Hey folks! For context, I'm a student a part of an engineering program at school and we're tasked with creating what's basically a product. I've decided to essentially make 2 projects, a flashlight where you can control the lumens with a potentiometer and a tracking stand to go along with that flashlight.
I'm here today to just ask about project feasibility and how to start. I was greatly inspired by infrared guided systems, camera gimbals and tracking toys like those Air Hogs laser guided RC toys but I don't necessarily know how to translate that technology into an Arduino program. How I might be able to replicate beam tracking is my biggest concern so, how do I start? Is this even possible at all?
Good start. You need to put together a document of exactly what each project does and which components you will use. Do a preliminary Annotated schematic of each and start your basic code. APost that here and we will gladly help you.
Hey ya'll. So I know there are beam break and receiving lasers but are there an sensors needed to create a tracking or guidance system. Say you had a sensor(s) for triangulation, what would be used to achieve that? Does that kind of technology exist for Arduino or would I end up using something else entirely? Not necessarily a different platform but like another module I'm over looking.
This is more of a question so I might be in the wrong place but any help would be greatly appreciated!
You're not, but you already have a thread open in Project Guidance on this same topic. You should stick to one thread. Cross posting the same thing in multiple places is against the forum policy. Someone will likely come along and combine the two.
I have merged your topics due to them having too much overlap on the same subject matter @snoracle.
In the future, please only create one topic for each distinct subject matter and be careful not to cause them to converge into parallel discussions.
The reason is that generating multiple threads on the same subject matter can waste the time of the people trying to help. Someone might spend a lot of time investigating and writing a detailed answer on one topic, without knowing that someone else already did the same in the other topic.
Start by being able to encode your beam with a code that the beam follower can only know and so it can follow only the beam you desire. You only want to be following the beam reflected from the target.
In essence, this tracking stand basically creates a pseudo lamp when paired with the flashlight (physically). I want it so that when I point an IR beam, the stand directs itself to that identified location but I don't necessarily know how that works. I know infrared and optical tracking certainly exists through programs such as OpenCV but I've yet to investigate enough to find a single package that can detect, track on to a beam, and then hold it's position.
That's the plan. I just gotta figure out what kind of hardware I need to be using which is why I'm here now .
So, the beam has a certain reading or value when read correct? That way only one beam is identified. That's a fair point, but how might the beam be read. I can't just place an infrared detector where I want the stand to track to and have it triangulate over. Might there be a special sensor I can use or is there actually an alternative. Cameras perhaps?
How do you think IR remote controls work? Your guidance system will be identical with a specifically coded beam for each sensor. Study how IR remote controls work.
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