Retroreflective Tape
 

One of my goals for this year is to be able to track the retroreflective tape on the field, but my team has very little experience with sensors, so I would like to ask, specifically, what sort of sensor would I need in order to accomplish that. Thank you.

Re: Retroreflective Tape
 

the most direct method is with a camera and the ring light. you can do some image processing on the cRio to tell you where the tape is.

Re: Retroreflective Tape
 

For detecting and interpreting the retroreflective targets, the only sensor I would suggest is a camera.

The wpilib.screenstepslive.com web site has a section on the 2014 FRC Control System. One of the links is all about Vision Processing. The provided example software supports several Axis cameras: 206, M1011, and M1013.

Re: Retroreflective Tape
 

The key to using a camera for this is knowing that the retroreflective tape will reflect light back to its source. Meaning you should put a light source on your robot near the camera.

You'll see that the tape reflects BIG, making it easy to track. The light doesn't need to be that bright.