Visual Light Sensing for IoT Sensor Networks: A Use Case for Monitoring Rotating Shaft Conditions in Industrial Applications

Digitalization in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) will also change and heavily influence the possibilities in the industrial environment. However, in order to realize corresponding wireless sensor networks, conventional technologies can reach their limits, which is why light-based approaches have also attracted increased interest and been investigated in recent years. In the present work, the application of Visible Light Sensing (VLS) is investigated for a frequently occurring task in industry. A rotating shaft is to be monitored online in a non-contact manner with respect to its rotational speed as well as operational distortions that can occur over time. VLS provides possibilities for a corresponding low-cost sensor system of low complexity, which in addition can be implemented in a simple way into the existing lighting infrastructure. The performance of this approach was tested and proven experimentally under varying conditions.