calling electronic geeks :D

[NoobieOCer]

hi, I'm in my second year of uni studying electrical and electronic engineering, and well i have a project to do for this semester. but i am trying to get some ideas in which how i can design this project

the project is to build a electronic version of the south pointing chariot, it suppose to record distance traveled in which direction and always indicating which way is south. all this data is then to be displayed on a web page. basically i got the compass and direction stuff figured out but trying to find a way to measure distance which this object is traveled.

so far all i can think of is attaching several wires on the wheel and as it turns it will touch another wire attached to the "chariot" and send a signal which will tell the microprocessor its traveled a small distance and it will add up as it turns and triggering more of these signals.

there's probably load of ways so i just need a few ideas on how can i measure the distance traveled by my chariot.

 

[Greenlizard0]

Build an electronic husky dog.

That can carry people MILEZ.

xx

 

[Gas Panic!]

Accelerometer.

Integrate acceleration to get velocity, and integrate velocity to get displacement (ie. distance travelled).

 

[GeForce]

Build an electronic husky dog.

That can carry people MILEZ.

xx

LOL

Accel is the best way to go about it, I'm using a MMA7260QT from Freescale for a digital spirit level project I'm doing at the moment. Although a bit fiddly to solder up it would be perfect for your application.

Or you could use a slotted opto arrangement.

 

[NoobieOCer]

new idea, using a stepping motor so i wont need to measure distance i know exactly how much it spins

 

[Bennie-Mac]

Perpetual motion machine. "it just keeps getting faster and faster"