Newsgroups: comp.robotics
Path: brunix!uunet!gatech!darwin.sura.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu!pkdutta
From: pkdutta@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Prabal K Dutta)
Subject: Re: New IR proximity detector IC
Message-ID: <1993Mar31.182233.24361@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu>
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Organization: The Ohio State University
References: <1993Mar31.041958.7993@sbcs.sunysb.edu>
Date: Wed, 31 Mar 1993 18:22:33 GMT
Lines: 31

In article <1993Mar31.041958.7993@sbcs.sunysb.edu> shane@cs.sunysb.edu (Shane B
ouslough) writes:
>
>    Hamamatsu S4282 Light Modulation Photo IC
>
>    Hamamatsu Corp.
>    Somewhere, NJ
>    Phone: 908-231-0960
>    FAX:   908-231-1539


     I have actually used several (12+) of these Light Modulation Photo IC's. 
On a six legged walking robot that I built. The chips can detect the size of a 
quarter from a few inches. I tried some other experiments where I drove the LED
with pulses > 1 amp. In these situations, the range was several feet. The way 
it works is that the S4282 drives an external LED at some particular frequency 
and looks for some signal. If there is a strong enough the signal, the S4282 
acknowledges that the light is being reflected back. The best part about it is 
that the chip gives a binary output (no weird analog signals to worry about). 
You could feed the signal straight into a digital input port.
     Hamamatsu also sells a number of really cool photo sensors like color 
sensors, position sensitive detectors, pyroelectric sensors, and, of course the
IR triangulation rangefinder that I posted an article on a week or so back. 
I've found the company to be very helpful and supportive and quite familiar 
with their products.

     - Prabal

pkdutta@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu

P.S. I have no affiliation at all whatsoever with this company. :)
