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Arduino - Infrared Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to use Arduino and the infrared obstacle avoidance sensor to detect the presence of the obstacle.

Hardware Required

1	×	Arduino UNO or Genuino UNO
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type A/B (for USB-A PC)
1	×	USB 2.0 cable type C/B (for USB-C PC)
1	×	IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor
1	×	Jumper Wires
1	×	(Recommended) Screw Terminal Block Shield for Arduino Uno
1	×	(Recommended) Breadboard Shield For Arduino Uno
1	×	(Recommended) Enclosure For Arduino Uno

Or you can buy the following sensor kits:

1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (30 sensors/displays)
1	×	DIYables Sensor Kit (18 sensors/displays)

Disclosure: Some links in this section are Amazon affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Additionally, some links direct to products from our own brand, DIYables.

About IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

The infrared (IR) obstacle sensor is used to detect the presence of any obstacle in front of the sensor module by using the infrared signal. The detection range is from 2cm to 30cm. The detection range can be adjusted by a built-in potentiometer.

Pinout

IR obstacle avoidance sensor includes three pins:

GND pin: needs to be connected to GND (0V)
VCC pin: needs to be connected to VCC (5V or 3.3v)
OUT pin: is an output pin: LOW when there is an obstacle, HIGH when there is no obstacle. This pin needs to be connected to Arduino's input pin.

image source: diyables.io

How It Works

An infrared obstacle sensor module has a built-in IR transmitter and IR receiver. The IR transmitter emits the IR signal. The IR receiver looks for the reflected IR signal to determine if the object is present or not. The presence of obstacle is reflected in the OUT pin:

If the obstacle is present in front of the sensor, the sensor's OUT pin is LOW
If the obstacle is NOT present in front of the sensor, the sensor's OUT pin is HIGH

※ NOTE THAT:

During shipment, the sensor may get deformed, which can cause malfunctioning. If the sensor is not working properly, adjust the IR transmitter and receiver to make them parallel.

Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

How To Program For IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

Initializes the Arduino pin to the digital input mode by using pinMode() function. For example, pin GIOP18

pinMode(18, INPUT_PULLUP);

Reads the state of the Arduino pin by using digitalRead() function.

int state = digitalRead(18);

Arduino Code

There are two ways to program for an obstacle avoidance application:

Do or don't do something while the obstacle is present or not present
Do or don't do something when the obstacle is detected or cleared

Arduino code for checking if the obstacle is present

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-infrared-obstacle-avoidance-sensor */ // Arduino's pin connected to OUT pin of IR obstacle avoidance sensor const int SENSOR_PIN = 8; void setup() { // initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second: Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the Arduino's pin as aninput pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT); } void loop() { // read the state of the the input pin: int state = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN); if (state == LOW) Serial.println("The obstacle is present"); else Serial.println("The obstacle is NOT present"); delay(100); }

Quick Steps

Copy the above code and open it with Arduino IDE
Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
Put an obstacle in front of the sensor for a while, and then remove it.
See the result on Serial Monitor.

COM6

Send

The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is present The obstacle is present The obstacle is present The obstacle is present The obstacle is NOT present The obstacle is NOT present

Autoscroll Show timestamp

Clear output

9600 baud

Newline

Arduino code for detecting obstacle

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-infrared-obstacle-avoidance-sensor */ // Arduino's pin connected to OUT pin of IR obstacle avoidance sensor const int SENSOR_PIN = 8; int lastState = HIGH; // the previous state from the input pin int currentState; // the current reading from the input pin void setup() { // initialize serial communication at 9600 bits per second: Serial.begin(9600); // initialize the Arduino's pin as aninput pinMode(SENSOR_PIN, INPUT); } void loop() { // read the state of the the input pin: currentState = digitalRead(SENSOR_PIN); if (lastState == HIGH && currentState == LOW) Serial.println("The obstacle is detected"); else if (lastState == LOW && currentState == HIGH) Serial.println("The obstacle is cleared"); delay(50); // save the the last state lastState = currentState; }

Quick Steps

Copy the above code and open with Arduino IDE
Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
Put an obstacle in front of the sensor awhile, and then remove it.
See the result on Serial Monitor.

COM6

Send

The obstacle is detected The obstacle is cleared

Autoscroll Show timestamp

Clear output

9600 baud

Newline

Video Tutorial

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Function References

The Best Arduino Starter Kit

See the best Arduino kit for beginner

Arduino - Infrared Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

Hardware Required

About IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

Pinout

How It Works

Wiring Diagram

How To Program For IR Obstacle Avoidance Sensor

Arduino Code

Arduino code for checking if the obstacle is present

Quick Steps

Arduino code for detecting obstacle

Quick Steps

Video Tutorial

Function References

The Best Arduino Starter Kit

See Also