Arduino + Processing: Make a Radar Screen – Part 3: Visualising the Data from Sharp Infrared Range Finder

Arduino + Processing: Make a Radar Screen – Part 3: Visualising the Data from Sharp Infrared Range Finder

So I had some luck with getting the Sharp Infrared range finder working and I’ve now plugged this on to my servo rig to see if I get better results on my radar styled display.

Check out how to use the Sharp IR range finder here

Few things to bare in mind, whilst the code is pretty much the same there are a few subtle differences. Firstly for better readings the Arduino code has a longer delay – but since we’re not allowing for a sonar ping there’s not much noticeable difference.

Next we’re expecting integer values in the processing code so when sending values to over the serial port we cast them from float to integer.

Because the IR sensor has a different range I’ve altered the display to measure only up to 150cm. And becasue of this range limitation, if there is any value recorded outside of this range then we need to handle it to avoid seeing spikes and the same for any value under 20cm we need to also handle this.

To make the display more readable I keep the same size screen and area (radius of 300) and then multiply the sensor values by 2 to magnify them a bit more.

Other than it, it’s basically the same code as before and when we look at the image comparison now between what the sensor records and what is physically there we see a far better match, in some cases it’s a little to accurate.

Sharp-IR-radar

Arduino sketch

/*
luckylarry.co.uk
Radar Screen Visualisation for Sharp GP2Y0A02 IR range finder
Sends sensor readings for every degree moved by the servo
values sent to serial port to be picked up by Processing
*/
#include <Servo.h>            // include the standard servo library
Servo leftRightServo;         // set a variable to map the servo
int leftRightPos = 0;         // set a variable to store the servo position
const int numReadings = 10;   // set a variable for the number of readings to take
int index = 0;                // the index of the current reading
float total = 0;              // the total of all readings must be a float to allow totaling of float values
int average = 0;              // the average
int IRpin = 1;                // analog pin for reading the IR sensor
 
/* setup the pins, servo and serial port */
void setup() { 
  leftRightServo.attach(9);
  // initialize the serial port:
  Serial.begin(9600);
} 
 
/* begin rotating the servo and getting sensor values */
void loop() { 
  for(leftRightPos = 0; leftRightPos < 180; leftRightPos++) {  // going left to right.                                
    leftRightServo.write(leftRightPos);             
      for (index = 0; index<=numReadings;index++) {            // take x number of readings from the sensor and average them
        float volts = analogRead(IRpin)*0.0048828125;          // value from sensor * (5/1024) - if running 3.3.volts then change 5 to 3.3
        float distance = 65*pow(volts, -1.10);                 // worked out from graph 65 = theretical distance / (1/Volts)S - luckylarry.co.uk
        total = total + distance;                              // update total
        delay(20);
      }
    average = (int) total/numReadings;                         // create average reading CAST TO INT!! remove the decimal places
 
    if (index >= numReadings)  {                               // reset the counts when at the last item of the array    
      index = 0;           
      total = 0;     
    }
    Serial.print("X");                                         // print leading X to mark the following value as degrees
    Serial.print(leftRightPos);                                // current servo position
    Serial.print("V");                                         // preceeding character to separate values
    Serial.println(average);                                   // average of sensor readings
  }
  /* 
  start going right to left after we got to 180 degrees 
  same code as above
  */
  for(leftRightPos = 180; leftRightPos > 0; leftRightPos--) {  // going right to left                                
    leftRightServo.write(leftRightPos);             
    for (index = 0; index<=numReadings;index++) {
      float volts = analogRead(IRpin)*0.0048828125;            // value from sensor * (5/1024) - if running 3.3.volts then change 5 to 3.3
      float distance = 65*pow(volts, -1.10);                   // worked out from graph 65 = theretical distance / (1/Volts)S - luckylarry.co.uk
      total = total + distance;
      delay(20);
    }
    average = (int) total/numReadings;  
    if (index >= numReadings)  {           
      index = 0;           
      total = 0;     
    }
    Serial.print("X");
    Serial.print(leftRightPos);
    Serial.print("V");
    Serial.println(average);
   }  
}

Processing sketch

/*
luckylarry.co.uk
Radar Screen Visualisation for Sharp GP2Y0A02
Maps out an area of what the GP2Y0A02 sees from a top down view.
Takes and displays 2 readings, one left to right and one right to left.
Displays an average of the 2 readings
Displays motion alert if there is a large difference between the 2 values.
*/
import processing.serial.*;     // import serial library
Serial myPort;                  // declare a serial port
float x, y;                     // variable to store x and y co-ordinates for vertices   
int radius = 350;               // set the radius of objects
int w = 300;                    // set an arbitary width value
int degree = 0;                 // servo position in degrees
int value = 0;                  // value from sensor
int motion = 0;                 // value to store which way the servo is panning
int[] newValue = new int[181];  // create an array to store each new sensor value for each servo position
int[] oldValue = new int[181];  // create an array to store the previous values.
PFont myFont;                   // setup fonts in Processing
int radarDist = 0;              // set value to configure Radar distance labels
int firstRun = 0;               // value to ignore triggering motion on the first 2 servo sweeps
 
/* create background and serial buffer */
void setup(){
  // setup the background size, colour and font.
  size(750, 450);
  background (0); // 0 = black
  myFont = createFont("verdana", 12);
  textFont(myFont);
  // setup the serial port and buffer
  myPort = new Serial(this, Serial.list()[1], 9600);
  myPort.bufferUntil('\n');
}
 
/* draw the screen */
void draw(){
  fill(0);                              // set the following shapes to be black
  noStroke();                           // set the following shapes to have no outline
  ellipse(radius, radius, 750, 750);    // draw a circle with a width/ height = 750 with its center position (x and y) set by the radius
  rectMode(CENTER);                     // set the following rectangle to be drawn around its center
  rect(350,402,800,100);                // draw rectangle (x, y, width, height)
  if (degree >= 179) {                  // if at the far right then set motion = 1/ true we're about to go right to left
    motion = 1;                         // this changes the animation to run right to left
  }
  if (degree <= 1) {                    // if servo at 0 degrees then we're about to go left to right
    motion = 0;                         // this sets the animation to run left to right
  }
  /* setup the radar sweep */
  /* 
  We use trigonmetry to create points around a circle.
  So the radius plus the cosine of the servo position converted to radians
  Since radians 0 start at 90 degrees we add 180 to make it start from the left
  Adding +1 (i) each time through the loops to move 1 degree matching the one degree of servo movement
  cos is for the x left to right value and sin calculates the y value
  since its a circle we plot our lines and vertices around the start point for everything will always be the center.
  */
  strokeWeight(7);                      // set the thickness of the lines
  if (motion == 0) {                    // if going left to right
    for (int i = 0; i <= 20; i++) {     // draw 20 lines with fading colour each 1 degree further round than the last
      stroke(0, (10*i), 0);             // set the stroke colour (Red, Green, Blue) base it on the the value of i
      line(radius, radius, radius + cos(radians(degree+(180+i)))*w, radius + sin(radians(degree+(180+i)))*w); // line(start x, start y, end x, end y)
    }
  } else {                              // if going right to left
    for (int i = 20; i >= 0; i--) {     // draw 20 lines with fading colour
      stroke(0,200-(10*i), 0);          // using standard RGB values, each between 0 and 255
      line(radius, radius, radius + cos(radians(degree+(180+i)))*w, radius + sin(radians(degree+(180+i)))*w);
    }
  }
  /* Setup the shapes made from the sensor values */
  noStroke();                           // no outline
  /* first sweep */
  fill(0,50,0);                         // set the fill colour of the shape (Red, Green, Blue)
  beginShape();                         // start drawing shape
    for (int i = 0; i < 180; i++) {     // for each degree in the array
      x = radius + cos(radians((180+i)))*((oldValue[i]*2)); // create x coordinate
      y = radius + sin(radians((180+i)))*((oldValue[i]*2)); // create y coordinate
      vertex(x, y);                     // plot vertices
    }
  endShape();                           // end shape
  /* second sweep */
  fill(0,110,0);
  beginShape();
    for (int i = 0; i < 180; i++) {
      x = radius + cos(radians((180+i)))*(newValue[i]*2);
      y = radius + sin(radians((180+i)))*(newValue[i]*2);
      vertex(x, y);
    }
  endShape();
  /* average */
  fill(0,170,0);
  beginShape();
    for (int i = 0; i < 180; i++) {
      x = radius + cos(radians((180+i)))*(((newValue[i]+oldValue[i])/2)*2); // create average
      y = radius + sin(radians((180+i)))*(((newValue[i]+oldValue[i])/2)*2);
      vertex(x, y);
    }
  endShape();
  /* if after first 2 sweeps, highlight motion with red circle*/
  if (firstRun >= 360) {
    stroke(150,0,0);
    strokeWeight(1);
    noFill();
      for (int i = 0; i < 180; i++) {
        if (oldValue[i] - newValue[i] > 35 || newValue[i] - oldValue[i] > 35) {
          x = radius + cos(radians((180+i)))*(newValue[i]*2);
          y = radius + sin(radians((180+i)))*(newValue[i]*2);
          ellipse(x, y, 10, 10); 
        }
      }
  }
  /* set the radar distance rings and out put their values, 50, 100, 150 etc.. */
  for (int i = 0; i <=6; i++){
    noFill();
    strokeWeight(1);
    stroke(0, 255-(30*i), 0);
    ellipse(radius, radius, (100*i), (100*i)); 
    fill(0, 100, 0);
    noStroke();
    text(Integer.toString(radarDist+25), 380, (305-(radarDist*2)), 50, 50); // change this to measure up to 150cm
    radarDist+=25;
  }
  radarDist = 0;
  /* draw the grid lines on the radar every 30 degrees and write their values 180, 210, 240 etc.. */
  for (int i = 0; i <= 6; i++) {
    strokeWeight(1);
    stroke(0, 55, 0);
    line(radius, radius, radius + cos(radians(180+(30*i)))*w, radius + sin(radians(180+(30*i)))*w);
    fill(0, 55, 0);
    noStroke();
    if (180+(30*i) >= 300) {
      text(Integer.toString(180+(30*i)), (radius+10) + cos(radians(180+(30*i)))*(w+10), (radius+10) + sin(radians(180+(30*i)))*(w+10), 25,50);
    } else {
      text(Integer.toString(180+(30*i)), radius + cos(radians(180+(30*i)))*w, radius + sin(radians(180+(30*i)))*w, 60,40);
    }
  }
  /* Write information text and values. */
  noStroke();
  fill(0);
  rect(350,402,800,100);
  fill(0, 100, 0);
  text("Degrees: "+Integer.toString(degree), 100, 380, 100, 50);         // use Integet.toString to convert numeric to string as text() only outputs strings
  text("Distance: "+Integer.toString(value), 100, 400, 100, 50);         // text(string, x, y, width, height)
  text("Radar screen code at luckylarry.co.uk", 540, 380, 250, 50);
  fill(0);
  rect(70,60,150,100);
  fill(0, 100, 0); 
  text("Screen Key:", 100, 50, 150, 50);
  fill(0,50,0);
  rect(30,53,10,10);
  text("First sweep", 115, 70, 150, 50);
  fill(0,110,0);
  rect(30,73,10,10);
  text("Second sweep", 115, 90, 150, 50);
  fill(0,170,0);
  rect(30,93,10,10);
  text("Average", 115, 110, 150, 50);
  noFill();
  stroke(150,0,0);
  strokeWeight(1);
  ellipse(29, 113, 10, 10); 
  fill(150,0,0);
  text("Motion", 115, 130, 150, 50);
}
 
/* get values from serial port */
void serialEvent (Serial myPort) {
  String xString = myPort.readStringUntil('\n');  // read the serial port until a new line
    if (xString != null) {  // if theres data in between the new lines
    	xString = trim(xString); // get rid of any whitespace just in case
    	String getX = xString.substring(1, xString.indexOf("V")); // get the value of the servo position
    	String getV = xString.substring(xString.indexOf("V")+1, xString.length()); // get the value of the sensor reading
    	degree = Integer.parseInt(getX); // set the values to variables
    	value = Integer.parseInt(getV);
        /*
        If our values are outside either end of the sensors range then convert them to the max/min for a better display without the spikes
        */
        if (value > 150) {
          value = 150; 
        }
        if (value < 20) {
          value = 20;
        }
    	oldValue[degree] = newValue[degree]; // store the values in the arrays.
    	newValue[degree] = value;  
        /* sets a counter to allow for the first 2 sweeps of the servo */
    	firstRun++;
    	if (firstRun > 360) {
    	  firstRun = 360; // keep the value at 360 
    	}
  }
}

Part 1: Setting up the Circuit and Outputting Values
Part 2: Visualising the Data

This content is published under the Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.

Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • StumbleUpon
  • Reddit
  • TwitThis
  • Facebook
  • Google Bookmarks
  • MySpace
  • Technorati
  1. Arduino + Processing: Make a Radar Screen to Visualise Sensor Data from SRF-05 – Part 2: Visualising the Data
  2. Arduino + Processing: 3D Sensor Data Visualisation
  3. Arduino + Processing: Make a Radar Screen to Visualise Sensor Data from SRF-05 – Part 1: Setting up the Circuit and Outputting Values
  4. Arduino: Using a Sharp IR Sensor for Distance Calculation
  5. Arduino: Controlling the Robot Arm
  6. Arduino: Basic Theremin meets Processing!
  7. Arduino + Processing: Getting values from SRF05 ultrasound sensor & serial port
  8. Arduino: (Very) Basic motion tracking with 2 PIR sensors
  9. Using Processing to Send Values to Arduino
  10. Controlling a Servo with Arduino