SparkFun Distance Sensor Breakout – 4 Meter, VL53L1X (Qwiic)

The VL53L1X from STMicroelectronics uses a VCSEL (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser) to emit an Infrared laser to time the reflection to the target. That means that you will be able to measure the distance to an object from 40mm to 4m away with millimeter resolution! To make it even easier to get your readings, all communication is enacted exclusively via I²C, utilizing our handy Qwiic system so no soldering is required to connect it to the rest of your system. However, we still have broken out 0.1”-spaced pins in case you prefer to use a breadboard.

Features

• Operating Voltage: 2.6V-3.5V
• Power Consumption: 20 mW @10Hz
• Measurement Range: ~40mm to 4,000mm
• Resolution: +/-1mm
• Light Source: Class 1 940nm VCSEL
• 7-bit unshifted I2C Address: 0x29
• Field of View: 15° – 27°
• Max Read Rate: 50Hz

Each VL53L1X sensor features a precision to be 1mm with an accuracy around +/-5mm and a minimum read distance of this sensor is 4cm. The field of view for this little breakout is fairly narrow at 15°-27° with a read rate of up to 50Hz. Make sure to power this board appropriately since it will need 2.6V-3.5V to operate. Lastly, please be sure to remove the protective sticker on the VL53L1X before use otherwise it will, most assuredly, throw off your readings.

Note: The I²C address of the VL53L1X is 0x29 and is hardware defined. A multiplexer/Mux is required to communicate to multiple VL53L1X sensors on a single bus. If you need to use more than one VL53L1X sensor consider using the Qwiic Mux Breakout.

Note: CLASS 1 LASER PRODUCT CLASSIFIED IEC 60825-1 2014.

Resources

• Schematic
• Eagle Files
• Hookup Guide
• Datasheet (VL53L1X)
• User/API Manual (VL53L1X)
• SparkFun VL53L1X Arduino Library
• SparkFun VL53L1X Python Package
  • ReadtheDocs Documentation
• GitHub Hardware Repo