New Products: Ping + Other Components

General Discussion
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Originally published at: New Products: Ping + Other Components - Blue Robotics

Hi friends, happy Tuesday! We are (finally) ready to release a product that many of you have been patiently awaiting… introducing the Ping Sonar Altimeter and Echosounder (plus other fun things)!

Check out the new product video below!

Ping Sonar Altimeter and Echosounder

The Ping sonar is a multipurpose single-beam echosounder. It can be used as an altimeter for ROVs and AUVs, for bathymetry work aboard a USV, as an obstacle avoidance sonar, and more. The Ping combines a compact form factor and 300 meter depth rating with an open source user interface and development libraries to create a powerful new tool for marine robotics!

The Ping has anodized aluminum case with the sonar transducer on one side. The other side has tapped mounting holes and the Ping comes with a mounting bracket that makes it easy to install on the BlueROV2 and in other applications. It comes with a one meter cable with a pre-installed cable penetrator and is rated to an operating depth of 300m.

The Ping has a bottom-finding algorithm that locks onto the strongest response and returns the distance and measurement confidence. The Ping works great as an altimeter on the BlueROV2 but can be used in all sorts of applications from tidal monitoring to obstacle avoidance to autonomous terrain following.

https://www.bluerobotics.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/flyover-split-test-rev1.gif(image larger than 4 MB)


You may noticed the beta tag on the product page 🙂 With the launch of Ping and Ping-Viewer we’re trying something new by launching them in beta, meaning that they’ve been well-tested and we’re confident in them, but there will be a lot of improvements in software, firmware, and features in the near future. We’ve field-tested in ways that are accessible to us but we’re eager to incorporate feedback from you about what can be improved!

USB to Serial and RS485 Adapter

The USB to Serial and RS485 Adapter is a tiny circuit board capable of interfacing with devices using serial UART or RS485 communications protocol and converting the signal into USB for connecting to a computer or Raspberry Pi. It works great with the Ping Sonar and we recommend it for getting started!

Micro-USB to USB-A Cables

These little cables are great for connecting small things to other small things inside small spaces. Did we mention they’re small?

That’s all for today! Thanks for reading and see ya next time!

8 Likes
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Congrats on the new product…I have ordered one :grinning:

5 Likes
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Excuse me.
Can this ping sonar be used by Arduino or STM32 without connect to the computer?
I want use it to avoid something for my AUV and my AUV is only controlled by Arduino or STM32.
Thanks.

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Hi Joe,

It’s possible, please take a look in our ping-protocol and ping-arduino repository, you’ll be able to find examples and documentation.

7

Is it possible for the Ping sonar to make the ROV vehicle to hold at a certain depth under water. Essentially, if we have a depth sensor and then use depth-hold mode in Q ground control, we can make the vehicle to stay at a certain depth. But is it actually possible to hold the vehicle to a certain depth with the help of a Ping Sonar? Please reply.

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It will be possible in the future. Right now, it is not supported.