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Learn Robotics Programming

You're reading from   Learn Robotics Programming Build and control AI-enabled autonomous robots using the Raspberry Pi and Python

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Product type Paperback
Published in Feb 2021
Publisher Packt
ISBN-13 9781839218804
Length 602 pages
Edition 2nd Edition
Languages
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Author (1):
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Danny Staple Danny Staple
Author Profile Icon Danny Staple
Danny Staple
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Table of Contents (25) Chapters Close

Preface 1. Section 1: The Basics – Preparing for Robotics
2. Chapter 1: Introduction to Robotics FREE CHAPTER 3. Chapter 2: Exploring Robot Building Blocks – Code and Electronics 4. Chapter 3: Exploring the Raspberry Pi 5. Chapter 4: Preparing a Headless Raspberry Pi for a Robot 6. Chapter 5: Backing Up the Code with Git and SD Card Copies 7. Section 2: Building an Autonomous Robot – Connecting Sensors and Motors to a Raspberry Pi
8. Chapter 6: Building Robot Basics – Wheels, Power, and Wiring 9. Chapter 7: Drive and Turn – Moving Motors with Python 10. Chapter 8: Programming Distance Sensors with Python 11. Chapter 9: Programming RGB Strips in Python 12. Chapter 10: Using Python to Control Servo Motors 13. Chapter 11: Programming Encoders with Python 14. Chapter 12: IMU Programming with Python 15. Section 3: Hearing and Seeing – Giving a Robot Intelligent Sensors
16. Chapter 13: Robot Vision – Using a Pi Camera and OpenCV 17. Chapter 14: Line-Following with a Camera in Python 18. Chapter 15: Voice Communication with a Robot Using Mycroft 19. Chapter 16: Diving Deeper with the IMU 20. Chapter 17: Controlling the Robot with a Phone and Python 21. Section 4: Taking Robotics Further
22. Chapter 18: Taking Your Robot Programming Skills Further 23. Chapter 19: Planning Your Next Robot Project – Putting It All Together 24. Other Books You May Enjoy

Choosing between optical and ultrasonic sensors

Before we start to use distance sensors, let's find out what these sensors actually are, how they work, and some of the different types available.

The most common ways in which to sense distance are to use ultrasound or light. The principle of both of these mechanisms is to fire off a pulse and then sense its reflected return, using either its timing or angle to measure a distance, as can be seen in the following diagram:

Figure 8.1 – Using pulse timing in a distance sensor

We focus on the sensors that measure the response time, otherwise known as the time of flight. Figure 8.1 shows how these sensors use reflection time.

With this basic understanding of how sensors work, we'll now take a closer look at optical sensors and ultrasonic sensors.

Optical sensors

Light-based sensors, like the one in Figure 8.2, use infrared laser light that we cannot see. These devices can be tiny; however...

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