ESP8266 Community Forum

- Sat Mar 12, 2016 8:39 am #42943 Hello ,
I am an very new to this technology and electronics , actually i am an software engineer student (:
As my final project for studies i have to integrate an device which can detect proximate object an send the information to my application.

Now my main question is do i have to use device like Arduino to make the connection between them ?
Can i just take bit of 0/1 from the proximity sensor , connect it to the ESP and transmit it to the home router ?

Yeah i know i am way off understanding this stuff ,
I would like to get some recommendation of where should i start with reading to achieve my goal,
Which Technological components should i use ? (is GP2Y0A21YK good or i need something else ? )
Maybe there is something less complicated then Arduino that i can use ? do i need it at all ?

Thanks you very much !

- Sat Mar 12, 2016 1:28 pm #42954 Hi what Uni or College are you at?

Looking at the sensor it has an analogue output voltage based on distance, so the answer to your question is no. You will have to use an A>D converter to read this voltage.

Datasheet iterates that a distance of 10 cm = 3.1v and 80 cm = 0.4v. You do not need an Arduino to do this an ESP8266 would be fine although you would need to use a potential divider on the A>D input to reduce sensor voltage down. A>D on a ESP8266 is 0-1V. You could use a Wemos mini which has the potential divider on-board.

Hope this helps, good luck with your project.

Dans

- Sat Mar 12, 2016 5:30 pm #42967 Thanks you very much , about the sensor i am not sure yet .
I see here something much more better i think :

http://www.micropik.com/PDF/HCSR04.pdf

Hmm and about the arduino i understand that i don't need it .

Actuality i found here an nice tutorial which i think is good to start with :

http://benlo.com/esp8266/esp8266QuickStart.html

So i am going to buy :

esp8266 - 012
5V to 3.3V DC-DC Step-Down Power Supply
A USB to serial adapter + USB Cable
AA Battery Batteries Holder


Hmm i know there is , NodeMCU Development Board
But i don't want to use it due to its size i want to keep my final product small as i can ,
Is it good decision ?
Correct me if i wrong , after the program is written to the esp memory , it will be invoked by the sensor
and the only components ill need is esp,batteries,sensor ?

- Sat Mar 12, 2016 5:49 pm #42971

Hmm and about the arduino i understand that i don't need it .

If all your code can be executed by the ESP (using Arduino ESP framework), then you don't need any Arduino AVR board attached to ESP. The ESP alone can fit all your needs.