Selecting the best micromouse sensor design is a study in electronics, physics, geometry, maths and coding. Here I will look at some of the design considerations for the sensors in the next iteration of my micromouse. Zeetah V and VI use triangulation sensors pioneered by David Otten. These sensors consist…
An essential part of setting up a new mouse is the proper alignment of the sensors. You micromouse sensors must have the emitters pointing exactly where you want them to and the detectors have to be aligned to get the best possible response. A simple paper target and an Infra Red camera can help get this right. (more…)
Micromouse sensors need shielding to work at their best. Here we are going to show you how to make a simple, flexible light shield for your micromouse sensors that will cut down the effect of ambient light and reduce leakage from the emitter. The problem with micromouse sensors The common…
Learn how you can calculate the standard deviation, or spread, of your sensor readings on-the-fly while collecting data without having to first record all the values and then do the statistics. Statistics based on the data from your sensors can tell you a lot about the system and the environment…
Analog Devices recently release new vibration rejection gyros which seemed a perfect fit for use on a micromouse. Since I was using the ADXRS610 on Zeetah V, I temporarily mounted an ADXRS642 to ZV to compare the two.
Most commonly, micromouse reflective sensors use Infra Red LEDs as the emitter component. That is all very well and suits many, or most, phototransistors. the thing is, you cannot easily see where they are pointing and what kind of illumination they are providing. Here is a sample of 13 different emitters…
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The TSL262 sensor has been popular with a number of micromouse builders. It is compact, easy to use and results in a low component count. A common alternative is the use of a simple phototransistor in an emitter foloower configuration. So, why change what works… (more…)
The front, or forward-facing, sensors on a micromouse have several uses. Apart from detecting the distance to walls ahead and obstacles on one side or another, properly setup forward sensors can be used to measure an angular error with respect to a wall ahead of the mouse… (more…)
My micromouse, Decimus 2A, has not been behaving well. The most notable problem is that detection of the wall ahead, and the distance to that wall has been erratic. Worse, the problem seems to come and go. For a while I thought I might have damaged an emitter or had a dry joint but, when I looked again at the calibration figure, the left front sensor was giving a reading much smaller than the right front sensor… (more…)
A while back, I posted a way to make simple reflective wall sensor responses appear linear. After struggling with it for a while, it is apparent that it is over complicated. There is an easier way to get acceptable responses…