Skip to main content

HiTechnic announcement

By
Some great news from HiTechnic.

They've got a color sensor in the works - I've edited the description just a bit, but here's all the details:

The HiTechnic NXT Compatible Color Sensor works by illuminating the target surface with three colored light sources (Light Emitting Diodes or LEDs), one red, one green and one blue. The difference between ambient illumination and the increase due to each light source output is used to measure the target surface’s adsorption for each color. The three color values are further processed to correct for the spread of each LED’s spectral output.

Three values are returned to the NXT: RED level, GREEN level, and BLUE level. Each color level is returned as a value between 0 – 255. For example, if values returned were Red = 255, Green = 255, Blue = 0, the target color is Yellow.

The sensor updates the color data at a rate of 100 samples per second.

The HiTechnic Color Sensor has a mode control feature permitting two types of calibration function to be performed by the NXT program.

Black level calibration may be used to null unwanted reflected light from the structure in which the sensor has been placed.

White balance calibration may be used to balance the sensitivity of the sensor for each of the three LED outputs when illuminating a white target at a specified distance.

The mode control defaults to 0, normal measurement mode.

If mode control is set to 1, the sensor will operate in white balance cal. mode and will expect to be pointed at a diffuse white surface at a distance of ~15mm. When the cal. function has finished, the LEDs will blink and the mode will automatically reset to 0, normal measurement mode. The cal. process takes about ¼ second. Calibration data is stored in non-volatile memory and will be retrieved each time power is applied to the sensor.

If mode control is set to 2, the sensor will operate in black level cal. mode and will expect to be pointed into empty space with no objects within a 90ยบ cone for a distance of at least 0.5m. Black level cal. measures the signal for each color and creates an offset to null the ambient level for all future measurements. When the cal. function has finished, the LEDs will blink and the mode will automatically reset to 0, normal measurement mode. The cal. process takes about 1 second. Black level cal. may be used to offset signals being returned from parts of the surrounding structure. Calibration data is stored in non-volatile memory and will be retrieved each time power is applied to the sensor.

--------
According to HiTechnic, they are VERY BUSY and have a LOT of things planned for us... please be sure to visit their site over the next few days when they make some official announcements.

Popular posts from this blog

ROBOTMAK3RS Review: LEGO River Steamboat

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
I thought the LEGO River Steamboat would be an interesting set for a ROBOTMAK3R review for a few reasons. First, the LEGO designer of the model is Marina Stampoli, a long-time collaborator of the late ROBOTMAK3R Vassilis Chryssanthakopoulo s. From earlier collaborations with Vassilis, I  knew Marina was incredibly talented, with an eye for aesthetics and functionality. Her background in architecture is particularly useful for her relatively new position at LEGO. Her other sets include the Magic of Disney (21352), Message Board (41839), and Red London Telephone Box (21347). Second, watching Marina's reveal video  and reading her designer interview made this set even more tempting to build. The gearing mechanisms running through the model gave way to many opportunities for automation using LEGO robotics elements. Since ROBOTMAK3RS is all about adding interactivity and automation to LEGO brick, I thought it would be fun to see where and how LEGO robotics could be added to this s...
Read more

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by  Coder Shah  in our  MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity.  1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...
Read more

Ghostbusters R.T.V Remix

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
Nino Guba is from Torrance, California, USA. He played with LEGO as a kid, but growing up in the Philippines, it wasn’t something he had easy access to. He only got reintroduced to LEGO when he moved to the US and had kids of his own. When his sons were younger, they received LEGO sets as gifts, but as they grew older, the sets got put into storage as their interest faded. Fast forward a few years, he started coming up with his own product ideas and thought about how he could quickly prototype them. That’s when he discovered LEGO MINDSTORMS—and was hooked! He raided his kids’ old collection, got everything organized, and now he's designing and building his own creations, blending his coding skills with LEGO robotics to bring ideas to life. Tell us about your Ghostbusters Remote Trap Vehicle (R.T.V) project. This project is a LEGO Technic adaptation of the Ghostbusters R.T.V.—a ghost trap converted into a remote-controlled vehicle. Its companion build is a prop replica of the Futaba...
Read more