IR Control

Materials taken from a variety of sources

including IR Remote for the Boe-Bot
by Andy Lindsay
The Plan: Use a TV Remote to
Communicate with the Arduino
IR signal

Sony TV remote
control

PWM
What is IR: Visible Light Waves
What is Infrared
The IR Signal
 The IR detector is only looking for
infrared that’s flashing on and off 38,500
times per second.
 It has built-in optical filters that allow very
little light except the 980 nm infrared.
 It also has an electronic filter that only allows
signals around 38.5 kHz to pass through.
 This is the type of signal produced by the
remote control.
 This prevents IR interference from
common sources such as sunlight and
indoor lighting.
Important Concepts
 Pulse width modulation (PWM): Pulse durations are
used in many applications, a few of which are motor
control, and communication. Since the IR detector
sends low pulses that can be measured to determine
what information the IR remote is sending, it's an
example of using PWM for communication.

 Carrier signal: The IR remote uses a 38.5 kHz "carrier

signal" to transmit the pulse durations from the remote
to the IR detector.

 Communication protocol: A communication protocol

is a set of rules for devices that have to exchange
electronic messages. Protocols tend to have rules for
voltages, the amount of time signals last, carrier signal
frequencies and/or wavelengths, and much more.
When two or more devices follow the rules of a given
protocol, they should be able to communicate and
exchange information.
The TV Remote Control
(4 Function Universal Remote)
 You must configure your universal remote
so that it sends PWM messages to a
television set using the SONY protocol.
 TV remote setup
 Press and release the TV key.
 Press and hold the SET key until the indicator
LED on the remote turns on and stays on.
 Use the digit keys to enter 0001. The LED may
turn off briefly as you press each digit.
 VCR remote setup
 Press and release the VCR key.
 Press and hold the SET key until the indicator
LED on the remote turns on and stays on.
 Use the digit keys to enter 1028. The LED may
turn off briefly as you press each digit.
The TV Remote Control
(SYSTEMLINK 3 RCA)
 You must configure your universal remote so that
it sends PWM messages using the SONY protocol.
 TV remote setup
 Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the
indicator LED lights, then release the CODE SEARCH
button.
 Press and release the TV button (the indicator LED
will blink and then remain lit).
 Use the digit keys to enter the code 002. After your
code is entered, the indicator LED will turn off.
 VCR remote setup
 Press and hold the CODE SEARCH button until the
indicator LED lights, then release the CODE SEARCH
button.
 Press and release the VCR button (the indicator LED
will blink and then remain lit).
 Use the digit keys to enter the code 004. After your
code is entered, the indicator LED will turn off.
The Sony Protocol
Protocol Details
 This message consists of thirteen negative pulses that
the Arduino can easily measure.
 1: the start pulse, which lasts for 2.4 ms.
 2-13: will either last for 1.2 ms (binary-1) or 0.6 ms
(binary-0).
 2-8: indicates which key is pressed.
 9-13: indicate if the message is being sent to a TV,
VCR, CD, DVD player, etc.
 Pulses are transmitted in least significant bit first
fashion.
 the first data pulse is bit-0.
 the next data pulse is bit-1
 Etc.
 If you press and hold a key on the remote, the same
message will be sent over and over again with a 20 to
30 ms rest between messages.
How the IR Detector Works
 Our IR receiver is the same detector found in
many TVs and VCRs.
 This detector sends a low signal whenever it
detects IR flashing on/off at 38.5 kHz and a high
signal the rest of the time.
 When the IR detector sends low signals, the
processor inside a TV or VCR measures how long
each of the low signals lasts. Then, it uses these
measurements to figure out which key was
pressed on the remote.
 Like the processor inside a TV, the Arduino can be
programmed to detect, measure, store, and
interpret the sequence of low pulses it receives
from the IR detector.
Schematic for IR Detector
 pulseIn Command
 The syntax for the pulseIn command is
 pulseIn (Pin, State);
 Pin: the I/O pin for measuring the
pulse.
 State is used to determine whether the
pulse is a HIGH or LOW
 Option third input: max duration in
millisecs
 The output of the IR detector is inverted
(i.e., LOW).
 pulseIn(pin#, LOW);

 pin# is the pin connected to the IR

detector
 Using pulseIn()

while(pulseIn(9, LOW) < 2200) { } //Wait for start bit

Interpreting the IR Message
 The Idea: represent the pulse sequence as a bit
sequence.
 The IR message consists of thirteen pulses with
the following format:
 1: the start pulse lasts for 2.4 ms.
 2-13: will either last for 1.2 ms (binary-1) or 0.6
ms (binary-0).
 Map the duration of pulses 2-8 to their
corresponding binary value
 Use pulseIn() to measure pulse length
 Use the bitSet() to create the corresponding
binary representation
Program for Reading IR Signals

 ReadIR
 Programming Features:
 pulseIn() and bitSet()
 Arrays
 A debug flag to turn on printout
 Throws away devise designation
 Adjusts bit pattern to match numeric
keys
Program for Controlling Bot

• IRcontrol
• Programming Features:
• Switch statement
• Servo library