Sensors

[EricH]

Originally Posted by platypus122597

Hi! I'm new to robotics this year and I've heard people talk about different types of sensors a lot but I'm not really sure what they mean... What's a gyro, what's an accelerometer, a limit switch, a potentiameter? Are there any other sensors I'm missing? And were do they connect? Is it the VRM? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

First off... No sensors should EVER be connected to the VRM (unless they need one of the constant voltages it supplies to operate). The Voltage Regulator Module supplies a constant voltage to whatever is connected to it. This probably won't be a good thing for the sensors...

Now, the sensors:
Accelerometer--measures the acceleration of the robot. (AKA: I'm speeding up, how fast am I speeding up?)
Gyro--Similar to an accelerometer, but measures the rate of turn of the robot.
Limit switch--contact sensor. Often used to limit the motion of a moving object.
Potentiometer--used to measure distance of rotation of some part of the robot. Limited motion, usually. (Also known as a "pot"--be careful who you say that in front of, particularly if they aren't familiar with electronics!)

Sensors you're missing (partial list, because there are more that can be rather specialized in application):
Encoder--measures speed of rotation of part of the robot--like the drivetrain.
Ultrasonic sensors--Often used for finding a distance to some other object.
Camera (AKA vision sensor)--usually used for showing drivers what the robot sees, but can be used to track blobs of color.

And where do they all connect? That's a little more interesting. Generally speaking they'll connect to the RoboRIO's DIO or analog pins. They may also connect to a secondary processing board that sends the data back to the RoboRIO. Cameras will usually plug into the RoboRIO's USB ports or into an Ethernet port on the robot's router.