PERSONAL OBJECT DETECTOR

摘要

A personal object or obstacle detector apparatus comprises a continuous transmission frequency modulation (CTFM) ranging system (12) and an audio output device (14). The CTFM ranging system transmits a frequency-swept pressure wave, receives a reflected frequency-swept pressure wave from at least one object (34), and forms an audio signal based upon a frequency difference between the frequency-swept pressure wave and the reflected frequency-swept pressure wave. The audio output device (14) produces an acoustic pressure wave in dependence upon the audio signal. In a preferred embodiment, the acoustic pressure wave contains separate tones (30, 32) for each of the objects detected, wherein each tone has a pitch dependent upon the distance from the CTFM ranging system (12) to the corresponding object. Another embodiment utilizes a pair of CTFM ranging systems to produce a stereo auditory map of objects and obstacles.