Laser vibrometer

Tampere University Foundation sr (Contracting authority) is publishing direct award notice for 'Laser vibrometer'.

BACKGROUND INFO The MAGICS research infrastructure is a Finnish national network of research infrastructures that offer researchers capabilities related to measuring how humans behave and interact with each other and with technology. As a part of MAGICS infrastructure the Nexus infrastructure at Tampere University (TAU) serves researchers who work, among other things, with haptic computing devices. In practice haptic feedback is often in the form of vibration because vibration can be efficiently produced in low-powered portable devices that operate on battery power. When reporting research on haptics it is necessary to be able to describe accurately the vibration that a device produces. To this end it is necessary to be able to measure the vibration on the surface of different devices such as mobile phones, haptic gloves and vests. NEED Presently researchers in TAU can report the way that haptic devices vibrate in theory. E.g. the frequency of vibration can be described as well as the relative power according to the actuator specifications. However, measurements like differences in vibration amplitude in different parts of the device surface are not possible. CONCLUSION FOR DIRECT AWARD Laser vibrometers can measure vibration without touching or altering the vibrating surface. They are manufactured for many purposes by multiple manufacturers such as Polytec, Optomet, OMS, and SmarAct. Some devices are simple with one measurement point. When evaluating and documenting the vibration characteristics of a haptic surface on an interactive device, it is important to measure the whole surface simultaneously. Thus, one-point vibrometers are insufficient even if they are very accurate and inexpensive. Instead, a device that can measure a matrix of points spread over the surface is needed. The larger the matrix is the better it is for the intended purpose. Of the known manufacturers Polytec and Optomet produce large matrix devices with around 200 measurement points. The materials and surface characteristics of the measured surfaces, e.g. high reflectivity can be difficult for laser-based measurements. Dark, rough polymers and coatings as well as mixed material surfaces often seen in our prototypes and commercial haptic devices can also be difficult to measure. Polytec uniquely has the QTec multi-path interferometry technique that improves results on challenging materials. Polytec also has a library of pre-calibrated profiles for common surfaces as well as a service for providing support for further calibrations. While all available vibrometers would help in some of the measurements, only Polytec VibroScan QTec Xtra laser doppler vibrometer can perform well in all measurements that are needed. In conclusion, Polytec’s VibroScan QTec Xtra is the only available scanning laser Doppler vibrometer for measuring haptic actuators in research settings such as ours that requires a very versatile device with a large measurement matrix and highly configurable software with multi-material capabilities. Kimmy Photonics acts as sole distributor for Polytec’s (Polytec GmbH) instruments in Finland.