DIY - Ultrasonic SONAR Kit (Sound Navigation and Ranging) with 180 degree movement - Arduino Nano

Overview

A rotating, SONAR-style radar that sweeps a 180° arc with an ultrasonic sensor, measuring distance to nearby objects at every angle — a compact intro to radar-style obstacle mapping.

How It Works

1. The servo motor sweeps the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor across a 180° arc.
2. At each angle, the sensor measures distance to the nearest object.
3. The Arduino Nano logs angle and distance together, which can be plotted as a radar-style sweep on a connected PC.

Complete Parts List

Applications

• Obstacle mapping for small robots
• Radar-style demonstrations for STEM classrooms
• Perimeter/security sensing experiments

Full Build Guide

Step-by-step instructions and code for this exact project are on Project Hub.

FAQ

Do I need coding experience? No prior experience is required — this kit is built around one specific project, and the full code is freely available. See the build guide above.

What tools do I need beyond what's included? A computer with the free Arduino IDE (or ESP32/ESP8266 board support, where applicable) installed to upload the code. No soldering is required for this build.

Can I reuse the parts afterward? Yes — every component in this kit is a standard, reusable part you can use in future projects, not a single-use kit.