Application Information

The REV Robotics Color Sensor has two sensing elements: color and proximity.

Color measurements consist of Red, Green, Blue, and Alpha (clear) values. The white LED on the sensor has a slide switch to turn the LED on or off. Unlit targets are best illuminated with the build-in LED while bright or light-emitting targets may not require the build-in LED. Color data is best collected within 2cm of the target for the strongest color differentiation.

Proximity measurements are based on IR reflectance and can vary depending on lighting conditions and target reflectivity. The proximity sensor is ideally used to determine if something is in front of the sensor. While you can receive rough distance data, we recommend using the 2m Distance Sensor or similar time-of-flight sensor for accurate distance measurement.

FTC Application

Configuring for the Control System

When working with the Color Sensor V3 configure your robot to use the "REV Color Sensor V3" as shown in the image below.

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In this example, the Color Sensor V3 is configured on I2C bus 0. The Color Sensor V3 can be configured on any of the I2C busses as long as a 2m Distance Sensor is not configured to the same bus.

Programming Example

This program shows the values from the Color Sensor on your phone. Your team will need to figure out the logic to use this information in your program. Below there are three examples of different color modes and their readings. Light Detected mode will read the amount of light on the sensor from 0-1.0. Because the sensor is close to a surface, the LED in the sensor reads 1.0 in the examples.

Blocks

OnBot Java

Blocks

OnBot Java

The code assumes that the Color Sensor was configured with the name “Color.”

package org.firstinspires.ftc.teamcode;
 
import com.qualcomm.robotcore.eventloop.opmode.LinearOpMode;
import com.qualcomm.robotcore.hardware.ColorSensor;
import com.qualcomm.robotcore.eventloop.opmode.TeleOp;
 
@TeleOp
public class TestColorSensor extends LinearOpMode {
    // Define a variable for our color sensor
    ColorSensor color;
    
    @Override
    public void runOpMode() {
        // Get the color sensor from hardwareMap
        color = hardwareMap.get(ColorSensor.class, "Color");
        
        // Wait for the Play button to be pressed
        waitForStart();
 
        // While the Op Mode is running, update the telemetry values.
        while (opModeIsActive()) {
            telemetry.addData("Red", color.red());
            telemetry.addData("Green", color.green());
            telemetry.addData("Blue", color.blue());
            telemetry.update();
        }
    }
}
​

FRC Application

Software Libraries

For information on how to install 3rd Party Libraries with the FRC Control System see the WPILib Documentation.

• ​LabVIEW SDK Direct Download​

• ​Java/C++ SDK Direct Download​

• Java/C++ SDK Online Installation json: http://revrobotics.com/content/sw/color-sensor-v3/sdk/REVColorSensorV3.json

Change Logs

• ​LabVIEW​

• ​Java/C++​

API Documentation

• ​Java API Documentation​

• ​C++ API Documentation​

FRC 2020 REV Color Sensor V3 Example Code

• ​C++ Examples​

• ​Java Examples​

• ​LabVIEW Examples​

Additional Resources

Additional information about the APDS-9151, its capabilities, and its features can be found in the following datasheet:

• ​APDS-9151 Datasheet​