Figure 12.2: Diagram of Sensor Response
The vehicle's sensors are assumed to be any highly directional ranging device that returns differential values of transmitted and reflected signal intensity. These sensors could be, but are not limited to, Sonar, IR, Laser. Any signal whose intensity is measured:
where (Io) is the transmitted intensity, (s) is the distance to and from the reflecting surface, and (A) and (n) are constants describing the wave behavior.
As an example, the reflected intensity of an 100 watt omni directional light source reflecting off of a point 3 meters away would be (this of coarse assumes 100% reflectivity):
The last assumption is that the sensors have a very limited range. Figure 12.2 illustrates the intensity of the returning signal as a function of the obstruction distance.
This module is part of a robotics simulation that was demonstrated in a Master's Thesis entitled: