Color Sensor Recognition Module TCS3200

The TCS3200 Color Sensor Daughterboard is a complete color detection module, featuring a TAOS TCS3200 RGB sensor chip, built-in white LEDs, and standoffs to maintain the optimal sensing distance. It can detect and measure a wide range of visible colors.

Applications:
It is suitable for tasks such as reading test strips, sorting objects by color, sensing ambient light, calibration, color matching, and more.

The TCS3200 contains an array of photodetectors, each filtered for red, green, blue, or left clear. The filters are evenly distributed to avoid location bias. Internally, the sensor has an oscillator that generates a square-wave output, with frequency proportional to the intensity of the selected color.

Features:

• Sensor chip: TCS3200
• Input voltage: DC 3–5V
• Equipped with bright white LEDs
• Can interface directly with a microcontroller
• Provides static color detection of objects
• Optimal detection distance: 1 cm

How to Use TCS3200:
The TCS3200 detects the color of an object by measuring the light wavelength reflected from it. The sensor contains an 8×8 array of photodiodes that convert light into current. This current is then converted into a digital signal via a current-to-frequency converter, which can be read by an Arduino or other microcontrollers.

The sensor has four control pins: S0, S1, S2, and S3.

• S2 and S3 select the color mode (red, green, or blue). For example, to detect red, both pins are set to a low logic level.
• S0 and S1 control the output frequency scaling, allowing it to be set to 100%, 20%, or 2% of the original signal.