Object Detection Accuracy of Level Metre Ultrasonic Sensor, Range Finder LiDAR and FMCW RADAR Systems: A Preliminary Assessment

Abstract:

The challenges of vision sensors during poor visibility or when faced with transparent objects, along with RADAR sensors’ susceptibility to degradation and jamming constitute major aspects of limitations in object detection systems. Researchers are continuously exploring better methods and materials for object detection to develop fully autonomous vehicles capable of avoiding collisions in scenarios where distance and speed permit. This paper examines the accuracy of measurements taken by the Level metre Ultrasonic sensor, range finder LiDAR and a radar sensor when targeting objects with contrasting levels of visibility. The target objects considered for this experiment are black and light brown coloured plywood and transparent glass; these objects represent opposites in terms of visibility. Results for range finder LiDAR showed minimal variations with the plywood objects, but recorded much higher error margins when targeting the glass object and failed to detect the glass object at a range of 0.6 metre; which was the shortest distance considered for this paper. The ultrasonic sensor recorded an average error margin of 2.03% at distances between 0.6 and 15 metres but recorded an average error margin of 42.48% at 20 metres. It can be stated that for collision avoidance systems, a suite of sensors, including Ultrasonic, LiDAR and RADAR sensors, can effectively detect objects in their path with an accuracy above 97% without the use of vision sensors.

• Periodical: Engineering Headway (Volume 28)
• Pages: 157-165
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/p-3gEgah
• Online since: November 2025
• Authors: Oluwasanmi Adekunle Adewuyi, Olumuyiwa Ajani Lasode*, Jayeola Femi Opadiji
• Keywords: Collision Avoidance, Field of View, LiDAR, Object Detection, RADAR, Ultrasonic Sensor

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