Hi all…<o:p></o:p> I’m new here so hello and be gentle! I am looking into developing a small bot that could follow me around at a set distance (approx 3m) behind me. Ideally I would like to find a cheap pair of radio emitters and receivers that I could use to measure distance (…

You might find it’s easier You might find it’s easier to just make one from some schematics on the net. They use them in ‘Amateur Radio Direction Finding’ events and for tracking tagged wildlife etc.

they also don’t seem to be they also don’t seem to be too costly http://www.rainbowkits.com/kits/sdf-1p.html The above one is quite big though, but you get the idea…

But maybe you could use a But maybe you could use a simpler solution : you carry several IR leds as a beacon and your bot has two IR receivers to seek it, and you use the ultrasonic rangefinder just to be sure your bot stay at a safe distance…

Thanks, but would that work Thanks, but would that work reliably in both light and dark conditions i.e. in sunlight ?

You’re right, i have to stop You’re right, i have to stop thinking only indoor… Maybe with a strong beacon? But i don’t think so… (jeez, i just keep being wrong on this thread!)

No thanks for your efforts ! No thanks for your efforts ! I can’t believe how quickly people have contributed and replied, I’ve got so much food for thought now. Much appreciated.

The project is an The project is an interesting one, it makes it easy to want to contribute =D BTW Totoro, I almost suggested using an IR beacon + a pair of receivers too. You could modulate the IR signal to provide good sunlight immunity, but the main problem I thought of (just…

I would think so, with a I would think so, with a pack of 5 ir emmiters I think it would be possible to get some good range. heck with a pack of 3 emmiters you should be able to get some decent range…even in sunlight.

As mentioned before, you As mentioned before, you could use a grouping of 5 with one central and the other surrounding emmiters flowering out. this would give a slightly wider coverage. Since the design is to follow you, I would imagine that one direction should be good, maybe …

If you plan on going this If you plan on going this way you could use LED strips, maybe tape them to a waist. If needed you could lens them to output a narrower beam. (i do that for my lasertag project so if you need help just ask)

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Radio emitter and receiver query

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lostmyed August 12, 2009, 2:25am 30

Nice bot and very nice page!

Nice bot and very nice page! Thanks for the info…

Got a feeling from your trials and tribulations that this is going to be a little more involved than i first thought - A challenge no less !