Discriminating Multiple Nearby Targets Using Single-Ping Ultrasonic Scene Mapping

We present a software simulation and a hardware proof of concept for a compact low-power lightweight ultrasonic echolocation design that is capable of imaging a 120 field of view with a single ping. The sensor uses a single transmitter and a linear array of ten microphones, followed by a bank of eight spatiotemporal filters to determine the bearing angle of returned echoes. The sensor is capable of detecting multiple objects with a single omnidirectional ping, even if their echoes interfere with each other at the microphone array. The hardware implementation detects the bearing of nearby objects with an rms accuracy of 1.6° and can reliably detect a 70-cm-long 5-cm-diameter metal table leg at a range of 3 m. Stronger reflectors, such as building corners, can be reliably detected at a range of 9 m.

[1]  Timothy K. Horiuchi,et al.  A Neuromorphic VLSI Model of Bat Interaural Level Difference Processing for Azimuthal Echolocation , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers.

[2]  Lee N. Bolen,et al.  Ultrasonic background noise in industrial environment , 1985 .

[3]  Timothy K. Horiuchi,et al.  An ultrasonic filterbank with spiking neurons , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[4]  Kristian Kroschel,et al.  System for robust 3D speaker tracking using microphone array measurements , 2004, 2004 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37566).

[5]  E H Adelson,et al.  Spatiotemporal energy models for the perception of motion. , 1985, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[6]  Norman Morrison,et al.  Introduction to Fourier Analysis , 1994, An Invitation to Modern Number Theory.

[7]  D. F. Kostishack,et al.  Micro Air Vehicles for Optical Surveillance , 1999 .

[8]  John Hallam,et al.  3D object localisation with a binaural sonarhead, inspirations from biology , 1998, Proceedings. 1998 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (Cat. No.98CH36146).

[9]  Ralph Etienne-Cummings,et al.  Ultrasonic bearing estimation using a MEMS microphone array and spatiotemporal filters , 2002, 2002 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems. Proceedings (Cat. No.02CH37353).

[10]  H Peremans,et al.  One tone, two ears, three dimensions: a robotic investigation of pinnae movements used by rhinolophid and hipposiderid bats. , 1998, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[11]  A J Ahumada,et al.  Model of human visual-motion sensing. , 1985, Journal of the Optical Society of America. A, Optics and image science.

[12]  Gaurav S. Sukhatme,et al.  Combined optic-flow and stereo-based navigation of urban canyons for a UAV , 2005, 2005 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems.

[13]  Don Lancaster.  Active-Filter Cookbook , 1975 .

[14]  R. Muller,et al.  A comprehensive robotic model for neural & acoustic signal processing in bats , 2003, First International IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, 2003. Conference Proceedings..

[15]  Raja Suresh.  Defense Transformation And Network-centric Systems , 2005 .

[16]  P. Chandler,et al.  Cooperative Operations in Urban Terrain (COUNTER) , 2006, SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing.

[17]  R Müller,et al.  Acoustic flow perception in cf-bats: extraction of parameters. , 2000, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[18]  Stephen W. Smith,et al.  Beam Steering with Linear Arrays , 1983, IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering.

[19]  Ralph Etienne-Cummings,et al.  Single Ping-multiple measurements: sonar bearing angle estimation using spatiotemporal frequency filters , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers.

[20]  Geoffrey L. Barrows,et al.  Flying insect inspired vision for autonomous aerial robot maneuvers in near-earth environments , 2004, IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2004. Proceedings. ICRA '04. 2004.

[21]  Lindsay Kleeman,et al.  An optimal sonar array for target localization and classification , 1994, Proceedings of the 1994 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation.

[22]  R. Etienne-Cummings,et al.  Sonar echo-location in 2-D using mini-microphone array and spatiotemporal frequency filtering , 2005, 2005 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[23]  Thomas J. Mueller,et al.  Fixed and Flapping Wing Aerodynamics for Micro Air Vehicle Applications , 2001 .

[24]  J. Simmons,et al.  Echolocation and pursuit of prey by bats. , 1979, Science.

[25]  H U Schnitzler,et al.  Acoustic flow perception in cf-bats: properties of the available cues. , 1999, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[26]  Herbert Peremans,et al.  The CIRCE Head: A Biomimetic Sonar System , 2005, ICANN.

[27]  S. Harput,et al.  Ultrasonic phased array device for real-time acoustic imaging in air , 2008, 2008 IEEE Ultrasonics Symposium.

[28]  D. Bank.  A novel ultrasonic sensing system for autonomous mobile systems , 2002 .

[29]  Nils Kroemer,et al.  Ultrasonic transducers and transducer arrays for applications in air , 1992 .

[30]  Timothy K. Horiuchi,et al.  Binaural spectral cues for ultrasonic localization , 2008, 2008 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.

[31]  H. W. Marsh,et al.  Sound Absorption in Sea Water , 1962 .

[32]  Ralph Etienne-Cummings,et al.  Bearing angle estimation for sonar micro-array using analog VLSI spatiotemporal processing , 2004, 2004 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (IEEE Cat. No.04CH37512).

[33]  S. N. Fry,et al.  Visual control of flight speed in Drosophila melanogaster , 2009, Journal of Experimental Biology.

[34]  Ralph Etienne-Cummings,et al.  Architecture for source localization with a linear ultrasonic array , 2001, ISCAS 2001. The 2001 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (Cat. No.01CH37196).