Arduino - Ultrasonic Sensor - OLED

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to read the distance from ultrasonic sensor and display it on an OLED.

Arduino Ultrasonic Sensor OLED

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×SSD1306 I2C OLED Display 128x64
1×SSD1306 I2C OLED Display 128x32
1×Ultrasonic Sensor
1×Breadboard
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 OLED and Ultrasonic Sensor

If you do not know about OLED and Ultrasonic Sensor (pinout, how it works, how to program ...), learn about them in the following tutorials:

Wiring Diagram

Arduino Ultrasonic Sensor OLED Wiring Diagram

This image is created using Fritzing. Click to enlarge image

Arduino Code - Ultrasonic Sensor - OLED

/* * Created by ArduinoGetStarted.com * * This example code is in the public domain * * Tutorial page: https://arduinogetstarted.com/tutorials/arduino-ultrasonic-sensor-oled */ #include <Wire.h> #include <Adafruit_GFX.h> #include <Adafruit_SSD1306.h> #define SCREEN_WIDTH 128 // OLED display width, in pixels #define SCREEN_HEIGHT 64 // OLED display height, in pixels const int TRIG_PIN = 9; // Arduino pin connected to Ultrasonic Sensor's TRIG pin const int ECHO_PIN = 8; // Arduino pin connected to Ultrasonic Sensor's ECHO pin Adafruit_SSD1306 oled(SCREEN_WIDTH, SCREEN_HEIGHT, &Wire, -1); // create SSD1306 display object connected to I2C String tempString; void setup() { Serial.begin(9600); // initialize OLED display with address 0x3C for 128x64 if (!oled.begin(SSD1306_SWITCHCAPVCC, 0x3C)) { Serial.println(F("SSD1306 allocation failed")); while (true); } delay(2000); // wait for initializing oled.clearDisplay(); // clear display oled.setTextSize(2); // text size oled.setTextColor(WHITE); // text color oled.setCursor(0, 10); // position to display tempString.reserve(10); // to avoid fragmenting memory when using String } void loop() { // generate 10-microsecond pulse to TRIG pin digitalWrite(TRIG_PIN, HIGH); delayMicroseconds(10); digitalWrite(TRIG_PIN, LOW); // measure duration of pulse from ECHO pin long duration_us = pulseIn(ECHO_PIN, HIGH); // calculate the distance float distance_cm = 0.017 * duration_us; // print the value to Serial Monitor Serial.print("distance: "); Serial.print(distance_cm); Serial.println(" cm"); tempString = String(distance_cm, 2); // two decimal places tempString += " cm"; Serial.println(tempString); // print the temperature in Celsius to Serial Monitor oledDisplayCenter(tempString); // display temperature on OLED } void oledDisplayCenter(String text) { int16_t x1; int16_t y1; uint16_t width; uint16_t height; oled.getTextBounds(text, 0, 0, &x1, &y1, &width, &height); // display on horizontal and vertical center oled.clearDisplay(); // clear display oled.setCursor((SCREEN_WIDTH - width) / 2, (SCREEN_HEIGHT - height) / 2); oled.println(text); // text to display oled.display(); }

Quick Steps

  • Open Arduino IDE on your PC.
  • Navigate to the Libraries icon on the left bar of the Arduino IDE.
  • Search “SSD1306”, then find the SSD1306 library by Adafruit
  • Click Install button to install the library.
Arduino OLED library
  • You will be asked for intalling some other library dependencies
  • Click Install All button to install all library dependencies.
Arduino Adafruit GFX sensor library
  • Copy the above code and open with Arduino IDE
  • Click Upload button on Arduino IDE to upload code to Arduino
  • Move your hand in front of sensor
  • See the result on OLED and Serial Monitor

※ NOTE THAT:

The about code automatically horizontal and vertical center aligns the text on OLED display. See How to vertical/horizontal center on OLED for more detail.

Video Tutorial

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