what are some elegant & simple designs for a short range radar?

[v.ivanov]

It is a school project, and I need to complete before mid-october. I do not know much about electronics.

My first idea was to use a laser pointer as the sender and a computer-connected camera as the receiver, with a custom pixel color detection program to interpret the information, to see in what location there is a light return and how intense, to approximate distance and location. This would then be drawn graphically as a rectangle on a map-like surface.

(I do not think this even qualifies as radar, because it is not radio related).

But this turned out to be harder than I expected, and it would only work in an outside pitch black environment with a preselected shape and material to detect. It would not be very impressive, and like I said, it is harder to do than it sounds.

I then searched for designs, and found some simple looking designs like these, but I am wondering, what is the absolute simplest design that I can have a chance at? It also has to be one where I can understand and explain what each component does. Thank you

 

[davenn]

hi there
Welcome to EP

, to approximate distance and location. This would then be drawn graphically as a rectangle on a map-like surface.

detecting presence of a moving object is easy and your attached photo will do that

detecting distance and location requires significant signal processing and that wont be easy
I know of no available kits or similar home projects that you could do this with. Maybe some one else has discovered something ?


Dave

 

[kellys_eye]

The image you show is a larger scale version of the ultrasonic distance measuring devices that are made for Arduino applications:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SY-Ultras...143190&hash=item361cd38dde:g:IxIAAOSwlXhZa3ES

You don't state the level of accuracy required (I can't imagine it being too onerous though as increasingly accuracy scales up to increasing complexity very rapidly indeed!)

The above solves 'distance' but you'd have to introduce some form of scanning (either 360 degree rotation or a limited side-to-side movement) to determine location. Mounting the transducers on a servo motor (pulse with position controlled) would give you the data required to interpolate 'position' though.