Optical Tachometer Design for Reaction Wheel Angular Speed Control.

A low-cost, digital RPM meter was build in order to determine the magnitude and direction of rotation of the reaction wheels.

Year: 2016.

Description.

A low-cost, digital RPM meter was build in order to determine the magnitude and direction of rotation of the reaction wheels.

Working principle.

Explanation of how the optical tachometer works.

Optical sensor.

For this application, a low-cost CNY-70 Infrared (IR) sensor was used.

Analog aconditioner circuit.

This circuit is in charge of providing the right measurement of every cycle of the reaction wheel. It includes an anti-bounce section.

Real-time results.

Angular speed of the reaction wheel after optical tachometer integration and validation.