Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!news.Brown.EDU!noc.near.net!howland.reston.ans.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!bgsuvax!rlee
From: rlee@bgsu.edu (Bob Lee)
Subject: IR proximity detector - project follow-up
Message-ID: <C5FxKA.BA2@andy.bgsu.edu>
Sender: rlee@andy.bgsu.edu (Bob Lee)
Organization: Bowling Green State Univ.
Date: Tue, 13 Apr 1993 21:12:07 GMT
Lines: 23

If any of you can recall a month or so back I posted the circuit design
for an IR emitter/detector pair that would detect proximity with
reasonable distance and be immune to all ambiant light conditions. I was
planning on mounting the proximity circuit on a old Big Trak and with the
aid of a 6801 microcomputer I was going to have the mobile divice navigate
a room and avoid any and all obstacles.

Well, I'm happy to say that after three months of hard work. At 2:30pm,
Thursday, April 5th, I completed the project with glorious success. The
proximity detector worked beautifully. I ran the Big Trak into direct
sunlight, direct flourecent light, and the only thing it turned away from
was solid material objects capable of reflecting IR radiation, which as
far as I can see includes everything common.

If anyone is working on anything similar and you're stumped. I'll be more
then happy to share what I've discovered.

In addition to the IR proximity detector I also designed a TTL driver for
a bipolar DC motor using two open collectors and only two power transitors
(plus a few resistors here and there).

-BOB

