Abstract
This document contains a final year Engineering Thesis in the design and construction of a set of sensors capable of detecting obstacles at a distance. The device is intended for use with small air and ground vehicles for obstacle detection and tracking. The device has varying applications depending on the sensor configuration, and can function as either a proximity detector, or as a speed and position tracker. The hardware is designed to be inexpensive, small and lightweight. This project involved the design and construction of a sensor simulator, a sensor array pattern, electronics to power and operate transmitters and receivers, and microcontroller software. The key features of the system are its small size, low weight, low power requirements and its ability to employ a synthetic aperture technique known as Doppler beam-sharpening to refine its field of view. This is believed to be the first application of Doppler beam-sharpening in a collision avoidance sensor application.