day 9 maze

Maze with encoders.

Going through this maze a second time but with encoders. The encoders made the code shorter, by having a function that drives forward based on tick values and turns with preset tick values, all i had to do in the main task was call the function and type the parameter.

day 8 flame sensor and vexduino

Flame Sensor 

The flame sensor is able to see infrared, meaning if there is a flame around it will be about to detect it.

Using Serial begin command on the Arduino, we are able to see the infrared values in real time. By first comparing the ambient room temperature  number to putting a flame in front of it, you can dial in on a number to sense when it is in front of the flame.

Now that i know when the robot can see the flame i can set a step of commands on how to extinguish it.

day 7 sensors using arduino

Using the Arduinos' serial debug, external input can be extrapolated as data.

In this image a LDR is pluged in as a analog input to the arduino. The LDR's voltage is changing depending on how much light is around it. The higher the light the less the resistance, thus the arduino is reading a higher number.

The Arduino has a Serial begin   command that allows you to see the data it is reading in real time. Depending on the voltage it receives it gives a number between 0 and 1023.

day 5

Hacking a toy. The chosen toy has a motor that is activated  by an external input. 

In order to use the arduino I cut the wires  from the old micro controller. 

 Once the old controller was out i had to extend the wires in order to have enough room to connect onto the arduino board.

day 6

Tip 120

The Tip 120 is a transistor with a built in Darlington.

1. Gain of 1000            

2. Peak current 8 Amps

In this image, the base is connected to a digital pin on the arduino, the collector is connected to the power supply to the light, the emitter is going to ground.

day 4

 NPN transistors acts like a switch directing the flow of electricity while amplifying the current. The amount of amplification is referred to as the gain. So by using the transistor the output is a higher current causing the light to be brighter.

Project 1

To complete this project I had to cut out the micro controller from my Santa toy and in its place use the Arduino.  The first step after cutting out the old micro controller was to find out which wires controlled the motor. Once I knew which wires controlled what parts of the toy, it was time to reassemble it using the Arduino and breadboard. I decided to use a LDR to control the speed of the motor with a few modes, and a transistor to turn the motor on and off.