Watching your robotic creation take flight is an incredible feeling, but watching it collide with something or crash can make your stomach turn. One common sensor you may reach for in a case like this is the VL53L0. But it only provides ranging to a distance of 2 meters. For many of us, this is just shy of a range we would be comfortable with.
Thankfully, a new sensor has appeared which doubles the range. The VL53L1 extends the accurate distance detection to 4 meters. It also uses a patented ranging technology that harnesses time-of-flight from a 940 nm laser.
This results in estimation independent of surface reflectivity and high accuracy in a variety of weather and environmental conditions. This breakout board sold by Pesky Products is designed to bring out all the best capabilities of the VL53L1 from ST Microelectronics.
This sensor includes the option to define multiple detection zones, which improve the obstacle detection. This feature alone makes it a useful sensor to have on both rolling and flying robot designs. And it’s quite small at 18 x 8 mm which makes it easy to integrate into any of your robotic projects. Check out the video below to see how this sensor can be used in other applications.
