Usually, when measuring a child’s height at home, a mark is drawn on the wall then the height is measured using a measuring tape. This process is not always easy and it may has low resolution. In an attempt to simplify this procedure, a new project was developed using an Arduino and a distance sensor.
The main parts which were used in this project are:
- Arduino Nano, the microcontroller which will read sensor’s values and display the results on the screen.
- MPU-6050, 3 axis gyroscope with 3 axis accelerometer
- VL53L0X, Distance Sensor
- RGB backlight LCD 16×2
- Wooden box and acrylic plate.
VL53L0X is a laser-ranging sensor that uses Time Of Flight (ToF) measurements of infrared pulses for calculating the distance of the facing surface. It can measure distances up to 2 meters with a resolution of 1 mm. This sensor works over an input voltage range of 2.6V to 5.5 V, and the measured values can be read through an I²C interface.
VL53L0X Sensor – Image courtesy of Pololu
To get the best result, Vl53L0X must be attached on the bottom of the box as shown in this figure.
MPU-6050 is a low power, low cost, and high-performance motion tracking device, it contains 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer with an onboard Digital Motion Processor (DMP™) which can be programmed with firmware and is able to do complex calculations with the sensor values and uses I²C interface. This sensor is used here for detecting the horizontal direction and for measuring X and Y axis acceleration.
For more detail: Using VL53L0X With Arduino to Measure Height
