Professional Documents
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rigonz2@netscape.net
R0 May 2014
2. ULTRASONIC SENSORS
There are a number of ultrasonic sensors available for the hobbyist, as shown in the
attached pictures. The model I have used is labelled HC-SR04 and has no mark of
manufacturer. As per the information available in Internet it seems that several companies
manufacture very similar versions.
Figure 3: Directional Chart (Source: User’s Manual – HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Sensor, Cytron
Technology)
3.1. Definitions
For any non-contact directional sensor the geometry of the external world is determined by
its Field of View (FOV) and range.
The FOV is a measurement of the angular range within which a sensor percepts. It can be
conceived as the part of the surrounding space where items can be detected through the
sensor: objects outside the FOV cannot be recorded. The FOV is usually measured as the
angular size of the view cone, expressed in horizontal and vertical degrees (f.eg. 22° ×
15°).
The range is the distance from the sensor to the nearest and farthest planes on which
objects can be detected by the sensor.
The spatial resolution of a sensor, or Instantaneous Field of View (IFOV), is the smallest
detail within the FOV that can be measured.
3.3. Results
I have determined the horizontal FOV (HFOV) with a metal pencil sharpener, with a gross
section of 25*15 mm at distances of 10, 20 and 100 cm. The results fluctuate between 18
and 24º (full cone), for an average of 21º (considerably less than the 30º mentioned in the
specifications).
The HFOV seems to be slightly skewed to one side, probably due to the asymmetry of the
module (but a part of this asymmetry maybe due to irregularities in the testing procedure):
the total HFOV is approx. 9.5+11.5º.
Despite of the variable results, the border of the HFOV is sharp: a shift of 2 mm can be the
difference between reading and error (see attached tables).
For the determination of the vertical FOV (VFOV) I placed the measuring object (the metal
sharpener) on a vertical rod at a known height, and shifted it along the line in front of the
sensor until it was detected. The VFOV (full cone) that I have measured is approximately