Chapter 4

An Arduino Proximity Sensor

IN THIS CHAPTER

check Connecting an ultrasonic range finder to an Arduino

check Displaying information on an LCD device

check Using new Arduino commands to work with the range finder and LCD

check Building a simple proximity sensor

In this chapter, you learn how to work with two new devices that can be easily connected to an Arduino. The first is an ultrasonic range finder, which uses a short ultrasonic pulse to determine the distance to a nearby object. The second is a liquid crystal display (LCD) device that lets you display readable output from your Arduino.

Then you build a project that uses these two devices together to display the distance between the Arduino and a nearby object. Have fun!

Using an Ultrasonic Range Finder

An ultrasonic range finder is a device that determines the distance to a nearby object by bouncing ultrasonic sound waves off of the object. In short, the range finder emits a short burst of ultrasonic sound (that is, sound in a frequency range that cannot be heard by humans) and then listens for the sound reflected off the object. The amount ...

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