Recognition of Unreliable Ultrasonic Range Data in a Robotic Environment

Abstract

SUMMARY The use of ultrasonic range transducers is an inexpensive method of obtaining information about the environment surrounding a robotic System. However, ultrasonic ranging suffers from various shortcomings, one of the major being the production of unreliable data caused by specular reflection. This work presents an original approach to overcoming the problem of unreliable ultrasonic range data which is caused by specular reflection of the ultrasonic beam. The approach is shown to discriminate between reliable and unreliable data, thus enhancing the role of the ultrasonic range transducer in robotic applications.