Effects of Surface Properties on Ultrasonic Navigation

Overview

This project investigated how different wall materials affect ultrasonic navigation in a maze. Autonomous robots commonly use ultrasonic sensors to avoid collisions with obstacles in their path, but the accuracy of that obstacle avoidance can be affected by the materials in the robot’s surrounding environment. The purpose of this study was to see how specific materials impact navigation performance. An autonomous robot using ultrasonic navigation was tested in a maze setup with three different materials, each with different textures and reflectivity. All other maze conditions remained the same. Each material was tested in 10 trials, and the robot’s performance was measured by recording completion time, number of collisions, and number of stops. The results showed clear differences between the materials. The robot performed worst with aluminum foil, showing the longest completion times and highest number of collisions. The robot had more stops in the artificial grass environment but a significantly lower number of collisions. In the cardboard maze, the robot had the fastest completion time and appeared to detect walls sooner, but had more collisions than artificial grass. These results likely occurred because reflective surfaces like aluminum foil redirected ultrasonic waves, making detection less reliable. Textured surfaces like artificial grass scattered waves, causing more stops but fewer collisions. The flatter cardboard surface allowed more consistent detection. Overall, this study shows that surface material can significantly affect ultrasonic navigation performance, which is important for improving the reliability of robots in real-world environments.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Applied Mechanics (Junior Division) · Entry J-02-26

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