Concrete sensor system

A sensing system for a concrete mixer vehicle, the sensing system comprising processing circuitry configured to:

• obtain baseline signals from a first sensor and disturbed signals from a second sensor, wherein the first sensor is positioned outside a mixer drum of the concrete mixer vehicle and the second sensor is positioned within the mixer drum of the concrete mixer vehicle and produces the disturbed signals;
• determine an amount of noise in the disturbed signals relative to the baseline signals based on a comparison between the baseline signals and the disturbed signals;
• and
• use the amount of noise in the disturbed signals to determine a presence of material and one or more properties of the material within the mixer drum.

A method for determining a slump of a material within a concrete mixer drum, the method comprising:

• providing a first sensor and a second sensor on a probe that extends into the concrete mixer drum, wherein the first sensor is disposed outside of the concrete mixer drum and is configured to produce baseline signals as the concrete mixer drum rotates, and the second sensor is disposed within the concrete mixer drum on the probe and is configured to produce disturbed signals as the concrete mixer drum rotates and the probe passes through the material;
• determining an indication of an amount of noise in the disturbed signals based on a comparison of the baseline signals and the disturbed signals;
• and
• using the amount of noise in the disturbed signals to estimate the slump of the material within the concrete mixer drum.