Requirements
This wiki is deprecated, new documentation here.
You need the following for this module to work:
- Horizontally mounted TV
- IR Sensor Module
- Mount
- IR Mini Bases
You'll need a TV, or something similar (monitor/projector). You do have to consider the size of your TV, due to the limited detection angle of the sensor. Take a look at the graph below. On the horizontal axis is the TV size, and the vertical axis the distance between the front of the sensor and the top of the TV (assuming perfect alignment, and having the sensor pointed straight down). For example, for a 42" TV you need approximately 157cm (61.8"), add an additional 10cm (4") for the size of the sensor unit, so you'll need 167cm (65.8") from TV to ceiling. You can angle the sensor a bit to create more distance, but the graph should give a reasonable indication of what distance you'll need.
I recommend building this sensor module. But Material Plane will work fine with just using a generic ESP32 and DFRobot IR sensor.
See the above link for a full BOM and building instructions for the full sensor unit.
The DFRobot SEN0158 is basically the camera from a WiiMote. You can get it from DFRobot themselves, or through various other retailers:
DFRobot: https://www.dfrobot.com/product-1088.html
Robotshop: https://www.robotshop.com/en/ir-tracking-camera.html
Mouser: https://eu.mouser.com/ProductDetail/DFRobot/SEN0158?qs=lqAf%2FiVYw9hCccCG%252BpzjbQ%3D%3D
DigiKey: https://www.digikey.nl/product-detail/nl/dfrobot/SEN0158/1738-1250-ND/7087147
TME: https://www.tme.eu/nl/details/df-sen0158/cameramodules/dfrobot/sen0158/
Gotronic: https://www.gotronic.fr/art-camera-ir-de-positionnement-sen0158-22705.htm
The ESP32 is a WiFi enabled microcontroller. It's a very capable chip, more than fast enough for our application.
There are many different ESP32 variations available, most of them should work. We only need 4 pins:
- 3.3V - Should be available on all ESP32 boards
- Gnd - Should be available on all ESP32 boards
- GPIO 21 - SDA pin, is available on most boards
- GPIO 22 - SDL pin, is available on most boards
Adafruit: https://www.adafruit.com/product/4335
Core Electronics: https://core-electronics.com.au/tinypico-esp32-development-board.html
Tinytronics: https://www.tinytronics.nl/shop/en/communication/bluetooth/tinypico-esp32-pico-d4-wifi-and-bluetooth-board
If you're not planning to use the enclosure, you can choose between many different modules. If you're unsure on what to get, get a TinyPICO, Node32 or Wemos LOLIN32.
You'll need some way to mount the IR sensor above the TV. You could attach it to the ceiling, or use a microphone stand.
In the 3D models section you can find 3D models for both an enclosure (encloses the sensor and ESP32) and a simple sensor-only mount. Both made for use with a microphone stand with 3/8" 16tpi BSW thread.
In that same section, you can also find 3D models of the mini bases.
To detect the position of the minis, bases with IR LEDs are used. Building instructions can be found here, while the 3D models can be found in the 3D models section. Due to the small tolerances, you will need a resin 3D printer or a FDM 3D printer with very small nozzle to make the bases.