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Report on LiDAR- Light Detection and Ranging

B. Shahid, Student, IDT, MDH, Department of EE, LUMS
B. Motion Control The H bridges were designed using pairs of n- and pMOSFETS BSP 295 and BSP 250, respectively [8] as shown in Figure 1. Then a schematic was drawn in MULTISIM [7] tool to simulate the behavior of the motor and check the working of the H-bridge as desired. When the H-bridge was successfully designed, the stepper motor was controlled through the combinational logic to the inputs of the H-bridge. C. Distance Sensor Finally, the Sharp Distance Sensor GP2Y0A710K0F [5] (see figure 3) was attached to the shaft of the motor and connected with myDAQ [3] to receive the sensor output and present in a suitable format. A polar plot was made which showed the distance of a certain target within the range of the sensor.

AbstractThis report aims at describing the electronics project for the course ELA403. The Light Detection and Ranging circuit was made using control of a stepper motor through Hbridges and a distance sensor. Two H bridges were designed using pairs of MOSFETs and following a control code for analog signals from the supply switching on specific transistors only to control the steps of the motor. The motor shaft makes a rotation and the control signal is so designed that the shaft rotates in the other direction when it has completed one rotation to avoid the tangling of the attached wires. The sensor would rotate on the motor shaft and make complete 360 degrees rotation covering an area within the range of the sensor and record any obstacle through its reading displayed in the polar plot in LabView. The results indicate a complete sensing circuit that could work as a LIDAR. Key WordsAnalog circuits, H-bridges, Motor control, Remote sensing, LabView, Sharp Sensor, LiDAR

I. INTRODUCTION

HIS document is a report on the project LiDAR [4]. LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) is an optical remote sensing technology that can measure the distance to, or other properties of, targets by illuminating the target with laser light and analyzing the backscattered light. LiDAR technology has applications in geomatics, archaeology, geography, geology and remote sensing [1]. II. HARDWARE A. Project Stages The project was completed in multiple stages with the course progress. The project modules were partly completed during official laboratory hours and reviewed by the supervisor. Thus the following stages were completed: -First, designing and making a PCB Layout for two H-bridges that would control a stepper motor [6]. -Second, controlling the stepper motor through a digital signal output from an ADC. -Third, coupling the sensor to the motor and feeding the sensor data to the ADC which would represent it on a polar plot that corresponds to the distance range of the sensor values. Figure3. Sharp Distance Sensor GP2Y0A710K0F with range 100-550 cm for light detection to be mounted on the motor shaft

III.

SOFTWARE

The output signals were generated through digital high and low signals through the software part as the LabView [2] simulation and myDAQ. These were used to drive the Hbridges. The analog signals from the sensors were acquired through myDAQ and fed to the DAQAssistant input tool in LabView and handled to give an output in a polar plot representing distance and degrees as the sensor made a complete 360 degrees rotation.

2 LiDAR being able to detect targets in its range of 100-550 cm and successfully showing this data in the plot.

Figure1. A general diagram for H bridge circuit design including the arrangement of the transistors

Figure4. Characteristics of the distance sensor used in scaling distance with pre-scaled voltage values shown on the axes.

TEST MEASUREMENT SETUP This test setup shows a snapshot of the program designed in LabView and the running simulation and flow of the inputs and ouputs:

Figure2. Schematics for the H-bridge designed in MULTISIM with BSP 250 and BSP 295 transistor models shown

IV. DISCUSSION The most common mistakes were done in soldering and designing of the PCBs. Sometimes sensors also failed to produce the desired response and so had to be wired again. One hurdle was also the lack of some components. If more quantity is available beforehand, then burnt ICs could be replaced faster or alternative MOSFETS could be used if it is later found that the design is flawed for some reason. It is suggested that the project could be repeated with more sensors with a wider range to create a robust design and a 3D model could also be designed as an extension to this project.

Figure5. LabView program for motor control run on a pc during demonstration of the working circuit. I would like to thank Martin Ekstrom for making it possible for me to complete this project. Without his insight and

V. RESULTS The project completed and worked as desired with the

3 help, I would not have been able to use the tools and software that were new for me. His constant support from the start including tips on designing PCB layout, soldering surface-mounted ICs and lectures on motor control were of immense importance in accomplishment of this project. REFERENCES
[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] P.A.Cracknell, L.Hayes, Introduction to Remote Sensing, 2nd ed. London: CRC Press, 2007.

[6]

[7] [8]

[9]

"LabVIEW System Design Software." NI LabVIEW. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "NI MyDAQ." - National Instruments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "LiDAR:." How Lidar Works. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "Distance Measuring Sensor Unit Measuring Distance: 100 to 550 Cm Analog Output Type." SHARP, n.d. Web. 2013. "H-Bridge Theory & Practice -- Chuck's Robotics Notebook." H-Bridge Theory & Practice -- Chuck's Robotics Notebook. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "NI Multisim." : Powerful Circuit Design and Teaching Software. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "BSP250 Datasheet Pdf Datenblatt NXP Semiconductors - P-channel Enhancement Mode Vertical D-MOS Transistor, ALLDATASHEET" BSP250 Datasheet Pdf Datenblatt - NXP Semiconductors - Pchannel Enhancement Mode Vertical D-MOS Transistor ALLDATASHEET N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013. "BSP295 Datasheet Pdf Datenblatt - Siemens Semiconductor Group - SIPMOS Small-Signal Transistor (N Channel Enhancement Mode Logic Level) ALLDATASHEET "BSP295 Datasheet Pdf Datenblatt Siemens Semiconductor Group - SIPMOS Small-Signal Transistor (N Channel Enhancement Mode Logic Level) ALLDATASHEET N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2013.