CMPE 246 Project: Ultrasonic Radar

This project builds an ultrasonic radar using an HC-SR04 time-of-flight (ToF) sensor mounted on a micro servo to create a 2D map of nearby objects. At each angle step, a Raspberry Pi measures distance and streams angle-distance data to a lightweight web UI (Flask + JavaScript/p5.js) for real-time radar visualization.

Index

• Team
  • Rameez Baig
  • Chigoziri Okpanku
  • Joshua Seo
  • Rania Atmani Garmavich
  • Shared Responsibilities
• Timeline
  • Week 6-7: Project Planning & Initial Design
  • Week 8: Hardware Setup
  • Week 9: Embedded Software Development
  • Week 10: Wireless Communication & UI Development
  • Week 11-12: Refinement & Preparation
  • Weeks 13-14: Presentation & Evaluation
• Hardware
• Software

Team

Rameez Baig

Roles:

• Wireless Communication Engineer
• UI & Integration Lead

Responsibilities:

• Set up the Raspberry Pi as a permanent AP.
• Host a web server on the Raspberry Pi.
• Build an appealing visual display for the radar.
• Map the data from the sensors to the UI.
• Host the UI on the web server.

Chigoziri Okpanku

Role: Hardware Lead

Responsibilities:

• Integrate the ultrasonic sensor & servo.
• Handle GPIO pin consideration & power considerations.
• Test hardware and troubleshoot issues.
• Produce a circuit diagram.

Joshua Seo

Role: Embedded Software Developer

Responsibilities:

• Design the core software to utilize the ultrasonic sensor & servo using object-oriented principles.
• Coordinate the ultrasonic sensor with the servo.
• Implement classes such as:
  • UltrasonicSensor
  • ServoController
• Optimize timing and mitigate delay.
• Prepare UML diagrams showing class relationships.

Rania Atmani Garmavich

Role: Writing & Marketing Lead

Responsibilities:

• Handle the bulk of the writing portions e.g. proposal documents, presentations, etc.
• Maintain a social media presence showcasing our product.
• Create engaging videos for engagement on Instagram.

Shared Responsibilities:

• Documentation & Reporting: All members must maintain a consistent work log.
• Testing & Debugging: All members are responsible for testing & debugging their work.
• Reflection Writing: All members must write individual reflections at the beginning and end of the project timeline.
• Version Control with GitHub: All members will use Git & GitHub for accurate version management and contribution tracking.

Timeline

Week 6-7: Project Planning & Initial Design

• Finalize project scope & requirements.
• Assign team roles & responsibilities.
• Select hardware components and software libraries.
• Choose a software framework for the UI.
• Draft initial circuit diagrams.
• Create preliminary UML Diagrams.

Week 8: Hardware Setup

• Wire and test the ultrasonic sensor & servo motor together.
• Configure GPIO pins and satisfy power requirements.
• Implement basic servo movement software & ultrasonic sensor distance calculation software.

Week 9: Embedded Software Development

• Implement core software using object-oriented design.
• Develop classes such as:
  • UltrasonicSensor
  • ServoController
• Coordinate sensor readings with servo rotation.
• Optimize timings & reduce measurement delays.
• Update UML diagrams to reflect final class structure.

Week 10: Wireless Communication & UI Development

• Configure Raspberry Pi as a wireless access point.
• Set up a web server on the Raspberry Pi.
• Define data format (angle-distance pairs).
• Transmit radar data from the device to a client.
• Develop radar visualization interface.
• Map incoming data to visual display.

Week 11-12: Refinement & Preparation

• Final debugging and performance tuning
• Validate reliability of hardware connections.
• Finalize diagrams, screenshots & demo materials.
• Prepare reflection content.

Weeks 13-14: Presentation & Evaluation

• Deliver project presentation and live demonstration.
• Present design decisions, results & findings.
• Discuss challenges, limitations and lessons learned.

Hardware

Raspberry Pi 4

• Main control unit of the system.
• Interfaces with the ultrasonic sensor & servo motor.
• Supports web server hosting for data transmission & visualization.

Ultrasonic Distance Sensor (HC-SR04 or equivalent)

• Used to measure the distance of objects by emitting ultrasonic pulses and calculating the distance based on echo return time.
• Suitable for low-to-medium-range distance measurement.

Micro Servo Motor (SG90 or MG90S)

• Used to rotate the ultrasonic sensor across a defined angular range.
• Enables scanning a wider area and allows for radar visualization by associating specific angles with distance measurements.

Supporting Components

• Breadboard
• Jumper Wires
• External Power Supply
• Mounting Hardware

Software

Python

• Used for embedded software development on the Raspberry Pi.
• Enables rapid prototyping, easy-to-read object-oriented code, and easy integration with GPIO and networking libraries.

GPIO Control Libraries (gpiozero)

• Used to control the servo motor movement and the utilize the ultrasonic sensor.

Web Server Framework (Flask)

• Used to easily host a web server for the radar visualization interface between the Raspberry Pi and connected clients.

UI Framework (HTML, CSS, Javascript, p5.js)

• Used to create the radar-style visualization interface that displays distance and angle data in real-time.