I have ordered the components for my robot but I am still wondering about the shape of a line following sensor. I have 5-6 sensors and I could simply place them in a straight line, but wouldn't it be better to place them in a V or curve shape in order to detect very sharp corners?
In my opinion, it shouldn’t
In my opinion, it shouldn’t really matter,
Yes, more sensors means more inputs, definitely i would go with 5-6 sensors if you’re going for a speed demon. Arrangment wise, you could try placing your sensors horizintally as front as possible as in this video :
Or, as you have mentioned, placing sensors in a curve could also be a good idea as used in the 3pi robot. It uses three sensors at the front and one on each side to form a curve like arrangement at the front as shown in this video
At the end, it all comes down to your code, and the technique you have used like PID. Do you have individual sensor modules or is it an array sensor i.e. all mixed into one whole? I suggest an array sensor, you could try the pololu qtr array sensors, which you can see in the above videos.
Good luck with the code!
http://www.taydaelectronics.com/sensors-transducer/optical-sensor/reflective-optical-sensor-950nm-tcrt5000l.html if I remember correctly I ordered six of these. So I use them seperatly or in an array. But I will see what I can do dimension wise when I have all the parts in. Thank you for the reply.
Oh it wont be a speed demon; I ordered theseh ttp://i00.i.aliimg.com/wsphoto/v0/852841798/N20-gear-motor-robot-smart-car-motor-micro-motor-small-gear-motor-wheel-set.jpg
Sorry for formatting, I’m on my phone at the moment.
My concern is the TCRT5000 sensors
are digital rather than analog. Meaning they only respond with a ‘1’ or a ‘0’. If you get into a noisy environment, you won’t be able to compensate for light levels. I would suggest you shield the sensors as best you can.
As far as I know those
As far as I know those sensors are just an IR led and phototransistor in a plastic enclosure. But if it is not; I do have five IR led + five phototransistors laying around somewhere which I was planning to use as encoders for the wheels (to count those white studs on the tires that came with those motors). But I can swap them 
no problem
I have received all my parts and was experimenting with them. The sensors behave very nice and black vs white gives a great difference in the measured value.