E-BAT PLOTTER

PROJECT SYNOPSIS

APPLICATION AND FEASIBILITY

APPLICATION
The proposed electronic project finds application in Civil
Engineering. The objective is to make 2-D plot of a closed
room at low cost using concept of echolocation. Current
techniques are complex and expensive.
Interior designing, surveying and renovation can be
easily done by taking the 2-D plot of the closed room.

FEASIBILITY
This biomimetic device (mimicking the echolocation of
bat) is similar to SONAR and analogous to Sonography in
medical field.
The idea can be implemented using an ultrasonic
transceiver which can be used to measure the distance of the
wall from the transducer. The transducer is mounted on a
stepper motor to make a complete 360 degree revolution
with minimum step angle to make maximum accuracy. These
individual distances can be then used to plot a 2-D image via
Python.

DESIGN REQUIREMENT
REQUIREMENTS

The different parts required to do the project are the

following.

Ultrasonic transducer
In order to measure the distance to the wall.
Stepper motor, Motor driver
To rotate the transducer 360 degree to obtain 2-D
image.
Microcontroller
To control all the operations.
USB interface
Connect the microcontroller to the PC for plotting.
Python compiler
To digitally plot each distances to obtain a 2-D plot
of the room.

BLOCK LEVEL DESIGN SPECIFICATION

Power
Supply
Ultrasonic
receiver
Wall

5V

5V

Microcontroller

Driver IC

Plotter
interface

Stepper
Motor

Ultrasonic
transmitter

Plotter
Power supply: - LM323, 5V regulated power supply (1A)
Stepper motor: - 5V, half step mode for maximum resolution
Ultrasonic transceiver: - HC-SR04 (5V, range up to 4m)
Driver IC: - ULN2003 (as motor driver)
Microcontroller: - PIC 16F877A
Plotter interface:- PL2303HX, USB to Serial TTL UART

Power supply:

We need 5V (1A) source to power up microcontroller,

driver IC, UART adapter & stepper motor. Current 3.0 USB can also be used
since it can provide with 1A current.

Ultrasonic transceiver:

The HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor uses sonar to

determine distance to an object like bats do. It offers excellent non-contact
range detection with high accuracy and stable readings in an easy-to-use
package. From 2cm to 400 cm or 1 to 13 feet. It operation is not affected by
sunlight or black material like Sharp rangefinders are (although acoustically
soft materials like cloth can be difficult to detect). It comes complete with
ultrasonic transmitter and receiver module.
Power Supply: +5V
Working Current: 15mA
Effectual Angle: <15
Ranging Distance: 2cm 400 cm
Resolution: 0.3 cm
Trigger Input Pulse width: 10uS

Driver IC:

The ULN2003A is an array of seven NPN Darlington transistors

capable of 500mA, 50V output. It features common-cathode fly back diodes for
switching inductive loads. The ULN2003 is known for its high-current, highvoltage capacity. The drivers can be paralleled for even higher current output.
Even further, stacking one chip on top of another, both electrically and
physically, has been done. Generally it can also be used for interfacing with a
stepper motor, where the motor requires high ratings which cannot be
provided by other interfacing devices.

Stepper motor:

A stepper is a brushless DC electric motor that divides a

full rotation into a number of equal steps. The motor's position can then be
commanded to move and hold at one of these steps without any feedback
sensor (an open-loop controller), as long as the motor is carefully sized to the
application in respect to torque and speed.

Microcontroller: PIC 16F877 is one of the most advanced microcontroller

from Microchip. This controller is widely used for experimental and modern
applications because of its low price, wide range of applications, high quality,

and ease of availability. It is ideal for applications such as machine control

applications, measurement devices, study purpose, and so on. The PIC 16F877
features all the components which modern microcontrollers normally have.

Plotter interface: PL2303HX module can be used which supports USB to

RS232 Serial UART Interface of the microcontroller.

DETAILED DESIGN
CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

9V

Method
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Provide TRIGGER to ultrasonic module (high)

Listen for Echo
Start Timer when ECHO HIGH is received
Stop Timer when ECHO goes LOW
Read Timer Value
Convert it to Distance

FLOWCHART

START

Calculate distance

Initialize motor
and sensor

D= (340m/s*T)/2
Rotate and Transmit

If 360
degree
over

Test senor working,

send trigger

YES

Transmit ultrasonic
sound & ECHO=1

STOP

NO

If
ECHO=0
YES

NO

BOM
Sl.No.

Component

Vendor

Price

LogicNix

150

2
3
4

Ultrasound Transducer (HCSR04)

Stepper Motor
Motor driver (ULN2003)
PL2303 USB to Serial TTL UART

Robokits
STMicroelectronics
Prolific

325
126
200

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14

Microcontroller(PIC16F877A)
Crystal oscillator
LM323
Capacitors
Housing
Screw, nut, bolt
Fuse (1A)
SPST Switch
PCB Manufacture
Miscellaneous (USB etc.)

MicroChip
Generic
STMicroelectronics
Generic

300
25
20
10
150
10
5
20
100
100
1541/-

Total cost

GANTT CHART