MaxBotix sensor selection

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

Hello,

I’m looking to buy some MaxBotix ultrasonic rangefinder sensors and I am having trouble figuring out which model would be best suited for my project.

I need the minimum distance to be as close as possible, the reading rate to be as fast as possible, and the distance range to be around 4 feet. I will be using multiple sensors at the same time. I’ve narrowed down my selection to the LV-MaxSonar-EZ1 (maxbotix.com/Ultrasonic_Sensors/MB1010.htm) and the USB-ProxSonar-EZ1 (maxbotix.com/Ultrasonic_Sensors/MB1414.htm) I like that the USB version does not require a microcontroller, and will automatically work with multiple sensors in the same space. However, I noticed that the target acquire and release times are quite long (2.5 secs and 1.5 secs), especially compared to the LV’s 50 ms reading rate.

Am I understanding the target acquire and release times correctly? Does that mean I will only be notified of an object within range 2.5 secs after it happens? Is there a “continuous” mode where I can get fast proximity readings with the USB version of the sensor?

Thanks for the help!

2

The USB sensors has a raw mode for simply reading the distance at the same speed the serial sensor can output it. It also has n object detection mode that works according to the described 2.5 and 1.5s intervals

3

Great, thanks for the info!