Want to measure angle and rolling distance with Pico W

Discussion
1

Hello!

I’m a novice and looking for advice on which components to buy for my Pico W. I want to…

  1. measure the angle of an arm that moves freely. It only needs to travel 90deg and will be resting against something that will get smaller over time (a roll of fabric).
  2. measure distance through a rolling wheel.

What I plan to make is a device that can accurately estimate the length of fabric remaining on a core and I want to try doing it in two ways: (1) circumference of the roll (through the angle sensor) and (2) the distance traveled of a wheel as it is turned against the fabric roll.

What would these things be called and can you suggest some part numbers?

2

For the first part an accelerometer should do. I don’t understand the second item, maybe you can post a drawing to help me understand.

3

Thanks for your reply. It’s funny because I thought the #1 was going to be hard to understand.

#2 is just like the wheel and odometer on a car. The roll of fabric is the “road” and this other rolling device is the “tire”. Something else should be measuring how far the device/sensor has rolled.

Do you have any specific part number recommendations?