SparkFun Qwiic Time-of-Flight Imager Packs a VL53L5CX for Mapping, Gesture Recognition, and More

Offering 64-zone measurement out beyond 13 feet, this compact sensor includes an autonomous low-power mode.

Gareth Halfacree
2 years agoSensors

SparkFun has launched a new Qwiic sensor, built around ST's VL53L5CX time-of-flight sensor — offering multi-zone distance measuring to just over 13 feet and with a frame rate up to 60Hz.

"The SparkFun Qwiic ToF Imager is a state of the art, 64 pixel Time-of-Flight (ToF) 4 meter ranging sensor built around the VL53L5CX from ST," the company explains of its latest sensor design. "This chip integrates a SPAD [Single-Photon Avalanche Diode] array, physical infrared filters, and diffractive optical elements (DOE) to achieve the best ranging performance in various ambient lighting conditions with a range of cover glass materials."

This compact time-of-flight sensor offers measurements out beyond 13 feet. (📹: SparkFun)

The compact sensor, which comes with a pair of Qwiic connectors for solder-free use and an unpopulated breadboard-compatible pin header at the bottom, offers ranging out to 4m (around 13 feet) across a 63 degree square field of vision. It can be split into 4x4 or 8x8 separate zones, offering up to a 60Hz frame rate.

A key feature of the sensor its its integrated low-power mode, which allows the sensor to wake dependent on a programmable interrupt threshold. "[It's] ideal for 3D room mapping, obstacle detection for robotics, gesture recognition, IoT, laser-assisted auto-focus, and AR/VR enhancement," SparkFun claims, "[and] the Qwiic connector on this sensor makes integration easy."

The board is now available on SparkFun's web store for $24.95 before volume discounts, with more information available in the hook-up guide.

Gareth Halfacree
Freelance journalist, technical author, hacker, tinkerer, erstwhile sysadmin. For hire: freelance@halfacree.co.uk.
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