A three-transducer ultrasonic system for object location in air

Abstract A B-mode ultrasonic imaging system using three transducers mounted in a static triangular configuration is presented. The system determines the position of single or multiple reflecting points placed in the inner part of a triangle. Signals propagate through air, as is currently found in robotic applications. The low resolution expected in low-density media has to be compensated by a clever processing of the signals. Thus, the range resolution is drastically improved if impulse responses are obtained by deconvolution. The location of objects is then accomplished by means of a focusing procedure. In order to obtain real-time images, computation is carried out by a parallel digital architecture based on transputers, which also supports a digital signal processor for fast numerical treatment of ultrasonic signals.