maxsonar array

[Danish666]

Hi,

To design a simple array of sensors consisting of maxsonar EZ1, How many would I require to cover a field of view of 180 degrees? I pose this question, becasue EZ1 has varying beamwidth.
I intend to set up this array system on a DANI robot. I am not quite sure about the algorithm I must be using as well. Any suggestions?
Regards,
Danish

[Matt.S]

Hi Danish,

It is possible to scan the environment around the Dani robot using only one sensor.  As you can mount it on a servo and have it scan left to right giving you the field of view you require.  

The 2nd option is to use more than one but this can be harder as you will need to position them so the beam widths are close to give you the same field of view, the caveat of this is that one EZ1 might trigger the one next to it (assuming they are all operating at the same frequency). 

In terms of algorithm once you have decided on the sensor layout then this can be looked into,  the LabVIEW robotics module contains some examples that can be used to help with this. These can be found in the NI example finder by navigating to Help > Find Examples.

I hope this helps to get you started.

Best regards

[Danish666]

Thanks for the reply.

There is no point mounting the maxsonar on a servo, as it would do exactly what the PING ))) does (DANI is pre-equipped with a PING sensor). And my Uni expect me to set up an array. I have gone through some papers and it is pretty difficult to realise a sensor array ring as the beam width is not specific here. So i might end up with excessive overlapping if I place them to close to one anotherTo get the otimum level of overlapping is difficult and thus my question still stands, how many would you use on an array system and if anyone could help me with the specifics of the ring diameter and sensor spacing. (see attachment)

Another question is that, would I have to worry about overlapping beam areas even if I shoot the sensors one at a time?? (see attachment)

Many thanks with regard to the algorithm, it really made my work easier.

Regards,
Danish