Hi,
I want to define the position of an object in space using the triangulation method.
From wiki:“Triangulation is the process of determining the location of a point by measuring angles to it from known points at either end of a fixed baseline”.
I’ve been told that I could use a source of light on my object and 2 sensors that would detect it. Or if my robot has a RF receiver on it, I could also use 2 RF transmitters.
If I choose the RF frequency option, what do I need exactly?
I also want the receive feedback of the objects position on my computer. I imagine I would have to connect the transmitters to the computer. Can this be done easily?
Thank you.
Hi Casmat,
Thanks for the info.
I have another question.
Would light or IR sensors be a simpler solution? I figure I would install a light source on the robot and detect it using 2 distance sensors. I know precision will be hindered with only 2 distance sensors but I can afford the errors at the moment.
I am fairly new at this and would appreciate if you could direct me to any useful source of information.
Cheers.
Also, what type of distance sensors would be appropriate for a small rc plane that would travel inside a gym? Half the dimensions of a basketball court(or if better full size bball court).
Hello FlavoFraz,
Triangulating simply means taking two (or more) different readings from the same source and determining the position of the source form the reading difference.
This is easily done in space with distance sensors, simply take two measurements and by knowing the measuring sensor(s) position, and teh distance that is read, you can infer (using trigonometry) the actual position of the object being measured. The precision of your final reading will depend on the precision of the sensor and their separation.
With RF , it is a bit more complicated. You could emit an RF signal from a source and receive it at two different locations. Given that you will be receiving the signal with different strength/phase delay/etc. NEvertheless, the differences of the signal are not only affected by distance so in order to get positioning, you need various readings and ideally several transmitters and receivers. This type of positionning is usually used with readily available RF networks such as cell phone networks, TV signals, WiFi, etc.
You can easily get serial transmitter and receivers that connect to the computer, such as XBee or general purpose RF modules, but achieving positioning with these modules will be a daunting task.
