Years ago I started a project with a couple of ultrasonic transducers. The idea was to build a volumetric motion detector and it worked, sort of, because it easily gave false alarms.
It had a transmitter which transmitted a constant tone and a receiver not placed directly across but pointed at the room so that it received all the sum of all the echos. Any movement in the area disturbed the echos and the amplitude received oscillated which was easy to detect. The principle did work well but even some movement of vibration of the walls (like loud outside noises or a truck going by) made the thing go off. It might have worked in a cave or castle with solid walls. So I never used it for that purpose and the whole thing went into a shoe box where it has remained over the years.
I always thought some day I'd come up with a new idea for which I can use the transducers but in all these years I have never come up with anything so the question is what could I do with a couple of ultrasonic transducers?
I suppose I could design some alarm or sensor that worked by interrupting the direct beam between them. That would avoid the echo problem but I really cannot think of any use for such a sensor. (I mean me personally, not that it would not have them.)
A range finder is more complex and I have no use for it anyway.
Maybe some simple, on/off, remote control... that would be good if I needed such a thing.
Any other ideas?
It had a transmitter which transmitted a constant tone and a receiver not placed directly across but pointed at the room so that it received all the sum of all the echos. Any movement in the area disturbed the echos and the amplitude received oscillated which was easy to detect. The principle did work well but even some movement of vibration of the walls (like loud outside noises or a truck going by) made the thing go off. It might have worked in a cave or castle with solid walls. So I never used it for that purpose and the whole thing went into a shoe box where it has remained over the years.
I always thought some day I'd come up with a new idea for which I can use the transducers but in all these years I have never come up with anything so the question is what could I do with a couple of ultrasonic transducers?
I suppose I could design some alarm or sensor that worked by interrupting the direct beam between them. That would avoid the echo problem but I really cannot think of any use for such a sensor. (I mean me personally, not that it would not have them.)
A range finder is more complex and I have no use for it anyway.
Maybe some simple, on/off, remote control... that would be good if I needed such a thing.
Any other ideas?