Hello guys,

I started doing my own code for a scanner which is based on a Sudoku solver design.
The Idea is I want to scan a picture or number using light sensor, storing them in an array then displaying the scanned item on the screen using pixels.

I started so far doing some functions which will make the robot go forward and make a single scan, going a bit forward and doing another scan etc.

The problem i'm facing is the scanning, saving in an array, and displaying the scanned pixels/item on NXT screen



Any ideas or help
by the way, motor speed and waits are not accurite yet
Sayed Ahmed

You are definitely on the right track. Think about this in plain English though, and it might help you figure out the program flow:

1) Start a predetermined point (start point).
2) Move forward a set amount of distance.
3) Check the light sensor to see if it detects the line/object/shape
-If it does, the value stored in the array should be a 1 (or 2, 3, 4, 0; it's whatever number you want to designate a line detection. Generally, 1 is the easiest to use)
-If it doesn't, the value stored in the array should be a 0 (or a value different from the 'line detected' value; again, a 0 works nicely for this purpose)
4) If a line/object/shape is detected, write a pixel to the NXT screen. If it isn't, do not write a pixel.
5) Repeat steps 2-4 for the entire row.
6) Repeat steps 2-5 to scan each row in their entirety.

This is one of many ways to perform the scan, store, and display actions. Basically, the program will move -> scan -> check value -> store -> display, and will repeat each process until the end of the row. Then, the robot will have to turn or move down to the next row (depending on how the robot is set up) and repeat the move -> scan -> check -> store -> display process until the end of that row, and so on until it reaches the maximum number of rows.

Move - Recommend using the motor commands with encoders (nMotorEncoderTarget[] in particular) to ensure your robot moves only as far as it needs to.

Next Row - Once you reach certain the end of the row, you will need to move the robot to the next row; there are several ways to do this depending on the exact robot setup.

Scan - The SensorValue() command will return the value of whichever sensor is specified; you can then store this value in an array if you'd like and check the array values later, or check the value first and store an appropriate, corresponding (light or dark) value into the array.

Check Value - A simple if/else statement will suffice here; if the SensorValue is above a threshold, store a certain value into the array; if it's below the threshold, store a different value in the array.

Store - This is where it will get a bit tricky; since you are dealing with both rows and columns, you will probably need to do a two-dimensional array. For example, 5 rows with 10 columns would need a two dimensional array such as:

Display - You may want to do this at the end, once all of the values are collected. You will need to run through each array location individually and display either a pixel or no pixel depending on what value is stored in the array's location.

Tips: To run through all the values of an array, you'll usually want to utilize a 'for' loop:



To run through a two-dimensional array, you simply need to nest the for loops inside one another:



Beyond that, it's a simple matter of tweaking the move commands to make sure you are getting a usable reading and displaying the object on the screen, which can be done by using the nxtSetPixel command.

Hope this will help get you started, keep us posted on the progress!

Thank you very much,
That helps i believe, i'll be doing it now and will post you later with my progress

I am working to scan one row and save the values in an array of 26 elements.
i got it working however the program just doesn't stop when the scan is completed. it waits for a certain time and continue in the same direction. I need a way to stop and end the program. as well as the values of the array changes during the process of the scan. As i can see in the Global variables
value[0] = 44
value[1] = 44
etc

when a diffrent value is detected it changes to
value[0] = 66
value [1] = 66
etc
my new code is



Looking for more help please in this part as i'm needing to work on the 2 dimensional array part as soon as i complete this one.

I am done with the 1D array saving and scanning
now i will start in the 2D array saving scanning and moving

The current code i'm havving now

I have a question about the display,

since i'm going to use nxtSetPixel,
when we will say
if values[a] > threshold don't set pixel
else
set pixel.

that is a simple way to do it but how can i tell the x,y position of the pixel if we are assuming that x are rows and y are column

any help guys ?

This is the latest code i'm having now



the only thing I need help in is nxtSetPixel
i have only one pixel going everywhere, i need to set a pixel in each row if the value is less then the threshold which is 52. Can i have this last piece help please ?