I have a project on the go with my robotic mower. I have the problem that the mower needs to access the front Garden which is through a gate. I have automated the gate with a 12V linear actuator which runs on a timer. The problem is the gate stands open while the mower is out front. I have to set the timer at enough time for the mower to complete mowing.
I would like to attach an RFID tag (or similar) to the mower which would trigger a receiver when the mower is in a meter or two range. The receiver is to give me a contact to actuate the gate open for a few minutes to allow the mower through.
Would probably need another receiver on the other side of the gate.
What a cool project! From my understanding of RFID, you would need an active setup on the mower to be detectable from a useful distance.
How about calculating distance using IR travel time? You could put an IR LED on the mower and a detector on the gate side. The distance measurement probably wouldn’t be super accurate but should be more than good enough to know when to trigger the gate.
As Sam mentioned, an active setup would be required (and would be quite expensive).
Could you use a break-beam IR setup? Two sets in the back garden to sense when the mower wants to get into the front yard, upon returning it would close the gate.
UWB would be another option, with two nodes (one on the gate, one on the mower) you’ll be able to get distance between the two quite reliably.
That sounds interesting Liam. The problem with the beams is that the gate would then remain open while the mower is at work, which would allow the dog out.
UWB sounds like it could work, Is there any good write ups on how to use.
Here’s an Instructables article that gives some good background/details on the UWB process. It wasn’t made using the exact board Liam linked, but it should be good to give you an idea of what the development process looks like.
