Capability:Ultrasonic Sensing

Ultrasonic Sensing
Type	Sensing
Measures/Controls	Distance to objects (typically 2cm to 400cm)
Common Hardware	HC-SR04, JSN-SR04T (waterproof), Maxbotix sensors
Enables Activities	Activity:Maze Solving, obstacle avoidance, distance measurement
Status	Stub - Not yet implemented in BRS robots

Ultrasonic Sensing is a sensing capability that measures distance using sound waves beyond human hearing range.

Overview

This is a stub page. This capability is not yet implemented in any BRS robot. This page exists to:

• Document the concept for future implementation
• Invite community members to add it to their robots
• Provide a starting point for hardware selection

What It Measures

Distance to objects (typically 2cm to 400cm)

Common Hardware

HC-SR04, JSN-SR04T (waterproof), Maxbotix sensors

Enables Activities

Adding this capability to your robot would enable:

• Activity:Maze Solving

Technical Considerations

• **Advantages**: Long range, low cost, works on most surfaces
• **Disadvantages**: Slow update rate, wide beam (poor angular resolution), interference from soft/angled surfaces
• **Typical cost**: $1-5 per sensor
• **Interface**: Trigger pulse + echo timing
• **Accuracy**: ±3mm at close range, ±1cm at long range
• **Update rate**: ~20 Hz maximum (due to sound travel time)
• **Beam angle**: ~15-30° cone

Contributing

Want to add this capability to your robot? Here's how:

1. Select appropriate hardware (see "Common Hardware" above)
2. Mount the hardware to your robot chassis
3. Wire to your microcontroller
4. Write driver code or use existing libraries
5. Test and calibrate
6. Document your implementation
7. Update this page with your findings
8. Share on Discord

See Also

• Capabilities - All capabilities
• Activities - What this capability enables
• Robotics Ontology - How capabilities fit into BRS knowledge structure