Ping))) Ultrasonic Sensor

[deanhunt]

The boys at Garage of Evil commented in a podcast that the ping ultrasonic sensor was the best trigger for a prop. They mentioned a prop that would trigger sound as the "victim" got 10 feet away and then fog and light at 5 feet and then pop-out at 2 feet. This could be done thru programming of a PROP1/2/SX. I got on the Parallax.com site and the sensor is only $29.
Have you written any code for this? What are your thoughts?

[JonnyMac]

I have written LOTS of code for all Parallax processors for the Ping))) -- but I disagree with our friends at GoE vis-a-vis reliable human distance detection.  The problem is that we humans are soft (some of us more than others!) and our clothes cause even more problems with accurate reflections to the sensor.  You really need to bounce the beam off a hard or semi-solid surface.  I suppose if your victim guest was wearing a leather jacket you'd be fine, but a fluffy sweater would just "swallow" the acoustic pulse and not reflect much back.

That said, I love the Ping))) as an invisible beam break -- works up to about 10 feet very well (again, with a hard, flat target to reflect the beam back).