Chantelle

I already posted to the arduino forum, but I haven't had many responses (if any) for past issues. So I thought it couldn't hurt to also post here. I've found that some solutions for arduinos do not result in useable data in Max anyways. 

I started with one ultrasonic sensor, connected to an arduino uno, and data sent to Max. It worked perfectly and I averaged the data to get a nice float. I now want to expand to four sensors, and I am having troubles getting it to work. After failed attempts of modifying my one sensor arduino code, I tried modifying other peoples 3 sensor code, and a 5 sensor code. All of them either don't work, have only one or two sensors working and the others spitting out 0s, or other very strange things happening. Like being unable to unpack the data, or the data switching from being super high and low at constant intervals (but still retaining a relationship between objects being close and far from the sensor). I have swapped around the sensors and tested each of them with my for sure working one sensor code, so I know they work. I'm sure it's just something dumb that I'm doing. 

Here is what I think is my closest attempt to being right: 

long duration, distance, Sensor1,Sensor2, Sensor3, Sensor4;

void SonarSensor(int trigPin,int echoPin)

I already posted to the arduino forum, but I haven't had many responses (if any) for past issues. So I thought it couldn't hurt to also post here. I've found that some solutions for arduinos do not result in useable data in Max anyways. 
I started with one ultrasonic sensor, connected to an arduino uno, and data sent to Max. It worked perfectly and I averaged the data to get a nice float. I now want to expand to four sensors, and I am having troubles getting it to work. After failed attempts of modifying my one sensor arduino code, I tried modifying other peoples 3 sensor code, and a 5 sensor code. All of them either don't work, have only one or two sensors working and the others spitting out 0s, or other very strange things happening.  Like being unable to unpack the data, or the data switching from being super high and low at constant intervals (but still retaining a relationship between objects being close and far from the sensor). I have swapped around the sensors and tested each of them with my for sure working one sensor code, so I know they work. I'm sure it's just something dumb that I'm doing. 

Here is what I think is my closest attempt to being right: 
#define trigPin1 2
#define echoPin1 3
#define trigPin2 4
#define echoPin2 5
#define trigPin3 6
#define echoPin3 7
#define trigPin4 8
#define echoPin4 9

void setup()
{
Serial.begin (9600);
pinMode(trigPin1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin1, INPUT);
pinMode(trigPin2, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin2, INPUT);
pinMode(trigPin3, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin3, INPUT);
pinMode(trigPin4, OUTPUT);
pinMode(echoPin4, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
SonarSensor(trigPin1, echoPin1);
Sensor1 = distance;
SonarSensor(trigPin2, echoPin2);
Sensor2 = distance;
SonarSensor(trigPin3, echoPin3);
Sensor3 = distance;
SonarSensor(trigPin4, echoPin4);
Sensor4 = distance;

Serial.print(Sensor1);
Serial.print("  ");
Serial.print(Sensor2);
Serial.print("  ");
Serial.println(Sensor3);
Serial.print("  ");
Serial.println(Sensor4);
Serial.print("  ");
}

void SonarSensor(int trigPin,int echoPin)
{
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
distance = (duration/2) / 29.1;

I already posted to the arduino forum, but I haven't had many responses (if any) for past issues. So I thought it couldn't hurt to also post

four-4-pin-ultrasonic-sensors-to-max

Did you check the arduino's serial output in the IDE's Serial Monitor? Is it correct?

If it is correct, then you should post the part of your patch getting the serial values.

Did you check the arduino's serial output in the IDE's Serial Monitor? Is it correct?
If it is correct, then you should post the part of your patch getting the serial values.



It's not that I'm not getting values. It's that I'm not getting values the same way that I was when I was using just one sensor (as a nice constant float). Sometimes it would say Sensor1 (value) and cycles through each sensor, sometimes it would be 1---->(value). Sometimes it would list all four values together, but I'm unable to separate them in Max. And never are they just an easy float to work with. These different results are from the various different arduino codes I've been trying out and working on.

You have to ease timing a bit either in loop or in void SonarSensor.

Also You have a mistake with println on wrong place.

Adding short delay between sensor triggering and printing individual readings would be a better approach.

You have to ease timing a bit either in loop or in void SonarSensor.
Also You have a mistake with println on wrong place.
Adding short delay between sensor triggering and printing individual readings would be a better approach.


SonarSensor(trigPin1, echoPin1); Sensor1 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor1); Serial.print(" "); delay(20);

SonarSensor(trigPin2, echoPin2); Sensor2 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor2); Serial.print(" "); delay(20);

SonarSensor(trigPin3, echoPin3); Sensor3 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor3); Serial.print(" "); delay(20);

SonarSensor(trigPin4, echoPin4); Sensor4 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor4); Serial.println(" "); delay(20);

or put delay at the end of void SonarSensor :

But in any case order of sensor reading and print to serial must be in right order as it looks above.

I would remove void SonarSensor and write individual trig/echo lines

if You don't understand how a function inserted in a loop works.

void loop() {
SonarSensor(trigPin1, echoPin1); Sensor1 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor1); Serial.print("  "); delay(20);
SonarSensor(trigPin2, echoPin2); Sensor2 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor2); Serial.print("  "); delay(20);
SonarSensor(trigPin3, echoPin3); Sensor3 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor3); Serial.print("  "); delay(20);
SonarSensor(trigPin4, echoPin4); Sensor4 = distance; Serial.print(Sensor4); Serial.println("  "); delay(20);
}

You should experiment with delay time.
or put delay at the end of  void SonarSensor :

void SonarSensor(int trigPin,int echoPin)
{
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(2);
digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(10);
digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
distance = (duration/2) / 29.1;
delay(20);
}
But in any case order of sensor reading and print to serial must be in right order as it looks above.
I would remove void SonarSensor and write individual trig/echo lines
if You don't understand how a function inserted in a loop works.


Four 4-Pin Ultrasonic Sensors to Max