Published August 11, 2023 © GPL3+

Interfacing Ultrasonic Distance Sensor

Interfacing Ultrasonic Distance Sensor in Tinkercad

BeginnerFull instructions provided1 hour433

Things used in this project

Hardware components

Arduino UNO

Adafruit RGB Backlight LCD - 16x2

Single Turn Potentiometer- 10k ohms

Jumper wires (generic)

Ultrasonic Sensor - HC-SR04 (Generic)

Software apps and online services

Arduino IDE

Autodesk Tinkercad

Story

Watch the video on How to simulate the Ultrasonic Distance Sensor on Tinkercad

If you want to make it with components

Materials Needed:

TinkerCAD account (free to sign up)
Computer with internet access

Components Used:

Arduino Uno board
HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor
Breadboard and jumper wires

Steps:

Step 1: Setting up the Components

Search for the components in the TinkerCAD component library:

Drag and drop an "Arduino Uno" onto the workplane.
Drag and drop an "HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor" onto the workplane.
Connect the components using jumper wires. Connect VCC and GND of the sensor to the respective pins on the Arduino. Connect the Trig pin of the sensor to a digital pin, say Pin 2, and the Echo pin to another digital pin, say Pin 3.
Search for the components in the TinkerCAD component library:Drag and drop an "Arduino Uno" onto the workplane.Drag and drop an "HC-SR04 Ultrasonic Distance Sensor" onto the workplane.Connect the components using jumper wires. Connect VCC and GND of the sensor to the respective pins on the Arduino. Connect the Trig pin of the sensor to a digital pin, say Pin 2, and the Echo pin to another digital pin, say Pin 3.

Step 2: Writing the Code

Open the Arduino IDE and paste the code.

Step 3: Simulating the Circuit

Go back to the main workspace.

Go back to the main workspace.

Click the "Start Simulation" button to simulate the circuit.

Click the "Start Simulation" button to simulate the circuit.

Step 4: Viewing the Output

Once the simulation starts, open the Serial Monitor:

Click on the Arduino Uno component.
In the right-hand panel, click on the "Code" tab.
Scroll down and find the "Serial Monitor" section. Click on the "Open Serial Monitor" button.
Once the simulation starts, open the Serial Monitor:Click on the Arduino Uno component.In the right-hand panel, click on the "Code" tab.Scroll down and find the "Serial Monitor" section. Click on the "Open Serial Monitor" button.

Observe the distance readings in the Serial Monitor as they update.

Observe the distance readings in the Serial Monitor as they update.

Step 5: Interacting with the Simulation

While the simulation is running, you can manually adjust the distance between the ultrasonic sensor and a virtual object to observe changes in the distance readings.

Congratulations! You've successfully interfaced an ultrasonic distance sensor in Autodesk TinkerCAD. This virtual simulation helps you understand how the components work together and how the sensor measures distance based on the time taken for sound waves to travel and return.

Feel free to experiment with different distances and modify the code to enhance your learning experience.

Arduino Code

const int trigPin = 2;
const int echoPin = 3;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  pinMode(trigPin, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(echoPin, INPUT);
}

void loop() {
  long duration, distance;
  
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  delayMicroseconds(2);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, HIGH);
  delayMicroseconds(10);
  digitalWrite(trigPin, LOW);
  
  duration = pulseIn(echoPin, HIGH);
  distance = (duration / 2) / 29.1; // Calculate distance in cm
  
  Serial.print("Distance: ");
  Serial.print(distance);
  Serial.println(" cm");
  
  delay(1000); // Delay for 1 second
}