Commonly used sensor types for Arduino robots

There are so many distinct types of robots that it is impossible to make a general recommendation for the right sensors to choose for your project. But it is useful to know what sensors are out there so you know what you can choose from. We will look at a list of sensor types in this section, and then revisit some of them later in the chapter as examples for several types of interfaces. Most of the parts that we will call sensors are technically sensor modules. The actual sensor is only one part of it, and there are additional parts such as voltage regulators, signal conditioning circuitry, and Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs). It is not uncommon for all these parts to be integrated into a single chip.

Switches and buttons

Arguably the simplest sensor types are switches and buttons that either open or close a contact when pressed, and do the opposite when released. Simple as they are, they might be all that your first mobile robot...