Browsing by Subject "Distance measurement"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3

Open Access
Comparison of two methods of surface profile extraction from multiple ultrasonic range measurements
(Institute of Physics Publishing, 2000) Barshan, B.; Backent, D.
Two novel methods for surface profile extraction based on multiple ultrasonic range measurements are described and compared. One of the methods employs morphological processing techniques, whereas the other employs a spatial voting scheme followed by simple thresholding. Morphological processing exploits neighbouring relationships between the pixels of the generated arc map. On the other hand, spatial voting relies on the number of votes accumulated in each pixel and ignores neighbouring relationships. Both approaches are extremely flexible and robust, in addition to being simple and straightforward. They can deal with arbitrary numbers and configurations of sensors as well as synthetic arrays. The methods have the intrinsic ability to suppress spurious readings, crosstalk and higher-order reflections, and process multiple reflections informatively. The performances of the two methods are compared on various examples involving both simulated and experimental data. The morphological processing method outperforms the spatial voting method in most cases with errors reduced by up to 80%. The effect of varying the measurement noise and surface roughness is also considered. Morphological processing is observed to be superior to spatial voting under these conditions as well.
Open Access
Location and curvature estimation of spherical targets using multiple sonar time-of-flight measurements
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, 1999-12) Barshan, B.
A novel, flexible, three-dimensional multisensor sonar system is described to localize the center of a generalized spherical target and estimate its radius of curvature. Point, line, and planar targets are included as limiting cases which are important for the characterization of a mobile robot's environment. Sensitivity analysis of the curvature estimate with respect to measurement errors and some of the system parameters is provided. The analysis is verified experimentally for specularly reflecting cylindrical and planar targets. Typical accuracies in range and azimuth are 0.17 mm and 0.1°, respectively. Accuracy of the curvature estimate depends on the target type and system parameters such as transducer separation and operating range.
Open Access
Map building with multiple range measurements using morphological surface profile extraction
(IEEE, Piscataway, NJ, United States, 1999) Barshan, B.; Başkent, D.
A novel method is described for surface profile extraction based on morphological processing of multiple range sensor data. The approach taken is extremely flexible and robust, in addition to being simple and straightforward. It can deal with arbitrary numbers and configurations of range sensors as well as synthetic arrays. The method has the intrinsic ability to suppress spurious readings, crosstalk, and higher-order reflections, and process multiple reflections informatively. The essential idea of this work - the use of multiple range sensors combined with morphological processing - can be applied to different physical modalities of range sensing of vastly different scales and in many different areas. These may include radar, sonar, robotics, optical sensing and metrology, remote sensing, ocean surface exploration, geophysical exploration, and acoustic microscopy.