Ultrasonic radar

Using Arduino Programming Questions
#1

Hello everyone,
I am working on a robotic car to check the surroundings by using ultrasonic sensor with servo motor with 180 degree movement. The problem is that the readings from the sensor is not stable as the servo rotates, I will attach the code and a screen shot of a sample of the readings. The car stops every 6 seconds to check the surroundings and then complete the movement.

#include <AFMotor.h> 
#include <Servo.h>

AF_DCMotor TR(1, MOTOR12_64KHZ);
AF_DCMotor TL(2, MOTOR12_64KHZ);
AF_DCMotor BL(3, MOTOR12_64KHZ);
AF_DCMotor BR(4, MOTOR12_64KHZ);

int servo1 = 9;
int servo2 = 10;
int IR_R = 14;
int IR_L = 15;

unsigned long T1 = 0;
unsigned long T2 = 0;

Servo servo_sensor;
Servo servo_camera;
 
int trigPin = 17;   
int echoPin = 16;
long duration, cm, inches;

void setup() {

  servo_sensor.attach(9);
  servo_camera.attach(10);
  
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
  
  Serial.begin(9600);
  
  TR.setSpeed(100);
  TL.setSpeed(100);
  BR.setSpeed(100);
  BL.setSpeed(100);

  pinMode(IR_R,INPUT);
  pinMode(IR_L,INPUT);

  servo_sensor.write(0);
  
}

void loop() {
    
  T1 = millis();
  if (T1 > T2 + 6000){
     TR.run(RELEASE);   
     TL.run(RELEASE);
     BR.run(RELEASE);
     BL.run(RELEASE);
     
    for(int i=0;i<=180;i=i+3){  
       servo_sensor.write(i);
       ultra();
       delay(50);
       Serial.print(cm);
       Serial.print("cm");
       Serial.println();
                     }
                     
    for(int i=180;i>=0;i=i-3){  
       servo_sensor.write(i);
       ultra();
       delay(50);
       Serial.print(cm);
       Serial.print("cm");
       Serial.println();
                     }
    T2 = T1; }
  
  
  if (digitalRead(IR_R)==0 && digitalRead(IR_L) ==0){
  TR.run(FORWARD);   
  TL.run(FORWARD);
  BR.run(FORWARD);
  BL.run(FORWARD);  
  }
 
  else if (digitalRead(IR_R)==1 && digitalRead(IR_L) ==0){
  TR.run(BACKWARD);   
  TL.run(FORWARD);
  BR.run(BACKWARD);
  BL.run(FORWARD);  
  }
 
  else if (digitalRead(IR_R)==0 && digitalRead(IR_L) ==1){
  TR.run(FORWARD);   
  TL.run(BACKWARD);
  BR.run(FORWARD);
  BL.run(BACKWARD);  
  }
  }

void ultra (){
  digitalWrite(trigPin,LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(5);
  digitalWrite(trigPin,HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin,LOW);
  pinMode(echoPin,INPUT);
  duration = pulseIn(echoPin,HIGH);
  cm = (duration/2) / 29.1;
  }

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#2

I think it's recommended to wait at least 60 milliseconds between measurements to ensure all the previous waves / bouncing are gone

0 means no reading

using the newping library might give you a better result

#3

And don't move the sensor until you get an echo or the 60ms. has expired.
Paul

#4

The quality of the echo will depend on the material and the angle of incidence of the sound waves. A fuzzy kitty, cloth curtains, a person with loose clothing or any soft target will not return a good echo. A target surface that is not normal (90 degrees) to the rangefinder will return a lower quality echo or bounce the signal so that the echo is not accurate.

#5

I would change that to

       servo_sensor.write(i);
       delay(50);
       ultra();

That way the servo will have time to reach its destination and not still be moving when the distance sensor is trying to take a measurement.

You should add a timeout to the pulseIn(). The default of a million microseconds is way too long. 30,000 microseconds (30 milliseconds) is long enough to get echos from 5 meters which is beyond the useful range of the HC-SR04.
duration = pulseIn(echoPin,HIGH, 30000ul);

#6

Not a solution but...

why used a long for cm and duration then divided by a float?