Could you use the PING sensor for parallel parking?

Nirav M

This is my first post on Parallax

I just bought the PING))) Sensor for a project that I am doing at work. I read up on the product and I was wondering if we can hook up six LED's to the dashboard of a car to connect with two sensors (one in the back and one in the front). three Leds should connect to each sensor and then they should tell if you have room to go forward/backward, say there is nothing in the 5 ft proximity of the sensor. the next light should tell you that you are within a foot or a 3/4 foot of an object. and the next light should tell you that you have no room.

If you could have a set of LED's for each sensor would this be possible? I saw that garage parking project and I just thought of it. I know I am lacking a lot of technical information but what do you guys think?

Mike Green

In ideal circumstances, what you suggest should work. Practically speaking, there would be problems that would need to be overcome.

1) The PING produces a cone-shaped beam which reflects off objects in the beam and the receiver also has a cone-shaped reception area. Although walls have a generally flat surface, other automobiles do not and the reflectivity will vary. Small objects front and back might be out of the beam of a fixed PING (like posts). You might need multiple PINGs or have a single PING move back and forth like on a servo bracket.

2) If you're in an area of high ambient sound levels, you may have high ultrasound levels as well and these may interfere with the PING's reception. At the kind of ranges you're suggesting (5 ft. or less) that may not be much of a problem. You'll have to do some experimenting.

3) Some objects and surfaces have poor ultrasound reflectivity. Most of what you would be concerned about would be metal or concrete and highly reflective so that may not be much of an issue. You might consider IR distance sensors as well.

4) You may have to deal with low obstacles like concrete bars used to mark off parking spaces. These may be only 6" or 8" high so you may need multiple levels of sensors.

5) Since a lot of obstacles you would deal with include metal (reinforcing rods or sheet metal), you might consider a short range radar sensor in addition to the others. That might cause problems with a fiberglass body and metal frame or engine a short distance into the body.

In summary: Good idea ... needs some thought and experimentation

SRLM

As a side note, one of these days Parallax will probably release their water resistant version of the Ping. It was on a slideshow they published a couple of months back. I'd guess that it has very similar sensing and electrical properties to the current ping, so it could make a drop in replacement if you decide to keep the sensor on the car past the initial experimentation.