TCS3200 Colour Sensor

Point a chip at a coloured surface and read its red, green, and blue components as pulse frequencies.

Difficulty: Breadboard. Estimated build time: about 30 minutes. Estimated parts cost: about US$6.00. 4-part bill of materials with live supplier pricing. A digital colour identifier built from the TAOS TCS3200D, a single-chip light-to-frequency converter with a grid of photodiodes covered by red, green, blue, and clear filters.