{"id":3008,"date":"2017-07-29T10:38:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-29T14:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/?p=3008"},"modified":"2023-04-12T13:10:04","modified_gmt":"2023-04-12T17:10:04","slug":"hc-sr04-ultrasonic-distance-sensor-arduino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronebotworkshop.com\/hc-sr04-ultrasonic-distance-sensor-arduino\/","title":{"rendered":"Using the HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor with Arduino"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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One of the most useful sensors for robotics projects is a distance sensor. \u00a0The HC-SR04 is an inexpensive Ultrasonic Distance Sensor that can assist your robot in navigating around a room. With a bit of care and an additional component it can also be used as a measurement device. In this article you’ll learn everything you need to know to use this wonderful little device with an Arduino.<\/p>\n

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The HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor<\/span><\/h3>\n

The HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor is an inexpensive device that is very useful for robotics and test equipment projects. This tiny sensor is capable of measuring the distance between itself and the nearest solid object, which is really good information to have if you’re trying to avoid driving into a wall!<\/span><\/p>\n

The HC-SR04 can be hooked directly to an Arduino or other microcontroller and it operates on 5 volts. It can also be used with the Raspberry Pi, however since the HC-SR04 requires 5-volt logic you\u2019ll need a couple of resistors to interface it with the Pi\u2019s 3.3 volt GPIO port.<\/span><\/p>\n

This ultrasonic distance sensor is capable of measuring distances between 2 cm to 400 cm (that’s about an inch to 13 feet for those of you who don\u2019t \u201cspeak\u201d Metric). It\u2019s a low current device so it\u2019s suitable for battery powered devices. And as a bonus it even looks cool, like a pair of Wall-E Robot eyes for your latest robotic invention!<\/span><\/p>\n

So read on and I\u2019ll show you how to hook up and use the HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor. We\u2019ll also put it through some tests to see how accurate it is and we\u2019ll look at how we can possibly improve upon that accuracy. And of course I\u2019ll have some sample code and projects for you to try out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get started!<\/span><\/p>\n

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How the HC-SR04 Works<\/span><\/h3>\n

Ultrasonic distance sensors use pulses of ultrasonic sound (sound above the range of human hearing) to detect the distance between them and nearby solid objects. The sensors consist of two main components:<\/span><\/p>\n