A Reproducible Low-cost Adaptive Cruise Control Platform with Lidar–Ultrasonic Sensor Fusion and Timer-conflict-free Servo-Scanned Blind-spot Detection on Arduino UNO

Year : 2026 | Volume : 13 | Issue : 02 | Page : 58 70
By

Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak,

Md Sahariar Hossain,

Tamanna Gautam,

  1. Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Sikkim, India
  2. Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Sikkim, India
  3. Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Sikkim, India

Abstract

Road traffic deaths caused by driver distraction and inadequate surroundings remain a big problem for preventable deaths. This paper talks about designing and testing an affordable, easy-to-copy Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) system. It uses LiDAR-ultrasonic sensors to figure out how far things are in front of the car, and a servo-actuated, dynamically scanned blind spot detector. All of this runs on a single Arduino Uno. To measure front distance, they use both a Benewake TF-Mini LiDAR and an HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensor. The team combines the data from these using the minimum-selection rule and filter out implausible readings. This info is then mapped to motor drive using a simple control law where speed adjusts based on distance. A cool part of the project was figuring out how to work around the Timer 1 issue with libraries for controlling motors and servos. By creating a custom routine for the servos, they managed to run all four-wheel motors and back scanners at the same time. Their tests show a speed command error of just 2.4 PWM units, which is only about 1% off. Also, it detects blind spots perfectly, without any false alarms, and works great on different surfaces too. Best of all, they did it for under $50 extra

Keywords: Adaptive cruise control, sensor fusion, LiDAR, ultrasonic ranging, blind-spot detection, bit-banged PWM, Arduino, embedded systems, ADAS.

[This article belongs to Journal of Mechatronics and Automation ]

How to cite this article: Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak, Md Sahariar Hossain, Tamanna Gautam. A Reproducible Low-cost Adaptive Cruise Control Platform with Lidar–Ultrasonic Sensor Fusion and Timer-conflict-free Servo-Scanned Blind-spot Detection on Arduino UNO. Journal of Mechatronics and Automation. 2026; 13(02):58-70.
How to cite this URL: Bibhuti Bhusan Nayak, Md Sahariar Hossain, Tamanna Gautam. A Reproducible Low-cost Adaptive Cruise Control Platform with Lidar–Ultrasonic Sensor Fusion and Timer-conflict-free Servo-Scanned Blind-spot Detection on Arduino UNO. Journal of Mechatronics and Automation. 2026; 13(02):58-70. Available from: https://journals.stmjournals.com/joma/article=2026/view=253729

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Regular Issue Subscription Original Research
Volume 13
Issue 02
Received 17/07/2026
Accepted 11/08/2026
Published 27/08/2026
Publication Time 41 Days


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