Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

These range sensors test how close you are to an object by using sonar waves. These will bounce off an object and the time it took for the wave to get back to the sensor is used to calculate the distance from the object. These come in all distances and strengths but can be fairly accurate at a far lower price than Lidar.

Sensor Overview

Obstacle Detection: Detects the nearest obstacle in a cone. Although the detection area is significantly larger than IR and 1D lidar, the ultrasonic sensor still only measures the distance to the closest object. Maximum detection range is about 15 feet.

Ideal operating conditions: No sources of external ultrasonic noise present.

Sensor Pros:

• Data is easily processed, allowing the use of cheaper microcontrollers
• Inexpensive
• Good detection range and update rate

Sensor Cons:

• Ultrasonic emissions can echo, causing the receiver to pick up “ghost” data
• Similarly, complications can arise if multiple ultrasonic sensors are used since receivers can pick up emissions from other sensors. Some effort may be required to coordinate the emit/receive measurement times for each sensor.

Selecting an Ultrasonic Sensor

Here is a comparison of beam patterns between sensors in the LV-MaxSonar-EZ line:

1. 1. Pic##