⚙ Reflectance Sensors ⚙
During the PR&D section of the AEV project, Team N took part in a lab that familiarized them with the one of the vital parts of the AEV setup: the reflectance sensors. The reflectance sensors allow for distance travelled by the AEV to be measured (in a sense) by the AEV. In combination with the sensor wheel and a given code, the AEV will know when to stop. Included below is an overview of the lab and how Team N went about learning about the device.
Reflectance sensors are used in conjunction with the goToAbolutePosition and goToRelativePosition commands to establish the distance traveled by the AEV. A “mark” number may be inputted into the Arduino code with the goToAbolutePosition and goToRelativePosition commands to move the AEV a certain distance. This distance was determined using the conversion 1 inch = .4875 marks. The reflectance sensors were responsible for counting the the rotations of the sensor wheel, with one full rotation being counted as 8 marks or 3.9 inches.
Here is a picture of the reflectance sensors that the team attached to the sample AEV.
The red reflectance sensors are attached on the arm of the AEV. The back of the sensor wheel is visible here above the arm of the AEV. The Arduino board is also pictured here in the bottom left.