Principles and Applications of Ubiquitous Sensing

Chapter 5Ultrasonic Sensing

Ultrasonic sensing is extensively used to detect the presence, proximity, or distance of an object of interest, in fields such as:

• underwater monitoring (Fairfield et al. 2007; Kinsey and Whitcomb 2007; Marani et al. 2009; Vasilescu et al. 2005)
• structural health monitoring (Gao and Rose 2006; Terzic et al. 2010)
• robotics and indoor localisation (Choi et al. 2011; Ladd et al. 2005; Park and Yoon 2006; Roberts et al. 2007)
• environment monitoring (Turner et al. 2008)
• manufacturing (Carullo and Parvis 2001; Henning and Rautenberg 2006; Lynnworth 2013)
• parking lot regulation (Han et al. 2008; Lee et al. 2008; Park et al. 2008)
• medicine (Hata et al. 2007; Khuri-Yakub and Oralkan 2011; Krill 2006; Zhang et al. 2008).

Its popularity stems mainly from three factors: its safety, its non-invasive nature, and the relatively simple construction of ultrasonic sensors. However, ultrasonic sensing requires a careful modelling of the medium through which ultrasonic waves propagate (Bossy et al. 2005), (Hughes et al. 2007), (Protopappas et al. 2007), (Treeby et al. 2012), (Laugier and Haïat 2011), (Schmerr Jr 2013).

Ultrasonic sensing essentially consists of highly sensitive transmitter (speaker) and receiver (microphone) or a single device which serves both as a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter generates and sends ultrasonic signal in short bursts towards a target and the target reflects the signal, which is then received by the receiver. When a single ...