Hi,
Relatively new to UAV's and planning on getting the new APM2 and a Telemetry kit. I was also contemplating the sonar modules for collision avoidance and auto landing/takeoff and have 2 questions:
1. How many sonar units do you need? Is it 1 for auto takeoff/landing and 4 for collision avoidance (5 total) or am I thinking of something else?
2. What's the difference between the different sonar modules? Even in the LV-MaxSonar range on DIYD store there's 4 different models that are the same price. What's the difference in those? How do they compare to the MB1260 XL-MaxSonar-EZL0 at nearly double the price?
Replies
Thanks for the questions. To answer your questions of "How many sonar units do you need? Is it 1 for auto takeoff/landing and 4 for collision avoidance (5 total) or am I thinking of something else?" depends on what you are trying to achieve. You can use a single sensor or multiple sensors. We have saw it done both ways. When using multiple sensor, please be sure to follow one of our chaining application notes listed on our downloads page http://maxbotix.com/downloads.htm
The answer to your second question of "Even in the LV-MaxSonar range on DIYD store there's 4 different models that are the same price. What's the difference in those?" The LV-MaxSonar-EZ series beam patterns progressively get less sensitive as you go through the sensor line with the LV-MaxSonar-EZ0 being the most sensitive and the LV-MaxSonar-EZ4 being the least sensitive. As the sensors get less sensitive, they also become less susceptible to outside interference such as mechanical noise and motors but you are not able to detect small object at the further distances.
The answer to the second half of your second question of "How do they compare to the MB1260 XL-MaxSonar-EZL0 at nearly double the price?" is actually pretty simple. The XL-MaxSonar-EZL0 is a long range indoor sensor with a maximum range of 1068cm (approximately 416inches) and the LV-MaxSonar-EZ series sensors all have a max range of approximately 645cm (254 inches) All of our XL-MaxSonar sensors have a resolution of 1cm whereas our LV-MaxSonar Sensors all have a 1inch resolution. The XL-MaxSonar-EZL0 is also a sensitive sensor so be aware of the wide beam pattern and off axis targets.
Best regards,
Scott Wielenberg
Technical Support & Sales
of MaxBotix Inc.
Phone: (218) 454-0766
Fax: (218) 454-0768
Email: scott@maxbotix.com