Can anyone please help me to modify the code so that it runs faster?

Question

this is a program for a blindspot detection system using 4 ultrasonic and 2 ir sensors. can someone help me in modifyng the code so that this runs faster?

#include<LiquidCrystal.h> 
#define trigbl 14
#define echobl 15
#define trigbr 16
#define echobr 17
#define trigfl 18
#define echofl 19
#define trigfr 8
#define echofr 9
#define bl 10
#define br 11
long durationbl;
long durationbr;
long durationfl;
long durationfr;
int distancebl;
int distancebr;
int distancefl;
int distancefr;
int irr;
int irl;
int a;
int b;
LiquidCrystal lcd(7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2);
void setup()
{
 lcd.begin(16, 2);
 pinMode(trigbl, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echobl, INPUT);
 pinMode(trigbr, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echobr, INPUT);
 pinMode(trigfl, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echofl, INPUT);
 pinMode(trigfr, OUTPUT);
 pinMode(echofr, INPUT);
 pinMode(bl, INPUT_PULLUP);
 pinMode(br, INPUT_PULLUP);
}
void loop()
{
 digitalWrite(trigbl, LOW);
 delay(2);
 digitalWrite(trigbl, HIGH);
 delay(10);
 digitalWrite(trigbl, LOW);
 durationbl = pulseIn(echobl, HIGH);
 distancebl = durationbl * 0.034 / 2;
 int a1=distancebl;
 digitalWrite(trigbr, LOW);
 delay(2);
 digitalWrite(trigbr, HIGH);
 delay(10);
 digitalWrite(trigbr, LOW);
 durationbr = pulseIn(echobr, HIGH);
 distancebr = durationbr * 0.034 / 2;
 int a2=distancebr;
 digitalWrite(trigfl, LOW);
 delay(2);
 digitalWrite(trigfl, HIGH);
 delay(10);
 digitalWrite(trigfl, LOW);
 durationfl = pulseIn(echofl, HIGH);
 distancefl = durationfl * 0.034 / 2;
 int a3=distancefl;
 digitalWrite(trigfr, LOW);
 delay(2);
 digitalWrite(trigfr, HIGH);
 delay(10);
 digitalWrite(trigfr, LOW);
 durationfr = pulseIn(echofr, HIGH);
 distancefr = durationfr * 0.034 / 2;
 int a4=distancefr;
 irl =digitalRead(bl);
 irr =digitalRead(br);
 lcd.setCursor(1, 0); 
 lcd.print("RL RR FL FR");
 if (a1<30 && irl==0)
 {
 a=0;
 }
 else
 {
 a=1;
 }
 if (a2<30 || irr==0)
 {
 b=0;
 }
 else
 {
 b=1;
 }
 if (a==1 && b==1 && a3>30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("No Obstacle ");
 }
 else if ( a==0 && b==1 && a3>30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX ");
 }
 else if ( a==1 && b==0 && a3>30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX ");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==1 && a3<30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX ");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==1 && a3>30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==0 && b==0 && a3>30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX ");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==0 && a3<30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX XX ");
 } 
 else if ( a==0 && b==1 && a3<30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX ");
 }
 else if ( a==0 && b==1 && a3>30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX");
 }
 else if ( a==1 && b==0 && a3>30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==0 && b==0 && a3<30 && a4>30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX XX "); 
 }
 else if ( a==1 && b==1 && a3<30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==1 && a3>30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==0 && a3<30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("XX XX XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==1 && b==0 && a3<30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print(" XX XX XX");
 } 
 else if ( a==0 && b==0 && a3<30 && a4<30)
 {
 lcd.setCursor(1, 1);
 lcd.print("Call Help ...... ");
 } 
}

• Majenko: Remove the delays...?
• Maheepathy Hruday Teja: @Majenko those delays are to generate pulses for ultrasonic sensors.
• jsotola: hint: observe the result of these two commands to give you an idea how to shorten all the else if blocks ...... lcd.print("abc"); lcd.print("123");

Answer 1

You may want to check the datasheet of your sonar sensors to see what is the recommended trigger pulse duration. On a typical HC-SR04, it is ten microseconds, not milliseconds. So use delayMicroseconds(10);.

If your program runs really slowly, the culprit is most probably pulseIn(). This function will wait for an incoming pulse and, if there is no incoming pulse, it waits one full second before timing out. This can be simply fixed by providing a third argument to pulseIn(), which is the desired timeout in microseconds. Set it to something reasonable, maybe around 25,000 μs for a maximum detection range of 4 m.