TCS230 Colour Recognition Sensor Module

Although we humans typically take our colour-sensing abilities for granted, given the fact that the majority of us have the ability to quickly identify precise colours and shades in almost any visible light levels, Sensor Modules like the TCS230 Colour Recognition Sensor Module are excellent tools for showing us just how difficult that seemingly simple task can be.

These fantastic little Modules are relatively simple, and utilise an array of 64 tiny Light Sensors all grouped together onto a single chip. This array of sensors is split into four groups of 16, with each group having a different colour filter – with one set of 16 sensors having no filter in order to identify brightness instead of colour intensity. The tiny array is then complemented by four white LED Units that provide sufficient lighting for the sensors to pick up from. Then, the groups of filtered sensors identify the intensity of the Red, Green and Blue light, with the final set defining the brightness of the colour that is being radiated off of the item being measured.

As a final note, this colour sensor module has an ideal distance of only 10mm, which means it does need to be very close to objects to sense them correctly. Additionally, this sensor can be quite susceptible to excess light from other sources, so it may certainly be a good idea to make a small shroud, either out of black-painted wood, masking tape, or anything else that you can surround the sensor with effectively. This will greatly improve the accuracy and consistency of the sensor, as it won’t change according to the time of day, typical lighting levels in the room, or different environmental conditions that you as a human may not even notice.

Typical Applications for the TCS230 Colour Sensor Module:

Using the TCS230 Colour Recognition Sensor Module for projects is relatively easy, and the only real tricky part is controlling the brightness that the sensor takes in. Fortunately, this is quite easy to remedy if you simply print or build a black shroud so as to block out excess light that may be hitting the sensor. This, in addition to the calibration steps that users perform when setting up the sensing environment, makes it relatively easy to control the excess light intake, with the remainder of the work being the installation of libraries and the connection of various Components.

As such, after setting this module up, it can be used for standard colour sensing, as well as a range of other applications, with some of the more unique project ideas being:

• Creating a non-contact liquid level sensor, that identifies the colour of the liquid through a clear container, and then refills or empties the container once that colour appears or disappears.
• Building your own light sensor, that can identify both the brightness and colour of incoming lights, so as to identify time of day, smog levels or even objects that might be obstructing the light from reaching the sensor.
• Making the classic “Candy Sorting Device”, that reads the colour of candies and sweets like Smarties, Astros or Skittles before sorting each colour into a corresponding container or pile.

As you can see, this sensor is more than just a colour sensor, and because it operates on variable inputs of Red, Green and Blue light, in conjunction with brightness levels, it can actually be used for a lot more if you are willing to take the time to test, experiment with and push the sensor to its limits.