SRF05 - Low Cost Ultrasonic Ranger

Devantech

The SRF05 is an evolutionary step from the SRF04, and has been designed to increase flexibility, increase range, and to reduce costs still further. As such, the SRF05 is fully compatible with the SRF04. Range is increased from 3 meters to 4 meters. A new operating mode (tying the mode pin to ground) allows the SRF05 to use a single pin for both trigger and echo, thereby saving valuable pins on your controller. When the mode pin is left unconnected, the SRF05 operates with separate trigger and echo pins, like the SRF04. The SRF05 includes a small delay before the echo pulse to give slower controllers such as the Basic Stamp and Picaxe time to execute their pulse in commands.

Technical data

SRF05
Range	1 cm ... 4 m
Supply voltage	5V DC
Current (typical)	4 mA
Dimensions	43 x 20 x 17 mm
Frequency	40 kHz

Operational modes

Mode 1 - SRF04 compatible - Separate Trigger and Echo

This mode uses separate trigger and echo pins, and is the simplest mode to use. All code examples for the SRF04 will work for the SRF05 in this mode. To use this mode, just leave the mode pin unconnected - the SRF05 has an internal pull up resistor on this pin.

18:34 16.05.2013

Mode 2 - Single pin for both Trigger and Echo

This mode uses a single pin for both Trigger and Echo signals, and is designed to save valuable pins on embedded controllers. To use this mode, connect the mode pin to the 0v Ground pin. The echo signal will appear on the same pin as the trigger signal. The SRF05 will not raise the echo line until 700uS after the end of the trigger signal. You have that long to turn the trigger pin around and make it an input and to have your pulse measuring code ready. The PULSIN command found on many popular controllers does this automatically.

Calculating the Distance

The SRF05 Timing diagrams are shown above for each mode. You only need to supply a short 10uS pulse to the trigger input to start the ranging. The SRF05 will send out an 8 cycle burst of ultrasound at 40khz and raise its echo line high (or trigger line in mode 2). It then listens for an echo, and as soon as it detects one it lowers the echo line again. The echo line is therefore a pulse whose width is proportional to the distance to the object. By timing the pulse it is possible to calculate the range in inches/centimeters or anything else. If nothing is detected then the SRF05 will lower its echo line anyway after about 30mS.
The SRF04 provides an echo pulse proportional to distance. If the width of the pulse is measured in uS, then dividing by 58 will give you the distance in cm, or dividing by 148 will give the distance in inches. uS/58=cm or uS/148=inches.
The SRF05 can be triggered as fast as every 50mS, or 20 times each second. You should wait 50ms before the next trigger, even if the SRF05 detects a close object and the echo pulse is shorter. This is to ensure the ultrasonic "beep" has faded away and will not cause a false echo on the next ranging.

Beam pattern

The beam pattern of the SRF05 is conical with the width of the beam being a function of the surface area of the transducers and is fixed. The beam pattern of the transducers used on the SRF05, taken from the manufacturers data sheet, is shown below.

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Accuracy

Devatech quotes 3-4cm. It is normally better than this, however so many factors affect accuracy that the manufacturer won't specify anything better than this. The speed of sound in air is approx. 346m/S at 24 degrees C. At 40KHz the wavelength is 8.65mm. The sonars detect the echo by listening for the returning wavefronts. This echo has an attack/decay envelope, which means it builds up to a peak then fades away. Depending on which wavefront is the 1st to be strong enough to be detected, which could be the 1st, 2nd or even 3rd, the result can jitter by this much. Another effect which limits accuracy is a phasing effect where the echo is not coming from a point source. Take a wall for example, the ping will bounce off the wall and return to the sonar. The wall is large, however, and there will be reflections from a large area, with reflections from the outside being slightly behind the central reflection. It is the sum of all reflections which the sensor sees which can be either strengthened or weakened by phasing effects. If the echo is weakened then it may be the following wavefront which is detected - resulting in 8.65mm of jitter. It is possible to see changes of distance as small as mm but then get cm of jitter.

Manufacturer's data

Technical Specification - link to the manufacturer
FAQ - link to the manufacturer

Product information for: SRF05 - Low Cost Ultrasonic Ranger

Publishing date (date of last technical specification): 2009-01-22
Weight: 4 g
Shipping weight: 160 g
Manufacturer: Devantech
Brand: ROBOT ELECTRONICS
Article number: DEV-SRF05
Manufacturer's part number: SRF05

The article SRF05 - Low Cost Ultrasonic Ranger is listed in the following categories:

Customer Groups > Research > Sensors > Ultrasonic

Customer Groups > Private Customers > Robot Electronics > Sensors > Ultrasonic

Categories > Ultrasonic Sensors > Indoor ultrasonic measurement technology