FIRST LEGO League Challenge Sensors

Sensors are used to serve as the "eyes and ears" of the robot to allow it to navigate on the playing field. Both the Mindstorms EV3 set and the SPIKE Prime set contain a collection of sensors that can be plugged into sockets (called ports) on the robot's hub. Team members can write programs that use the sensors to control the turns of the robot, keep it driving relatively straight, detect collisions or pending collision with obstacles, detect colors on the playing field, follow lines, etc. Using sensors can make the difference between a robot that sometimes reaches its goal and one that almost always does, allowing it to rack up points much more consistently.

SPIKE Prime Sensors

Force sensor

The force sensor allows the robot to measure newtons of force. This could allow the robot to use a lever arm to detect that it is getting close to a wall and adjust its course. Alternatively, the sensor can used as an on-off switch to determine what part of a program should be used.

Gyro sensor

The gyro sensor is built into the SPIKE Prime hub. While it can measure angular acceleration in three dimensions, the most common use is to measure how far the robot has turned to allow it to execute more precise turns.

Mindstorms EV3 Sensors

• Sample EV3 project files that feature use of sensors. These files can be downloaded and then opened using EV3-G.
  • Sensors Project from Programming Workshop

Gyro sensor

• From EV3Lessons.com
  • Introduction to Gyro Sensor and Drift
    • EV3-G
      • Code to test gyro drift
      • Code to test which type of sensor you have
      • Note: To use the test code, download it and open it using EV3-G.
    • EV3 Classroom
  • Gyro Turns
    • EV3-G
    • EV3 Classroom
  • Gyro Move Straight
    • EV3-G
    • EV3 Classroom