Looking for remote IR switch designs

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hi,
i want to build a remote infrared switch(simple on/off) of range around 10-15 meters.Does anyone has a circuit for it ?
How can i tweak a TV remote to act as a simple switch ? I guess it won't be difficult but if someone has done it or has any ideas then please do enlighten.
 

First of all we need to know which remote you want to use - Philips, Sony, Panasonic or other?
They use different frequency and protocols.


Are you familar with microcontrollers? Which MCU's and programming languages do you know?
 

Re: remote IR switch

Thanks for replying ME
Well in fact I am working on a positional system for mobile robot using triangulation method.So I plan to mount the receiver (or transmitter?)module on a stepper motor and place the transmitters at 3 different known
positions on the same plane(2D for now).By rotating the motor and finding the angles at which the signals are received, I can determine the position of the robot using triangulation method assuming infra red transmitters are directional enough(are they?).
i have already built the robot and interfaced with PC's parallel port.
Which remote should i go for or should i make a TXR-RXR pair myself (any circuits for that?)
Should i use RXR on motor and TXR as targets or the other way around ?

Is there any way I can differentiate between the targets? Say if i use IR TXR at different frequencies at different locations, can the RXR mounted on motor tell them apart?
Lastly, does anybody have papers on positional system by triangulation method, except those from google search 8O

thanks a lot
 

Again: Are you familar with microcontrollers? Which MCU's and programming languages do you know?

You can just use the remote from your own TV, but i is important to know which one it is to know the protocol.

If you have to buy a remote or make your own I would reccomend to choose Philips RC5 protocol. It think you can find most examples for this protocol.

But from your second description I'm not sure where the TV remote comes in the picture. What are you going to use the remote for???
You mention three transmitters and a receiver, but what are you going to use a remote for?
Í can't see the relation between you first and second description.
It seems like you are talking about two different projects.
 

Re: remote IR switch

Oops..sorry i forgot to answer your question.
Ya I know little bit of 8051 programming using asm.
I have an old cd drive equipped with IR remote control, so i thought it would be cheaper to use it.
I want some ideas about positioning the sensor on motor, shall i mount the TXR or RXR on the motor.It will be easier to mount RXR as it would mean i will have to make only one RXR circuit.TXR circuits are easier to build so i can use them as targets.
Just wanna know which would give more accuracy : placing TXR or RXR on motor or it doesn't matter ?

thanks a lot
 

Well for this kind of circuit I don't think there is any purpose of using a remote.
I'm still not sure wat you want to build.
Should the three detectors be placed around in the room and the stepper motor with transmitter placed at your robot.

The more precise questions, the better answers you will get.
 

Re: remote IR switch

OK i'll try to be clear.
My objective is to build a positional system for a mobile robot based on triangulation method.Using this method the exact position of the robot can be found out given three targets placed at known positions(in 2D).The robot is fitted with a sensor and it scans the environment(by rotating the sensor).When the sensor points to the RXRs during scanning , it registers the angle which each of them subtends at the it.Knowing the angles and co-ordinates of the targets, the position of the sensor can be found out by triangulation.
I intend to use the IR sensor as 'the sensor' here (fitted with a slit that allows only perpendicular IR rays).Thus the moment the sensor is in line with the target(IR LED), it notes down the angle of rotation and proceeds to locate rest of the targets.Thus we get angles for all 3 known targets.

Hope I made myself clearer than before.
thanks for your patience though. :wink:
Cheers
 

I think it will be very hard to determine the exact position with IR. First of all the receiving and transmitting angle of the IR diode and detector should be very narrow to determine the exact position.
You will also have problems with reflections of the IR signal.

Maybe it is better to use a LASER placed at your robot and place three detectors around it.
With a LASER you will not have any problems with the light spreading.
Of course you need a lens in front of the detector or a vertical row of detectors in each of the three positions to be sure to hit the spot.

**broken link removed**
http://www.tu-dresden.de/fghgipf/forschung/CloseRangePhotogrammetry/BAW_VmetricsVIII_paper.pdf
http://www.tu-dresden.de/fghgipf/forschung/material/publ2003/eI501314.pdf

Maybe the best solution is to use a GPS module placed at your robot to determine the position. You can get GPS modules with RS232 interface, to interface to your microcontroller.
 

Re: remote IR switch

Thanks ME for your invaluable help.
I don't want to use laser detectors as targets, that'd mean connecting all 3 of them to the main controller board.Maybe using lasers with retro-mirrors will help.
Anybody has experience with retro-reflectors, their accuracy to reflect the ray directly back to the source ?Another idea is using reflective tapes which reflects similar to retro-reflectors..but they are for short range as i read.Any idea about the range in which reflective tapes can be used using laser?
I'm trying with IR right now ..maybe reducing the sensitivity of receiver may cause the sensor to pick up IR from the transmitters(i.e. only when aligned along it) and not from the nearby reflecting surfaces.

thanks again for all your help
 

Re: remote IR switch

You should not use three laser, but only one and three detectors.
 

Re: remote IR switch

You should not use three laser, but only one and three detectors.
Click to expand...

That'd mean connecting all 3 detectors to the main controller which would be bit cumbersome to handle..unless i use wireless communication.
Using tranmitters as targets will be easy as they would be independent units- easy to move around but not fruitful in case of laser.

why not try a sonar?
Click to expand...
sounds interesting..never occured to me.
Can you please give me some info,links, etc?

thanks a ton

Merry Christmas
 

Re: remote IR switch

You can't use three transmitters, because they have to point directly at your robot, so when the robot moves, the the light beam would not hit the robot anymore.

I think it is best to use another soloution.
 

Re: remote IR switch

although the following is geared more towards the hobbyist, here:
**broken link removed**
in university in a mechatronics course we had to make a little 3-wheeled robot, the hardware was made up of a 68hc11 on the handyboard and the 'object avoidance' was handled by the polaroid 6500 sonar.
 

Re: remote IR switch

Lasers seem to be the best as IR doesn't work well
Do i need to modulate the laser in this case ? Or even unmodulated plain laser will do?What about the detector for modulated laser ..any circuit ideas,links available ?
What kind of laser will work in my case?I am planning to use laser pointer as the source.Can i modulate it and build a detector for it using a simple photodiode ?

Please help by sharing your invaluable knowledge and experience.

Thank you all
 

Re: remote IR switch

A good working Circuit available

h**p://www.mitedu.freeserve.co.uk/Circuits/Interface/ir_switch.htm
 

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