ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTING

ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING

Final project
Title: ULTRASONIC DISTANCE MAPPING AND BLIND
OBSTACL DETECTION SYSTEM

Name ID

1. AMSALEKA YAYEH A/UR14053/10

2. ATALAY MEKURIAW A/UR/14126/10
3. FIREWOINE ALMAW A/UR14030/10
4. GEDEFAW YIMER A/UR13984/10
5. HABTEMARIAM AYICHEW A/UR14044/10

Advisor,
Mr. TDESSE
Submitted to: ECE department
ADAMA, ETHIOPIA
 ABSTRACT
There are several ways to measure distance without contact and blind detection without contact.
One way is to use ultrasonic waves for distance measurement. Ultrasonic sensors are commonly
used for a wide variety of noncontact presence, proximity, or distance measuring applications.
These devices typically transmit a short burst of ultrasonic sound toward a target, which reflects
the sound back to the sensor. The system then measures the time for the echo to return to the
sensor and computes the distance to the target using the speed of sound in the medium.

The Blindness is frequently used to describe severe visual impairments with or without residual
vision The application of ultrasonic ranging scheme for producing electronic walking stick for
the blind is a technological advancement. There is a great dependency for any type of movement
or walking within area or out of the particular area, they use only their natural senses such as
touch or sound for identification or walking. to overcome all these problems of blind people, we
are developing a project by using simple available technologies. This walking stick for blind
people has multiple sensors, with the help of which it has been possible to enhance more
features to the walking stick. The features are to detect the obstacle for collision avoidance, it
detects the object in directions up, down and front. The other sensor placed near bottom tip of
the walking cane to find the pits on the ground. We integrate these sensors to the voice record
and play chip. In this project, sensors play a key role to detect the objects in all directions and thus help
blind people to be independent

This project is aimed for measuring the distance of the object and blind detection of
obstacle object. The ultrasonic waves spread in the air and hit the nearest object and
reflected. The reflected signal from the object is received by the ultrasonic receiver. The
received wave is given to the input of the microcontroller. Now the microcontroller
compares the time between the transmitted signal and received signal and generates the
corresponding pulse output which is equal to the distance of the object.

Finally, this project focuses on the development of a device capable of mapping a distance using
ultrasonic sensors. The final prototype of this device is capable of providing a device which
maps the distance of a particular object from a particular point of each sensor and display each
measured distance.

List of abbreviations

AC Alternate Current
ALU Arithmetic and Logic Unit
AREF Analog Reference
AT Atmel
BCD Binary Coded Decimal
DC Direct Current
DR Data Register
EEPROM Electrical Erasable Program Read Only Memory
EN Enable
GND Ground
GPS Global Positioning System
I/O Input or Output
ICSP In Circuit Serial Programming
IDE Integrated Development Environment
IR Instruction Register
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LED Light Emitting Diode
MCU Microcontroller Unit
MISO Master in Slave Out
MOSI Master Out Slave In
PIN Port Input
PWM Pulse Width Modulation
R/W Read/Write
RS Register Select
RX Receiver
SCK Serial Clock
SCL Serial Clock
SDA Serial Data
SRAM Static Random Access Memory
SS Slave Select
TTL Transistor to Transistor Logic
TX Transmitter
USB Universal Serial Bus
VIN Input Voltage
 Chapter 1

Introduction
Background of the study

Distance detector is any device capable of measuring the distance between two points.
The origins of distance measurement by means of graduated lengths of material such as chain,
tape measure or piece of knotted rope are lost to antiquity. Optical distance measurement also
has a long history, and is usually taken to stem from the work of James Watt in 1771.
Electromagnetic measurements make up a third method, where the time of travel of radio or
light waves is converted into a distance. Since James Watt, hundreds of different types of
instrument have been produced to make indirect distance measurement using light. All kinds of
devices or equipment nowadays, begin with the basic design, basic theory and then all the
weakness followed by improvement step by step.

So, this project will also do right the same reason which the improvement will be
applied to bring the advantages to the user when measuring the distance depending on several
problems that had been identified. The purpose of why this project is being carry out is the
ultrasonic technology that is been used for this project because ultrasonic technology is one of
the medium on how the distance will be measure and mapped and this is one of the ways that
the world today widely used especially in some kind of general application such as in warfare
applications, engineering applications and also in scientific and medical applications. Basically
this ultrasonic technology is based on ultrasound and a common use of ultrasound is in range
finding that perfectly related to the objectives of this project. This technology can be used for
measuring wind speed and direction (anemometer), fullness of a tank, and speed through air or
water. For measuring speed or direction a device uses multiple detectors and calculates the
speed from the relative distances to particulates in the air or water. To measure the amount of
liquid in a tank, the sensor measures the distance to the surface of the fluid.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO)statistics, around 30 billion people are blind
on the earth. This project proposes to design and develop a portable unit (stick) for them for easy
usage and navigation in public places. The blind stick is integrated with ultrasonic sensor along
with light and water sensing. Our proposed project first uses ultrasonic sensors to detect
obstacles ahead using ultrasonic waves. On sensing obstacle the sensor passes this data to the
microcontroller. The microcontroller then processes this data and calculates if the obstacle is
close enough. If the obstacle is not that close the circuit does nothing. If the obstacle is close the
microcontroller sends a signal to sound a buzzer. It also detects and sounds a different buzzer if
it detects water and alerts the blind. One more feature is that it allows the blind to detect if there
is light or darkness in the room. The system has one more advanced feature integrated to help the
blind find their stick if they forget where they kept it. A wireless RF based remote is used for
this purpose. Pressing the remote button sounds a buzzer on the stick which helps the blind
person to find their stick. Thus this system allows for obstacle detection as well as finding stick
if misplaced by visually disabled person.
Statement of the problem
Now a day in our environment we use a number of manually operated distance mapping
system and such system are not accurate and precise and those system are time consumable.
For such a reason the idea to design ultrasonic distance mapping system is coming to our mind
for the accurate and precise mapping or measurement of distance.

to help visually challenged people to navigate with ease using advance technology. In this
technology controlled world, where people strive to live independently, this project proposes an
ultrasonic stick for blind people to help them gain personal independence. Since this is
economical and not bulky, one can make use of it easily.

Significance of the project

This kind of systems provides an efficient reliable and accurate distance measurement
and mapping and blind detection system
.
Objective of the study

General objective
Design, simulation and implementation of microcontroller based ultrasonic distance mapping
and blind detection system.

Specific objectives
 Develop an Arduino program for the system.
 Design circuit diagrams of the system using Proteus Simulink.
 Interface all the ultrasonic sensors with microcontroller.
 Interface LCD with microcontroller.
 Construct the hardware circuit diagrams of the system.

 Works very accurate distance.

 The ultrasonic sensor is used to detect the presence of obstacle and calculates the distance
between the source and destination.
 It will be portable, and it can be used for blind sticks.
 It is when a non-contact measurer is required.
 Blind person’s location can be tracked whenever needed which will ensure additional
safety.
 provides an efficient reliable and accurate distance measurement and system.
 Low cost

Goal of the project

We aimed that by implement this system, makes the distance mapping system accurate,
precise and also time saving.

Methodology of the project

For successful completion of this project some steps were followed to carry out different tasks.
Different literature will be revised relating to this project and data will be collected about
distance mapping blind detection system. Based on this parameter system model will be
designed. Some software's will be selected to develop the software programing. Then after,
build the system prototype and write documentation report to complete our project.

Generally the methodology is described by the following block diagram

Start

Literaturereview

Data collection

System model design and

simulation

Prototype and
documentation

Figure1.1: methodology of the project

Scope of the project

We aimed that by implement this system, makes the distance mapping system accurate, precise,
and time saving. In addition to study aims to develop a tool that can be used to detect obstacles
for blind people by using ultrasonic sensor.

Tasks we perform to fulfill the objective of this project is from identifying the problem, specify
the requirements, cost estimation and up to develop an Arduino program for microcontroller
using Arduino Software and Proteus 8 Professional Software to design circuit diagram of the
system for software scope and Implement the system in hardware for hardware scope.

Limitation of the project

 The range of the ultrasonic sensor is low(<=2m)

 The power level of the signal is too low for long range measurement
 Since ultrasonic sensors are to use works for a limited distance then our project is going
to be done by considering with in the specific environment or room.
 The device cannot differentiate between person or object; it will simply sense it is an
obstacle.
 Does not protect from obstacles at face level or from above the head
Outline of the paper
This semester project report is composed of six chapters covering introduction, literature
review conceptual framework of the study ,system design, test result and
discussion ,conclusion and recommendation and reference.
Chapter 1: Explains introduction of the focus study of the project and the methodology that
we were follow while dealing with the project.
Chapter 2: Describes the literature review that we have used in this project.

Chapter 3: The material we used is stated here.

Chapter 4: Explains the specific methodology for every project scope and objective are
elaborated by presenting and emphasizing the details of methods applied. Here, the block
diagrams and flowcharts related to each objective or scope are also elaborated and
revealed.
Chapter 5: Gives every detail of the results based on the experiments and testing
implemented and presents the overall discussion on the results obtained and comparison
can be done.
Chapter 6: The over all conclusion of development of the project is also enclosed
together with suggestion and recommendation for future work or enhance

Chapter 2
LITERATURE REVIWE
Introduction

Distance mapping is the activity of obtaining and comparing in our real world. It is one of the
important functions in science, engineering and astronomy to business activities. There are many
types of distance measurement systems we use in our environment from normal rulers to
Interferometer. In applications, basic concept of electronic distance measure system is adopted in
many areas like aviation, navigation and many more. In aviation, direct feedback system is
required for linear positioning and motion control application. One of the good examples for
distance mapping in navigation is GPS system using satellites. So there is no doubt about the
usefulness of distance mapping technology in our environment. Reviews of available literature of
this project have been performed to ensure more understanding to construct ultrasonic distance
meter. The areas that were focused are on behavior of ultrasound through journals, books, and
internet.

Related works
[1] A.W. Schumann, Q.U. Zaman: presents a paper on “Real-time ultrasonic mapping of
tree canopy size”. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a Windows software
application for a 10-transducer Durand-Wayland ultrasonic orchard measurement array and
Trimble AgGPS132 DGPS that would allow real-time sensing, monitoring, calculation, storage
and mapping of citrus tree canopy volume and height. The Ultrasonic transducers that have
been used in this project are used for the digital control of agrochemical application rates in
sprayers and fertilizer spreaders of tree crops. The data collected with this automated system
were compared with manually measured size data of 30 trees to estimate accuracy, and a grove
of 376 citrus trees was surveyed twice with the system to estimate repeatability. Results
showed no significant differences between ultrasonically and manually measured tree sizes
ranging in height from 2.1 to 4.3 m. In general this study was designed: to develop a complete
software interface solution for real-time ultrasonic measurement of tree size, to design
graphical diagnostic software interface for the measurement system and to evaluate the
repeatability and accuracy of the software-controlled ultrasonic system to measure and map
tree sizes in commercial groves.[2]

[2] Daniel Farrington, Robert Fleming, Daniel Hill, Justin Morrow:-presents a paper on”
Ultrasonic Mapping Device” this project designs and develops a device capable of assisting
rescue workers with visualizing a room with hazards and limited visibility. The project was
focused on the development of a device capable of creating a simple two-dimensional image of
the room using an array of ultrasonic sensors. This project was focuses on mapping individual
rooms in hazardous environments, where the layout of the room cannot be determined by sight,
by using one of these mapping technologies. In many situations, it is not safe for a person to
enter a room without knowing the layout of the room or any obstacles that may be in their way.
This is especially true in a dangerous situation such as a burning building; firefighters would
need to navigate the building as quickly as possible to rescue anybody who may be trapped
inside, and seeing the layout of a room before entering will allow them to avoid obstacles that
may be blocking their path.[4]

[3] Friedrich Fraundorfer, Lionel Heng, Dominik Honegger, Gim Hee Lee, Lorenz Meier,
Petri Tanskanen, Marc Pollefeys: presents a paper on “Vision-based autonomous mapping and
exploration using a quadrotor MAV”. This paper describes the autonomous vision-based
quadrotor MAV system which maps and explores unknown environments. All algorithms
necessary for autonomous mapping and exploration run on-board the MAV. In addition, this
project has an implement of the Bug algorithm for autonomous wall-following which could
optionally be selected as the substitute exploration algorithm in sparse environments where the
frontier-based exploration under-performs. And the algorithm incrementally builds a 3D global
occupancy map on-board the MAV. The map is used by the VFH+ and frontier-based
exploration in dense environments, and the Bug algorithm for wall-following in sparse
environments. During the exploration phase, images from the front-looking camera are
transmitted over Wi-Fi to the ground station. These images are input to a large-scale visual
SLAM process running off-board on the ground station. SLAM is carried out with pose-graph
optimization and loop closure detection using a vocabulary tree. This project improves the
robustness of the pose estimation by fusing optical flow and visual odometer. Optical flow data
is provided by a customized downward-looking camera integrated with a microcontroller while
visual odometer measurements are derived from the front-looking stereo camera.[5]

[4] J.Borenstien, Y.Koren: present a paper on “obstacle avoidance with ultrasonic sensors”.
This paper deals about a mobile robot system, capable of performing various tasks for the
physically disabled persons. To avoid collision with unexpected obstacles, the mobile robot
uses ultrasonic range finders for detection and mapping. The obstacle avoidance strategy used
for this robot is described. Since this strategy depends heavily on the performance of the
ultrasonic range finders.[8]

[5] S. D. Tumbo, M. Salyani, J. D. Whitney, T. A. Wheaton, W. M. Miller: present a paper

on ”Investigation of laser and ultrasonic ranging sensors for measurements of citrus canopy
volume”. This study compared ultrasonic and laser measurements of citrus canopy volume with
manual measurement methods. Fifteen trees with different canopy heights and volumes were
used. Manual and ultrasonic measurements provided dimensions for computing the canopy
volume whereas laser measurements gave information that could be used to compute a ‘laser
canopy volume index.’ Ultrasonic and laser methods agreed with manual Laser showed better
prediction of canopy volume than the ultrasonic system because of the higher resolution.
Ultrasonic or laser sensors can be used for automatic mapping and quantification of the canopy
volumes of citrus trees. [12]

Chapter 3
Conceptual framework of the study
Over view of Arduino controller
Arduino is an open-source computer hardware and software company, project and user
community that designs and manufactures kits for building digital devices and interactive
objects that can sense and control the physical world. It has a 16 MHz ceramic resonator, a
USB connection, a power jack, an ICSP header, and a reset button. It contains everything
needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer with a USB cable or
power it with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started. Arduino is more familiar
microcontroller. It can programed using c, with simple program moreover it is open source,
beside it does not need additional compiler to its program and it is the only microcontroller we
can gate nearby in our faculty. Due to these reasons we have selected Arduino.

Architectures of Arduino
 Figure3.1: architecture of Arduino

Advantage of Arduino

Since its simple and accessible user experience, Arduino has been used in thousands of
different projects and applications. The Arduino software is easy-to-use for beginners, yet
flexible enough for advanced users. It runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Teachers and
students use it to build low cost scientific instruments, to prove chemistry and physics
principles, or to get started with programming and robotics.

There are many other microcontrollers and microcontroller platforms available for
physical computing. All of these tools take the messy details of microcontroller programming
and wrap it up in an easy-to-use package. Arduino also simplifies the process of working with
microcontrollers, but it offers some advantage over other systems:

 Inexpensive - Arduino boards are relatively inexpensive compared to other

microcontroller platforms. The least expensive version of the Arduino module can be
assembled by hand, and even the pre-assembled Arduino modules cost less than $50
 Cross-platform - The Arduino Software (IDE) runs on Windows, Macintosh OSX, and
Linux operating system s. Most microcontroller systems are limited to Windows.
  Simple, clear programming environment - The Arduino Software (IDE) is easy-to-
use for beginners, yet flexible enough for advanced users to take advantage of as well.
For teachers, it's conveniently based on the Processing programming environment, so
students learning to program in that environment will be familiar with how the Arduino
IDE works.
 Open source and extensible software - The Arduino software is published as open
source tools, available for extension by experienced programmers. The language can be
expanded through C++ libraries, and people wanting to understand the technical details
can make the leap from Arduino to the AVR C programming language on which it's
based. Similarly, you can add AVR-C code directly into your Arduino programs if you
want to.
 Open source and extensible hardware - The plans of the Arduino boards are
published under a Creative Commons license, so experienced circuit designers can
make their own version of the module, extending it and improving it. Even relatively
inexperienced users

can build the breadboard version of the module in order to understand how it works and
save money.

Arduino mega 2560

The Arduino Mega 2560, the successor to the Arduino Mega, is a microcontroller board
based on ATmega2560 AVR microcontroller. It has 70 digital input/output pins (of which 14
can be used as PWM outputs and 16 can be used as analog inputs), a 16 MHz resonator, a USB
connection, a power jack, an in-circuit system programming (ICSP) header, and a reset button.
It contains everything needed to support the microcontroller; simply connect it to a computer
with a USB cable or power it with an AC-to-DC adapter or battery to get started.

The Mega 2560 differs from the preceding Mega in that it does not use the FTDI USB-
toserial driver chip. Instead, it features the Atmega8U2 programmed as a USB-to-serial
converter. This auxiliary microcontroller has its own USB boot loader, which allows advanced
users to reprogram it.[6]
Power
The Arduino Mega can be powered via the USB connection or with an external power
supply. The power source is selected automatically. External (non-USB) power can come either
from an AC-to-DC adapter (wall-wart) or battery. The adapter can be connected by plugging a
2.1mm centered-positive plug into the board's power jack. Leads from a battery can be inserted
in the GND and VIN pin headers of the POWER connector. The board can operate on an
external supply of 6 to 20 volts. If supplied with less than 7V, however, the 5V pin may supply
less than five volts and the board may be unstable. If using more than 12V, the voltage
regulator may overheat and damage the board. The recommended range is 7 to 12 volts.

The power pins are as follows:

 VIN:- The input voltage to the Arduino board when it's using an external power source
(as opposed to 5 volts from the USB connection or other regulated power source). You
can supply voltage through this pin, or, if supplying voltage via the power jack, access it
through this pin.
 5V:- The regulated power supply used to power the microcontroller and other
components on the board. This can come either from VIN via an on-board regulator, or
be supplied by USB or another regulated 5V supply.
 3V3:- A 3.3 volt supply generated by the on-board regulator. Maximum current drawn
is 50 mA.
 GND:- Ground pins.

Inputs and outputs

Each of the 54 digital pins on the Mega can be used as an input or output, using pin
Mode(), digital Write(), and digital Read() functions. They operate at 5 volts. Each pin can
provide or receive a maximum of 40 mA and has an internal pull-up resistor (disconnected by
default) of 20-50 K ohms.

The Arduino Mega2560 has 16 analog inputs, each of which provides 10 bits of
resolution (i.e. 1024 different values). By default they measure from ground to 5 volts, though
is it possible to change the upper end of their range using the AREF pin and analog Reference()
function.

Communication
The Arduino Mega2560 has a number of facilities for communicating with a computer,
another Arduino, or other microcontrollers. The Arduino software includes a serial monitor
which allows simple textual data to be sent to and from the board. The RX and TX LEDs on the
board will flash when data is being transmitted via the ATmega8U2 chip and USB connection
to the computer (but not for serial communication on pins 0 and 1).

Automatic (Software) Reset

Rather than requiring a physical press of the reset button before an upload, the Arduino
Mega2560 is designed in a way that allows it to be reset by software running on a connected
computer. One of the hardware flow control lines (DTR) of the ATmega8U2 is connected to
the reset line of the ATmega2560 via a 100 nano farad capacitor. When this line is asserted
(taken low), the reset line drops long enough to reset the chip. The Arduino software uses this
capability to allow you to upload code by simply pressing the upload button in the Arduino
environment. This means that the boot loader can have a shorter timeout, as the lowering of
DTR can be well coordinated with the start of the upload.