Trying to use some VL53L1X sensors for a garage parking guide system I'm prototyping. I'd hoped it would be a more accurate and reliable alternative to the US-100 ultrasonic sensors, but I'm getting both more error than I expects and notable range dropoff.
The specs say these should sense between 30mm and 4000mm (4m). Problem is, I can't get anywhere near 4m of ranging out of it. I set up a test on a hardwood floor with the sensor on a vertical at different ranges. Detection appears to be breaking down between 50cm and 100cm. The obstruction was a piece of spare 1x4 I have - I tried attaching a yardstick to it for greater reflectivity with no change in results. Likewise I tried in both normal (artificial) lighting and dark conditions, since the chip sheet indicates light can significantly impact range.
I'm using the official example code running on an M4 Airlift, with only the sensor on the I2C bus. It's pulling 5V power from the M4, which is connected both to USB and a 5V, high-amp power supply, so nothing should be undervolting.
Here's what I got:
Range mode SHORT, Time budget 100
- 25cm: Reports 23cm
- 50cm: Reports 43cm
- 100cm: Reports 28.1cm
- 200cm: Reports 14.3cm
- 300cm: Reports 15.6cm
- 25cm: Reports 22.2cm
- 50cm: Reports 43.6cm
- 100cm: Reports 29.4cm
- 200cm: Reports 17.5cm
- 300cm: Reports 15.5cm
- 25cm: Reports 22.8cm
- 50cm: Reports 44.2cm
- 100cm: Reports 28.7cm
- 200cm: Reports 17.5cm
- 300cm: Reports 15.9cm
Would appreciate any thoughts or direction on this.
Have a good one.