Title :
A low-cost contactless distance meter for automotive applications
Author :
Carullo, A. ; Ferraris, F. ; Parvis, M.
Author_Institution :
Dipartimento di Elettronica, Politecnico di Torino, Italy
Abstract :
This paper describes an ultrasonic sensor that is able to measure the distance from the ground from selected points of a motor vehicle. The sensor is based on the measurement of the time of flight of an ultrasonic pulse, which is reflected by the ground. An uncertainty of 1 mm (1 σ) is obtained at rest or at low speeds; the sensor still works at speeds of up to 30 m/s although at reduced accuracy. Such a performance is obtained by employing a series of optimisations that allows the sensor to self-adapt to different conditions to give the best results. The sensor is composed of only low cost components, thus being apt for first car equipment in many cases
Keywords :
automotive electronics; distance measurement; optimisation; temperature measurement; ultrasonic measurement; ultrasonic transducers; 30 m/s; US; automotive applications; contactless distance meter; field tests; motor vehicle; optimisation; time of flight measurement; ultrasonic sensor; Automotive applications; Humidity; Intelligent sensors; Land vehicles; Piezoelectric transducers; Road vehicles; Temperature distribution; Temperature sensors; Time measurement; Ultrasonic variables measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, 1996. IMTC-96. Conference Proceedings. Quality Measurements: The Indispensable Bridge between Theory and Reality., IEEE
Conference_Location :
Brussels
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3312-8
DOI :
10.1109/IMTC.1996.507353