IR Field Of View

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eat_sleep_code
 
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IR Field Of View

Post by eat_sleep_code »

The IR receiver's field of view on the Circuit Playground Express is very narrow.

Is it possible to add a different IR receiving sensor and get a much wider, ideally 360, FOV?

I was trying to build a little robot that would work off the mini remote. My only problem now, is that I have to pointing directly down at the Circuit Playground Express for it to work.

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adafruit_support_bill
 
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Re: IR Field Of View

Post by adafruit_support_bill »

The datasheet for the IR receiver does not specify a field of view. https://www.vishay.com/docs/82748/vsop383.pdf
But planar sensors like that typically have a Lambertian sensitivity pattern. That means the sensitivity is proportional to the cosine of the angle from the main axis. So the sensitivity at 45 degrees off-axis should be about 70% of what it is straight-on. From there is will rapidly fall-off to zero as you approach 90 degrees.

We have the larger through-hole version of the sensor: https://www.adafruit.com/product/157
The plastic case has a molded lens which makes it slightly more directional. So that would not help. https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/datasheets/tsop382.pdf

The other approach would be to se a more powerful remote. You could use something like the TV B Gone kit: https://www.adafruit.com/product/73

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