The Infrared Sensor block gets data from the Infrared Sensor. You can measure sensor data in the Proximity, Beacon, and Remote modes and get Numeric output. You can also compare sensor data to an input value and get a Logic (True or False) output.

See Using the Infrared Sensor for more information about the data provided by the Infrared Sensor, and programming examples.

Tips and Tricks

Tip: The Infrared Sensor block outputs data with Data Wires. See Using the Infrared Sensor for other ways to use the Infrared Sensor that don’t require a data wire.

Choose the Sensor Port and Mode

Port Selector

Mode Selector

Inputs

Outputs

Use the Port Selector on the top of the block to make sure that the sensor port number (1, 2, 3, or 4) matches the port on the EV3 Brick that the Infrared Sensor is connected to.

Use the Mode Selector to select the mode for the block. The Inputs and Outputs available will change depending on the mode.

Measure - Proximity

The Measure – Proximity mode uses the Infrared Sensor in Proximity mode. The proximity is output in Proximity.

See programming example 2 in Using the Infrared Sensor Proximity Mode for more information.

Measure - Beacon

The Measure – Beacon mode uses the Infrared Sensor in Beacon mode. Set the Channel to the beacon channel that you want to detect. The beacon proximity is output in Proximity, and the beacon heading is output in Heading.

The Detected output is True if the beacon is detected. If the beacon is not detected, Detected will be False, Proximity will be 100, and Heading will be 0.

See Using the Infrared Sensor Beacon Mode for more information.

Measure - Remote

The Measure – Remote mode uses the Infrared Sensor in Remote mode. Set Channel to the channel used by the IR Beacon. The Button ID of the currently pressed button, or combination of buttons, is output in Button ID.

See Using the Infrared Sensor Remote Mode for more information.

Compare Modes

The Compare – Proximity, Compare – Beacon Heading, and Compare – Beacon Proximity modes compare the sensor data to the Threshold Value using the selected Compare Type. The True/False result is output in Compare Result, and the sensor data is output in the chosen sensor data type.

See Using the Infrared Sensor for more information about the data provided by the Infrared Sensor.

Compare - Remote

The Compare – Remote mode uses the Infrared Sensor in Remote mode. You can select one or more Button ID values in the Set of Remote Button IDs. The Compare Result output will be True if any of the selected buttons is currently pressed on the IR Beacon. The Button ID output will be the Button ID of the currently pressed button or button combination.

See Using the Infrared Sensor Remote Mode for more information.

Inputs and Outputs

The inputs available for the Infrared Sensor Block will depend on the mode selected. You can enter the input values directly into the block. Alternatively, the input values can be supplied by Data Wires from the outputs of other Programming Blocks.

Input	Type	Allowed Values	Notes
Channel	Numeric	1 - 4	The channel on the IR Beacon to detect.
Compare Type	Numeric	0 - 5	0: = (Equal to) 1: ≠ (Not Equal to) 2: > (Greater than) 3: ≥ (Greater than or Equal to) 4: < (Less than) 5: ≤ (Less than or Equal to)
Threshold Value	Numeric	Any number	Value to compare sensor data to
Set of Remote Button IDs	Numeric Array	Each element: 0 - 11	Button ID(s) to test. See Using the Infrared Sensor Remote Mode.

The outputs available will depend on the mode selected. To use an output, use a Data Wire to connect it to another Programming Block

Output	Type	Values	Notes
Proximity	Numeric	0 to 100	The beacon or object proximity. 0 means very close, and 100 means far away. The Proximity will be 100 if the beacon or object is not detected at all.
Detected	Logic	True/False	True if the beacon is detected.
Heading	Numeric	-25 to 25	The beacon heading. 0 means the beacon is directly in front of the sensor, negative values are to the left, and positive values are to the right.
Button ID	Numeric	0 - 11	Identifies which button, or combination of buttons, is pressed on the IR Beacon. See Using the Infrared Sensor Remote Mode.
Compare Result	Logic	True/False	True/False result of a Compare mode.