Range Finder?

[otherguy]

Originally Posted by Wzup4021

I believe that was the one we tried before, but as it got farther out it became very inaccurate unless you had perfect conditions.

It's range is 1.5" to ~9.5'. Were you operating outside this window.

We used it in 2011 to detect our distance from the wall in autonomous. We were looking for relatively close distances, somewhere around a foot away. I think we missed a total of two tubes in auto at our two competitions that year. So depending on application it can work quite well.

I've also had good luck (outside of FRC) with the Parallax PING sensors.

I haven't used them myself, but there is quite the range of options available from maxbotix. They have sensors that supposedly can measure to the cm resolution at a range of up to 35ft, which is pretty amazing. You have a $30 voucher for this company in your kit of parts.

There aren't any rules specific to the use of range finders in FRC. Read the robot section of the manual for electrical rules and custom circuits.

As far as what you should use. Nobody is going to be able to tell you that unless you describe your application. When are you envisioning using this sensor. What range of distances will you be from your target. How large is your target. What material is your target made of?

In general ultrasonic sensors will be used for lower resolution higher range applications. Infrared is typically limited in range, but can provide good resolution over that range.