Creating a Sensor System

Adding Sensors and Configuring Multi-sensor Systems

GoPxL lets you create a dual- or multi-sensor system, which combines the scan data (Image, Profile, or Surface data) from individual sensors into a single frame, on which you can run measurement tools.

If you are creating a multi-sensor G2 system in a ring layout and intend to perform a high-accuracy alignment (six degree of freedom) using the Surface Align Ring tool (see Ring Layouts (Surface Align Ring Tool)), place all sensors in the Top row, even though some of the sensors will be physically below others. The configuration file created in Surface Align Ring and used in Surface Mesh applies the required transformations to the sensors. If you are using the built-in stationary polygon alignment (five degree of freedom), use the top and bottom rows.

To create a dual- or multi-sensor system

1.

In a web browser, connect to the sensor with which you want to group other sensors.

GoPxL will run on this sensor and control the other sensors.

The default Gocator sensor IP address is 192.168.1.10. If you don't see your sensor in the browser, see GoPxL Discovery Tool.

2.

In the GoPxL interface, go to the System > Design page, click the three dots menu and click Add and Manage Sensors.

The Add and Manage Sensors dialog opens, displaying the available sensors, and the sensor on which you're using GoPxL in the Layout section.

If you don't see sensors that you expect to see, go to the System > Discover page to see all sensors on the network, or use the Discovery tool (for more information, see GoPxL Discovery Tool).

3.

In the Add and Manage Sensor dialog, from the list of available sensors at the top, click the Top or Bottom button next to a sensor to add it to the sensor group in the top or bottom row, respectively.

The sensor is added to the sensor group.

You can also add the sensor to a specific cell in the grid using drag and drop mouse operations, using the grabber icon next to a sensor ().

4.

(Optional) If you need to reorganize the sensors in the layout, you can hover over a sensor in a grid cell and do one of the following:

Use drag and drop mouse operations to move a sensor, by clicking on a sensor's grabber and moving it to another cell.

You can also hover over a cell and click the sensor's Show more icon and choose a "Move" command.

5.

(Optional) If necessary, change the orientation of sensors.

For more information, see Changing Sensor Orientation.

6.

(Optional) If necessary, enable exposure multiplexing.

For more information, see See Enabling Exposure Multiplexing.

7.

After you have finished configuring your system, click Done and then save your job.

After you have grouped a sensor with another sensor, the grouped (also known as "remote") sensor's web interface will show that it's currently being controlled by another GoPxL instance, namely, GoPxL running on the sensor on which you configured the system.

Changing Sensor Orientation

If a sensor's orientation in the layout is such that the sensor's positive Y axis is opposite to the motion of the target, relative to the sensor, you need to change the sensor's orientation.

To determine the positive Y axis of your sensor, see the Coordinate System Orientation diagram for your sensor in the Sensors.

You change a sensor's orientation by changing its orientation to Reverse under a sensor in the layout grid. This information allows the alignment procedure to determine the correct system-wide coordinates for scan data and measurements. For more information on sensor and system coordinates, see Coordinate Systems.

Enabling Exposure Multiplexing

If the sensors in a dual- or multi-sensor system are mounted in a way that allows the camera from one sensor to detect the light from another sensor, you should enable the Exposure Multiplexing option in the Add & Manage Sensor Group dialog. When the setting is enabled, you assign sensors in the sensor group to different "banks." GoPxL creates a time offset for exposures between the banks, ensuring that they are not triggered at the same time. Using this setting may reduce the maximum frame rate.

To enable and configure exposure multiplexing

1.

In the Manage Sensor Group dialog, move the Exposure Multiplexing toggle to the right.

Bank fields display under each sensor previously added to the sensor group in the Layout area.

2.

Set the values in the Bank fields to assign sensors to the desired banks.

Removing a Sensor from a System

To remove a sensor from a multi-sensor system, in the Add and Manage Sensor dialog, click the three dots menu and choose Clear Cell. You can also drag a sensor from a layout cell to the sensor list above the layout grid.

You can also go to the System > Design page, and in the row of the sensor you want to remove, click the three dots and select Remove sensor from group.