Maker Pro
Maker Pro

Position of one device relative to another.

emberjelly

Jul 26, 2015
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I'm working on a project at the moment, and am looking for a component that can get the distance and direction of another component. I could do it with GPS or IR or something, but since I know the object I'm tracking and can install any electronics on it I need, I was hoping for a more accurate solution.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
 

davenn

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gps is your best choice
there isnt anything else I could recommend
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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I agree with the above.

However, if your pockets are deep enough!!
Quantum Positioning..1000 times more accurate than GPS.
Or read up on GPS vs IPS..

Both are still in development.
Is this for a drone?

Martin
 

HellasTechn

Apr 14, 2013
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Ok i dont know the nature of the project but here is an other idea i have based on radars.

You could use a small gyrocompass and a laser distance calculator to determine distance and direction.

If the compass was fitted on the laser then you could get a direction "bearing" from the gyro and ofcource distance reading from the laser.
 
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hevans1944

Hop - AC8NS
Jun 21, 2012
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I'm working on a project at the moment, and am looking for a component that can get the distance and direction of another component. I could do it with GPS or IR or something, but since I know the object I'm tracking and can install any electronics on it I need, I was hoping for a more accurate solution.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.
I would like to know how you would do this with "IR or something" instead of GPS. For GPS you need to know the space coordinates of both objects (two GPS receivers) and some way to communicate that information. After that, it's just a matter of solid trigonometry to calculate direction and distance between the two components.
 

hevans1944

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What do you mean shooting down ?
Martin is probably using a pulse-doppler IR ranging and tracking system coupled to an optically-steered Q-switched laser to zap flies. Well, that's what I would use. Or a paddle with a lot of holes in it on the end of long stick. Depends on whether you prefer squoosh or smoke.
 

davenn

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............ to zap flies. Well, that's what I would use. Or a paddle with a lot of holes in it on the end of long stick. Depends on whether you prefer squoosh or smoke.

smoke is always more fun, just ask the Mythbusters ;)
 

hevans1944

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I dont understand a thing LOL
Pulse doppler IR means a rapidly pulsed infrared emitter, typically a laser diode, that produces range information from the round-trip time of the pulse and rate of closure (or separation) from the doppler frequency shift of the return pulse, usually homdyned on a fast infrared detector. Radar speed guns use a similar principle at microwave wavelengths. Doppler is also used to separate moving targets from the non-moving background since the latter do not produce a doppler shift.

An optically steered Q-switched laser is a laser whose (possibly focused) output beam is reflected off of x-y steerable mirrors for directing the beam to a target, in this case a fly. A Q-switched laser has its optical cavity "spoiled" with an electro-optical "switch," typically a rotating mirror or a Pockels cell, while the lasing medium is "pumped" with a flash lamp or a diode laser to create a saturated population inversion of excited states. When the rotating mirror lines up with the cavity resonating mirror, or the Pockels cell opens to complete the resonant cavity alignment, the pumped laser immediately discharges a much more intense beam (for a short period of time) than continuous pumping and continuous laser emission can produce.

Simple, huh?:D
 

CDRIVE

Hauling 10' pipe on a Trek Shift3
May 8, 2012
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Hop, That's a classic synopsis but it probably has the OP more confused than before. :D

It reminds me of Transmission Line Theory & Design. After all we're talking about only two conductors who's main purpose is to deliver a signal originating at one physical point and delivering it to another distant point. That said, if one wants to delve deep into this technology the read will entail something the size of a N.Y. telephone book!

Chris
 

hevans1944

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... That said, if one wants to delve deep into this technology the read will entail something the size of a N.Y. telephone book!

Chris
Yes it would. And to think, James Clerk Maxwell figured it all out in 1873 and published equations explaining it all, from DC to Light. Of course Maxwell used quaternions in his explanation, which are basically incomprehensible to ordinary mortals. So in 1881 Oliver Heaviside trashed all that and rewrote everything as four differential equations which we electrical engineering types today reverently refer to as "Maxwell's Equations." They were handed down by God according to one of my professors.

There is a cult-following of pseudo-science, which we will NOT discuss here, that claims that putting the quaternions back into Maxwell's electro-magnetic field theory will result in the discovery of all sorts of wonderful things currently unknown or unacknowledged by mainstream science. It would take a tall stack of N.Y. telephone size books to even begin to explore that, and it would probably be a total waste of time and effort. However, quaternions have been resurrected today and are being applied in all sorts of fields, including the calculations of orbital mechanics, thanks to modern digital computers. Read the Wikipedia article to get started down that path.
 

CDRIVE

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Hop, I clicked the link and now I'm convinced that your earlier statements in this thread, or maybe it was another thread regarding aliens having nearly no involvement in the development of ....???? was a subterfuge. I'm beginning to believe that you're Green and have pointy ears! :D

Chris
 

Martaine2005

May 12, 2015
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That sounds very dangerous. Probably why I like it so much! :D Do ya get smoke like Dave suggests?
That was very tongue in cheek Chris. A good idea though!!
And yes, The mythbusters made smoke. I made a Burnt smell. I have actualy fried a spider though.
I have had more productive experiments with a magnifying glass though.
So I guess I failed..

Martin
 
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