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ultrasonic roof box sensor with stamp — Parallax Forums

ultrasonic roof box sensor with stamp

b00037402b00037402 Posts: 4
edited 2011-10-18 15:15 in BASIC Stamp
Hi all,
I have begun a project for college, for a system which detects low obstacles for a vehicle roof box. I have the basic concept drawn out and understand the idea of how it will work. The problem I have is I am completely new to programming and dont know where to start. I dont want anyone handing to me on a plate, but would appreciate some directional idea's. My lecturer has given me a BS2 Rev j on an educator board. I dont have any code written yet as I am so new to programming. I do have some basic electronics experience and can recognise pin locations etc.

Comments

  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2011-09-25 09:00
    Let's start out by reading this link http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?134682-Forum-Guidelines Then telling us exactly what your project is supposed to do, how you want to use Parallax products in that, what parts you have and how you have them connected to each other.
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-09-25 09:21
    A block diagram will do.

    (put pencil to paper or use a 'whiteboard', take a pic with your cellphone, post it as an attachment)
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2011-09-25 14:23
    Ultrasonic sensors only work properly in calm, still air. Sounds like you want a forward-looking sensor mounted on the roof of your car. It may only work properly & reliably at glacial driving speeds on a wind-free day.
  • W9GFOW9GFO Posts: 4,010
    edited 2011-09-25 20:36
    The "What's a Microcontroller?" text is a good place to start.
  • b00037402b00037402 Posts: 4
    edited 2011-10-18 12:20
    you got the jist of what im looking for.I have adapted some sample code quite successfully. I now have distance to object, leds lighting and a warning message telling the criticality of closeness to object.
  • b00037402b00037402 Posts: 4
    edited 2011-10-18 13:09
    diagram of project proposal.jpg
    this is a rough sketch of the proposal, I hope you can see it!
    diagram of project proposal.jpg
    1024 x 1397 - 137K
  • b00037402b00037402 Posts: 4
    edited 2011-10-18 13:14
    thanks PJ , I posted a scanned sketch of plan
  • RiJoRiRiJoRi Posts: 157
    edited 2011-10-18 14:51
    Hmmm. Is your instructor trying to frustrate you?

    (1) Apparently ultrasonics will not work.
    (2) Lasers will probably get you into trouble with the Feds.
    (3) Visible light is too prone to noise.
    (4) How do you differentiate between a low overpass and a tractor-trailer?

    Also, does the signal power change according to your speed? And I've seen roads that dip under the overpass -- you'd get warnings until your vehicle starts to take the dip.

    Or maybe it's a learning experience: how to connect an ultrasonic transducer to the Stamp...

    --Rich
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-10-18 15:15
    It's a good demonstration project for a model environment. As others have mentioned, it probably won't work in any kind of "real" environment. Either a laser or a Doppler sensor might work. Note that this X-Band detector is designed to detect movement while the laser detector is designed to measure distance.

    The ultrasonic distance detector (PING) should work fine for a model. The existing demo software is designed for a particular I/O pin, but you could easily modify the program to make two measurements, one using one I/O pin and the other using another I/O pin ... to use two different PING sensors.
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