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Lesson 21: Time of Flight Micro-LIDAR Distance Sensor (VL53L0X)

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use the Raspberry Pi to connect with a Time of Flight Micro-LIDAR Distance Sensor (VL53L0X). You’ll be guided through setting up the sensor, initializing I2C communication, and measuring distances in real-time. This project will enhance your comprehension of connecting hardware with the Raspberry Pi and utilizing Python for practical applications. Additionally, you’ll delve into adjusting measurement parameters to meet varying accuracy and speed needs.

Required Components

In this project, we need the following components.

It’s definitely convenient to buy a whole kit, here’s the link:

Name	ITEMS IN THIS KIT	LINK
Universal Maker Sensor Kit	94	Universal Maker Sensor Kit

You can also buy them separately from the links below.

Component Introduction	Purchase Link
Raspberry Pi 5	BUY
Time of Flight Micro-LIDAR Distance Sensor (VL53L0X)	BUY
Breadboard	BUY

Wiring

Install Library

Note

The adafruit-circuitpython-vl53l0x library relies on Blinka, so please ensure that Blinka has been installed. To install libraries, refer to Insatll Adafruit_Blinka (CircuitPython) - Optional.

Before installing the library, please make sure that the virtual Python environment is activated:

source ~/env/bin/activate

Install adafruit-circuitpython-vl53l0x library:

pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-vl53l0x

Code

Note

Please ensure that you have installed the Python library required for running the code according to the “Install Library” steps.
Before running the code, please make sure that you have activated the virtual Python environment with blinka installed. You can activate the virtual environment using a command like this:
```
source ~/env/bin/activate
```
Find the code for this lesson in universal-maker-sensor-kit-main/pi/ directory, or directly copy and paste the code below. Execute the code by running the following commands in terminal:
```
python 21_vl53l0x_module.py
```

# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

# Simple demo of the VL53L0X distance sensor.
# Will print the sensed range/distance every second.
import time

import board
import busio

import adafruit_vl53l0x

# Initialize I2C bus and sensor.
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)
vl53 = adafruit_vl53l0x.VL53L0X(i2c)

# Optionally adjust the measurement timing budget to change speed and accuracy.
# See the example here for more details:
#   https://github.com/pololu/vl53l0x-arduino/blob/master/examples/Single/Single.ino
# For example a higher speed but less accurate timing budget of 20ms:
# vl53.measurement_timing_budget = 20000
# Or a slower but more accurate timing budget of 200ms:
# vl53.measurement_timing_budget = 200000
# The default timing budget is 33ms, a good compromise of speed and accuracy.

try:
    # Main loop will read the range and print it every second.
    while True:
        print("Range: {0}mm".format(vl53.range))
        time.sleep(1.0)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("Exit")  # Exit on CTRL+C

Code Analysis

Importing Libraries
```
import time
import board
import busio
import adafruit_vl53l0x
```
- time: Used for implementing delays.
- board: Provides access to the physical pins on the Raspberry Pi.
- busio: Manages I2C communication between the Pi and the sensor.
- adafruit_vl53l0x: The specific library for the VL53L0X sensor. For more detail about the adafruit_vl53l0x library, please refer to adafruit/Adafruit_CircuitPython_VL53L0X.
Initializing the Sensor
```
# Initialize I2C bus and sensor.
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)
vl53 = adafruit_vl53l0x.VL53L0X(i2c)
```
- This sets up the I2C communication using SCL (clock line) and SDA (data line) pins.
- The VL53L0X sensor is then initialized with this I2C bus.
Configuration (Optional)
```
# Optionally adjust the measurement timing budget...
# vl53.measurement_timing_budget = 20000
# ...
```
This part of the code, which is commented out, allows for adjusting the sensor’s timing budget, affecting the balance between speed and accuracy.
Main Loop
```
try:
    while True:
        print("Range: {0}mm".format(vl53.range))
        time.sleep(1.0)
except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("Exit")
```
- In an infinite loop, the sensor’s range is read and printed every second.
- The loop can be exited with a CTRL+C interrupt, which is handled by the KeyboardInterrupt exception.