On biomimetic sonar head: Hardware description and analysis

The paper presents a biomimetic sonar head with four degrees of freedom. The biomimetism is at the level of functions and structures, i.e. one emitter (mouth) and two receivers (ears). It focuses on simplicity and compactness to assure reliability and portability of the sonar head on various mobile objects. It includes the electronic circuits for control and signal processing. The reliability is assured by using the latest available digital servomotors and ultrasonic transducers. The portability is obtained by putting all electronic circuits in a single box connected only by USB communication port to an ordinary computer (PC). The sonar head is designed for mobile objects (e.g. autonomous vehicles, robots). The present paper presents the approach with fixed frequency (~45 kHz) and piezoceramic ultrasonic transducers. The first part presents the kinematics chain assured by the mechanical structures and the electric and electronic circuits of the sonar head. A detailed analysis to drive the basic relations for elevation and azimuth and the upper and lower working limits are considered also.