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Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor

Ultrasonic sensor model in 3D simulation environment

Since R2024a

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  • Simulation 3d Ultrasonic Sensor Block

Libraries:
Automated Driving Toolbox / Simulation 3D
Aerospace Blockset / Animation / Simulation 3D
UAV Toolbox / Simulation 3D
Simulink 3D Animation / Simulation 3D / Sensors

Description

The Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor block generates detections from range measurements taken by an ultrasonic sensor mounted on an ego vehicle in a 3D simulation environment rendered using the Unreal Engine® from Epic Games®. The block calculates range measurements based on the distance between the sensor and the closest point on the detected object.

If you set Sample time to -1, the block uses the sample time specified in the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block. To use this sensor, you must include a Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block in your model.

Tip

The Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block must execute before the Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor block. That way, the Unreal Engine 3D visualization environment prepares the data before the Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor block receives it. To check the block execution order, right-click the blocks and select Properties. On the General tab, confirm these Priority settings:

  • Simulation 3D Scene Configuration — 0

  • Simulation 3D Ultrasonic Sensor — 1

For more information about execution order, see Control and Display Execution Order (Simulink).

Ports

Output

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Detectable object present in the sensor field-of-view, returned as a Boolean scalar. An object is considered detectable if its closest distance to the sensor is greater than the minimum detection-only range specified in the Detection ranges (m) parameter.

Range measurement is possible for an object present in the sensor field-of-view, returned as a Boolean scalar. For any object in the field-of-view, range measurement is possible if its closest distance to the sensor is greater than the minimum-distance range specified in the Detection ranges (m) parameter.

Distance measurement to the closest object, returned as a nonnegative scalar, in meters.

Sensor location along the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of the scene. The Translation values are in the world coordinates of the scene. In this coordinate system, the Z-axis points up from the ground. Units are in meters.

Dependencies

To enable this port, on the Ground Truth tab, select Output location (m) and orientation (rad).

Data Types: double

Roll, pitch, and yaw sensor orientation about the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis of the scene. The Rotation values are in the world coordinates of the scene. These values are positive in the clockwise direction when looking in the positive directions of these axes. Units are in radians.

Dependencies

To enable this port, on the Ground Truth tab, select Output location (m) and orientation (rad).

Data Types: double

Parameters

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Mounting

Specify the unique identifier of the sensor. In a multisensor system, the sensor identifier enables you to distinguish between sensors. When you add a new sensor block to your model, the Sensor identifier of that block is N + 1, where N is the highest Sensor identifier value among the existing sensor blocks in the model.

Example: 2

Name of the parent to which the sensor is mounted, specified as Scene Origin or as the name of a vehicle in your model. The vehicle names that you can select correspond to the Name parameters of the simulation 3D vehicle blocks in your model. If you select Scene Origin, the block places a sensor at the scene origin.

Example: SimulinkVehicle1

Sensor mounting location.

  • When Parent name is Scene Origin, the block mounts the sensor to the origin of the scene. You can set the Mounting location to Origin only. During simulation, the sensor remains stationary.

  • When Parent name is the name of a vehicle, the block mounts the sensor to one of the predefined mounting locations described in the table. During simulation, the sensor travels with the vehicle.

Vehicle Mounting LocationDescriptionOrientation Relative to Vehicle Origin [Roll, Pitch, Yaw] (deg)
Origin

Forward-facing sensor mounted to the vehicle origin, which is on the ground and at the geometric center of the vehicle (see Coordinate Systems for Unreal Engine Simulation in Automated Driving Toolbox (Automated Driving Toolbox))

Vehicle with sensor mounted at origin

[0, 0, 0]

Front bumper

Front center

Forward-facing sensor mounted to the front bumper

Vehicle with sensor mounted at front bumper

[0, 0, 0]

Rear bumper

Rear center

Backward-facing sensor mounted to the rear bumper

Vehicle with sensor mounted at rear bumper

[0, 0, 180]
Right mirror

Downward-facing sensor mounted to the right side-view mirror

Vehicle with sensor mounted at right side-view mirror

[0, –90, 0]
Left mirror

Downward-facing sensor mounted to the left side-view mirror

Vehicle with sensor mounted at left side-view mirror

[0, –90, 0]
Rearview mirror

Forward-facing sensor mounted to the rearview mirror, inside the vehicle

Vehicle with sensor mounted at rearview mirror

[0, 0, 0]
Hood center

Forward-facing sensor mounted to the center of the hood

Vehicle with sensor mounted at hood center

[0, 0, 0]
Roof center

Forward-facing sensor mounted to the center of the roof

Vehicle with sensor mounted at roof center

[0, 0, 0]

Roll, pitch, and yaw are clockwise-positive when looking in the positive direction of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively. When looking at a vehicle from above, the yaw angle (the orientation angle) is counterclockwise-positive because you are looking in the negative direction of the axis.

The X-Y-Z mounting location of the sensor relative to the vehicle depends on the vehicle type. To specify the vehicle type, use the Type parameter of the Simulation 3D Vehicle with Ground Following to which you mount the sensor. To obtain the X-Y-Z mounting locations for a vehicle type, see the reference page for that vehicle.

To determine the location of the sensor in world coordinates, open the sensor block. Then, on the Ground Truth tab, select the Output location (m) and orientation (rad) parameter and inspect the data from the Translation output port.

Select this parameter to specify an offset from the mounting location by using the Relative translation [X, Y, Z] (m) and Relative rotation [Roll, Pitch, Yaw] (deg) parameters.

Translation offset relative to the mounting location of the sensor, specified as a real-valued 1-by-3 vector of the form [X, Y, Z]. Units are in meters.

If you mount the sensor to a vehicle by setting Parent name to the name of that vehicle, then X, Y, and Z are in the vehicle coordinate system, where:

  • The X-axis points forward from the vehicle.

  • The Y-axis points to the left of the vehicle, as viewed when looking in the forward direction of the vehicle.

  • The Z-axis points up.

The origin is the mounting location specified in the Mounting location parameter. This origin is different from the vehicle origin, which is the geometric center of the vehicle.

If you mount the sensor to the scene origin by setting Parent name to Scene Origin, then X, Y, and Z are in the world coordinates of the scene.

For more details about the vehicle and world coordinate systems, see Coordinate Systems for Unreal Engine Simulation in Automated Driving Toolbox (Automated Driving Toolbox).

Example: [0,0,0.01]

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Specify offset.

Rotational offset relative to the mounting location of the sensor, specified as a real-valued 1-by-3 vector of the form [Roll, Pitch, Yaw]. Roll, pitch, and yaw are the angles of rotation about the X-, Y-, and Z-axes, respectively. Units are in degrees.

If you mount the sensor to a vehicle by setting Parent name to the name of that vehicle, then X, Y, and Z are in the vehicle coordinate system, where:

  • The X-axis points forward from the vehicle.

  • The Y-axis points to the left of the vehicle, as viewed when looking in the forward direction of the vehicle.

  • The Z-axis points up.

  • Roll, pitch, and yaw are clockwise-positive when looking in the forward direction of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, respectively. If you view a scene from a 2D top-down perspective, then the yaw angle (also called the orientation angle) is counterclockwise-positive because you are viewing the scene in the negative direction of the Z-axis.

The origin is the mounting location specified in the Mounting location parameter. This origin is different from the vehicle origin, which is the geometric center of the vehicle.

If you mount the sensor to the scene origin by setting Parent name to Scene Origin, then X, Y, and Z are in the world coordinates of the scene.

For more details about the vehicle and world coordinate systems, see Coordinate Systems for Unreal Engine Simulation in Automated Driving Toolbox (Automated Driving Toolbox).

Example: [0,0,10]

Dependencies

To enable this parameter, select Specify offset.

Sample time of the block, in seconds, specified as a positive scalar. The 3D simulation environment frame rate is the inverse of the sample time.

If you set the sample time to -1, the block inherits its sample time from the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block.

Sensor Parameters

Detection range vector of the ultrasonic sensor, specified as a 1-by-3 nonnegative real-valued vector of the form [minDetOnlyRange minDistRange maxDistRange], where minDetOnlyRange < minDistRange < maxDistRange. Units are in meters. These values determine the detections and distance values returned by the ultrasonic sensor.

  • When the detected object is at a distance between minDistRange and maxDistRange, the sensor returns a positive distance value.

  • When the detected object is at a distance between minDetOnlyRange and minDistRange, the sensor detects the object, but cannot determine the distance and returns a value of 0.

  • When the object is at a distance below minDetOnlyRange or above maxDistRange, the sensor returns an empty cell array.

Horizontal field of view of ultrasonic sensor, specified as a positive real scalar. This field of view defines the total angular extent spanned by the sensor in the horizontal direction. You must specify the horizontal field of view horizontalFOV in the range (0, 180). Units are in degrees.

Vertical field of view of ultrasonic sensor, specified as a positive real scalar. This field of view defines the total angular extent spanned by the sensor in the vertical direction. You must specify the vertical field of view in the range (0, 180). Units are in degrees.

Ground Truth

Select this parameter to output the translation and rotation of the sensor at the Translation and Rotation ports, respectively.

Version History

Introduced in R2024a

See Also

Topics