The Testing and Design of an Arduino

Microcontroller Board for the Study of

Proxemics

ABSTRACT
The accurate and anonymous measurement of proxemics in social research
can prove to be problematic. The current paper proposes the design and use
of an Arduino microcontroller board to record time and date incidents
within a predefined spatial distance. Initial testing of the completed
prototype proved successful and has implications for use in human factors,

By Thien-Bach Huynh, Leon Hardy, Mark Pezzo,

and Otis Wilder

marketing, and other experiments requiring such data. The device also
demonstrates the ability to be modified with additional sensors and lighting
in future designs.

College of Arts and Sciences

Mentored by Dr. Leon Hardy and Dr. Mark Pezzo,

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

INTRODUCTION

Gillam, 2004; Jorgensen, 1989; Orb, Eisenhauer, & Wynaden,

The observation of participants interacting with their

environment has long been a reliable method of collecting data

2001).
This

paper

proposes

the

use

of

an

Arduino

in social research (Smith & Davis, 2010). One important

microcontroller board to record the amount of time subjects

observable phenomenon used in social research, such as human

spend in a particular location within a predefined distance

factors and marketing, is proxemics (Meyer, 2001; Wickens &

between 2cm and 3m. We discuss the design and development

Carswell, 1995). Proxemics is defined as a human beings

of a prototype device for experiments requiring this kind of

preferred level of spatial separation from other beings and

information where accuracy and anonymity are desired. Video

objects. For purposes of this project, the focus is human/object

monitoring is also typically used for observations but still does

spatial distance. Measurement of proxemics has typically been

not solve the ethical issue of privacy (Boote & Mathews, 1999;

accomplished

the

Bulmer, 1982). The successful implementation of the Arduino

experimenter. However, these methods of data collection can

microcontroller allows for the recording of proximal data while

be problematic under certain experimental conditions. Natural

maintaining participant anonymity. Design considerations

observation techniques do not provide distance accuracy

include methods used to obtain proximity information using an

between participant and object, and may also prove intrusive to

ultrasonic sensor attached to an Arduino microcontroller board

the experiment which creates ethical considerations where

and the electronic configuration needed to record information

anonymity

such as a time/date stamp and duration on a storage device for

of

by

self-report

participants

or

is

observation

preferred

or

by

required.

Considerations for participant observation have long been a

subsequent analysis.

concern for researchers in social science, including those

studying proxemics (Boote & Mathews, 1999; Guillemin &

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

METHODS

SPI, reserved pin 12 for MISO (Master In, Slave Out) SPI,

In Figure 1, our instrumentation package is composed

reserved pin 13 for SCK (Clock Sync) SPI, reserved analog

of of-the-shelf Arduino duemilanove, a parallax ultrasonic

pin 2 for RTC, reserved analog pin 3 for RTC, and reserved pin

sensor, DS1307 RTC or real time clock, a MicroSD Shield

7 for Parallax Ultrasonic Sensor.

memory device, a breadboard and software that can uploaded

When all the components are connected, the next phase

to the board. We remark that various sensors can be used to

of the project is to program the Arduino board via IDE

collect and record the required data.

including the APIs, which are C++ header files: Wire.h,

RTClib.h and SD.h. Software is required and uploaded to the
Arduino microcontroller board. A listing of the code for the
operation of the ultrasonic sensor is given in the Appendix I.
Once experimental data is obtained, the MicroSD Shield
memory card is removed and connecting to a computer for
download. The data, in text format, can then be analyzed using
any number of software packages. See Figures 2 and 3.

Figure 1. The instrumentation package for the ultrasonic sensor.

We show the completed proximity sensor inside a black

project box. On the other side of this box, two holes were
drilled for the ultrasonic sensor. The pin configuration for the
proximity sensor is: reserved pin 4 for CSB for microSD on
Duemanilove, reserved pin 11 for MOSI (Master Out, Slave In)

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

Figure 2. The proximity sensor.

Figure 3. A working prototype.

CONCLUSION
This paper demonstrates the initial testing of the
Arduino microcontroller board with an ultrasonic sensor as an
accurate and anonymous method to measure proximity. The
Arduino microcontroller, as proposed, successfully records the
time in a particular location within a predefined range of 2cm
to 3m along with the date, and stores each incident on a
microSD card. The data stored on the microSD card can then

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

be transferred to a computer for interpretation. Further

deployment to a specific location and required disclosure of

experiments are planned for the ultrasonic sensor (see Figure 3)

observation, which may create participant bias. This bias,

are underway.

commonly referred to as the Hawthorne Effect, provides

Future considerations

evidence that participants monitor and alter their behavior

The Arduino microcontroller board is expansive to

when they have knowledge of being observed (Merrett, 2006).

various types of sensors which may lead to a number of

In this example, deployment of the Arduino microcontroller on

modifications to measure other data. It is adaptable to other

the robot could have provided anonymous data relevant to the

sensors that range from LED lights to temperature recording

researchers goals without direct observation in a variety of

sensors. The modular design makes the Arduino

natural settings.

instrumentation small and compact for a wide variety of

implementations. A practical use of the Arduino
microcontroller can best be described by example. In an
experiment designed to study the proxemics of human/robot
interaction, the goal was to measure the distance between
participants and an autonomous social robot as they passed
each other in a corridor (Pacchierotti, Christensen & Jensfelt,
2006). Although the robot carried onboard sensors to detect
objects and avoid collisions, it was not capable of recording the

REFERENCES
Boote, J. & Mathews, A. (1999). Saying is one thing; doing is
another: The role of observation in marketing research.
Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal,
2(1), 15-21.
Bulmer, M. (1982) When is disguise justified? Alternatives to
covert participant observation, Qualitative Sociology, 5
(Summer), 269-285

encounter time within a predefined distance for each

participant. Video monitoring was utilized to evaluate the
distance between participant and robot which limited the

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

Guillemin, M., & Gillam, L. (2004). Ethics, reflexivity, and

Smith, R. A., & Davis, S. F. (2010). The psychologist as

ethically important moments in research. Qualitative

detective: An introduction to conducting research in

Inquiry, 10, 261-280.

psychology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Jorgensen, D. L. (1989). Participant-observation: A

Wickens, C. D., & Carswell, C. M. (1995). The Proximity

methodology for human studies, vol. 15, applied research

Compatibility Principle: Its psychological foundation and

methods series. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

relevance to display design. Human Factors, 37(3), 473-

Merrett, F. (2006). Reflections on the Hawthorne effect.

479.
Appendix A

Educational Psychology, 26, 143-146. Meyer, J. (2001).

Effects of warning validity and proximity on responses to

A listing of the code.

warnings. Human Factors, 43, 563572.

RTC_Millis RTC; const int chipSelect = 4; File dataFile;

int ultraSoundSignal = 7; // Ultrasound signal pin int count = 0; // Echo
counter int clock = 998; int sec = 0;
void setup() {
//be careful, RTC baud rate is 56700
Serial.begin(9600); Serial.print("Initializing SD card..."); // make sure that
the default chip select pin is set to // output, even if you don't use it:
pinMode(10, OUTPUT);
// see if the card is present and can be initialized: if (!SD.begin(chipSelect))
{
Serial.println("Card failed, or not present");
// don't do anything more:
return; }
Serial.println("card initialized."); //begin the RTC time
RTC.begin(DateTime(__DATE__, __TIME__));
}
void loop() {
long cm, duration; count = 0; pinMode(ultraSoundSignal, OUTPUT); //

Orb, A., Eisenhauer, L., &Wynaden, D. (2001). Ethics in

qualitative research. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33(1),
93-96.
Pacchierotti, E., Christensen, H., Jensfelt, P. (2005). Humanrobot embodied interaction in hallway settings: a pilot user
study. Paper presented at the IEEE international workshop
on robot and human interactive communication, RO-MAN,
Nashville, USA, 164171.

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

Switch signalpin to output // make a string for assembling the data to

log: String dataString = "";
digitalWrite(ultraSoundSignal, LOW); // Send low pulse
delayMicroseconds(2); // Wait for 2 microseconds
digitalWrite(ultraSoundSignal, HIGH); // Send high pulse
delayMicroseconds(5); // Wait for 5 microseconds
digitalWrite(ultraSoundSignal, LOW); // Holdoff
//set Date to now DateTime now = RTC.now();
pinMode(ultraSoundSignal, INPUT); // Switch signalpin to input duration =
pulseIn(ultraSoundSignal, HIGH);
cm = microsecondsToCentimeters(duration);
//if object is within range, it prints the following //adjust cm to get desired
ranger //I made centimeter greater than 10 to have fun. Change it to 0 if (cm
> 0 && cm <= 25){
sec = sec + 1; Serial.print('A'); // Example identifier for the sensor (sensor
A) Serial.println(); Serial.print("Foobar!"); //will loop these messages until
object is out of range Serial.println();
}
//when object is not in range, prints out duration of object placed //in front
of sensor else if (cm > 25) {
count = count + 1; if (sec){
dataFile = SD.open("pisslog.txt", FILE_WRITE);
// if the file is available, write to it: if (dataFile) {
//write date stuff to file dataFile.println(); dataFile.print("Time (in seconds)
object was in front of sensor: "); dataFile.print(sec); dataFile.print("
seconds"); dataFile.print("\t"); dataFile.println(); dataFile.print(now.year(),
DEC); dataFile.print('/'); dataFile.print(now.month(),
DEC); dataFile.print('/'); dataFile.print(now.day(), DEC); dataFile.print('
'); dataFile.print(now.hour(),
DEC); dataFile.print(':'); dataFile.print(now.minute(),
DEC); dataFile.print(':'); dataFile.print(now.second(),
DEC); dataFile.println(); dataFile.println(now.unixtime());
dataFile.println("\n----------------------------------------"); dataFile.close(); //
print to the serial port too:);
}}
sec = 0; // restarts count
} delay(1000);

University of South Florida St. Petersburg Student Research Journal Volume 2 Issue 1

}
long microsecondsToCentimeters(long microseconds) {
// The speed of sound is 340 m/s or 29 microseconds per centimeter. // The
ping travels out and back, so to find the distance of the // object we take half
of the distance travelled. return microseconds / 29 / 2;
}