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Object detection in sunlight — Parallax Forums

Object detection in sunlight

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2000-04-21 14:32 in General Discussion
Hi All,
I have an outside robot that uses a couple of bs2 and I want to give it
object detection and distance capabilities. There's been a lot of discussion
about how to use IR for object detection. Will IR work outside in the
sunlight. If not what else can I use that is stamp friendly...

Jerry

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 02:39
    Jerry,

    I have used it successfully outside in afternoon sunlight at distances
    of about 6 inches or so.

    DLC

    CGIJERRY@A... wrote:
    >
    > Hi All,
    > I have an outside robot that uses a couple of bs2 and I want to give it
    > object detection and distance capabilities. There's been a lot of discussion
    > about how to use IR for object detection. Will IR work outside in the
    > sunlight. If not what else can I use that is stamp friendly...
    >
    > Jerry

    --
    Dennis Clark http://www.verinet.com/~dlc
    dlc@v...
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 05:16
    At 11:11 AM 4/20/00 -0400, you wrote:

    >Hi All,
    >I have an outside robot that uses a couple of bs2 and I want to give it
    >object detection and distance capabilities. There's been a lot of discussion
    >about how to use IR for object detection. Will IR work outside in the
    >sunlight. If not what else can I use that is stamp friendly...

    What about one of those polaroid sonar modules (perhaps mounted on a
    servo)? IR tends to be heavily affected by high ambient light levels.

    Duncan
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 07:40
    At 12:16 AM 4/21/00 -0400, orthner@s... promulgated:
    >At 11:11 AM 4/20/00 -0400, you wrote:
    >
    >>Hi All,
    >>I have an outside robot that uses a couple of bs2 and I want to give it
    >>object detection and distance capabilities. There's been a lot of
    discussion
    >>about how to use IR for object detection. Will IR work outside in the
    >>sunlight. If not what else can I use that is stamp friendly...
    >
    > What about one of those polaroid sonar modules (perhaps mounted on a
    >servo)? IR tends to be heavily affected by high ambient light levels.
    >
    Duncan

    Just some thots to add to yours -

    Making the transducers weatherproof might pose a problem, and I'm not sure
    about r/c servos in direct weather. I'm also not sure how those "plastic"
    piezo transducers might work outdoors in rain/snow or other such conditions.
    If the 'bot is only used during good weather, this is certainly not a
    consideration.

    Just as a sidenote - sound is effected by temperature and athmospheric
    pressure,
    and humidity as well (I believe). This may or may not enter ito the design
    consideration. From a hobbiest point of view, the effects may be so small
    as to
    be negligable. This is particularly true in areas with minimal climactic
    change.

    Just my 2 cents

    Bruce

    >Duncan
    >
    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 13:27
    In a message dated 4/21/00 2:47:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
    bvbates@i... writes:

    > If the 'bot is only used during good weather,
    Hi Bruce,
    This is an all weather bot. Stays outside all the time. All the electronics
    so far are in a weather proof box including the gear drive and 2 12v
    batteries..You can see a pic at
    http://hometown.aol.com/yardbot2000/myhomepage/profile.html
    I drove a car the other day that had some type of object sensing at the rear.
    It worked great and had a range of about 5 ft. Wonder what that used??

    Jerry...
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 14:26
    At 08:27 AM 4/21/00 EDT, CGIJERRY@A... promulgated:
    >In a message dated 4/21/00 2:47:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
    >bvbates@i... writes:
    >
    >> If the 'bot is only used during good weather,
    >Hi Bruce,
    >This is an all weather bot. Stays outside all the time. All the electronics
    >so far are in a weather proof box including the gear drive and 2 12v
    >batteries..You can see a pic at
    >http://hometown.aol.com/yardbot2000/myhomepage/profile.html
    >I drove a car the other day that had some type of object sensing at the
    rear.
    >It worked great and had a range of about 5 ft. Wonder what that used??
    >
    >Jerry...
    >
    Jerry -

    They are generally RF, ultrasonic or modulated IR.

    The ones used for "parking" generally use ultrasonics. Those with greater
    range are either RF or modulated IR. Some RF are microwave range, others
    are not.
    It's a fairly new technology - last couple of years.

    As far as I know there is no "benchmark" or "standard" per se - or
    shoud I say there WASN'T in the last articles I read. I MAY have some
    references if you would like me to look, but they will be limited to test
    applications, various 3rd party or after-market implementations and/or
    sensor related articles; thus NOT Stamp-related per se.

    Last I looked, Cadillac (GM), Mercedes-Benz, and one of the Japanese
    manufacturers
    were "hot" - more than that, I really can't say. Undoubtedly Ford has
    something as well, but they may have hitched up with the Japanese
    manufacturer - sorry I coan't remember which one.

    Most of the sensor related "news" I receive is from the Sensors Magazine
    mailing
    list. They have a webite [noparse][[/noparse] http://www.sensorsmag.com/ ] - you may want to
    take a
    look there too. I believe they have a search engine for past articles.

    Hope that helps.

    Regards,

    Bruce


    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2000-04-21 14:32
    Oh, I've been meaning to ask about these. I think they're ultrasonic
    transducers. How do they work? Are they only digital? Stamp friendly?
    -William

    Original Message
    From: <CGIJERRY@A...>
    To: <basicstamps@egroups.com>
    Sent: Friday, April 21, 2000 8:27 AM
    Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Re: Object detection in sunlight


    > In a message dated 4/21/00 2:47:25 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
    > bvbates@i... writes:
    >
    > > If the 'bot is only used during good weather,
    > Hi Bruce,
    > This is an all weather bot. Stays outside all the time. All the
    electronics
    > so far are in a weather proof box including the gear drive and 2 12v
    > batteries..You can see a pic at
    > http://hometown.aol.com/yardbot2000/myhomepage/profile.html
    > I drove a car the other day that had some type of object sensing at the
    rear.
    > It worked great and had a range of about 5 ft. Wonder what that used??
    >
    > Jerry...
    >
    >
    >
    >
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