3D Ultrasound Sensor TS ALPHA Teaches Machines and Vehicles Echolocation

Giving technology the opportunity to see its environment via ultrasound – this technological breakthrough is finally brought to reality by the company Toposens. After several years of research and development, the 3D ultrasound sensor technology is now officially being launched and will be available as a Development Kit and as a serial product in larger quantities, enabling robots and vehicles to perceive their environment with the “bat”-sense.

Reading Time: 3 Minutes Approx. – 06.05.2018

The first 3D ultrasound sensor worldwide can detect objects and people in the near-field in real-time and calculates their 3D position. The small device emits ultrasonic signals, which are reflected by all objects in the surrounding and converted into 3D coordinates directly in the sensor system itself. It is thereby the first 3D sensor worldwide that is able to generate a point cloud via ultrasonic echolocation.

The first sensor version “TS ALPHA”, which is now being launched by Toposens, is just 60 x 30 x 12 mm small and weighs approx. 20g. The opening angle is up to 180° (omnidirectional) in close range and can see objects up to 4 m distance. Objects can be captured with an average frame rate of 30 Hz. The accuracy is up to approx. 2 cm.

TS ALPHA is available now. The 3D ultrasound sensor will be provided as a Development Kit as well as a customizable commercial product. Besides the TS ALPHA sensor, the Fast Lane Development Kit contains the necessary software to get started, support and a sophisticated camera-based debugging kit, which will help developers get the sensor up and running in no time. Additionally, Toposens will produce videos and tutorials to help application builders get started quickly. The Development Kit is directly distributed by Toposens, information about the commercial sensor is provided upon request.

The 3D ultrasound sensor can be used for various applications. Toposens is focusing on robotics and industrial applications, automotive and people analytics. The sensor’s output (point cloud), can be further processed for these applications and thereby be used for counting objects or people, fill level measurement, collision avoidance or gesture control. TS ALPHA is already equipped with an integrated software layer, which facilitates clustering together point clouds to objects. Specific functions of the sensor, like the counting of objects, will be developed by the customer himself or in cooperation with Toposens.

“TS ALPHA can be used for a variety of applications, for which there are currently no or only unsuitable alternatives available, as most existing 3D sensors are usually very expensive, big and way too complex”, says Alexander Rudoy, Managing Director at Toposens. “We are very happy that we can now offer a real alternative and thereby contribute to the advancing digitization of many industries!”

Toposens is a startup, located in Munich and in Silicon Valley. The company was founded in 2015 by Alexander Rudoy, Rinaldo Persichini and Tobias Bahnemann. The team currently consists of 12 people. Toposens is working together with well-known companies from the automotive and robotics industry as well as with research institutes. After the launch of its first, limited Evaluation Kit in 2017, the startup now launches TS ALPHA – an improved sensor version, which can be provided in production volume quantities for integration into other products.