Contour map has been known as one of the best methods to depict 3-dimensional terrains on 2-dimensional plots. With the emergence and rapid development of wireless sensor network, new approaches for contour mapping can be adopted to take the advantage of distributed nodes. In this paper, an integral contour mapping system with mobile data collection nodes is devised. Basically, the design allows each sensor node moves around a target area and extracts elevation samples in the aid of an upper reference plane. The network organization and data synthesizing algorithm are also studied. Furthermore, a low cost demonstrative platform based on 8051 microcontroller and ultrasonic transducers is implemented to prove the feasibility of the system.
Phased-array ultrasonic surface contour mapping system. Technical note