Discussion for Sensors

The vital importance in order to be able to use a drone with adequate margins of safety, where safety
refers to the absence of involvement of people, damage to objects, damage to the drone itself and the
success of the mission with subsequent return of the aircraft (RTL, Return to Launch) depends on the
presence of a system that capable to provide exact information about the position of a drone in
relation to the surrounding environment. In case for anti-collision system it is important to know the
best sensor or detector for the drone. According to the characteristics, there are two types of sensor
that suitable for ranging and non-contact obstacle avoidance which are IR sensors and ultrasonic
sensors.

Infrared sensors emit infrared radiation and detect the reflection from the object in surrounding. Other
than its compactness and lightness that suitable to use with drone, these sensors are amazingly
accurate and precise. In fact, infrared sensors can detect infrared light from far distances over a large
area, slightly similar with the human eye is capable of detecting visible light. Infrared sensors operate
in real-time and detect movement, making them perfect for security purposes. In spite of those
advantages, IR sensors does not good with outdoor environment because sunlight may affect its
detection.

On the other hand, ultrasonic sensors generate ultrasonic frequencies that are soundless, making them
ideal for quiet environments. This sensor produce high-frequency sound waves and analysis the echo
which is received back by the sensor, measuring the time interval between sending the signal and
receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object. They do not use much electricity, are simple
in design. In outdoor environments, it is possible to use ultrasonic sensors with good results for anti-
collision purpose because it has wide arc of vision. Instead of light for ranging ultrasonic sensors use
sound, thus ultrasonic sensors (sonar) can be used outside in bright sunlight. However, ultrasonic
sensors are expensive, slow, inaccurate even with targets at a fixed distance and susceptibility to cross
talking makes inefficient multiple sensors of this kind, even if facing different directions.
There are few test have be done to test both Infrared and ultrasonic sensor efficiency in indoor and
outdoor environment. During indoor test, it shows that IR sensor have more reliable and accurate
result regardless of the size of the target than ultrasonic sensor.

During outdoor environment and under direct sunlight, the performance of IR Sensor were not well
documented

Indoor test

Performance almost coincide as described in data-sheet with very small errors

No preferred target for shape, material or colour.

Cross test perform with sonar sensor to verify if the high surface will distort the measurements of
Teraranger One.

Teraranger One show reliable and accurate result regardless of the size of the target.

Outdoor test
Few error of detection range

Cross section test perform with IRCamera to verify the reflectivity of IR light

Direct sunlight to Teraranger One will cause noise during detection

-Efficient in indoor not efficient in outdoor

-light and compact

-cheap

-maximum detection distance and minimum distance of only 20 centimetres

-More precise and accurate with +- 2 cm at each distance

-Have 2 modes-

Ultrasonic

-quite expensive

-heavy

Advantages of Ultrasonic sensors

the output value is linear with the distance between the sensor and the target;

sensor response is not dependent on the colors, transparency of objects, optical reflection properties,
or by the surface texture of the object;

these sensors are designed for contact-free detection;

sensors with digital (ON/OFF) outputs have excellent repeat sensing accuracy;

accurate detection even of small objects;

ultrasonic sensors can work in critical conditions such as dirt and dust;

they are available in cuboid or cylinder forms, which is better for a freedom design;

Disadvantages of Ultrasonic sensors

ultrasonic sensors must view a high density surface for good results. A soft surface like foam and
cloth has low density and absorb the sound waves emitted by the sensor;

could have false responds for some loud noises such as air hoses;

the ultrasonic sensors have a response time with a fraction less than other types of sensors;

an ultrasonic sensor has a minimum sensing distance, which should be taken into consideration when
you choose the sensor;

some changes in the environment can affect the response of the sensor (temperature, humidity,
pressure, etc.);

Ultrasonic-
-time of flight distance measurement
-longer range than IR
-affected by wind
-affected by hardness of object

IR-
-angle (parallax) distance measurement
-shorter range than SONAR
-affected by sunlight
-affected by colour of object.

Personally, I prefer sonar jsut because it has a longer range and uses time-of-flight to measure distance
which I just prefer over the parallax measurement that IR uses. PLus I know (in theory) how to get
more data out of sonar than just the time-of-flight. Parallax measurement also tends to mean that the
longer maximum range you have also increases your minimum range. This does't happen with TOF.

IR can be cheaper and smaller though. Plus sensing with light is a bit cooler than sensing with sound.
THe only way to do TOF with light (or EM waves) is radar and yeah...you can imagine how much it
costs to measure the time of something travelling at the speed of light (there's one that can scan and is
$2.3K but only works until 4m and everything else is $10K+ for the most part but these ones can
work for miles).