This is the description of the Java API bindings for the Distance IR Bricklet. General information and technical specifications for the Distance IR Bricklet are summarized in its hardware description.
An installation guide for the Java API bindings is part of their general description.
The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | import com.tinkerforge.BrickletDistanceIR;
import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
public class ExampleSimple {
private static final String HOST = "localhost";
private static final int PORT = 4223;
private static final String UID = "ABC"; // Change to your UID
// Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions you
// might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
BrickletDistanceIR dir = new BrickletDistanceIR(UID, ipcon); // Create device object
ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
// Don't use device before ipcon is connected
// Get current distance (unit is mm)
int distance = dir.getDistance(); // Can throw com.tinkerforge.TimeoutException
System.out.println("Distance: " + distance/10.0 + " cm");
System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
ipcon.disconnect();
}
}
|
Download (ExampleCallback.java)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 | import com.tinkerforge.BrickletDistanceIR;
import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
public class ExampleCallback {
private static final String HOST = "localhost";
private static final int PORT = 4223;
private static final String UID = "ABC"; // Change to your UID
// Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions you
// might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
BrickletDistanceIR dir = new BrickletDistanceIR(UID, ipcon); // Create device object
ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
// Don't use device before ipcon is connected
// Set Period for distance callback to 1s (1000ms)
// Note: The distance callback is only called every second if the
// distance has changed since the last call!
dir.setDistanceCallbackPeriod(1000);
// Add and implement distance listener (called if distance changes)
dir.addDistanceListener(new BrickletDistanceIR.DistanceListener() {
public void distance(int distance) {
System.out.println("Distance: " + distance/10.0 + " cm");
}
});
System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
ipcon.disconnect();
}
}
|
Download (ExampleThreshold.java)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 | import com.tinkerforge.BrickletDistanceIR;
import com.tinkerforge.IPConnection;
public class ExampleThreshold {
private static final String HOST = "localhost";
private static final int PORT = 4223;
private static final String UID = "ABC"; // Change to your UID
// Note: To make the example code cleaner we do not handle exceptions. Exceptions you
// might normally want to catch are described in the documentation
public static void main(String args[]) throws Exception {
IPConnection ipcon = new IPConnection(); // Create IP connection
BrickletDistanceIR dir = new BrickletDistanceIR(UID, ipcon); // Create device object
ipcon.connect(HOST, PORT); // Connect to brickd
// Don't use device before ipcon is connected
// Get threshold callbacks with a debounce time of 10 seconds (10000ms)
dir.setDebouncePeriod(10000);
// Configure threshold for "smaller than 20 cm" (unit is mm)
dir.setDistanceCallbackThreshold('<', (short)200, (short)0);
// Add and implement distance reached listener
// (called if distance is smaller than 20 cm)
dir.addDistanceReachedListener(new BrickletDistanceIR.DistanceReachedListener() {
public void distanceReached(int distance) {
System.out.println("Distance is smaller than 20cm: " + distance/10.0 + " cm");
}
});
System.out.println("Press key to exit"); System.in.read();
ipcon.disconnect();
}
}
|
Generally, every method of the Java bindings that returns a value can throw a TimeoutException. This exception gets thrown if the device did not respond. If a cable based connection is used, it is unlikely that this exception gets thrown (assuming nobody unplugs the device). However, if a wireless connection is used, timeouts will occur if the distance to the device gets too big.
Beside the TimeoutException there is also a NotConnectedException that is thrown if a method needs to communicate with the device while the IP Connection is not connected.
Since Java does not support multiple return values and return by reference is not possible for primitive types, we use small classes that only consist of member variables. The member variables of the returned objects are described in the corresponding method descriptions.
The package for all Brick/Bricklet bindings and the IP Connection is com.tinkerforge.*
All methods listed below are thread-safe.
Creates an object with the unique device ID uid:
BrickletDistanceIR distanceIR = new BrickletDistanceIR("YOUR_DEVICE_UID", ipcon);
This object can then be used after the IP Connection is connected (see examples above).
Returns the distance measured by the sensor. The value is in mm and possible distance ranges are 40 to 300, 100 to 800 and 200 to 1500, depending on the selected IR sensor.
If you want to get the distance periodically, it is recommended to use the listener DistanceListener and set the period with setDistanceCallbackPeriod().
Returns the value as read by a 12-bit analog-to-digital converter. The value is between 0 and 4095.
Note
The value returned by getDistance() is averaged over several samples to yield less noise, while getAnalogValue() gives back raw unfiltered analog values. The only reason to use getAnalogValue() is, if you need the full resolution of the analog-to-digital converter.
If you want the analog value periodically, it is recommended to use the listener AnalogValueListener and set the period with setAnalogValueCallbackPeriod().
Sets a sampling point value to a specific position of the lookup table. The lookup table comprises 128 equidistant analog values with corresponding distances.
If you measure a distance of 50cm at the analog value 2048, you should call this function with (64, 5000). The utilized analog-to-digital converter has a resolution of 12 bit. With 128 sampling points on the whole range, this means that every sampling point has a size of 32 analog values. Thus the analog value 2048 has the corresponding sampling point 64 = 2048/32.
Sampling points are saved on the EEPROM of the Distance IR Bricklet and loaded again on startup.
Note
An easy way to calibrate the sampling points of the Distance IR Bricklet is implemented in the Brick Viewer. If you want to calibrate your Bricklet it is highly recommended to use this implementation.
Returns the distance to a sampling point position as set by setSamplingPoint().
Returns the version of the API definition (major, minor, revision) implemented by this API bindings. This is neither the release version of this API bindings nor does it tell you anything about the represented Brick or Bricklet.
Returns the response expected flag for the function specified by the function ID parameter. It is true if the function is expected to send a response, false otherwise.
For getter functions this is enabled by default and cannot be disabled, because those functions will always send a response. For listener configuration functions it is enabled by default too, but can be disabled by setResponseExpected(). For setter functions it is disabled by default and can be enabled.
Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is send and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.
See setResponseExpected() for the list of function ID constants available for this function.
Changes the response expected flag of the function specified by the function ID parameter. This flag can only be changed for setter (default value: false) and listener configuration functions (default value: true). For getter functions it is always enabled and listeners it is always disabled.
Enabling the response expected flag for a setter function allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of this setter as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this flag is disabled for a setter function then no response is send and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.
The following function ID constants are available for this function:
Changes the response expected flag for all setter and listener configuration functions of this device at once.
Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.
The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c' or 'd'.
The device identifier numbers can be found here. There is also a constant for the device identifier of this Bricklet.
The returned object has the public member variables String uid, String connectedUid, char position, short[] hardwareVersion, short[] firmwareVersion and int deviceIdentifier.
Sets the period in ms with which the DistanceListener listener is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the listener off.
DistanceListener is only triggered if the distance has changed since the last triggering.
The default value is 0.
Returns the period as set by setDistanceCallbackPeriod().
Sets the period in ms with which the AnalogValueListener listener is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the listener off.
AnalogValueListener is only triggered if the analog value has changed since the last triggering.
The default value is 0.
Returns the period as set by setAnalogValueCallbackPeriod().
Sets the thresholds for the DistanceReachedListener listener.
The following options are possible:
Option | Description |
---|---|
'x' | Listener is turned off |
'o' | Listener is triggered when the distance is outside the min and max values |
'i' | Listener is triggered when the distance is inside the min and max values |
'<' | Listener is triggered when the distance is smaller than the min value (max is ignored) |
'>' | Listener is triggered when the distance is greater than the min value (max is ignored) |
The default value is ('x', 0, 0).
The following constants are available for this function:
Returns the threshold as set by setDistanceCallbackThreshold().
The following constants are available for this function:
The returned object has the public member variables char option, short min and short max.
Sets the thresholds for the AnalogValueReachedListener listener.
The following options are possible:
Option | Description |
---|---|
'x' | Listener is turned off |
'o' | Listener is triggered when the analog value is outside the min and max values |
'i' | Listener is triggered when the analog value is inside the min and max values |
'<' | Listener is triggered when the analog value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored) |
'>' | Listener is triggered when the analog value is greater than the min value (max is ignored) |
The default value is ('x', 0, 0).
The following constants are available for this function:
Returns the threshold as set by setAnalogValueCallbackThreshold().
The following constants are available for this function:
The returned object has the public member variables char option, int min and int max.
Sets the period in ms with which the threshold listeners
are triggered, if the thresholds
keep being reached.
The default value is 100.
Returns the debounce period as set by setDebouncePeriod().
Listeners can be registered to receive time critical or recurring data from the device. The registration is done with "add*Listener" functions of the device object.
The parameter is a listener class object, for example:
device.addExampleListener(new BrickletDistanceIR.ExampleListener() {
public void property(int value) {
System.out.println("Value: " + value);
}
});
The available listener classes with inherent methods to be overwritten are described below. It is possible to add several listeners and to remove them with the corresponding "remove*Listener" function.
Note
Using listeners for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.
This listener can be added with the addDistanceListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeDistanceListener() function.
This listener is triggered periodically with the period that is set by setDistanceCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the distance of the sensor.
DistanceListener is only triggered if the distance has changed since the last triggering.
This listener can be added with the addAnalogValueListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeAnalogValueListener() function.
This listener is triggered periodically with the period that is set by setAnalogValueCallbackPeriod(). The parameter is the analog value of the sensor.
AnalogValueListener is only triggered if the analog value has changed since the last triggering.
This listener can be added with the addDistanceReachedListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeDistanceReachedListener() function.
This listener is triggered when the threshold as set by setDistanceCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the distance of the sensor.
If the threshold keeps being reached, the listener is triggered periodically with the period as set by setDebouncePeriod().
This listener can be added with the addAnalogValueReachedListener() function. An added listener can be removed with the removeAnalogValueReachedListener() function.
This listener is triggered when the threshold as set by setAnalogValueCallbackThreshold() is reached. The parameter is the analog value of the sensor.
If the threshold keeps being reached, the listener is triggered periodically with the period as set by setDebouncePeriod().
This constant is used to identify a Distance IR Bricklet.
The getIdentity() function and the EnumerateListener listener of the IP Connection have a deviceIdentifier parameter to specify the Brick's or Bricklet's type.