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PING))) sensor questions — Parallax Forums

PING))) sensor questions

PhilldapillPhilldapill Posts: 1,283
edited 2008-07-02 22:42 in Propeller 1
I've been wanting to get a PING sensor and play with it for some time now.

First, when in the parallax store, in the list of sensors, it says low stock and 19 remaining. When I view the PING))) page, it says out of stock. What gives?

Secondly, what kind of resolution can you get from one of these things and how accurate are they?

This probably sounds like suicide, but I like riding my bike behind 18-wheelers... Fantastic gas mileage! [noparse];)[/noparse]

Eventually, I'd like to make a controller that I could possible tie into my throttle with a servo. The controller would use a PING))) to sense the distance behind the 18 wheeler, and basically act as cruise control, keeping me a set distance behind. When I hit the brakes, of course, it would deactivate. I know, it's a little dangerous but at least the project would be fun... Would the sensor work for this? I'm thinking riding 8 feet behind or so...

Comments

  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-07-02 20:49
    Phil,

    Unfortunately the PING))) sensor has a limited range (~3 meters). I would not recommend riding that close, but on top of that, in an emergency there is no time to react. A friend and I developed a sonar-assisted cruise control for an R/C car back in college, but we also knew the limitations of the sonar devices. Modern vehicles are starting to include radar cruise control which does essentially the same thing except with more range.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support


    Post Edited (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 7/2/2008 8:59:31 PM GMT
  • PhilldapillPhilldapill Posts: 1,283
    edited 2008-07-02 20:53
    Chris, I know the sensor operates at something like 40kHz, but do you think any road/wind/etc. noise would interfer with it?
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-07-02 20:59
    Absolutely…I think the wind whistling through the transducers would create all kinds of noise. Radar systems on the other hand operate in a higher band and have a different kind of transducer which isn’t typically affected by wind although vibration is probably filtered in the systems mentioned above.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
  • Sniper KingSniper King Posts: 221
    edited 2008-07-02 21:40
    Jump on the Laser rangefinder project!

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    ·- Was it pin 11 or 26?· Hmmm....··I think the smell of smoke tells the whole story.· Must be 26.



    Michael King
    Application Engineer
    R&D
    Digital Technology Group
  • PhilldapillPhilldapill Posts: 1,283
    edited 2008-07-02 22:42
    Michael, I saw that post. Very interesting!
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