other examples the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 1 0 may not control the device to automatically detect the sensor modules 16 that can communicate with the apparatus 10. At block 504 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to receive orientation data 14 from the sensor modules 16. The orientation data 14 includes the orientation of the sensor modules 16 as measured by the sensor modules 16. For example, the orientation data 14 may include orientation measurements from the sensor modules 16 relative to a reference orientation 42. The orientation data 14 may comprise the yaw and/or pitch and/or roll of the sensor modules 16.

At block 506 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to determine, based at least in part on the received orientation data 14, the relative orientations of the sensor modules 16 from which the apparatus 10 has received orientation data 14. For example, the one or more controllers 12 may control the apparatus 10 to determine the difference in yaw and/or pitch and/or roll between the various sensor modules 16. For an array/cluster of sensor modules 16 having N modules the number of relative orientations is N^*(N-1 ).

At block 508 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to receive position data of the sensor modules 16 from position sensors 34. For example, the position data may be measured by position sensors 34 at the sensor modules 16. The position data 14 may include position measurements relative to a reference position 43

At block 510 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to determine the relative positions of the sensor modules 16.

In some examples orientation or position data is not measured and/or is not sent to the apparatus 10. At block 512 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to transmit a control signal 18 configured to cause a change in the orientation 20 and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules 16. For example, the apparatus 10 may determine that the orientation 20 of a first sensor module 16 is out of alignment with the orientation 20 of a second sensor module 16 and accordingly that objects 26, 28 to which the first and second sensor modules 16 are attached are also out of alignment. As a further example, additionally/alternatively the apparatus 10 may determine via the measurements that an object 26 is not in the intended position.

In response, the one or more controllers 12 may cause the apparatus 10 to transmit a control signal 18 to a further apparatus 22. The further apparatus 22 may be a machine 30 that is supporting the first and/or second objects 26, 28 or is arranged to manipulate the orientation 20 and/or position of the first and/or second objects 26, 28. The control signal 18 may control the machine 30 to change the orientation and/or position of one or both of the objects 26, 28 for example to bring them into alignment, to allow connection of the objects to 26, 28 one another.

Block 514 is an optional block. At block 514 the one or more controllers 12 may cause the display of a representation of the sensor modules 16 which may be real time. For example, the one or more controllers 12 may cause the display of a three dimensional representation of the sensor modules 16 at their relative orientations and/or positions. As the orientation 20 and/or position of one or more of the sensor modules 16 is controlled to change, the one or more controllers 12 may update the representation in real time to reflect the changes in orientation and/or position of the sensor modules 16. In some examples the real time representation is displayed on a display of the apparatus 10. In examples where the relative orientations or positions are not determined the sensor modules 16 may be oriented or positioned at arbitrary or predetermined orientations/locations in the representation. In other examples the one or controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 may cause the display of one or more plots indicating the change in orientation and/or position of the sensor modules 16 as a function of time. For example, for each sensor module 16 a plot may be displayed showing the yaw and/or pitch and/or roll values of the sensor module 16 as function of time.

In some examples the one or more controllers 12 may control the representation to display only a subset of the sensor modules 16. For example, only two of the six sensor modules 16 in Fig 3 may be displayed. This may be in response to a user input, such as selection via a user interface.

Additionally/Alternatively the representations may not be real time and may be displayed from orientation data 14, and/or in some examples position data, stored by the one or more controllers 12 in a memory 13.

Fig 6 illustrates examples of representations of sensor modules 16. The top panel of Fig 6 illustrates a three dimensional representation of two sensor modules 16. The bottom panel of Fig 6 illustrates a plot of yaw angle 82 (solid line), pitch angle 84 (dashed line) and roll angle 86 (dash dot line) of two sensor modules 16 as a function of time. In some examples one or more of the lines may be omitted.

Fig 7 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 600. At block 602 one or more sensor modules 16 are positioned on a host object 26. For example the sensor modules 16 may be manually positioned on the host object 26. Additionally/alternatively the sensor modules 16 may be positioned on the host object 26 by a machine 30 as part of a manufacturing process. At block 604 the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 control the apparatus 10 to receive orientation and/or position data 14 of the one or more sensor modules 16. The orientation data 14 includes the orientation of the sensor modules 16 as measured by the sensor modules 16. For example, the orientation data may include orientation measurements from the sensor modules 16 relative to a reference orientation 42. The orientation data 14 may comprise the yaw and/or pitch and/or roll of the sensor modules 16. At block 606 the one or more controllers 12 of the apparatus 10 control the apparatus 10 to determine the orientation and/or position of the host object 26 relative to at least one further object 28. For example, the apparatus 10 may determine the orientation and/or position of the host object 26 from the orientation and/or position data 14, 32. The further object 28 may have a fixed orientation that is known. Additionally/Alternatively the further object 28 may also have sensor modules 16 positioned on it to allow the orientation and/or position of the further object to be determined.

At block 608 the one or more controllers 12 control the apparatus 10 to transmit one or more control signals 18 to control a machine 30 to change the orientation and/or position of the host object 26 to compensate for a mismatch between the orientation and/or position of the host object 26 and the orientation and/or position of the further object 28. For example, the machine may be a manufacturing machine supporting the host object 26 and the compensation in orientation and/or position may allow the host object 26 to be attached or connected to the further object 28.

In other examples the host object 26 may not be supported by the machine 30 and the machine 30 may be controlled to manipulate the orientation and/or position of the host object. Applications for the apparatus, system, method and/or computer program described above include:

Assemblies of large structures: for example subassemblies such as shafts and casings in aero-engines, turbines for power plants, wind turbines and so on.

Heavy parts manipulations: for example containers at shipping ports, beams on skyscrapers in high/large constructions.

Alignments of metallic/non-metallic structures: for example bridges, off-shore platforms, buildings such as stadiums and arenas and so on.

Fine alignment of constituents of complex assemblies: for example elements of telescopic mirrors, individual screens of large display panels and so on, Relative referencing of elements of machine tools where there is no physical connection: for example energy beam machines such as waterjet and laser, dynamic systems such as machining or balancing of moving parts (for example turbine blades).

Shape sensing of multi-motion structures with defined geometries: for examples robotic arms and so on.

Although orientation data and/or position data have been referred to above, the orientation and/or position data may also be referred to as positional data.

The blocks illustrated in the Figs 5 and 7 may represent steps in a method and/or sections of code in the computer program 48. The illustration of a particular order to the blocks does not necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for the blocks and the order and arrangement of the block may be varied. Furthermore, it may be possible for some steps to be omitted.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the invention as claimed. Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than the combinations explicitly described. Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

Although features have been described with reference to certain embodiments, those features may also be present in other embodiments whether described or not.

Whilst endeavoring in the foregoing specification to draw attention to those features of the invention believed to be of particular importance it should be understood that the Applicant claims protection in respect of any patentable feature or combination of features hereinbefore referred to and/or shown in the drawings whether or not particular emphasis has been placed thereon.

l/we claim:

Claims

1 . An apparatus comprising:

one or more controllers configured to cause at least the following to be performed:

receiving orientation and/or position data of a plurality of sensor modules;

determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and transmitting at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules.

2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one control signal is configured to control at least one further apparatus to change the orientation and/or position of the at least one sensor module.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the at least one control signal is configured to control at least one further apparatus that is supporting the at least one sensor module.

4. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or 3, wherein the at least one further apparatus is a manufacturing apparatus.

5. An apparatus as claimed in claim 2, 3 or 4, wherein the at least one further apparatus is an apparatus for use in connecting a first object to at least a second object.

6. An apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5 wherein the at least one further apparatus is a machine.

7. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to cause at least the following to be performed: receiving orientation and position data of a plurality of position sensors; determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and position data, the relative orientations and positions of the plurality of position sensors; and

causing transmission of at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and position of at least one of the sensor modules.

8. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein received orientation data comprises the roll and pitch for the plurality of sensor modules measured relative to a reference orientation.

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the reference orientation is a global reference orientation, common to all of the plurality of sensor modules.

10. An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to cause at least the following to be performed:

automatically detecting the plurality of sensor modules able to communicate with the apparatus.

1 1 . An apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the one or more controllers are further configured to cause at least the following to be performed:

displaying a representation of the plurality of sensor modules.

12. A method comprising:

causing reception of orientation and/or position data of a plurality of sensor modules;

determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and/or position data, relative orientations and/or positions of the sensor modules; and causing transmission of at least one control signal configured to cause a change in the orientation and/or position of at least one of the sensor modules.

13. A method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the at least one control signal is configured to control at least one further apparatus that is supporting the at least one sensor module.

14. A method as claimed in claim 13, wherein the at least one further apparatus is a manufacturing apparatus.

15. A method as claimed in claim 13 or 14, wherein the at least one further apparatus is an apparatus for use in connecting a first object to at least a second object.

16. A method as claimed in any of claims 1 3 to 15 wherein the at least one further apparatus is a machine.

17. A method as claimed in any of claims 12 to 16 further comprising:

causing reception of orientation and position data of a plurality of position sensors;

determining, based at least in part on the received orientation and position data, the relative orientations and positions of the plurality of position sensors; and

18. A method as claimed in any of claims 12 to 17 further comprising:

causing automatic detection of the plurality of sensor modules able to be communicated with.

A method as claimed in any of claims 12 to 18 further compris causing display of a representation of the plurality of sensor modules.

20. A computer program comprising computer program instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, enable an apparatus at least to perform:

receiving orientation and/or position data of a plurality of sensor modules;

21 . A computer program comprising program instructions for causing a computer to perform the method of one or more of claims 12 to 19.

22. A physical entity embodying the computer program as claimed in one or more of claims 20 to 21 .

23. An electromagnetic carrier signal carrying the computer program as claimed in one or more of claims 20 to 21.

24. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method as claimed in one or more of claims 12 to 19.

25. An apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code;

wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, enable the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of claims 12 to 19.

26. A system comprising: An apparatus as claimed in one or more of claims 1 to 1 1 ;

a first sensor module comprising one or more sensors for determining orientation data and/or one or more sensors for determining position data of the first sensor module and a communication unit for transmitting the orientation and/or position data of the first sensor module to the apparatus; and

a second sensor module comprising one or more sensors for determining orientation data and/or one or more sensors for determining position data of the second sensor module and a communication unit for transmitting the orientation and/or position data of the second sensor module to the apparatus.

27. A system as claimed in claim 26, wherein the first sensor module is located on a first host object and the second sensor module is located on a second host object.

28. A system as claimed in claim 27, wherein the first and second host objects are separate, uncoupled objects.

29. A system as claimed in claim 27 or 28 wherein, the first host object is supported by a first further apparatus and the second host object is supported by a second further apparatus and wherein the control signal is configured to control at least one of the first or second further apparatuses to change the orientation and/or position of the first and/or second host objects and the orientation and/or position of the associated sensor module or modules.

30. A system comprising a plurality of systems as claimed in one or more of claims 26 to 29.

31 . A method comprising:

positioning at least one sensor module on a host object; receiving orientation and/or position data of the at least one sensor module;

determining the orientation and/or position of the host object relative to at least one further object; and

transmitting at least one control signal to control a machine to change the orientation and/or position of the host object to compensate for a mismatch between the orientation and/or position of the host object and the orientation and/or position of the at least one further object.

32. An apparatus, method or computer program as described herein with reference to the description and/or drawings.