After unboxing the TDK Demo Kit, I was curious about the accuracy and range of the TDK Ultrasonic sensor. Fortunately, the TDK provides an official Demo Kit Software that helps trigger and visualize USSM sensor measurements and data without writing any code. For testing the sensor, we need the TDK Demo board that came with the Challenger kit. Though the kit came with two sensor modules, I want to use one for my project to keep it simple and cheap. So, I wanted to test the accuracy using a single sensor.
After downloading the demo kit software, I ran it and got the following warning.
So, I connected one sensor to the demo board, then connected the demo board to my PC and ran the software again. That time everything was ok and I did not receive any warning.
The board was connected to the COM6 port of my PC. To ensure accurate distance measurements, it was essential to keep the sensor stable on a surface. However, I faced some difficulty securing it on the table, so I designed a 3D-printed base to hold the sensor firmly during testing.
The new design allows the sensor to be placed securely on any surface, with its height easily adjustable by altering the orientation of the 3D-printed base.
From the distance tab, I was able to easily measure the distance of the obstacle as shown in the above image. I have attached a short video of my distance measurement test.
From my experiment, I observed that the sensor provided stable and consistent readings when the obstacle was placed at a distance greater than 12 cm. For objects positioned closer than this range, the readings became noticeably unstable and fluctuated significantly. On average, I recorded an approximate measurement error of around 2 cm. I was unable to test the sensor at longer distances due to the limited space on my desk; however, this limitation does not significantly affect my project, as the intended measurement range in the water tank is relatively short.