Real-time implementation of an efficient Golay correlator (EGC) applied to ultrasonic sensorial systems

Multi-mode techniques reduce scanning times in ultrasonic systems, as they allow transducers in a sensor to simultaneously emit and receive without interference. In order to implement these techniques, it is necessary to encode each transducer's emission. The use of orthogonal pairs of Golay sequences associated with different emitters avoids crosstalk among them. However, these sequences imply an increase in the computational complexity required in the receiver. This paper presents the practical implementation of a system, with two emitters and four receivers, using a low-cost hardware architecture based on a FPGA. The ultrasonic signal processing is performed in real time. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.