High-Precision Ultrasonic Ranging System Platform Based on Peak-Detected Self-Interference Technique

• Published in: IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement Vol. 60; no. 12; pp. 3775 - 3780
• Main Authors: Huang, Ji-De, Lee, Chih-Kung, Yeh, Chau-Shioung, Wu, Wen-Jong, Lin, Chih-Ting
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.12.2011; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Acoustics; Algorithms; Distance measurement; Emittance; Hardware; Instrumentation; Interference; Microcontrollers; Platforms; Receivers; self-interference; Temperature sensors; ultrasonic system; Ultrasonic transducers; Waveforms
• ISSN: 0018-9456; 1557-9662
• DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2011.2149391

A high-precision ultrasonic ranging system platform is presented and evaluated in this work. By queuing peaks of the self-destructive interference, the proposed hardware platform can enhance the accuracy without complex algorithms. At the emitter, the developed technique generates two amplitude-modulated pulses with 180° phase shift. At the receiver, on the other hand, the two pulses create a self-destructive interference. This interference waveform can be used to directly determine the time of flight. By implementing the developed technique on a low-cost microcontroller platform, the experimental result shows the accuracy with 0.06 mm over a range of 50-1000 mm. Moreover, the system accuracy remains 0.15 mm within the range of 2000 mm. The developed system establishes an effective method for low-cost and high-performance ranging systems.