TDK Corporation (TSE:6762) presents a demo kit (ordering code: Z25000Z2910Z001Z21) for the mechanically decoupled ultrasonic sensor module USSM1.0 PLUS-FS (ordering code: B59110W2111W032). This component can be used for obstacle detection and distance measurement under difficult environmental conditions including full sunlight and translucent target objects in autonomous mobile robots (AMR) or autonomous guided vehicles (AGVs).

The demo kit includes a TDK demo board with USB-A to Micro-B cable, two ultrasonic sensor modules, two sensor cables, and two seals. Its software package allows the user to monitor the sensor in many operating modes. It can provide digital IO and analog readout of the echo traces. The board helps in early and later development phases because it visualizes what the sensor can detect and how it reacts in specific situations.

The IP65/67 protected USSM1.0 PLUS-FS is immune to external mechanical vibrations that can falsify the measurement result. Actuated via a driver and an integrated piezoelectric disk, the integrated signal processor ASIC can calculate the signal propagation time with a repetition rate of up to 50 samples/s. This allows measuring distances from 18 cm to 200 cm; in pitch-and-catch mode with several modules, measuring distances of 4 cm are feasible.