A Minimal Infrared Obstacle Detection Scheme

this article we'll look at two such devices, the Siemens SFH484 infrared emitter and its matching detector, the BP103B infrared phototransistor. To demonstrate its use, we'll build a simple minimal obstacle detection system using just two sensors and show how to gather and plot data from them. Then we'll configure the two sensors for a simple obstacle avoidance system and implement it on a reactive robot, reminiscent of Braitenberg's Vehicles [1], by connecting the sensor's output to a 68HC11. Finally, we'll show how this simple strategy has been used to create obstacle avoidance behaviors in our system of 10 mobile robots, and we'll discuss some possible enhancements and alternate uses for the sensors