Experiment 06 Lab Manual

American International University- Bangladesh

Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
EEE 4103: Microprocessor and Embedded Systems Laboratory

Title: Building an Obstacle Detection System.

Introduction:

Choosing a microcontroller is how easy it is to develop products around it. Key considerations
include the availability of an assembler, a debugger, a code-efficient C language compiler, an
emulator, technical support, and both in-house and outside expertise. We have chosen Arduino
series because a lot of community support is available online. Many free and efficient code
samples from different projects are present for Arduino.

Objectives: In this lab, we will learn –

(i) How to code a simple Obstacle Detection System in Arduino IDE.

(ii) Implement a simple Obstacle Detection System in Hardware.
(iii) How to simulate the code in Proteus/Tinkercad and observe the results.

Theory and Methodology:

Arduino is an open-source platform used for creating interactive electronics projects. Arduino
consists of both a programmable microcontroller and a piece of software, or IDE (Integrated
Development Environment) that runs on your computer, used to write and upload computer
code to the microcontroller board. Arduino Uno also doesn’t need a hardware circuit
(programmer/ burner) to load a new code into the board. We can easily load a code into the
board just using a USB cable and the Arduino IDE (that uses an easier version of C++ to write
a code).

Apparatus:

1) Arduino IDE (any version) Software

2) Arduino Uno (R3) board

3) Sonar Sensor (HCSR04)

4) LED

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual
Overview of the Board (Arduino UNO R3):

Overview of Sonar Sensor:

Arduino UNO

Setting up the Arduino IDE:

At first go to the following official Arduino IDE download page to download the latest version
of Aduino IDE (before start downloading Aduino IDE, always keep in mind which operating
system you are using in your PC).

Link: https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software

Experimental Procedure:

Setting up the Circuit

The main task of our lab is to use a sonar sensor to detect the distance of an obstacle.
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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual

How It Works:

Here we are using a sonar sensor (HCS04) to detect the distance of an obstacle and will also
glow an LED as soon as it detects the obstacle. HCSR04 is an Ultrasonic ranging module which
consists of a transmitter, receiver and control circuit. It has four pins for VCC, GND, Trigger
and Echo. You can easily interface it with Arduino boards. Using IO trigger for at least 10us
high level signal, the Module automatically sends eight 40 kHz and detect whether there is a
pulse signal back. The Trigger pin of the sensor is connected to digital pin 3 and the Echo pin
at digital pin 2 of the Arduino Uno R3 board with connecting wire. And LED is connected to
pin 13 to show that an obstacle is detected. Here pin 3 and 13 will act as output pins because
trigger will be generated from Arduino and LED state (HIGH/LOW) will also be changed by
the Arduino board. As the ping generated from the Arduino board travels out from the trigger
and comes back to the echo, so to find the distance of the object we take half of the distance
travelled. As we all know, the speed of sound is 340 m/s or 29 microseconds per centimeter or
74 microseconds per inch. So, the distance covered in centimeter by the trigger will be
calculated by the following equation: -

distance_cm=microseconds / 29/ 2;
distance_in=microseconds / 74 /2;

Simulating Ultrasonic Sensor with Arduino in Proteus:

Measuring distance using Ultrasonic Sensor Library with Arduino Library in Proteus.

STEP 1: Connect all components as shown in simulation figure.

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual

STEP 2: design a flowchart for your system as follows:

Simulating the Code in Tinkercad:

Autodesk's Tinkercad is one of the most popular classroom tools for creating simple designs
from scratch, quickly modifying existing designs. It’s a free online 3D design program that you
can use in your web browser without downloading any software. Tinkercad is extremely
intuitive and easy to use and has built-in Lessons to help you learn the ropes, making it perfect
for beginners both young and old.

Go to tinkercad.com and set up a free account. At the top of your front page you can click
Learn to follow walk-through Lessons that will teach you basic navigation and modeling
techniques. From the Gallery you can browse models that you can Copy and Tinker to remix
and modify, or just use the Search field to find models to explore. To begin creating your own
3D model, click Create New Design and start looking around; many of Tinkercad’s tools and
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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual
features are easy to figure out by experimenting. To learn more and level up your Tinkercad
design skills, follow the reference links.

You can follow along virtually using Tinkercad Circuits. You can even view this lesson from
within Tinkercad (free login required)! Explore the sample circuit and build your own right
next to it. Tinkercad Circuits is a free browser-based program that lets you build and simulate
circuits. It's perfect for learning, teaching, and prototyping.

Ultrasonic Distance Sensor in Arduino With Tinkercad:

Let's measure distances with an ultrasonic rangefinder (distance sensor) and Arduino's digital
input. We'll connect up a circuit using a breadboard and use some simple Arduino code to
control a single LED.

Ultrasonic rangefinders use sound waves to bounce off objects in front of them, much like bats
using echolocation to sense their environment. The proximity sensor sends out a signal and
measures how long it takes to return. The Arduino program receives this information and
calculates the distance between the sensor and object.

Step 1: Build the LED Circuit

Start by wiring up your Arduino and breadboard with power and ground next to the example
circuit, then add the three red LEDs to the breadboard, as shown. These will be the "bar graph"
lights for visually indicating the sensor's distance measurement.

Drag an Arduino Uno and breadboard from the components panel to the workplane, next to the
existing circuit.

Connect the 5 volt and ground pins on the Arduino to the power (+) and ground (-) rails on the
breadboard with wires. You can change the wire colors if you want to! Either use the inspector
dropdown or the number keys on your keyboard.

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual
Drag three LEDs on the breadboard in row E, spaced 2 breadboard sockets apart. You can
change the LED color using the inspector that pops up when you click on each one.

Use a 220 Ohm resistor to connect each LED's cathode (left leg) to the ground rail (black) of
the breadboard. You can change a resistor's value by highlighting it and using the dropdown
menu.

Connect the LED anodes (right legs) to digital pins 4, 3, and 2 on the Arduino. The LED anode
(+) is the terminal that current flows into. This will connect to the digital output pins on the
Arduino. The cathode (-) is the terminal that current flows from. This will connect to the ground
rail.

Step 2: Add Proximity Sensor

Proximity sensors come in multiple flavors. Here in Tinkercad Circuits, you can choose
between a three-pin sensor or a four-pin sensor. In general, ultrasonic rangefinders have one
pin that connects to ground, another that connects to 5 volts, a third for sending a signal, and a
fourth for receiving a signal. The 'send' and 'receive' pins are combined into one pin on the
three-pin flavor.

In the circuits editor, find the ultrasonic rangefinder in the components drawer. To find the
four-pin sensor, view "All" in the components panel (using the dropdown menu).

Place the sensor on the breadboard to the left of the LEDs in row E, as shown in the figure.

Wire up the sensor so the 5V pin connects to the 5V voltage rail, the GND pin connects to the
ground rail, the SIG or TRIG pin to Arduino pin 7, and, if using the four-pin flavor, the ECHO
pin connects to Arduino pin 6.

Step 3: Ultrasonic Rangefinder Arduino Code Explained

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual

When the code editor is open, you can click the dropdown menu on the left and select "Blocks
+ Text" to reveal the Arduino code generated by the code blocks. Follow along as we explore
the code in more detail.

int distanceThreshold = 0;
int cm = 0;
int inches = 0;

Before the setup(), we create variables to store the target distance threshold, as well as the
sensor value in centimeters (cm) and inches. They're called int because they are integers, or
any whole number.

long readUltrasonicDistance(int triggerPin, int echoPin)

{
pinMode(triggerPin, OUTPUT); // Clear the trigger
digitalWrite(triggerPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
// Sets the trigger pin to HIGH state for 10 microseconds
digitalWrite(triggerPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(triggerPin, LOW);
pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
// Reads the echo pin, and returns the sound wave travel time in microseconds
return pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
}

The next section is a special bit of code for reading the ultrasonic distance sensor. It's called a
function. So far you are familiar with setup() and loop(), but in this sketch, the function read
UltrasonicDistance() is used to describe the sensor code and keep it separate from the main
body of the program. The function definition starts with what type of data the function will
return or send back to the main program. In this case the function returns a long, which is a
decimal point number with many digits. Next is the name of the function, which is up to you.
Then in parentheses are the arguments the function takes. int triggerPin, int echoPin are the
variable declarations for your sensor's connection pins. The pin numbers will be specified when
you call the function in the main program loop(). Inside the function, these local variables are
used to reference the information you passed to it from the main loop (or from another
function). The function itself sends a signal through the triggerPin and reports back the time it
takes to get the signal back over echoPin.

void setup()
{
Serial.begin(9600);
pinMode(2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(4, OUTPUT);
}

Inside the setup, pins are configured using the pinMode() function. The serial monitor
connection is established with Serial.begin. Pins 2, 3, and 4 are configured as outputs to control
the LEDs.

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual

void loop()
{
// set threshold distance to activate LEDs
distanceThreshold = 350;
// measure the ping time in cm
cm = 0.01723 * readUltrasonicDistance(7, 6);

In the main loop, distanceThreshold is set to its target 350cm.

// convert to inches by dividing by 2.54

inches = (cm / 2.54);
Serial.print(cm);
Serial.print("cm, ");
Serial.print(inches);
Serial.println("in");

To convert centimeters to inches, divide by 2.54. Printing to the serial monitor helps you
observe the distance change more granularly than the LED states show alone.

if (cm > distanceThreshold) {

digitalWrite(2, LOW);
digitalWrite(3, LOW);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
}
if (cm <= distanceThreshold && cm > distanceThreshold - 100) {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, LOW);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
}
if (cm <= distanceThreshold - 100 && cm > distanceThreshold - 250) {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(4, LOW);
}
if (cm <= distanceThreshold - 250 && cm > distanceThreshold - 350) {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
}
if (cm <= distanceThreshold - 350) {
digitalWrite(2, HIGH);
digitalWrite(3, HIGH);
digitalWrite(4, HIGH);
}
delay(100); // Wait for 100 millisecond(s)
}

The loop's six if statements evaluate for different ranges of distance between 0 and 350cm,
lighting up more LEDs the closer the object.

If you want to see a more obvious change in bar graph lights, you can change the
distanceThreshold variable and/or the range that you are looking at by changing the arguments
in the if() statements. This is called calibration.

Step-4: Run the Simulation

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 Experiment 06 Lab Manual

Run the simulation and click on the proximity sensor. This will activate a highlighted area in
front of the sensor with a circle "object" inside. You may need to resize the view if the circle
is off screen.

Click and drag the "object" circle closer and further away, noticing the changing distance
values on screen. More LEDs will light up the closer you get to the sensor.

Congratulations! You have learned to detect distance using an ultrasonic sensor. You also
learned about standalone functions in this lesson and used and the serial monitor to track
changes inside your Arduino. You could expand this project by making it a proximity alarm by
adding a piezo buzzer that turns on when all three LEDs are lit up (closest distance). Consider
swapping the distance sensor for a temperature sensor. Or add motors to create a robot with
obstacle detection!

Questions for Report Writing:

Include all codes with explanations into lab report by following the writing template mentioned
in appendix A of Laboratory Sheet Experiment 6.

Reference(s):

[1] Arduino IDE, https://www.arduino.cc/en/Main/Software accessed on May 3, 2019.

[2] Arduino and Proteus Library, https://etechnophiles.com/add-simulate-ultrasonic-sensor-
proteus-2018-edition/ accessed on May 3, 2019.
[3] Ultrasonic Distance Sensor in Arduino With Tinkercad
https://www.instructables.com/id/Ultrasonic-Distance-Sensor-Arduino-Tinkercad/ accessed
on May 3, 2019.

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