UNIT- II

MOTION, PROXIMITY AND RANGING SENSORS

Motion Sensors
A motion sensor (or motion detector) is an electronic device that is designed to detect and measure
movement.
A motion sensor, or motion detector, is an electronic device that uses a sensor to detect nearby people
or objects. Motion sensors are an important component of any security system. When a sensor detects
motion, it will send an alert to your security system, and with newer systems, right to your mobile
phone.
These are the common types of motion sensors:

 Passive infrared sensor.

 Microwave sensor.
 Dual technology motion sensor.
 Area reflective sensor.
 Ultrasonic sensor.
 Vibration motion sensor.
 Contact sensor.
 Video motion sensor.

Motion sensor and its types

There are two types of motion sensors: active motion sensors and passive motion sensors. Active
sensors have both a transmitter and a receiver. This type of sensor detects motion by measuring
changes in the amount of sound or radiation reflecting back into the receiver.

Advantages of motion sensors

Energy Savings – This system is very efficient as it automatically switches off the luminaires when
there is no presence detected (for a predefine time). As a result, the end-user saves on electricity
consumption. Convenience – Turning on the lights will be as easy as walking inside the room.

Potentiometers
A potentiometer is a type of position sensor. They are used to measure displacement in any
direction. Linear potentiometers linearly measure displacement and rotary potentiometers measure
rotational displacement.
A potentiometer is a three-terminal resistor with a sliding or rotating contact that forms an
adjustable voltage divider. If only two terminals are used, one end and the wiper, it acts as a variable
resistor or rheostat.
The measuring instrument called a potentiometer is essentially a voltage divider used for
measuring electric potential (voltage); the component is an implementation of the same principle,
hence its name.
 Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume controls on
audio equipment. Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used as position transducers, for
example, in a joystick. Potentiometers are rarely used to directly control significant power (more than
a watt), since the power dissipated in the potentiometer would be comparable to the power in the
controlled load.
Potentiometers work by varying the position of a sliding contact across a uniform resistance.
In a potentiometer, the entire input voltage is applied across the whole length of the resistor, and the
output voltage is the voltage drop between the fixed and sliding contact.
A potentiometer is a passive electronic component. Potentiometers work by varying the
position of a sliding contact across a uniform resistance. In a potentiometer, the entire input voltage is
applied across the whole length of the resistor, and the output voltage is the voltage drop between the
fixed and sliding contact as shown below.

A potentiometer has the two terminals of the input source fixed to the end of the resistor. To adjust
the output voltage the sliding contact gets moved along the resistor on the output side.

This is different to a rheostat, where here one end is fixed and the sliding terminal is connected to the
circuit, as shown below.

This is a very basic instrument used for comparing the emf of two cells and for calibrating ammeter,
voltmeter, and watt-meter. The basic working principle of a potentiometer is quite simple. Suppose
we have connected two batteries in parallel through a galvanometer. The negative battery terminals
are connected together and positive battery terminals are also connected together through a
galvanometer as shown in the figure below.
 Here, if the electric potential of both battery cells is exactly the same, there is no circulating
current in the circuit and hence the galvanometer shows null deflection. The working principle of
potentiometer depends upon this phenomenon.

The resistor has the uniform electrical resistance per unit length throughout its length.
Hence, the voltage drop per unit length of the resistor is equal throughout its length. Suppose, by
adjusting the rheostat we get v volt voltage drop appearing per unit length of the resistor.

Now, the positive terminal of a standard cell is connected to point A on the resistor and the
negative terminal of the same is connected with a galvanometer. The other end of the galvanometer is
in contact with the resistor via a sliding contact as shown in the figure above. By adjusting this
sliding end, a point like B is found where there is no current through the galvanometer, hence no
deflection in the galvanometer.

That means, emf of the standard cell is just balanced by the voltage appearing in the resistor
across points A and B. Now if the distance between points A and B is L, then we can write emf of
standard cell E = Lv volt.

Potentiometer Types
There are two main types of potentiometers:

 Rotary potentiometer
 Linear potentiometer
Although the basic constructional features of these potentiometers vary, the working principle of both
of these types of potentiometers is the same.

Note that these are types of DC potentiometers – the types of AC potentiometers are slightly different.

Rotary potentiometer
The rotary type potentiometers are used mainly for obtaining adjustable supply voltage to a part of
electronic circuits and electrical circuits. The volume controller of a radio transistor is a popular
example of a rotary potentiometer where the rotary knob of the potentiometer controls the supply to
the amplifier.

This type of potentiometer has two terminal contacts between which a uniform resistance is placed in
a semi-circular pattern. The device also has a middle terminal which is connected to the resistance
through a sliding contact attached with a rotary knob. By rotating the knob one can move the sliding
contact on the semi-circular resistance. The voltage is taken between a resistance end contact and the
sliding contact. The potentiometer is also named as the POT in short. POT is also used in substation
battery chargers to adjust the charging voltage of a battery. There are many more uses of rotary type
potentiometer where smooth voltage control is required.

Linear Potentiometers
The linear potentiometer is basically the same but the only difference is that here instead of rotary
movement the sliding contact gets moved on the resistor linearly. Here two ends of a straight resistor
are connected across the source voltage. A sliding contact can be slide on the resistor through a track
attached along with the resistor. The terminal connected to the sliding is connected to one end of the
output circuit and one of the terminals of the resistor is connected to the other end of the output
circuit.

This type of potentiometer is mainly used to measure the voltage across a branch of a circuit, for
measuring the internal resistance of a battery cell, for comparing a battery cell with a standard cell
and in our daily life, it is commonly used in the equalizer of music and sound mixing systems.
Digital Potentiometers
Digital potentiometers are three-terminal devices, two fixed end terminals and one wiper
terminal which is used to vary the output voltage.

Digital potentiometers have various applications, including calibrating a system, adjusting

offset voltage, tuning filters, controlling screen brightness, and controlling sound volume.

However mechanical potentiometers suffer from some serious disadvantages which make it
unsuitable for applications where precision is required. Size, wiper contamination, mechanical wear,
resistance drift, sensitivity to vibration, humidity, etc. are some of the main disadvantages of a
mechanical potentiometer. Hence to overcome these drawbacks, digital potentiometers are more
common in applications since it provides higher accuracy.

Digital Potentiometer Circuit

The circuit of a digital potentiometer consists of two parts, first the resistive element along with
electronic switches and second the control circuit of the wiper. The figure below shows both the part
respectively.
 The first part is an array of resistors, and each node is connected to a common point W, except
the endpoints A and B, via a two-way electronic switch. The terminal W is the wiper terminal. Each
of the switches is designed using CMOS technology and only one of the switches out of all is in ON
state at any given time of the potentiometer operation.

The switch which is ON determines the potentiometer resistance and the number of switches
determines the resolution of the device. Now which switch is to be made ON is controlled by the
control circuit. The control circuit consists of an RDAC register which can be written digitally using
interface such as SPI, I2C, up/down or can be manually controlled by push buttons or a digital
encoder. The diagram above shows that of a push-button controlled digital potentiometer. One button
is for “UP” or increasing the resistance and the other for “DOWN” i.e. decreasing the resistance.

Advantages of Digital Potentiometers

 Higher reliability
 Increased accuracy
 Small size, multiple potentiometers can be packed on a single chip
 Negligible resistance drift
 Unaffected by environmental conditions like vibrations, humidity, shocks and wiper
contamination
 No moving part
 Tolerance up to ±1%
 Very low power dissipation, up to tens of milliwatts

Disadvantages of Digital Potentiometers

 Not suitable for high temperature environment and high power application.
 Due to the parasitic capacitance of the electronic switches, there is a bandwidth consideration
that comes into the picture in digital potentiometers. It is the maximum signal frequency that
can cross the resistance terminals with less than 3 dB attenuation in the wiper. The transfer
equation is similar to that of a low pass filter.
 The nonlinearity in the wiper resistance adds a harmonic distortion to the output signal. The
total harmonic distortion, or THD, quantifies the degree to which the signal is degraded after
crossing through the resistance.

Applications of Potentiometer
There are many different uses of a potentiometer. The three main applications of a potentiometer are:

1. Comparing the emf of a battery cell with a standard cell

2. Measuring the internal resistance of a battery cell
3. Measuring the voltage across a branch of a circuit
Resolver, Encoders

Resolvers and encoders are both devices that measure the rotary position of a shaft by
converting mechanical motion into an electrical signal. Resolvers have a longer history, originally
used in military applications and adopted for industrial use due to their rugged design.

Encoder determines an angle of rotation of its own shaft. As a resolver is a rotary device, let's
look only at rotary encoders. There are many encoder types according to operation and sensing
principles. Manufacturers produce optical, magnetic, inductive, capacitive, resistive, and even
mechanical types

A resolver is an electrical transformer used to measure the angle of rotation. Many resolvers
look somewhat like an electric motor comprising of copper windings on the stator and a machined
metal rotor.

An encoder is classified into four types: mechanical, optical, magnetic, and electromagnetic
induction types. There are four types of information necessary to rotate the motor with high accuracy:
rotation amount, rotational speed, rotational direction, and rotational position.

Resolvers have an accuracy of about 3 arcseconds whereas encoders have an accuracy of 20

arcseconds, a significant improvement. Encoders use lines on a disc to provide the counts on a 360-
degree rotation. The more lines on the disc, the more resolute the encoder.

A resolver-to-digital converter (RDC) is an observer used to get the angular position from the
resolver signals. Most RDCs are based on angle tracking observers (ATOs). On the other hand,
generalized predictive control (GPC) has become a powerful tool in developing controllers and
observers for industrial applications

There are two types of resolvers: Control Transmitter and Control Transformer. The Control
Transmitter features single excitation input to rotor input and sine/cosine stator outputs. The Control
Transformer resolver requires both sine/cosine reference stator inputs and rotor output is a phase-
shifted sine signal.

A resolver outputs an analog signal caused by current passing to the primary winding which
generates a magnetic field. When the winding turns with the load, it excites separate output voltages
in the sine winding and the cosine winding

Comparision of Proximity Sensors

There are five types of proximity sensor. They are,

1. Inductive Proximity Sensor.

2. Optical Proximity Sensor.
3. Capacitive Proximity Sensor.
4. Magnetic Proximity Sensor.
5. Ultrasonic proximity Sensor.
 Inductive Magnetic Capacitive Ultrasonic
Types Optical sensor
sensor sensor sensor sensor

Principle It uses current An optical sensor Based on a Base on an Based on an

induced by converts light mechanical electronic ultrasonic
magnetic fields rays into an principle principle where source and
to detect nearby electrical signal detected the an electrical field receiver in the
metal objects magnetic field is produced on the same device
active side

Material Metallic only All material Magnet All material All material
detected

Operating Low:<50mm Medium:<100mm Medium:<80mm Low:<50mm Large:15m

distance

Robustness to High High Hall-effect: High High Low

vibration
Reed-techno :
Low
Cost Low Medium Low Medium High

Sensitivity Any Dust, oil, aspect Hall effect- Humidity& Air flow&
of object sensitive EMC vapors temperature
variation
Reed techno-
magnetic field
disturbances
Applications 1.Machine- tolls, 1.Object 1. Object 1. Final inspection 1.Passage of
assembly line, detection on detection on packaging objects on
automative conveyor lines conveyor: glass
industry bottles,
2.Carton counting 2.Measurements cardboard
2.Detection of of the filling level Packaging
metal parts in 3.Product sorting of the liquids or
harsh granuals through 2.Filling level of
environments 4.Contrast the walls of liquids in a
detection plastic or glass bottle or of
3.High speed tanks granulatesin a
moving parts plastic injection
machine

3. Depth of
cavity
Linear voltage differential transformer(LVDT)
Linear Variable Differential Transformer, LVDT is the most used inductive transducer for converting
translating linear motion into electrical signal. This transducer converts a mechanical displacement
proportionally into electrical signal.

Construction:
LVDT is a transformer consisting of one primary winding P and two secondary winding S1 &
S2 mounted on a cylindrical former. The two secondary winding have equal number of turns and
placed identically on either side of the primary winding as shown in figure below.

A movable soft iron core is placed inside the former. Actually the movable core is made of
nickel iron with hydrogen annealed. Hydrogen annealing is done to eliminate harmonics, residual
voltage of core and thus provides high sensitivity. The movable core also is laminated in order to
reduce eddy current loss. The assembly of laminated core is placed in a cylindrical steel housing and
end lids are provided for electromagnetic and electrostatic shielding. The displacement to be
measured is attached to this movable soft iron core.

LVDT- Working Principle:

Since the primary winding of Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) is supplied with AC
supply, it produces an alternating magnetic flux in the core which in turn link with the secondary
winding S1 and S2 to produce emf due to transformer action. The electrical equivalent circuit of
LVDT is shown below.
Let us assume that the emf produced in secondary winding S1 is Es1 and that in S2 is Es2. The
magnitude of E s1 and Es2 will depend upon the magnitude of rate of change of flux (dØ / dt) as per
the Faraday’s Law. The lower the value of ‘dt’, the more will be the emf induced. But lower value of
‘dt’ means that core is moving faster. Thus we can say that the faster the movement of core, the
greater will be the magnitude of emf induced in secondary windings.

Due to this connection, the net output voltage E0 of the LVDT is given as below.
E0 = Es1 – Es2
Since the secondary windings of LVDT are identical and placed symmetrically on either side of core,
therefore under normal position the flux linkage of both the secondary winding S1 & S2 will be same.
This means Es1 = Es2 and hence net output voltage E0 of LVDT = 0. This position of soft iron core is
called NULL position. Thus NULL position of Linear Variable Differential Transformer is the
normal position of movable core where the net output voltage is zero.
Now, as the core can either be moved toward right or left to the null position. Let us now consider
such movement of core under two cases.
Case-1: Core is moved left to the NULL position
When core of LVDT is moved to the left of the NULL position ‘O’ as shown in figure above,
the flux linkage of secondary winding S1 will become more than that of winding S2. This means the
emf induced in winding S1 will be more than S2. Hence Es1 > Es2 and net output voltage E0 = (Es1 –
Es2) = Positive. This means that the output voltage E0 will be in phase with the primary voltage.
Case-2: Core is moved right to the NULL position
Obviously the emf induced in secondary winding S2 will be more than that of S1. This means Es2 >
Es1 and hence net output voltage E0 = (Es1 – Es2) = negative. This means that the output voltage of
LVDT will be in phase opposition (180 degree out of phase) with the primary voltage.
From the above two cases, we can have the following conclusions:
1) The direction of movement of a physical quantity can be identified by the output voltage of LVDT.
If the output voltage E0 is positive, this means the physical quantity is moving toward left.
2) If the output voltage E0 is negative, this will mean that the physical quantity is moving in the right
direction from the NULL position.
3) The amount / magnitude of displacement is proportional to the magnitude of output voltage. The
more the output voltage, the more will be displacement. But here is a clue. You can’t take core out of
the former; otherwise the output voltage will become zero.
4) In fact corresponding to both the cases i.e. whether core is moving left or right to the NULL
position, the output voltage will increase lineally up to a displacement of around 5 mm from the
NULL position. After 5mm, output voltage E 0 becomes non-linear.

RVDT (Rotary Variable Differential Transformer)

The working principle of RVDT and LVDT both are the same and based on the mutual
induction principle. When AC excitation of 5-15V at a frequency of 50-400 Hz is applied to the
primary windings of RVDT then a magnetic field is produced inside the core. This magnetic field
induces a mutual current in secondary windings.
Rotary Variable Differential Transformer or RVDT is an inductive transducer which converts
angular displace to an electrical signal. Unlike LVDT, the input of this transducer is differential value
of rotary variable i.e. angular rotation (dƟ) to generate voltage output.

Construction:

Like every transformer, RVDT has two types of winding i.e. Primary winding and Secondary
winding. The primary and secondary winding are wound on a former. There are two secondary
winding having equal number of turns. These winding are placed on either side of the primary
winding identically. A cam shaped magnetic core made of soft iron is connected to a shaft. This
magnetic core can be thus be rotated in between the winding. Carefully observe the figure below to
understand the construction and working principle.
 The construction of LVDT and RVDT is almost same. The only difference in their
construction is that in RVDT, the core is cam shaped and may be rotated between the windings by
means of a shaft. You should read LVDT – Construction and Working Principle to understand the
constructional detail.

Working Principle:

The reluctance seen by the primary mmf changes with the rotation of cam shaft. This results
in change in the magnetic flux with rotation of the cam shaft. Due to this change in magnetic flux
with rotation of cam, the flux linkage of secondary winding also changes. Therefore, as per
the transformer action, an emf is induced in secondary winding. The magnitude of induced emf will
depend on the rate of change of rotation. The more the rate of change of rotation, the more will be the
rate of change of flux w.r.t. and hence more emf will be induced.

As can be seen from the figure, the two secondary winding are connected in series but in
phase opposition. This is done to get a single output voltage from the transducer. If E s1, Es2 and E0 be
the emf induced in the two secondary winding S1 & S2 and output voltage respectively then
E0 = Es1 – Es2

Under normal condition of RVDT, the flux linkage of both the secondary winding are same
due to their symmetrical placing with respect to primary and core. Therefore, the induced emf E s1 and
Es2 are equal and hence output voltage E0 of the transducer in such condition is zero. Therefore,
normal position of RVDT is called NULL position.

Clockwise rotation of cam causes an increasing voltage E s2 in one of the one secondary
winding while counter clockwise rotation leads to increase in voltage E s1 of another secondary
winding. Thus the direction as well as magnitude of angular rotation can be ascertained from the
magnitude and phase of transducer output voltage. Phase of transducer output voltage means whether
(Es1 – Es2) is positive or negative. In case of anti-clockwise rotation, the value of E s1 will be more
than that of Es2 and hence (Es1 – Es2) will be positive. In this case we say that output voltage E0 is in
phase with the primary voltage. With the same logic, when cam is rotated in clockwise direction, the
output voltage will be negative i.e. out of phase with primary voltage.

Synchros.
The term synchro is a generic name for a family of inductive devices which works on the
principle of a rotating transformer (Induction motor). The trade names for synchros are Selsyn,
Autosyn and Telesyn. Basically, they are electro-mechanical devices or electromagnetic transducers
which produces an output voltage depending upon the angular position of the rotor. Here we will
learn the transfer function of Synchros.

A synchro system is formed by the interconnection of the devices called the synchro
transmitter and the synchro control transformer. They are also called Synchro pair. The synchro pair
measures and compares two angular displacements and its output voltage are approximately linear
with an angular difference of the axis of both the shafts. They can be used in the following two ways,

1. To control the angular position of the load from a remote place/long distance.

2.For automatic correction of changes due to the disturbance in the angular position of the load.

Construction of Synchro Transmitter:

The constructional features, electrical circuit and a schematic symbol of synchro transmitter are
shown in the below figure. The two major parts of the synchro transmitter are stator and rotor. The
stator is identical to the stator of the three-phase alternator.

It is made of laminated silicon steel and slotted on the inner periphery to accommodate a
balanced three-phase winding. The stator winding is the concentric type with the axis of three coils
120° apart. The stator winding is star connected ( Y-connection). This basic construction will help
you derive the transfer function of Synchros.

The rotor is of dumbbell construction with a single winding. The ends of rotor winding are terminated
on two slip rings. A single-phase ac excitation voltage is applied to the rotor through slip rings.

Working principle of Synchro Transmitter:

When the rotor is excited by ac voltage, the rotor current flows, and a magnetic field is produced.
The rotor magnetic field induces an emf in the stator coils by transformer action. The effective
voltage induced in any stator coil depends upon the angular position of the coil’s axis with respect to
the rotor axis.
Let,
er = Instantaneous value of ac voltage applied to rotor.
es1,es2,es3 = Instantaneous value of emf induced in stator coils S1 ,S2,S3 with respect to neutral
respectively.
Er = Maximum value of rotor excitation voltage.
ω = Angular frequency of rotor excitation voltage.
Kt = Turns ratio of stator and rotor windings.
Kc = Coupling coefficient.
θ = Angular displacement of rotor with respect to reference.
Let, the instantaneous value of rotor excitation voltage, er = Er sin ωt

Accelerometer
An accelerometer is a device that measures the vibration, or acceleration of motion of a
structure. The force caused by vibration or a change in motion (acceleration) causes the mass to
"squeeze" the piezoelectric material which produces an electrical charge that is proportional to the
force exerted upon it.
An accelerometer is a sensor that can detect motion to help a device, such as your phone,
determine when you're working out, how many steps you've taken, and whether you're holding it in
landscape or portrait mode, among other things. Accelerometers are used in many consumer
applications.
Smartphones, cameras, video game devices, airplanes, rockets, and fall detection devices are
just a few of the many different things that use these tiny little devices. The medical applications
alone make accelerometers one of the most important tools in day-to-day health and automatic fall
detection.
Accelerometers allow the user to understand the surroundings of an item better. With this
small device, you can determine if an object is moving uphill, whether it will fall over if it tilts any
more, or whether it's flying horizontally or angling downward.
There are two types of accelerometers in general: AC-response and DC-response. In an AC
accelerometer, as the name implies, the output is AC coupled. An AC coupled device cannot be used
to measure static acceleration such as gravity and constant centrifugal acceleration.
 Vibration is most commonly measured using a ceramic piezoelectric sensor or
accelerometer. Most accelerometers rely on the use of the piezoelectric effect, which occurs when a
voltage is generated across certain types of crystals as they are stressed.

GPS
The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based radio-navigation system consisting of
a constellation of satellites broadcasting navigation signals and a network of ground stations and
satellite control stations used for monitoring and control.
Bluetooth
A Bluetooth Vibration Sensor is an Accelerometer capable of recording vibration data and
transfer it to a receiver using Bluetooth standard protocol. These sensors usually integrate an
accelerometer and a Bluetooth transmitter to establish wireless connectivity.
A basic Bluetooth sensor system for traffic monitoring consists of a Bluetooth probe device
(s) that scans for other Bluetooth-enabled device (s) within its radio proximity, and then stores the
data for future analysis and use.
The range of the Bluetooth® connection is approximately 30 feet (10 meters). However,
maximum communication range will vary depending on obstacles (person, metal, wall, etc.) or
electromagnetic environment.
Bluetooth technology allows devices to communicate with each other without cables or wires.
Bluetooth relies on short-range radio frequency, and any device that incorporates the technology can
communicate as long as it is within the required distance.
Range Sensors
Range sensors are devices that capture the three-dimensional (3-D) structure of the world
from the viewpoint of the sensor, usually measuring the depth to the nearest surfaces. These
measurements could be at a single point, across a scanning plane, or a full image with depth
measurements at every point.
Distance sensors (or proximity sensors) generally work by outputting a signal of some kind,
(eg laser, IR LED, ultrasonic waves) and then reading how it has changed on its return. That change
may be in the intensity of the returned signal or the time it takes the signal to return.
RF beacons
The beacon device itself is incredibly simple. Each device contains a CPU, radio, and
batteries, and it works by repeatedly broadcasting out an identifier. This identifier is picked up by
your device, usually a mobile, and marks out an important place in your environment.
In navigation, a radio beacon or radiobeacon is a kind of beacon, a device that marks a fixed
location and allows direction-finding equipment to find relative bearing. But instead of employing
visible light, radio beacons transmit electromagnetic radiation in the radio wave band.
 Radio beacons transmit a continuous or periodic radio signal with limited information (for
example, its identification or location) on a specified radio frequency. Occasionally, the beacon's
transmission includes other information, such as telemetric or meteorological data.
Radio beacons have many applications, including air and sea navigation, propagation
research, robotic mapping, radio-frequency identification (RFID), near-field communication (NFC)
and indoor navigation, as with real-time locating systems (RTLS) like Syledis or simultaneous
localization and mapping (SLAM).

Ultrasonic Ranging
The ultrasonic range finder is used to measure the distance between the sensor and its object.
When it works, it first emits a sound wave at a specific ultrasonic frequency. After a certain period of
time, it receives the sound wave reflected by objects in the detection area.
Ultrasonic devices are used to detect objects and measure distances. Ultrasound imaging or
sonography is often used in medicine. In the nondestructive testing of products and structures,
ultrasound is used to detect invisible flaws.
Ultrasonic transducers operate at frequencies in the range of 30–500 kHz for air-coupled
applications. As the ultrasonic frequency increases, the rate of attenuation increases. Thus, low-
frequency sensors (30–80 kHz) are more effective for long range, while high-frequency sensors are
more effective for short range.
The more accurate ultrasonic sensors can achieve 0.1 – 0.2% of the detected range under
perfectly controlled conditions, and most good ultrasonic sensors can generally achieve between 1%
and 3% accuracy.
They DO NOT measure farther than about 70 feet (21 meters). They DO NOT measure at
very high repetition rates. Due to speed of sound limitations the fastest rate is 200 Hz at a max
distance of about 24 inches.
An ultrasonic sensor is an instrument that measures the distance to an object using ultrasonic
sound waves. An ultrasonic sensor uses a transducer to send and receive ultrasonic pulses that relay
back information about an object's proximity.

Reflective beacons
What are the basic principle of reflective beacons!

Beacons are devices that, when installed on specific items or venues, send out signals for
other devices to receive, such as smartphones. They use BLE — Bluetooth Low Energy —
technology, a type of Bluetooth that consumes less energy.

To help the public in being aware in their surroundings, beacons are intentionally made to
notify, warn, and attract attention to a specific location. They carry the message of the viewer while
giving signals on how they should respond. Using beacons is essential to ensure the safety of people.
 The beacons will allow retailers to identify a specific device approaching their store and the
devices can even trigger a discount code to appear on the consumer's device, turning a browser into a
buyer. Beacon technology has the potential to revolutionize the way we navigate and save us a lot
more time.

Laser Range Sensor (LIDAR).

Lidar, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses
light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth.
LIDAR and radar systems can detect objects at distances ranging from a few meters to more
than 200 m
The pulses encounter the terrain and a portion of the laser energy is reflected back to a sensor
located near the source. By measuring the round-trip travel time of the emitted laser pulses, the
LiDAR system can determine the distance between the sensor and the mapped terrain.
LiDAR sensors are based on the use of one or multiple laser beams to perform distance
measurements. They are active sensors, emitting radiation at a set wavelength and receiving the
return signal.
Most of the initial uses of LiDAR were for measuring water depth. Depending upon the
clarity of the water LiDAR can measure depths from 0.9m to 40m with a vertical accuracy of 15cm
and horizontal accuracy of 2.5m.
In lidar systems, the sensor emits laser pulses and captures the laser light that is scattered
back. The system then calculates distances based on the measured time it takes for the light to bounce
back. Lidar offers very high resolution with a long range and a wide field of vision.
The advantages of using LiDAR

Small objects are generally detected well with LiDAR sensors as they have smaller
wavelengths than sonar sensors. If you're trying to detect something moving quick, the fast update
rate will allow you to detect those targets as well.