Determining the operating distance of air ultrasound range finders : calculations and experiments

Estimating the operating distance of air ultrasound range finders by using the suitably modified radar equation and experimental verification of the developed computational procedure is discussed. It is shown that, despite notable differences between operating conditions of radars and air ultrasonic range finders, the radar equation is applicable to the considered case, and calculations of the relevant terms for this case are presented. The experimental assessment was carried out by evaluating the probability of detection at various distances from the custom built device. The calculated and experimental results seem to agree well despite using a number of values with high degree of uncertainty. The described procedure can be used at the design stage of air ultrasound range finders in order to reduce the number of prototypes before finalizing the design to a single prototype.