____ _ ____
| _ \ ___ | |__ ___/ ___| _ _ _ __ ___ ___
| |_) / _ \| '_ \ / _ \___ \| | | | '_ ` _ \ / _ \
| _ < (_) | |_) | (_) |__) | |_| | | | | | | (_) |
|_| \_\___/|_.__/ \___/____/ \__,_|_| |_| |_|\___/
____ _ _ _
/ ___|___ ___ | | _| |__ ___ ___ | | __
| | / _ \ / _ \| |/ / '_ \ / _ \ / _ \| |/ /
| |__| (_) | (_) | <| |_) | (_) | (_) | <
\____\___/ \___/|_|\_\_.__/ \___/ \___/|_|\_\
The TCRT5000 is an infrared reflective sensor. It can be used as a proximity sensor (detecting when an object is close), a crude colour sensor (detecting a difference between dark and light colours), or many other applications. In RoboSumo, the main use of this sensor is to detect the colour of the ground underneath a robot, or the edge of a surface the robot is driving on.
The TCRT5000 is a 4-pin device. To find out which pin is which, download the datasheet:
Instructions to build a convenient TCRT5000 sensor module either on terminal block or printed circuit board (PCB) are available here:
This is the TCRT5000 sensor:
This is a typical circuit for reading the output voltage of the TCRT5000 with an Arduino. Analog input pin A3 is used to measure the sensor voltage.
//
// TRCT5000 sensor example
// Written by Ted Burke - last updated 4 Oct 2023
//
void setup()
{
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
Serial.begin(9600); // open a serial link to PC at 9600 bits/s
}
void loop()
{
int sensorVoltage; // phototransistor voltage
sensorVoltage = analogRead(3); // read voltage from pin A3 as a number between 0 and 1023
Serial.println(sensorVoltage);
if (sensorVoltage > 512)
{
digitalWrite(4, HIGH); // LED on
}
else
{
digitalWrite(4, LOW); // LED off
}
}