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Apologies for a novice question. I'm looking into designing a system which would detect presence of certain objects on say a shelf. I think (not sure) I need to use "load cells" for that. Is that so? How expensive those things are? Where to get them (I need about 100)? The objects I need to detect weights between 0.5kg to 20kg. It doesn't have to be very precise, just need to detect presence of a single object.

Thanks!

Update: a little bit more info - I need to detect very similar in size and weight objects, which will be placed on a shelf in a cabinet. I can assume that the objects will be placed in rows, like bricks (but with some space between them in the horizontal pane).

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    \$\begingroup\$ Welcome to the site. We don't do recommendations as they are quickly out of date. Load cells are mechanical and therefore expensive (relatively) - could you do your detection optically? \$\endgroup\$
    – awjlogan
    Commented Nov 29, 2020 at 10:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks, that (mechanical device) is one of my concerns indeed. Any suggestions on [cheap] optical detection (see update in the post for details)? \$\endgroup\$
    – Demiurg
    Commented Nov 30, 2020 at 11:53

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It depends on your strategy and the way that your objects are classifiable.

For instance, if every class of your objects has a different weight, then the answer to your question is 'YES'. Also if you are just looking to know that something is present on the shelf, and you are not looking to classify them, again the answer is 'YES'; in this case, depending on your object (shape, height, material, etc.) you may be able to use optical solutions, too.

However, if you want to classify and there are different objects with the same weight, you can not use the loadcells.

If you are looking to do something with loadcells, there are a lot of commercial models that are very cheap and surprisingly accurate. A complete pack with Arduino kit can be find here: Invento Arduino Weight Scale DIY Kit 20Kg Load

There are a ton of these tools on the internet. This one is 20kg as you needed. The less the scale, more the accuracy. I used a 5kg once and it was repeatable and accurate up to 5g (1/1000).

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Thanks. No need to classify. I will look into that Arduino kit. \$\endgroup\$
    – Demiurg
    Commented Nov 30, 2020 at 11:56

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