Ultrasonic Transducer

Ultrasonic Transducer
Ultrasonic Sensor
An ultrasonic transducer is a device that converts energy into
ultrasound, or sound waves above the normal range of
human hearing.

Systems typically use a transducer which generates sound

waves in the ultrasonic range, above 18,000 hertz, by turning
electrical energy into sound, then upon receiving the echo
turn the sound waves into electrical energy which can be
measured and displayed.
Ultrasonic sensors (also known as transceivers when they
both send and receive) work on a principle similar to radar or
sonar which evaluate attributes of a target by interpreting the
echoes from radio or sound waves respectively. Ultrasonic
sensors generate high frequency sound waves and evaluate
the echo which is received back by the sensor. Sensors
calculate the time interval between sending the signal and
receiving the echo to determine the distance to an object.
Construction of Ultrasonic Sensor
Piezoelectric crystals are used for
this conversion process.
Piezoelectric crystals will
oscillate at high frequencies
when electric energy is applied to
it. The reverse is also true. These
piezoelectric crystals will
generate electrical signals on
receipt of ultrasound. These
sensors are capable of sending
ultrasound to an object and
receive the echo developed by
the object. The echo is converted
into electrical energy for onward
processing by the control circuit.
Interfacing & Features

•description: ultrasonic transducer - receiver

•max. input voltage: 20Vrms
•operating temperature: -20°C to +85°C
•range: 0.2 to 6m
•nominal frequency: 40kHz
•sensitivity: -67dB min.
•sound pressure: 112dB min.
General Functional Block Diagram
This technology can be
used for measuring: wind
speed and direction
,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.
Log of Ultrasonic Sensor
Applications
How Does an
Ultrasonic
Sensor Work?
 Ultrasonic Sensor
 ultrasonic: A sound of a frequency that humans cannot hear,
but dogs and bats can.
 An ultrasonic sensor has two parts:
o A transmitter that sends out a signal that humans cannot hear
o A receiver that receives the signal after it has bounced off nearby objects
 The sensor sends out its signal and determines how long the
signal takes to come back.
o If the object is very close to the sensor, the signal comes back quickly
o If the object is far away from the sensor, the signal takes longer to
come back
o If objects are too far away from the sensor, the signal takes so long to
come back (or is very weak when it comes back) that the receiver
cannot detect it
 The sensor sends a message back to the computer brick
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telling it the time taken for the signal to return. Then the
brick uses this info to compute how far away the object is.
Neuro-Distance Sensor

Robotic Distance Sensor

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 Echolocation
Bats use a process called “echolocation”
to locate prey or other objects.
What is echolocation?
• Bats produce a very high-pitch sound (ultrasonic, beyond the
human hearing range). Those sound waves travel through air
and bats listen carefully to any echoes that return.
• By determining how long echoes take to return, bats
estimate the distances of the objects. Bats also determine
how big objects are and in which direction they are located.
• The bat brain processes the echoes similarly to human
brains.
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 Echolocation (continued)
• During the processing of echoes in a bat brain, it forms an
image in its head similar to how humans use both visual and
aural (hearing) information to identify objects.
• Bats also process visual information as humans do, contrary
to popular belief.
How does an ultrasonic sensor work?
• The ultrasonic sensor uses a pair of transducers. The sensor
emits a sound pulse and measures the distance of the object
depending on the time taken by the echo to return back to
the other side.
• Electrical energy is converted to sound to send the pulse,
and then the sound received back is converted to electricity,
which is what the brick understands. 15
 Ultrasonic Sensor Post-Quiz
1. How do humans sense distance?

2. How do bats sense distance?

3. Provide an example “stimulus-sensor-

coordinator-effector-response” framework
using an NXT ultrasonic sensor.
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Ultrasonic Sensor Post-Quiz Answers
1. How do humans sense distance?
Humans estimate distance using their eyes, which is usually
not a very accurate method.
2. How do bats sense distance?
Bats sense distance using sound. They emit sound waves
and receive back reflected waves. The time it takes to
receive the waves back provides them with a very good
estimate of the distance. This is exactly how ultrasonic
sensors estimate distance.
3. Provide an example “stimulus-sensor-coordinator-effector-
response” framework using an NXT ultrasonic sensor.
Example: object in front of the ultrasonic sensor > ultrasonic
sensor > LEGO brick/computer > robot motor > robot moves
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• sensor: A device that converts one type of signal to another;
for instance, the speedometer in a car collects physical data
and calculates and displays the speed the car is moving.
• auditory: Related to hearing.
• peripheral: Surrounding.
• transducer: Another term for a sensor (see above).
• echolocation: Biological sonar used by animals such as bats
and dolphins, in which the animal sends out a call and uses
the echo to locate and identify surrounding objects.

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Measuring Distance with
Sound Waves
your car and the car in front of
To Do
you. Now…

Come up with a way to determine the

distance between vehicles without

you leaving your car. Note: you cannot

use a ruler or a tape measure.

What is Frequency?

The frequency of a wave is defined as number

of cycles the wave completes in a second.

Hz (hertz) ― is a SI unit of frequency

― defined as cycles per second

1 Hz = 1/s
Frequency of a Sine Wave
Sound comes in many frequencies

Can humans hear all types of sounds?

Infrasoun
Audible frequencies Ultrasound
d

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

No, audible frequencies are what we can

detect.
Because of our ear’s construction, we can
generally only hear a limited range of
sounds.

Infrasoun
Audible frequencies Ultrasound
d

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

Infrasound
Elephants and whales, along with other
animals use infrasound to communicate.

Infrasoun
Audible frequencies Ultrasound
d

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

 Impact of Nature on Infrasound
Infrasound can be generated by
many of our Earth’s natural events.

• Thunder
• Wind
• Volcanic activity
• Large waterfalls
• Ocean wave impact
• Earthquakes
Ultrasound
Many other small animals (cats, dogs,
dolphins, bats and mice) can hear
ultrasound.

Infrasoun
Audible frequencies Ultrasound
d

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

A dog’s range of hearing…
Dogs can hear more ultrasound frequencies than
humans, and humans can hear more infrasound
than40Hz
dogs. 60KHz

Audible (dog)
frequencies

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

Ultrasonic Applications
Sonography

Infrasoun
Audible frequencies Ultrasound
d

20Hz 20KHz 2MHz 200MHz

Ultrasonic Applications (cont’d)
SONAR (SOund Navigation And Ranging)
 What kind of sensor measures distance
using ultrasound waves?

Sender Receiver

PING)) Ultrasonic Sensor

 How Do Ultrasound Sensors Work?

Reflected wave

Original wave

14cm

• The sensor emits high-frequency ultrasound

ping, which bounces off objects and is read
back by the sensor.
• The sensor has a clock that measures the
time it takes for the ultrasound ping to come
back.
 The Distance of Sound
Reflected wave

Receiver
14cm Sender

Original wave

Distance that sound travels = Speed of sound in air * Time that sound travels

0.14 (m) + 0.14 (m) = 343.6 (m/s) * Time that sound travels

0.14 (m) + 0.14 (m) = 343.6 (m/s) * 0.0008 (s)

 Distance Between Sensor and Object
Reflected wave

Receiver
14cm Sender

Original wave

Distance to the object = 0.5 * Distance that sound travels

ime for sound to travel to the object = 0.5 * Time that sound travels
Speed of sound in air = Constant
0.14 (m) + 0.14 (m) = 343.6 (m/s) * 0.0008 (s)
0.14 (m) = 343.6 (m/s) * 0.0004 (s)
Activity: Look around and choose an object
that you can measure the distance to using the
LEGO® MINDSTORMS® Ultrasonic Sensor