Apds 9960 - Color Sensor

This page contains simple examples of initialization and color detection using the APDS-9960 sensor.

Color Sensor

In this code snippet, the loop() function continuously checks whether a color reading is available from the APDS-9960 sensor. It uses the colorAvailable() function to wait until the color reading is ready. If the reading is not available, the delay(5) function pauses briefly before checking again.

Once a color reading becomes available, the readColor() function is called to retrieve the red, green, and blue (RGB) color intensities. These values are stored in the variables r, g, and b, respectively.

The RGB values are then printed to the Serial Monitor to display the current color detected by the sensor. A newline is added after each set of color values for readability.

To prevent continuous querying and to control the reading frequency, a delay(1000) function is used to pause for one second before taking another color reading.

void loop()
{
    // check if a color reading is available
    while (!APDS.colorAvailable())
    {
        delay(5); // Wait for a color reading to be available
    }
    int r, g, b;  // Initialize variables for color intensities

    // read the color
    APDS.readColor(r, g, b);

    // print the values
    Serial.print("r = ");
    Serial.println(r);
    Serial.print("g = ");
    Serial.println(g);
    Serial.print("b = ");
    Serial.println(b);
    Serial.println();

    // wait a bit before reading again
    delay(1000);
}

APDS.colorAvailable()

Enables the color sensor and verifies the sensor's status.

Returns value: An integer: 1 if color data is available, 0 otherwise.

APDS.readColor()

Reads color data (clear, red, green, and blue) from the APDS9960 sensor and stores the values in references.

Returns value: True if the data is successfully read and false if an error occurs, setting the color values to -1 in case of failure.

Full example

Open the Serial Monitor at 115200 baud to observe the detected color values.

// Include the library
#include "APDS9960-SOLDERED.h"

// Create an APDS-9960 object
APDS_9960 APDS;

// Setup function, runs once
void setup()
{
    Serial.begin(115200); // Begin serial communication with the PC
    while (!Serial) // Wait until serial becomes active
        ;

    if (!APDS.begin())  // Begin communication with the sensor
    {
        Serial.println("Error initializing APDS-9960 sensor!");
        while (1); // Loop forever if the sensor is not available
    }

    Serial.println("Sensor initialized.");
}

void loop()
{
    // check if a color reading is available
    while (!APDS.colorAvailable())
    {
        delay(5); // Wait for a color reading to be available
    }
    int r, g, b;  // Initialize variables for color intensities

    // read the color
    APDS.readColor(r, g, b);

    // print the values
    Serial.print("r = ");
    Serial.println(r);
    Serial.print("g = ");
    Serial.println(g);
    Serial.print("b = ");
    Serial.println(b);
    Serial.println();

    // wait a bit before reading again
    delay(1000);
}