Introduction: Color Sensor With LCD Screen

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About: Student at University of West Florida studying Digital Art will be graduating Fall of 2019. Plan to use this site to document my electronic projects and possibly other things.

The goal is to create a device that would allow colorblind people to detect colors without having to see the color. Utilizing the LCD screen with the sensor the color would get picked up then transferred to words onto the LCD screen. This device would hopefully be portable and if anything need to be plugged in from the DC barrel plug or into a laptop/computer through USB. I even would love to push it further to have it completely portable and with a battery clip. The color sensor wires would stick out from the clear housing and be on the outside where as the LCD screen, Arduino, wires, battery are inside the housing. The sensor could be moved around the outside of the housing to pick up different colors from objects.

Step 1: The Parts

  1. Arduino Uno
  2. LCD Screen
  3. RGB Color Sensor
  4. 9V Battery clip/plug in (not shown)
  5. PERF Board for shield
  6. header pins
  7. Wires
  8. Solder Iron/Solder

Step 2: Schematic Drawing

For Color Sensor:

5v -> VIN (red wire)

GND -> GND (green wire)

SDA(Analog 4) -> SDA (blue wire)

SCL(Analog 5) -> SCL (yellow wire)

For LCD Screen:

5v -> VCC (red wire)

GND -> GND (green wire)

SDA(Analog 4) -> SDA (blue wire)

SCL(Analog 5) -> SCL (yellow wire)

Step 3: Breadboard Wiring

Testing the components individually I got a reading off each of them. I then put them together and begin to mesh the code. Still trying to figure out a few tweaks, but it's defiantly getting somewhere. I decided to run both to the same port eventually (to A4 and A5) rather then using the other side which is shown here. It was only because of my shield board and the sizing that I have and the length of the jumper wires so I could have plug ins for the sensor and LCD.

Step 4: Setting Up the Parts

Receiving my parts, as you see in the picture I had to solder the header pins on to the color sensor. It was pretty quick and easy step. After this I knew I needed to work on my board I would have as a shield to plug on top of the Arduino which is shown in the photos.

First: I soldered pins to shield board on top of Arduino

then I took the board off the Arduino to not overheat it while I soldered the rest.

Second: Solder the red wires, your power wires to the 5V. I had to have one wire for each component.

Third: Solder the green wires, your ground wires.

Fourth: Solder the A4 pins which is the blue wires for the SDA connections.

Fifth: Solder the A5 pins which is the yellow wires for the SCL connections.

After all that your board should be ready to go.

Step 5: The Code

I'm still tweaking the code and also am waiting on replacement parts because mine have seem to be broken or I did something slightly off, but I don't have full final results yet and am only able to get the LCD to display two colors out of the three. I can't figure out how to make it only have one color appear.

Attachments

Step 6: The Housing

My wonderful boyfriend was able to construct me a metal box to hold my project in. I want the sensor to be outside of the box (where the wires are hanging out) so it can read the color and then it would appear on the cut out there is for the LCD. I lined the entire box with styrofoam and electrical tape to protect the metal from the electronics.

Using a barrel connector for a 9V to the Arduino to power the product.