Skip to main content

More details on HiTechnic Color Sensor

By
Some questions about the differences between the LEGO NXT light sensor and the HiTechnic color sensor have popped up... below is a response from HiTechnic:

"The LEGO NXT light sensor measures the amount of light entering the sensor. This light is the combination of ambient light and the amount of light from its own internal illuminator, a red LED. The LEGO NXT light sensor LED can be switched on and off under software control, so in principal, it should be possible to determine the difference between ambient light and LED light being returned by a target surface.

The HiTechnic color sensor operates like the RCX compatible HiTechnic EOPD by pulsing the LEDs on for a very short period of time at a higher brightness level. It measures the ambient level and the reflected level during this pulse to determine the amount of light being returned from the target surface. This results in higher levels of resolution at higher measurement rates.

The HiTechnic sensor can thus be used for tasks like accurate color recognition and object detection broadly independent of ambient illumination. It is not necessary to "recalibrate" the NXT program each time it is run due to varying light levels at different locations."

-----

Thanks to the guys at HiTechnic for the additional information...

Jim

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 3

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these Fall and Winter remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Braill3 by Jerry Nicholls Braill3 is an EV3-based LEGO Braille bricks reader. This robot uses its fingertip, made from three touch switches, to read messages written using the LEGO Braille bricks and will speak out what it detected. If it sees a simple maths problem it will attempt to solve it and give the answer as well. To learn more about the process of creating this machine, read Jerry's blog . Braill3 can be viewed here . Set Review: The Braille Bricks set is well thought out. The ratios of the letters is suitable for general use and the addition of some punctuation and arithmetic operators is excellent. There is a card showing what bricks there are and their quantities, but no form of sort
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

Celebrating MINDSTORMS with a Remix - Part 2

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
The ROBOTMAK3RS continued their celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS through these summer and fall remix projects. Each ROBOTMAK3R was tasked with selecting one LEGO set of their choice and combining it with a MINDSTORMS set. Below are the five amazing models they came up with. Remote controlled material handle r by Jozua van Ravenhorst (aka Mr Jo) This remix combines the LEGO Technic Material Handler (42144) with MINDSTORMS EV3 (31313) It uses the power of pneumatic cylinders to move objects around. By using a bluetooth remote control, very precise movements can be made with this model. Touch sensors in the base chassis prevent the turret twisting the cables that go through the turntable to much. The program has several protections to prevent over pressurizing the system for each of the 3 individual pumps and valves that control the 2 booms and claws. The real version of this machine is mostly used in waste material sites to bring the material to machines that sort and
Read more