MASHR – My Arduino Start Here Robot

MASHR is my attempt to build a start here robot for beginners. It is Arduino based, but didn’t use a standard Arduino booard. An Romeo all-in-one robot controller (Arduino compatible with motor driver) has been used instead. The chassis is selfmade from a sheet of polystyrol (PS). Pololu wheels and motors give a good traction and the option to add wheel encoders later.

IMG_0956.JPG
„MASHR – My Arduino Start Here Robot“ weiterlesen

How to improve Sharp IR sensors

The Sharp GP2Dxxx family is often used in robotics as distance sensors because the sensors are cheap and everywhere available. The normal use of these sensors is for the automatic flush of a restroom urinal or automatic air dryers, not for robotics.

The following sensors with analog output exists:

  • Sharp GP2Y0A02YK has a range from 20..150cm
  • Sharp GP2D12 (replaced by GP2YA21YK) has a range from 10..80cm
  • Sharp GP2D120 has a range fro 4..30cm

Using analog sensors in robotic environment isn’t as easy as it’s seems. When you attach the Sharp sensor output to an oscilloscope you’ll see a noisy signal with a lot of spikes.
„How to improve Sharp IR sensors“ weiterlesen