LETI: Model Will Make Antenna and Telescope Calibration More Accurate

Today, there are a large number of different digital rotary encoders, which are used to measure the angle of any rotating object with high accuracy and convert this information into a digital code for further processing. And different industries, from automobile manufacturing (for example, to determine the angle of rotation of a steering wheel) to computer engineering (to determine the angle of rotation of a computer mouse wheel), use different types of encoders. Successful use of such encoders requires accurate calibration, but there is no uniform approach for this yet.

“We have developed a mathematical model that can be used to calibrate rotary encoders that are widely used for precise rotations in all areas, from platforms to antennas and telescopes.”

Yuri Filatov, Head of the Department of Laser Measurement and Navigation Systems at LETI.
Developers described the new approach in the Optical Engineering journal. To calibrate encoders with different types of interfaces (parallel or serial), they propose to use a dynamic goniometer (a device for high accuracy measurement of angles between objects) as a reference sensor for measuring the rotation angle at different speeds. The data obtained are processed using a special algorithm to calibrate encoders with different interfaces. Scientists have shown the effectiveness of the approach in experiments with a dynamic goniometer.

“Previously, there was no international methodology that would fit all encoders; each type required its own model to calibrate. Perhaps gradually such a standard will emerge, and we offer one way to create it. The advantage of our model is its versatility – it can be used to calibrate any encoder, and in this respect, it has no analogs”, explains Yuri Filatov.