Real Robot Whiskers

Well, this is by far one of the more interesting robot sensing devices I've seen in a while. It's like your standard bump sensor whiskers on steroids.

A group of researchers from schools that I can't pronounce have come up with the ultimate robot whiskers solution - a motor spins the whisker in a semicircular motion and an accelerometer attached to the end monitors the acceration. When the whisker hits an object the end of the whisker vibrates at a certain frequency depending on how far up the whisker the object hit. The acceleromter, coupled with sensors that determine the angle of the whisker can then accurately pinpoint the location of the obstacle.

In theory it sounds pretty easy to implement. I'll have to add it to the "to build" list. Apparently, the biological counterpart is how insects navigate their way around the world.