Programming instructions

accessories
sensor accessories
Optical Shaft Encoder Kit, continued
Optical Shaft Encoder Kit • 2
For More Information, and additional Parts & Pieces refer to:
www.VexRobotics.com
Technical overview
The Optical Shaft Encoder uses an infrared light sensor to detect
illumination from an infrared LED passing through slots cut in
the circumference of a rotating wheel.
From basic geometry, we know that the circumference of a circle is
equal to (pi) times the diameter of the circle.
The distance travelled by a wheel, then, is simply the circumference of
the wheel times the number of revolutions the wheel has made.
For a standard wheel in the Vex Inventor’s kit, the diameter is 2.75”.
So the distance the wheel travelled would be:
1
x π (pi = approx. 3.14)
circumference
distance = (circumference) x (number of revolutions)
distance = 8.64” x (number of revolutions)
diameter of wheel
=
Go to Reference Links