Optical sensors for navigation

Computing

Introduction to physical computing

Working with motors

Chassis design and build

Ultrasonic sensors to measure distance

Creating an autonomous vehicle

Adding additional features to your buggy

Presenting a physical computing project

This unit introduces pupils to physical computing by building a robotic buggy. They will use a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller to explore inputs and outputs, and utilise a range of hardware components, including motors, reflective optical sensors, LEDs, and an ultrasonic sensor.

Using physical computing to create a robot buggy

What does a reflective optical sensor detect?

What type of light do reflective optical sensors use?

What happens when a reflective optical sensor passes over a white surface?

What is the main job of the microcontroller in a line-following robot?

Put these steps in order for how a reflective optical sensor works:

What does an ultrasonic sensor use to measure distance?

Which formula is used by ultrasonic sensors to calculate distance?

Put these steps in order for how an ultrasonic sensor measures distance:

What device receives data from sensors and makes decisions based on that data?

Starter Quiz

What does a sensor do?