no regulatory restrictions, and avoids radio frequency (RF) spectrum allocation, as well as electromagnetic interference (EMI) and radio frequency interference (RFI) issues. Though well established as a methodology, to fully realize the benefits of ultrasonic sensing, designers need a good understanding of its operating principles, available components, and associated circuit requirements. They must also consider architectural approaches, such as whether to use separate transmit and receive units—which allows for placement of each in different locations—or use a combined single-unit transceiver. Finally, they must provide a suitable electronics driver and receiver which can operate at the optimal
frequency for position sensing/ detection and fluid flow sensing. This article provides a basic introduction to ultrasonic transducers and their application in object detection and flow sensing. Real-world ultrasonic devices from PUI Audio are presented by way of example, and an appropriate driver IC and associated development kit are described to enable application development. Simple principle, adopted from nature Ultrasonic detection is a sophisticated version of the basic echolocation principle used by animals such as dolphins and bats (Figure 1).
The Internet of Things (IoT) and the expanding role of artificial intelligence (AI) at the network edge have raised interest in making applications more intelligent and ambient aware. As a result,
designers need to consider appropriate sensing options,
many of which can rely upon well- established technologies to avoid complexity. For example, ultrasonic energy is widely used to sense the presence of nearby objects and even determine their distance, as well as to measure fluid flow rates. The advantages of ultrasound are that it is relatively easy to apply, is accurate, has minimal safety or risk factors, carries
Figure 1: Electronic acoustic detection and position sensing has its origins in echolocation which is effectively used by living creatures such as bats. (Image source: Wikipedia)
we get technical
41
Powered by FlippingBook