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Built-in project · Arduino Uno R3

Laser ruler on an Arduino Uno

A VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor over I2C, read with Pololu’s library: millimeters to the target, and “out of range” past about 1.2 m. The whole build, an Arduino Uno and 1 more part, runs here in your browser on the firmware below; open it in the editor to change the wiring or the code and run it again.

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The parts retail for about $33. On Mokxi they're free.

Step by step, with the wiring and the common mistakes: Arduino VL53L0X Distance Sensor: Wiring and Code

Laser ruler · Arduino Uno R3live0.000 s 0.00x
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The circuit itself, running here on the simulator. Press what can be pressed; click anything else to open it in the editor.

The code

The firmware exactly as the editor opens it. Change a line there and press Run: it compiles in the browser.

sketch.ino · Arduino Uno R3
// Laser ruler: a VL53L0X measures how far away the target is by timing a
// pulse of infrared laser light there and back, read with Pololu's library.
//
//   VL53L0X   VIN -> 5 V   GND -> GND   SDA -> A4   SCL -> A5
//
// Light covers a meter in about 3.3 nanoseconds, so the chip times the trip
// with a grid of single-photon detectors rather than a clock, and reports the
// result in millimeters. In its default mode it reaches about 1.2 m; past
// that it reports 8190, which means nothing came back.
//
// Drag the slider on the sensor to move the target.

#include <Wire.h>
#include <VL53L0X.h>

VL53L0X sensor;

void setup() {
  Serial.begin(9600);
  Wire.begin();
  sensor.setTimeout(500);
  if (!sensor.init()) {
    Serial.println("Failed to detect and initialize sensor!");
    while (1) {
    }
  }
  sensor.startContinuous();
  Serial.println("Laser ruler ready");
}

void loop() {
  uint16_t mm = sensor.readRangeContinuousMillimeters();
  if (sensor.timeoutOccurred()) {
    Serial.println("timeout");
  } else if (mm >= 8190) {
    Serial.println("out of range");
  } else {
    Serial.print("distance ");
    Serial.print(mm);
    Serial.println(" mm");
  }
  delay(200);
}

Parts list

3 parts, plus the jumper wires. They retail for about $33; on Mokxi they're free.

How it is wired

4 connections, pin by pin, read from the circuit itself. Each line is one set of pins joined together, by a jumper wire or a breadboard strip.

  • Arduino Uno R3 pin 5V; VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor pin VIN
  • Ground: Arduino Uno R3 pin GND; VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor pin GND
  • Arduino Uno R3 pin A4; VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor pin SDA
  • Arduino Uno R3 pin A5; VL53L0X time-of-flight sensor pin SCL

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