New Title: Arduino Wireless detector
With the revised plan for my Arduino Project, I will be adding the wireless functionality for my two Arduinos through the addition of wireless SD shield and Xbee module. When the project is completed, the sensor will be able to detect any objects by the doorway of my house, once it detects anything movement, it will send the messages through the wireless shield and Xbee to the another arduino which is connected to my PC. once the receiver arduino receives the message from the sender arduino, it will show that message on Serial Window of my computer to inform me. The message will include the distance of the objects to the door and I can even program the receiver arduino to play a music tone each time it receives a message. with the wireless capabilities, I can not only use the arduino as a security system but also do things such to detects package's delivery, guest's arrival and so much more. also, with the wireless function, I no longer needs to hear the loud alarm noise every time someone comes by.
Current Stage (January) -- finished with a working sensor system
I have finished all the steps for my original project proposal, and currently working on establishing wireless communication between the two arduinos that are outlined in my new proposal.
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This Video shows how my ultrasonic sensor works |
When the object is farther than 35 cm away from the sensor, no lights will lit and the serial window will print "no objects detected" - picture 1
When the object is between 35 and 20 cm away from the sensor, a green light will lit -- picture 2
When the object is between 20 and 5 cm away from the sensor, the yellow light and green light will light --picture 3
When the object is between 35 and 20 cm away from the sensor, a green light will lit -- picture 2
When the object is between 20 and 5 cm away from the sensor, the yellow light and green light will light --picture 3
when the object is closer than 5 cm away from the sensor, all the lights (green, yellow and green) will lit, the buzzer will sound as well -- picture 4
Also when the object is less than 3 cm away from the sensor, the buzzer will make a higher-pitched alarm noise --video
Also when the object is less than 3 cm away from the sensor, the buzzer will make a higher-pitched alarm noise --video
Next Steps
- Right now I have completed all the processes for my original proposal which is sound the alarm when the sensor detects an object and use LEDs to show how far the object is away.
- I will set up the Xbee to make the two arduinos communicate as well as write a new code for the sender based on the information provided by my teacher.
- I am planing to make the sender arduino able to detect object and send messages by next week and code the receiver arduino to make it able to interpret the message by the beginning of February.
Overall Progress (1st update)--1/15/18
I am very successful in my process to set up the ultrasonic sensor as well as coding it. I have not encountered any major failures so far but I am sure more challenges are coming on the way in my process of setting up wireless communication (bottom right). I am in the process of learning the feature and steps of using Wireless SD shield and Xbee. Once i am done with learning, I should soon be able to finish coding the two x bee provided by my teacher which will be next week in my timeline. My ultimate goal is to integrate the ultrasonic system i already created and the xbee & SD shield communication system which i am learning.
"Let our advance worrying become advance thinking and planning." ~ Winston Churchill
Update #2-- 1/16/2018 to 2/25/2018
Status: on track
Progress: 65 %
Current Stage--
Have successfully utilized Arduino Wireless SD shield and Xbee module, I completed the most important stage--setting up the wireless communication part of this Arduino Wireless Detector project. The two Xbee modules are actively communicating with each other when the arduino is connected to power. The sender arduino has the ultrasonic sensor that detects if there's object within range as well as the distance of that object from the sensor, then the wireless Xbee is being used to send that info utilizing the "Serial.print" and "Serial.read" functions to the receiver arduino which can be far apart from the sender arduino. The 3 LED Lights on receiver arduino will lit up according to the distance away of the object, plus a LCD display will be used to show in words whether there's a object in front of the sensor. the LCD display is what I am currently working on, and after it's done, it can display all kind of the things such as the distance or show various fun messages that I can program with the code; most important of all, the LCD can do exactly the same as the serial window on a computer, thus provide great convenience of the users.
Picture shows the sender arduino (top) can detect objects as well as their distance and send that to the receiver (bottom).
The LED lights are currently used in the receiver to show whether there's a object in range and their distance.
The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), is attached on receiver but not yet functioning :( It Will replace the LED lights in future for convenience and better appearance.
The LED lights are currently used in the receiver to show whether there's a object in range and their distance.
The LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), is attached on receiver but not yet functioning :( It Will replace the LED lights in future for convenience and better appearance.
The Ultrasonic Sensor on the sender detects objects. The number of LED that lights up on receiver displays that info. The info is transferred from the sender to receiver through the Xbee attached on top of the Wireless shield for both arduinos.
The LED are arranged in a similar manner as before. The closer the object is, more lights will lit. Except this time, they are communicating wirelessly. |
Shows how my two arduinos are working so far.
Demonstrates how effective Xbees can be used in communication between arduinos |
Accomplishment Summary
I encountered little to no trouble in setting up the wireless communication and using Serial.read function for two arduinos thanks to the help from Mr. Schmidt.
The experience of using the Arduino Wireless shield and Xbee went pretty smooth and everything worked as expected. I got the chance to explore different uses for the wireless Xbee module and more fun ways to utilize the Xbee to its full capacity. Xbee is a powerful little device, it can practically transfer any small amounts of data using the serial window almost instantly and over a decent range. The Video on the right will showed how my the arduinos Wireless Communicate with each other after detecting the object, in this case my hand. |
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Stuggles-- need assists
Although I had no trouble setting up the Xbees, the addition of the LCD display to my receiver arduino didn't go so easy.
I wanted to add the LCD because it can show the message sent by the sender arduino easily and cleanly. It's convenient for the users to tell the status of the sensor which can be far apart from the receiver and will look professional. I Followed the instructions on the arduino website to setup each pin of the LCD and code the LCD accordingly. However it still doesn't display anything at all after being plugged into a power-source and made sure that each pins are attached correctly. |
The LCD on the above picture is attached slightly different from the tutorial due to the Wireless shield and space taken by the lights. Therefore, I decided to wire the LCD on a separate arduino with no irrelevant components attached and do the exactly the same wiring as the tutorial, shown on the left. The similar results return as the display shows nohting that I put in the codes. Nonetheless, the potentiometer that's used in control contrast of the display worked perfectly fine. (The contrast of display is turned all the way up in the picture)
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Future Plans
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