TRAINING PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT

OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
IN
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
LDR CAMERA

SUBMITTED TO:
Dr. MUKUL SARKAR
ASST. PROF.
EE, IIT DELHI

SUBMITTED BY:
IKJOT SINGH 00696402813
Maharaja Agrasen Institute of
Technology, New Delhi

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY DELHI
HAUZ KHAS, NEW DELHI-110 016
JUNE-AUGUST 2015

CERTIFICATE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is often said that life is a mixture of achievements, failures, experiences, exposures and efforts to
make your dream come true. There are people around you who help you realize your dream. I
acquire this opportunity with much pleasure to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of Indian
Institute of Technology and all the people who have helped me through the course of my journey in
successful completion of this project.
I would like to articulate my gratitude and appreciation to my project guide Dr. Mukul Sarkar
Who has always been a constant motivation and guiding factor throughout the project time in and
out as well. It has been a great pleasure for me to get an opportunity to work under his guidance and
complete the project successfully. I express my thanks to Miss. Chandani Anand, Phd Scholar,
IITD for her kind cooperation during the period of my summer internship.
I am grateful to my friends who gave me the moral support in my times of difficulties. Last but not
the least I would like to express my special thanks to my family for their continuous motivation and
support.

Ikjot Singh
(00696402813)

Abstract

Now-a-days cameras are widely used in robots to understand gestures of an object or during
navigation. A simple non-conventional image sensor made with photoresistors and diodes is
presented for taking gestures of an object as input. The single pixel of the designed image sensor is
done with a LDR (Light Dependent Resistor) and a diode. Output of this device is fed to the
MATLAB and actions are triggered according to the program written in MATLAB by taking image
as an input. The image sensor consists of an array of 10 x 10 pixels and occupies an area of 7 x 7
cm2. The image sensor is designed and fabricated on a dotted PCB. Arduino Mega 2560 is used for
analog to digital conversion of the obtained signal. Captured image is viewed and processed in
MATLAB. The clear 10 x 10 pixels grayscale image was viewed after completion of this project.

INDEX

Certificate
Acknowledgement
Abstract
List of Figures
List of Photographs

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Objective
1.2.Prerequisites
1.2.1.
Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)
1.2.2.
Arduino
1.2.3.
MATLAB
2. PRINCIPLE CONCEPT AND WORKING
2.1.Concept of Digital Images
2.2.Characteristics of LDR
2.3.Working Concept of project
2.4.Elemental circuit and Prototype circuit
3. BUILDING THE PROJECT
3.1.Software
3.1.1.
Interfacing MATLAB with Arduino
3.1.2.
Commands used in MATLAB
3.1.3.
Code Algorithm
3.2.Hardware
3.2.1.
Hardware required and their description
3.2.2.
Soldering
3.2.3.
Steps for making the hardware
3.2.4.
Testing
3.2.5.
Precautions
Results
Conclusion
References

i
ii
iii
iv
v

List of Figure
S.NO.

FIGURE

FIGURE DESCRIPTION

NO.

PAGE
NO.

1.1

Photo Resistor Symbol

1.2

Arduino pin diagram

2.1

Pixel value in binary image

2.2

Pixel value in gray scale image

2.3

Resistance vs illumination graph of LDR

2.4

Concept diagram of this project

2.5

Elemental Circuit

2.6

Prototype circuit of LDR Multiplexing

4.1(a)-(f)

Output MATLAB Figures that are captured by

the LDR camera.

List of Photographs

S.N

PHOTOGRAP

PHOTOGRAPHS DESCRIPTION PAGE

H NO.

1.1

Commercial LDR

3.1

All parts required

3.2(a)

The way in which LDR must be put on

NO.

dotted PCB
4

3.2(b)

The way in which LDR must be put on

dotted PCB

3.3

The way row is soldered in a Row

3.4

Finished device (front view)

3.5

Finished device (back view)

4.1

Final Fabricated Hardware

CHAPTER: 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Objective
The main objective this project is to design an image sensor using photoresistors and to
acquire the captured image in the computer for further processing. The processed image can
be linked with a software for giving inputs to operating system. By achieving this device one
can control his computer by gestures.

1.2 Prerequisites
This project is the assemblage of the study of some devices and software which must be
known by a person working on this project. Basic element used in this project is Photo
resistor or light-dependent resistor (LDR), for controlling and operation of hardware
ARDUINO is used. To store the image and process it, a computer software is required, for
this project MATLAB has been used. A basic introduction to these topics is covered in
following topics.

1.2.1 Light Dependent Resistor (LDR)

A photoresistor or light-dependent

resistor (LDR)

or photocell is

light-controlled

variable resistor. The resistance of a photoresistor decreases with increasing incident light
intensity; in other words, it exhibits photoconductivity. A photoresistor can be applied in
light-sensitive detector circuits, and light- and dark-activated switching circuits.
A photoresistor is made of a high resistance semiconductor. In the dark, a photoresistor can
have a resistance as high as several megohms (M), while in the light, a photoresistor can
have a resistance as low as a few hundred ohms. If incident light on a photoresistor exceeds
a certain frequency, photons absorbed by the semiconductor give bound electrons enough
energy to

jump

into

the conduction

band. The

resulting

free

electrons

(and

their hole partners) conduct electricity, thereby lowering resistance. The resistance range and
sensitivity of a photoresistor can substantially differ among dissimilar devices. Moreover,

unique photoresistors may react substantially differently to photons within certain

wavelength bands.

Figure 1.1-Photoresistor
symbol

Photograph 1.1Commercial LDR

1.2.2 Arduino
Arduino is an open-source prototyping platform based on easy-to-use hardware and
software. Arduino boards are able to read inputs - light on a sensor, a finger on a button, or a
Twitter message - and turn it into an output - activating a motor, turning on an LED, publishing
something online. You can tell your board what to do by sending a set of instructions to the
microcontroller on the board. To do so you use the Arduino programming language (based on
Wiring), and the Arduino Software (IDE), based on Processing.
Over the years Arduino has been the brain of thousands of projects, from everyday objects to
complex scientific instruments. A worldwide community of makers - students, hobbyists, artists,
programmers, and professionals - has gathered around this open-source platform, their
contributions have added up to an incredible amount of accessible knowledge that can be of great
help to novices and experts alike.
Arduino was born at the Ivrea Interaction Design Institute as an easy tool for fast prototyping,
aimed at students without a background in electronics and programming. As soon as it reached a
wider community, the Arduino board started changing to adapt to new needs and challenges,
differentiating its offer from simple 8-bit boards to products for IoT applications, wearable, 3D

printing, and embedded environments. All Arduino boards are completely open-source,
empowering users to build them independently and eventually adapt them to their particular
needs. The software, too, is open-source, and it is growing through the contributions of users
worldwide.

Figure 1.2- ARDUINO pin diagram

1.2.3 MATLAB
The tutorials are independent of the rest of the document. The primarily objective is to help you
learn quickly the first steps. The emphasis here is learning by doing. Therefore, the best way to
learn is by trying it yourself. Working through the examples will give you a feel for the way that
MATLAB operates. In this introduction we will describe how MATLAB handles simple
numerical expressions and mathematical formulas. The name MATLAB stands for MATRIX
LABORATORY. MATLAB was written originally to provide easy access to matrix software

developed by the LINPACK (linear system package) and EISPACK (Eigen system package)
projects. MATLAB [1] is a high-performance language for technical computing. It integrates
computation, visualization, and programming environment. Furthermore, MATLAB is a modern
programming language environment: it has sophisticated data structures, contains built-in editing
and debugging tools, and supports object-oriented programming. These factors make MATLAB
an excellent tool for teaching and research. MATLAB has many advantages compared to
conventional computer languages (e.g., C, FORTRAN) for solving technical problems.
MATLAB is an interactive system whose basic data element is an array that does not require
dimensioning. The software package has been commercially available since 1984 and is now
considered as a standard tool at most universities and industries worldwide. It has powerful builtin routines that enable a very wide variety of computations. It also has easy to use graphics
commands that make the visualization of results immediately available. Specific applications are
collected in packages referred to as toolbox. There are toolboxes for signal processing, symbolic
computation, control theory, simulation, optimization, and several other fields of applied science
and engineering.

CHAPTER: 2 PRINCIPLE CONCEPT AND WORKING

2.1

Concept of Digital Images

Binary Images
In a binary image, each pixel assumes one of only two discrete values: 1 or 0. A binary image is
stored as a logical array. By convention, this documentation uses the variable name BW to refer
to binary images.
The following figure shows a binary image with a close-up view of some of the pixel values.

Figure 2.1- pixel values in binary image.

Grayscale Images
A digital image is a numeric representation (normally binary) of a two-dimensional image.
Depending on whether the image resolution is fixed, it may be of vector or raster type. By itself,
the term "digital image" usually refers to raster images or bitmapped images.

Figure 2.2 Pixel values in gray scale image.

An image can be of class uint8, uint16, single, or double. Each pixel color is of a value between
0 and 1 as depicted below. A pixel whose pixel color is 0 is displayed as black, and a pixel whose
color components pixel color is 1 is displayed as white.

2.2 Characteristics of LDR

LDRs are light dependent devices whose resistance decreases when light falls on them and
increases in the dark. When a light dependent resistor is kept in dark, its resistance is very high.
This resistance is called as dark resistance. It can be as high as 1012 . And if the device is
allowed to absorb light its resistance will decrease drastically. If a constant voltage is applied to
it and intensity of light is increased the current starts increasing. Figure below shows resistance
vs. illumination curve for a particular LDR.
Photocells or LDRs are nonlinear devices. There sensitivity varies with the wavelength of light
incident on them. Some photocells might not at all response to a certain range of wavelengths.
Based on the material used different cells have different spectral response curves.

Figure 2.3- Resistance vs illumination graph of LDR

2.3 Working Concept of Project

The setup of this project is as follows, it is the basic outline of the conceptual setup. In between a
light source and an object there will be a LDR based image sensor. This image sensor matrix
order should be as big as possible for best results. However, for our experimentation we have
restricted the order to 10x10.
Now the voltage developed across each LDR is fed to an Analog to Digital Convertor (ADC).
This ADC is further connected to a computer, via shift register, so that the MATLAB can use
these values.

However, to simplify our task specially when it comes to serial communication we decided to

use

an

Arduino

in place

of

the

ADC.

Arduino

sends

the data

received

from the

LDR

matrix

serially

to

the

Figure 2.4- Concept Diagram of this project

computer. MATLAB is programmed to read that data and store it in a matrix. After the scanning
process the image is displayed on the computer screen.

2.4 Elemental circuit and Prototype circuit

Following is the circuit taken from Mathworks documentation, a link to this has been given in
the references. Here a 5V supply is used to power the circuit. Now as light intensity falling on
the LDR varies the resistance of the LDR varies. This variation in LDR resistance causes a
change in voltage drop across the 10 K resistor. Now this voltage difference is read by ADC.
Now to simplify our task specially to do away with the serial communication problem, we
decided to use an Arduino instead. Arduino has a predefined library file for interfacing with
MATLAB. A link to learn this interfacing has also been provided in the references.

Next is the circuit diagram that we used for designing the circuit for our LDR Camera. For sake
of simplicity we initially considered only a 3 x 3 matrix. The multiplexing used here is very
similar to LED multiplexing.

Figure 2.6Figure
Prototype
2.5- Elemental
Circuit of circuit
LDR Multiplexing

When a particular column is set high and a particular row goes low, the circuit is completed for

the LDR present at their intersection. All the rest columns are kept low and similarly all the rest
rows are kept high. Any other LDR other than the selected one will be open circuited because the
corresponding diode will be reverse biased. All these column and rows pins are connected to the
DIGITAL PINS of Arduino. The reading across the 10 K resistor is taken by the ANALOG PIN
of Arduino as shown in figure.

Now one can extend this circuit to a MxN matrix (here in this project 10x10 matrix have been
used).
Why Using of Diodes with LDR?
During making this project firstly a matrix of LDR without Diodes were made, when it was
connected and run by the Arduino and MATLAB, no output was shown. Then after searching for
the problem this was found that all the resistors in the matrix were being activated
simultaneously as they were all connected to each other. But for this project to properly only one
LDR must be activated at instance. So this problem was resolved by soldering a Diode with each
LDR. After this when the multiplexing code was run, outputs were shown as expected.

CHAPTER: 3 EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURE

The making of this project is divided into two parts i.e. Hardware and Software. Software parts
include the interfacing of Arduino with MATLAB through USB cable. It also contains the
making of the code in MATLAB software which on execution traverse each LDR and stores the
analog value of the LDR at that instant in MATLAB matrix. The Hardware part includes
soldering the LDR and diodes on the dotted PCB (printed circuit board) and testing the circuit for
any errors or fault connections. It also includes the connection of LDR matrix image sensor with
Arduino pins.

3.1 Software
3.1.1 Interfacing MATLAB with Arduino
Arduino Support from MATLAB
MATLAB Support Package for Arduino hardware enables to use MATLAB to communicate with
the Arduino board over a USB cable. This package is based on a server program running on the
board, which listens to commands arriving via serial port, executes the commands, and, if
needed, returns a result. This approach helps in:

Start programming right away without any additional toolboxes.

Work in MATLAB for interactive development and debugging.

Interactively develop programs to acquire analog and digital data, and to control DC, servo,
and stepper motors.

Access peripheral devices and sensors connected over I2C or SPI.

Run control loops at up to 25 Hz (not real time).

Introduce mechatronics, signal processing, and electronics concepts in classroom labs.

This support package helps to make an object in MATLAB which will communicate with
Arduino.

Steps to Interface MATLAB with ARDUINO

1. Open the MATLAB then click on Add-ons then click further on Get Hardware Support
Packages.
2. Support Package Installer window will open then select install from folder if you have the
package downloaded otherwise select install from internet and click on next.
3. Then select Arduino from the list and select its MATLAB version then click on next
4. Login into MATLAB account and click on install
After installing the Arduino support package, Arduino object in the MATLAB can be created and
its programming can be done in MATLAB editor window.

Creating an Arduino object in MATLAB

An Arduino Object in MATLAB can be created simply by following syntax.
A= Arduino (Com Port, Arduino model);
For example:
If we are using Arduino Uno and it is connected at COM5 port, then the object is created as
follows:
A=Arduino (COM5, Uno);

During the creation of this object MATLAB writes a control code on Arduino, which transfers
the control of all the Arduino Digital and Analog pins to the MATLAB. MATLAB execute single
operation on Arduino in one cycle which reduces its speed.

3.1.2 Commands Used in MATLAB

Some basic commands in MATLAB

clc- It will clear the command window in MATLAB.

Clear all- It will clear all the variable in the workspace of MATLAB

Zeros It will create a matrix of zeros.

Syntax-

pic = zeros(m,n)

It will create mxn matrix with all values 0 and stores it in variable pic.
Commands related to Arduino object
These commands are case sensitive.

arduino
It creates a connection to unofficial (clone) Arduino hardware on the specified port and
enables users to operate Arduino through MATLAB by this object.
Syntax-

a = arduino (port , board);

Example a= arduino (com5, uno);

This example command will connect to the Arduino Uno on Com5.

pinMode
This will define the mode for the specified arduino pin and sets it as INPUT or
OUTPUT
SyntaxpinMode(a,pin,mode);
here a is the Arduino object made in MATLAB.
Example-

pinMode(a,3,output);
this will set the mode of the 3rd pin as output.

digitalWrite
This will set the value of the digital pin as high or low i.e. 1 or 0.
SyntaxdigitalWrite(a,pin,value);
here value can be 1 or 0.
ExampledigitalWrite(a,15,1);
this will set the 15th pin as high.

analogRead
This command will read the analog value that is present on the specified analog pin and
and is mapped into 0-1024. This commands returns the value so a variable must be
needed to store that value.
SyntaxVariable= analogRead(a,pin);
ExampleVal= analogRead(a,3);
This will read a value from the third analog pin of the Arduino and store it to the variable
val in MATLAB.

pause
It is used to give delay between commands or stops the execution temporarily.
Syntax-

pause(n)

Here n is the time in seconds for pause.

Some basic Image Processing commands in matlab

(to run these commands Image Processing Toolbox must be installed in MATLAB)

mat2gray
It converts the matrix A to the intensity image I. The returned matrix I contains values in
the range 0.0 (black) to 1.0 (full intensity or white).
Syntax-

I = mat2gray(A)

imshow
It displays the image I in a Handle Graphics figure, where I is a grayscale, RGB
(truecolor), or binary image. For binary images, imshow displays pixels with the
value 0 (zero) as black and 1 as white
Syntax-

imshow(I)

imtool
It will display the image I in Image viewer app windows in which various functions are
provided to make changes in the image.

3.1.3 Code Algorithm

1. Interface the Arduino with MATLAB by creating the Arduino object.

2. Define all the pin modes of pins from 26 to 45 as output and set all the even pins as
1 and all the odd pins as 0 between 26 and 45 (here even pins are columns and odd
pins are rows).

3. Construct a 3D zeros matrix of 10x10x30.

4. For k=13 to 22 repeat step 5
5. Set the column pin(2*k) as 0 and for j=13 to 22 repeat step 6.

6. Set the row pin(2*k+1) as 1 and read the analog value from analog pin(k-13) and
store it into 3D matrix.

7. Convert the 3D matrix to gray scale.

8. Finally display the image.

3.2 Hardware

3.2.1 Hardware Required and their description.

Following hardware is required to make this project so one must be familiar to these before
working on this project:

LDR (100 pc)

1N4007 Diodes (100 pc)
Dotted PCB (1)
Arduino (1)
Bug strips
Connecting wire
Bug strips connectors
Soldering Iron and Soldering wires

These all parts were kept on a single plate and captured.

Photograph 3.1- All Parts Required

3.2.2 Soldering
Basic Soldering Guide
1. Make sure soldering iron tip is clean and tinned with solder.
2. Heat the pad and component legs with tip of the iron simultaneously, be careful not to
burn the printed circuit board or any plastic or insulation.
3. Whilst the iron is still in contact with the area, apply a small amount of solder to the
join, hold the iron on until the solder flows properly.
4. Check to make sure the solder joint is nice and shiny and that it does not bridge any
connections.
5. Clean off the soldering iron and tin the tip, try to keep the tip well tinned with a nice
shiny layer of solder at all times.
Soldering Tips
1. Take your time and try to not add too much solder to the joints.
2. If you apply too much solder to a join, it can be removed by heating the solder till it is
liquid again, then the excess can be sucked off using a solder sucker.
3. Use sticky tac to hold the circuit board or components in place whilst soldering, this
will free up your hands and make the process much easier.
4. If at any point you feel the iron has been held on the circuit board or a component for
too long, remove the iron immediately and let the area cool down before continuing, over
heating the board or components can damage them irreparably.
5. Dull or dry joints can be easily repaired by re-flowing the solder.

6. Using the wire clippers to remove hardened solder can damage connections and can
de-laminate the metal from the substrate.
7. After soldering there can be excess flux on the board and around the soldering joints,
cleaning this off with a toothbrush and rubbing alcohol can help to protect the joints from
corrosion.
8. If you're having trouble with the solder spool sticking to the joint, remember to heat
the soldering area first, then apply the solder, remove the solder from the area, then
remove the iron from the area.

3.2.3 Steps for Making the Hardware

1. Start by placing all the LDRs in a row on a dotted PCB such that the two pins of an
LDR are in vertical.

Photograph 3.2(a)
Photograph 3.2(b)
2. Now bend the pins as shown in figure and solder it to the next consecutive pin in a
row.

Photograph 3.3

3. After soldering the pins along a row, now solder the diodes to the other left pins of
LDR that are still erect. (here I have soldered the diodes after placing them so that a
single pixel acquires smallest area).

4. Now repeat the above steps for each row and you will leave with 100 diodes pins
erected in the back side of the LDR matrix.

5. Now start soldering column wise such that all the pins in a column are connected
together.

6. The final device after completing soldering will appear like the following images. The
open ends are further connected to the bug strips in order to ease attachments.

Photograph 3.4- Finished Device (Front view)

Photograph 3.5- Finished Device (Back view)

3.3.3 Testing
Testing is the important part in making a hardware with correct connections. While
soldering one must continuously check the consecutive connections by multimeter
selected in buzzer mode. Test the circuit after soldering each row separately so that bugs
can be found there only.

3.3.4 Precautions

Only work in an environment that is well lit and ventilated.

Always unplug the soldering iron when it is unattended.

Be careful to keep clothes, hair, power cables and skin etc. away from the soldering
iron tip and the metal shaft.

Be careful when returning the iron to its stand, make sure it is secure and does not
fall off.

Always handle the iron by the plastic handle.

Point the circuit away from yourself and others whilst trimming down component
legs, and be careful of any sharp bits of metal whilst handling the circuit or
components.

RESULT
Final Fabricated Hardware
This is the final fabricated hardware of this project. Photograph 4.1 shows the LDR matrix
connected with the Arduino Mega 2560 with connecting wires. There is a USB Connectivity
from Arduino which can be connected to computer in order to communicate with MATLAB.

Photograph 4.1 Final Fabricated Hardware

Images taken from LDR Camera and extracted in MATLAB

The images were taken by the LDR Camera and extracted in MATLAB. In testing of the
finalized device, a finger was scrolled over the image sensor from left top corner to the left
bottom corner and output images are shown as follows.
Left Top

Left Top

Left Bottom

Left Bottom

Figure4.1 (a)

Figure 4.1 (b)

LeftLeft
TopTop

Left Bottom

Figure 4.1 (c)

Figure 4.1 (d)

Left Top

Figure

Left Top

4.1 (e)
Figure
Left Bottom

4.1 (f)

Left Bottom

Figure 4.1 (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) are the output MATLAB Figures that are captured by the LDR
camera.

CONCLUSION
A simple non-conventional image sensor was fabricated using photoresistors and diodes on a
puff board. The single pixel includes a LDR and Diode in series. The image sensor consists of an
array of 10 x 10 pixels and occupies an area of 7 x 7 cm2. The image sensor was designed and
fabricated on a dotted PCB. The clear 10 x 10 pixel grayscale image was viewed in result of this
project. Future work of this project will be focused on the gestural input through LDR camera.
Work will be carried on by first increasing its speed by making a hardwired chip and will try to
reduce the power consumption of this project.

REFERENCES
1. http://www.instructables.com/id/Tutorial-6-MATLAB-andArduinopart-1-up-and-run/
2. http://in.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/47605creating-amotion-detector-using-an-arduino--a-photoresistorandmatlab/content/html/Photoresistor_Motion_Detection_Article.ht
ml Figure-2 of our documentation was taken from this link.
3. Digital Image Processing (English) 3rd Edition Author : Richard
E Woods, Rafael C Gonzalez Publisher : Pearson ISBN-10 :
8131726959
4. Digital Image Processing using Matlab Author : Richard E
Woods, Rafael C Gonzalez,Steven L. Eddins Publisher : McGraw
Hill Education (India) Private Limited ISBN-10 : 0070702624
5.http://www.nfiautomation.org/FREE_Download/Technical
%20Documents/Arduino/30%20arduino%20projects%20for
%20the%20evil%20genius. pdf