Projects:2020s1-2230 SODAR: An Experimental Demonstrator

Abstract here

Introduction

SODAR (SOnic Detection And Ranging) is an instrument commonly used to measure the scattering sound waves

Project team

Project students

• Ken Sinaga
• Diego Barauna
• Swapnil Srivastava

Supervisors

• Brian Ng

Objectives

SODAR (Sonic detection and ranging) is the lesser known cousin of radar, which uses sound instead of radio waves to detect remote targets and estimate its range. Apart from the mode of energy, the principle behind SODAR is highly analogous to radar. Both rely on measuring the time-of-flight to ascertain a target’s range and the Doppler shift to estimate the target’s line-of-sight velocity. This project aims to develop an experimental platform using commercial off-the-shelf acoustic components that can demonstrate the operation of a SODAR in a confined environment. The platform consists of: · a transmitter (loudspeaker) · a receiver (microphone) · an embedded platform to control and collect the transmitted and received signals · a Matlab software suite to perform analysis and display the SODAR output

The final product must be capable of reliably detecting significant indoor targets and estimating their velocities. The technical problems encountered and solved in this project will be of great interest to the SA defence industry. Possible extensions: · extend the system to work with multiple receivers (array)

Required skills: · An ability to absorb and synthesise new knowledge from multiple sources effectively · Experience in embedded systems and/or software development and/or signal processing · Team work