wide angle obstecle detector

hello guys
I know that sonar sensor has wide detecton angle so basically it can cover front side of small robot entrely without rotating the sensor,due to sonar signals cone shape.
I was wondering if this is possible with IR obstecle detectors (TSOP based simple circuit) ,how to cover front side of small robot with one IR detector.
any ideas?
thanks

Sure, just flash an IR LED and a receive with an IR photodiode. This is how a lot of cheap toy robot kits do it. The problem is the range is very dependent on the size and colour of the object, so a large white object will be detected 2 feet away while a small dark object might still get missed at 1" away.

Mr RB said:

Sure, just flash an IR LED and a receive with an IR photodiode. This is how a lot of cheap toy robot kits do it. The problem is the range is very dependent on the size and colour of the object, so a large white object will be detected 2 feet away while a small dark object might still get missed at 1" away.

Click to expand...

true
but by range i mean the detection angle,you know the area of detection,not the distonce

The system I mentioned will cover a wide angle, that's why they use it on cheap toys etc. You know, the ones that turn around before they hit the wall.