Hi everybody! I have a project on my mind but, right now, I'm not able to create it. I'm building a car but I want it to move itself a certain distance...For example 5 meter. How could I measure the distance? I know that exists a kind of meter with a wheel... how does it work? Could you help me? sorry for my english I'm italian.
thanks! ;D
What you are referring to is called a wheel encoder. They are usually a slotted disk with a light source (LED) on one side and a phototransistor on the other side. As the wheel turns the light shines through the slots or is blocked and the phototransistor turns on and off outputing pulses. Since you know the number of slots and the wheel circumference you can calculate the distance traveled by counting the pulses. The greater the number of slots the greater the number of pulses per revolution and therefore the greater the resolution.
