Performance Analysis of PING))) Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

The concept of a robot refers to a machine or device with the capacity to perform complex actions [MerriamWebster01]. In this current era of technology, robotics serves as more than just a branch of science [Wikipedia02], but a field with opportunity to improve the lives of people around the world. From designing a self-driving wheelchair for those in retirement communities struggling with mobility [Teo17] to building a robotic system to monitor neurons with a success rate comparable to manual performance of highly trained scientists [Trafton17], roboticists have made massive leaps in both the mechanical and electrical components of a robot. Today, robotic kits can be purchased for all ages, but as the use of robots in various industries increases, so does the need for precision in robotic systems; delay and error are unacceptable in certain real-time systems. The objective of this study is to measure and analyze the precision of a particular home-built robot's ability to recognize objects using a Parallax PING))) Ultrasonic Distance Sensor (PING))) sensor) with a 2^k*r factorial design, beginning with an overview of key methods and terms used in this study's system and experiment, subsequently detailing the performance evaluation, and finally explaining the results and analyzing what they mean as it relates to the precision of the robot. The results show that the PING))) sensor for the given factors and workloads has an error large enough that, while this may be acceptable for a hobby robot project, this robotic system should not be used in the real world for measuring distance in critical situations.