Workshop Registration
Build your own ultrasonic scanner.
Six spots. First come, first served.
Registration closes Sunday, 4 October 2026. Only 6 spots are available — once they are gone, registration closes early.
Build a working ultrasonic scanner with an ESP32 and a servo motor that measures distances, sweeps its surroundings and shows what it detects as a live radar-style visualization.
How can a robot detect an obstacle without a camera? How does it know how far away something is, or which direction it's in?
In this hands-on workshop, you'll work in pairs to build a scanning system that uses sound to explore its surroundings. Starting with a simple ultrasonic sensor, we'll discover how echoes can be used to measure distance, then add a servo motor to scan across the room and turn those measurements into a live visualization on your computer.
But this isn't a workshop where you just copy and paste a finished project.
You'll build the system step by step through a series of guided coding challenges. At each stage, we'll introduce the tools you need, explain how they work, and let you figure out how to put them together. Working checkpoints will be available if you get stuck, so you can keep progressing without missing out on the next stage.
By the end, you'll have built a working ultrasonic scanner that measures distances, sweeps its surroundings, and displays what it detects in real time. There'll also be time to experiment, modify your code, and explore what else you can make your scanner do.
The workshop is designed for students with basic programming experience. No prior experience with electronics, microcontrollers, or embedded systems is required.
You'll work in pairs, and all hardware, laptops, starter code, and guidance will be provided.
You'll leave with a better understanding of how robots can sense their environment, and how a few simple electronic components can become a complete hardware and software system.
Organized by C Labs in collaboration with NXTspace and 42 Heilbronn.