Dr Sam Gibson

Background

Before joining Cranfield, Sam completed a BSc in Mathematics and Physics followed by an MSc by Research at the University of Warwick. Their MSc project involved adapting particle physics technology for use in water quality monitoring.

They then completed a PhD in the Centre for Engineering Photonics at Cranfield, developing a tilt sensing system for manufacturing robotics using dual-wavelength laser speckle. During this, they were awarded a Santander Universities STEMship, a scholarship scheme aiming to support women in engineering.

Sam's continued work in the department focusses on laser speckle sensing, as applied to tilt measurement and robot vehicle odometry.

Current activities

Absolute tilt sensing using dual-wavelength laser speckle: This project builds on Sam's PhD work, which developed and implemented the theory of dual-wavelenth speckle for tilt sensing. The new work aims to improve the laser stability of the practical implementation, and thus the performance of the angle measurements.

Speckle-based mobile robot odometry: Sam is also working on integrating a speckle odometry sensor with a mecanum-wheeled robot using ROS. The sensor provides provides complimentary odometry measurements to the built-in encoders, by accounting for slipping and crawling of the wheels.

Publications

• Articles in journals
• Conference papers