Effect of external factors on accuracy of distance measurement using ultrasonic sensors

Ultrasonic sensors (US) are widely used for detecting objects in different application areas such as parking sensors in automobiles, assisting in UAV navigation etc. In our current work, we use US for detecting obstacles in the local navigation system for the visually impaired. This navigation system detects obstacles in the path of the user, measures the distance of the obstacle from the user and alerts the user about his distance from the obstacle. Safety of the user is a very important aspect when it comes to detection of obstacles in such application areas. In our current paper, keeping the safety of the user in mind we have tested and reported the effect of external factors on the accuracy of distance measurement system using US. The goal state of the paper at hand is to define a starting point for designing the technical set up of the obstacle detection model for developing the navigational assistance system for the visually impaired. The distance measured using the US sensor is compared to the actual distance of the object from the sensor to determine the measured Distance Error (DE) under different experimental conditions.