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General Operating Principle of the Apollon-Q PP
The Apollon-Q PP is a sensor for detecting the presence of objects and goods. The sensor can be used, for example, to detect parcels or pallets on shelves.
In the example, a shelf with four stacked items is used.
Depending on the set measuring frequency, the sensor detects the presence of the packets via an optical time-of-flight distance measurement. The measuring frequency can be set via the "Measuring period" (mper) parameter. The default value is 5000ms.
For reliable detection of the packages, the distances should always be set to approximately half the height of the packages, as shown in the figure. l4d should therefore be the distance from the sensor to package 4 plus half the height of package 4. If the measured distance of the sensor is less than the set distance l4d , the sensor has detected an object in the area of level 4.
If package 4 is on the shelf, the sensor returns the following values in the payload:
...object_present: true,object_level: 4,object_distance: [Distance to the object],
...
If package 4 is removed from the shelf, a beep sounds and the sensor sends a message due to the change in status. The distance is now measured and compared with the set levels. In this case, the measured distance is less than the set distance l3d and the sensor has detected an object at level 3. Here the sensor returns the following data in the payload:
...object_present: true,object_level: 3,object_distance: [Distance to the object],
...
This behavior can be applied analogously to the removal of packages 1 to 3.
If a distance outside the defined limit values is measured, the sensor transmits a change of state from level 1 to no object detected and adjusts the payload as follows:
...object_present: false,object_level: 0,object_distance: [Distance to the object],
...
This status is set if a distance greater than l1d is detected. If there is no parcel on the shelf, this is acknowledged with object_present: false.
The sensor transmits the data no later than the defined measuring period for each status change. A handshake can also be configured.
Up to 4 different levels can be defined in the sensor. The values can be configured via NFC or downlinks:
| Name | Description | .json Key |
|---|---|---|
| Distance Level 1 | Distance required to trigger a Level 1 state change | l1d |
| Distance Level 2 | Distance required to trigger a Level 2 state change | l2d |
| Distance Level 3 | Distance required to trigger a Level 3 state change | l3d |
| Distance Level 4 | Distance required to trigger a Level 4 state change | l4d |
l1d always represents the greatest distance, i.e. the distance to the object that is furthest away from the sensor.
l4d always represents the smallest distance, i.e. the distance to the object that is closest to the sensor.
Not all distances need to be defined. If only two objects need to
be distinguished, the number of active stages/levels can be set
using the parameter lvls. The levels are then activated
in ascending order. If the parameter lvls = 2, the
Distance Level 1 (l1d) and Distance Level 2
(l2d) can be configured.
Using the dyn parameter, it can be configured whether
the sensor distinguishes between the current levels or not.
If dyn=1, the sensor returns the current level,
distance and object_present. If dyn=0,
the sensor only returns object_present:true or
object_present:false.
Looking at the present use case, the number of levels can be set to
lvls=2 to fulfill the application requirements.
In this case, the maximum shelf capacity is two packages.
Further applications
Depending on the configuration of the sensor, different use cases can be mapped. The following scenarios have been implemented as examples:
- detection and presence of vehicles (industrial trucks, cars, trucks, etc.)
- detection of open doors or flaps
- detection of parcels in shipping boxes
