Dimmable LED kitchen light (Arduino, APDS-9960, RGBWW led)

[TheoL]

@mfalkvidd I have so far not been able to cover the sensor. It's very sensitive. So if somebody knows a material that can cover the sensor while keeping it operating, I'll be be much obliged.

[scalz]

@mfalkvidd
I have played a lot with 9960 few weeks ago, as I have a project with it, I will show you maybe.. ;)

• theoretically 9960 is better than 9930. If you look at datasheet of 9930 it's mentioned as proximity (no gesture engine in it). whereas 9960 is.
• sometimes I had to tweak few offsets in lib for sensitivity or thresholds (on my side, because there is a very nasty while loop in the gesture process..)
• for covering it, you need a material with 80% min of IR transmittance or it won't work well or not at all..
  So with this kind of sensor, without a special material, you need a hole (enough large, see datasheet).

[Nca78]

@scalz said:

• for covering it, you need a material with 80% min of IR transmittance or it won't work well or not at all..

And the datasheet says 1mm thickness maximum for the glass/plastic and also 1mm maximum air gap between sensor and glass. They also suggest if you put a glass to put a rubber layer with just two holes for the led (1.5mm) and the photodetector (2mm) to avoid crosstalk (reflection of the IR light from the led will generate fake proximity or movement detections).

In short it sounds much easier to not use a cover, or else to make a "big" hole for the full sensor size.

[scalz]

@Nca78 i think behind a glass plate it's less reliable, even if using rubber layer because this sensor can be sensitive to light fluctuations etc, imho not the best sensor behing a glass plate but i have not run so much attempts on covering it, so..
but it's a fun sensor :)

[mfalkvidd]

With the cost of the sensor down to $7.40 (from $15 when I first bought one) and even lower when buying multiple sensors I think it is better to just replace the sensor when it becomes too dirty.

[mfalkvidd]

Today I learned that the APDS-9960 will detect steam. The kitchen went dark when I poured up boiling pasta and the steam ventured under the sensor. Exciting times ;-)

[Yveaux]

@mfalkvidd said:

APDS-9960 will detect steam

More general, it will detect heat (IR radiation), so putting your toaster below it might also turn the lights off (dark-roasting :metal: )

[hek]

Haha, funny story @mfalkvidd!

[mfalkvidd]

Special welcome to all Adafruit fans. (Adafruit covered this project on their blog yesterday: https://blog.adafruit.com/2016/11/21/gesture-controlled-dimmable-led-light-using-arduino-apds-9960-sensor-arduinomonday/ )

[Nca78]

@TheoL said in Dimmable LED kitchen light (Arduino, APDS-9960, RGBWW led):

@mfalkvidd I have so far not been able to cover the sensor. It's very sensitive. So if somebody knows a material that can cover the sensor while keeping it operating, I'll be be much obliged.

I'm trying with food wrap on a 9930 and it doesn't seem to affect the measurements much, as long as it's tight on the sensor.

[Nca78]

@mfalkvidd do you have any MySensors version of this sketch, that can be remotely controlled, or should I make one ?

[mfalkvidd]

@Nca78 I haven't had a need for remot control so I haven't made one.

Have been thinking about making it possible to control color remotely (the UX managing color with the gesture sensor would be a bit complicated, so an app or web interface could make sense) but it would be more of a gimmick than something I really needso it is pretty low on my priority list.

[rozpruwacz]

@Nca78 I'm also using 9930 and it is quite insensitive to transparent stuff, even partly transparent plastic cover. I am now finishing my kitchen and plan to put the sensor behind the milky plasic cover of the led aluminium profile, then drill the small hole for the ir diodes and cover the hole with fully transparent plastic. I made the prototype like this and it is working very well, but didn't test with the steam yet ...

[Nca78]

@rozpruwacz said in Dimmable LED kitchen light (Arduino, APDS-9960, RGBWW led):

@Nca78 I'm also using 9930 and it is quite insensitive to transparent stuff, even partly transparent plastic cover. I am now finishing my kitchen and plan to put the sensor behind the milky plasic cover of the led aluminium profile, then drill the small hole for the ir diodes and cover the hole with fully transparent plastic. I made the prototype like this and it is working very well, but didn't test with the steam yet ...

Did you manage to get reliable data with the 9930 ? It's fluctuating too much to allow the same behavior than what mfalkvidd implemented, so I just split the range in 2 areas "up" and "down" with a "neutral" area in the middle to implement some threshold to go in/out of the up and down zones.
I'm waiting for some very cheap "9960" from AliExpress, that I suspect will be some 9930, but if they are not then I will give up on this sensor as the price difference is very low now and is not worth the compromises.

[rozpruwacz]

i'm just using it as on/off switch and it is working perfectly. I also made some limited tests with the steam and has no issues with it.

[rozpruwacz]

I can now confirm that the apds 9930 module works without any issues. no steam problem so far and the module is located next to the stove. Here are some pictures :)

[Nca78]

@rozpruwacz said in Dimmable LED kitchen light (Arduino, APDS-9960, RGBWW led):

i'm just using it as on/off switch and it is working perfectly. I also made some limited tests with the steam and has no issues with it.
Do you use a relay to control the leds or still a MOSFET ?

[rozpruwacz]

@Nca78 said in Dimmable LED kitchen light (Arduino, APDS-9960, RGBWW led):

Do you use a relay to control the leds or still a MOSFET ?

i'm using mosfets.