LIDAR
Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)
LIDAR – sometimes called time of flight (ToF), laser scanners or laser radar – is a sensing
method that detects objects and maps their distances..
Instead of using sound or radio waves to scan its environment, lidar utilizes laser light pulses.
“Lidar systems can literally map their surroundings at the speed of light.”
In doing so, lidar systems can literally map their
surroundings at the speed of light. Its versatility in
direct air and in the vacuum of space allows lidar
to operate on a short-wave, near-infrared optical
signal – resulting in a much finer scan accuracy
than longer waves, such as microwaves, could
allow.
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How Does Lidar Work?
From a distance, lidar functions very similarly to sonar. Sonar systems emit sound
waves that travel outwards in all directions until making contact with an object,
resulting in an echoing sound wave that is redirected back to the source.
The distance of that object is then calculated based on the time it took for the echo to
return, in relation to the known speed of sound.
Lidar systems operate under this same principle, but do so at the speed of light – more
than 1,000,000 times faster than the speed of sound. Instead of emitting sound waves,
they transmit and receive data from hundreds of thousands of laser pulses every second.
An onboard computer records each laser’s reflection point, translating this rapidly
updating “point cloud” into an animated 3D representation of its surroundings.
A bird’s-eye view of how a lidar-enabled vehicle would experience and navigate a crowded parking lot.
Main Components of LIDAR Systems
Most Light Detection and Ranging systems use four main components
Lasers
Scanners and Optics
Photodetector And Receiver Electronics
Navigation And Positioning Systems/GPS
Main Components of LIDAR Systems
Lasers
The Lasers are categorized by their wavelength. Airborne Light Detection and Ranging systems
use 1064nm diode-pumped Nd: YAG lasers whereas Bathymetric systems use 532nm double
diode-pumped Nd: YAG lasers which penetrate into the water with less attenuation than the
airborne system (1064nm). Better resolution can be attained with shorter pulses provided the
receiver detector and electronics have sufficient bandwidth to manage the increased data flow.
Scanners and Optics
The speed at which images can be developed is affected by the speed at which it can be
scanned into the system. A variety of scanning methods is available for different resolutions
such as azimuth and elevation, dual axis scanner, dual oscillating plane mirrors, and polygonal
mirrors. The type of optic determines the range and resolution that can be detected by a system.
Main Components of LIDAR Systems
Photodetector And Receiver Electronics
The photodetector is a device that reads and records the backscattered signal to the system.
There are two main types of photodetector technologies, solid state detectors, such as
silicon avalanche photodiodes and photomultipliers.
Navigation And Positioning Systems/GPS
When a Light Detection and Ranging sensor is mounted on an aeroplane satellite or
automobiles, it is necessary to determine the absolute position and the orientation of the
sensor to maintain useable data. Global Positioning Systems (GPS) provide accurate
geographical information regarding the position of the sensor and an Inertial Measurement
Unit (IMU) records the accurate orientation of the sensor at that location. These two
devices provide the method for translating sensor data into static points for use in a variety
of systems.
Lidar in Consumer Cars
In the automotive industry, radar has long been utilized to automatically control speed,
braking, and safety systems in response to sudden changes in traffic conditions.
Today, automakers have begun to integrate lidar into Advanced Driver Assistance Systems
(ADAS) in order to visualize the ever-changing environments their vehicles are immersed
in. The resulting wealth of data from automotive platform incorporation can allow ADAS
systems to make hundreds of carefully-calculated driving decisions each minute.
LIDAR VS RADAR
They have similar working principles, but each uses different kinds of waves and wave
sources. RADAR uses an antenna to emit radio signals, but a LIDAR device has specialized
optics and lasers for receiving and transmission.
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Ultrasonic sensor
What is an ultrasonic sensor?
An ultrasonic sensor is an instrument that measures the distance to an object using ultrasonic
sound waves.
An ultrasonic sensor uses a transducer to send and receive ultrasonic pulses that relay back
information about an object’s proximity.
High-frequency sound waves reflect from boundaries to produce distinct echo patterns.
How Ultrasonic Sensors Work
Ultrasonic sensors work by
sending out a sound wave at a
frequency above the range of
human hearing. The transducer
of the sensor acts as a
microphone to receive and send
the ultrasonic sound. Our
ultrasonic sensors, like many
others, use a single transducer
to send a pulse and to receive
the echo. The sensor
determines the distance to a
target by measuring time lapses
between the sending and
receiving of the ultrasonic
pulse.
Why Use Ultrasonic Sensing?
Ultrasonic sensors can detect a variety of materials, regardless of shape, transparency, or color. The only
requirement for ultrasonic sensing is that the target material is a solid or liquid. This enables contactless
detection of:
• Metal
• Plastic
• Glass
• Wood
• Rocks
• Sand
• Oil
• Water
• Other hard, non-sound absorbent materials
These materials are able to reflect sound back towards the sensor through the air. Certain objects can be
more difficult to detect, like angled surfaces that direct the echo away from the sensor, or permeable
targets like sponge, foam, and soft clothing. These absorb more reflected ultrasonic energy
How Ultrasonic Sensors Work
The working principle of this module is simple. It sends an ultrasonic pulse out at 40kHz which
travels through the air and if there is an obstacle or object, it will bounce back to the sensor. By
calculating the travel time and the speed of sound, the distance can be calculated.
Ultrasonic sensors are a great solution for the detection of clear objects. For liquid level
measurement, applications that use infrared sensors, for instance, struggle with this particular
use case because of target translucence.
For presence detection, ultrasonic sensors detect objects regardless of the color, surface, or
material (unless the material is very soft like wool, as it would absorb sound.)
To detect transparent and other items where optical technologies may fail, ultrasonic sensors are
a reliable choice.
Introduction to the Ultrasonic System
Ultrasonic System Level Block Diagram
What is ultrasonic sensor vehicle data?
Ultrasonic sensors mimic echolocation used
by bats, transmitting high-frequency sound
waves to gauge the distance between
objects within close range.
Ultrasonic sensors can be used to
complement other vehicle sensors,
including radar, cameras, and lidar, to get a
full picture of the immediate surroundings
of a vehicle. While ultrasonic
sensors necessitate close proximity and
slow speeds, advantages include the ability
to be accurately used in situations with low
visibility, such as in inclement weather
conditions and dim areas.
Uses of Ultrasonic Data
Ultrasonic sensors for parking
Let's look at parking sensors as an example.
Parking sensors use a type of sonar. The term
sonar is an acronym for sound navigation and
radar; it's used for calculating the distance
and/or direction of an object from the time it
takes for a sound wave to travel to the target and
back. An ultrasonic sensor is a speaker or
microphone that emits or receives ultrasound.
There is also a type that can handle both
emission and reception. Vehicle parking sensors
are equipped with this type of sensor.
Ultrasound sensors initially found use in
vehicles for detecting obstacles when parking
but it is now evolving into an automatic parking
system.
Autonomous Vehicles
Autonomous Vehicle (AV) technology relies on several sensors,
including ultrasonic sensors. While ultrasonic sensors within the car
can detect conditions in its vicinity, the technology on which
autonomous vehicles rely requires big data to work. Utilizing
ultrasonic sensor data from millions of connected vehicles is
necessary to build AV algorithms. Crowdsourced ultrasonic vehicle
data offers benchmarking for a variety of conditions, locations, and
scenarios, when used alongside with other parameters, such as
weather and hazard data.
V2X
V2X technology benefits from ultrasonic sensor data by allowing
vehicles to sense and communicate road hazard warnings.
Ultrasonic sensors can determine whether a vehicle is too close to
another vehicle (V2V) or a pedestrian (V2P), especially in instances
of low visibility. Aggregate data from ultrasonic sensors in
connected cars can be used to derive insights to improve V2X
technology and further road safety.
