TOF Laser Range Sensor (B)
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Overview
Introduction
The TOF Laser Range Sensor (B) is a TOF-based (time of flight) laser ranging sensor with an embedded MCU and ranging algorithm, which is capable of offering up to 15m measuring range, ±2% accuracy, and 1mm resolution. It supports UART or I2C communication bus, featuring a longer measuring distance and higher light interference resistance capability due to its ultra-narrow FOV, suitable for either indoor or outdoor conditions.
This sensor can be widely used in applications like common distance measuring, robot obstacle avoidance/route planning, as well as drone altitude setting/ceiling detection, and more...
Specification
TOF Laser Range Sensor | TOF Laser Range Sensor (B) | |
---|---|---|
Typical measuring range | Short range: 0.012 ~ 2.16m | 0.10 ~ 15.0m |
Mid range: 0.012 ~ 3.60m | ||
Long range: 0.01 ~ 5.00m | ||
Typical measuring accuracy | Short range: accuracy ±1.0cm, standard deviation<0.3cm | 0.10 ~ 2m ±2cm;2 ~ 15m ±2% |
Mid range: accuracy ±1.0cm, standard deviation<1.5cm | ||
Long range: accuracy ±1.5cm, standard deviation<[email protected]~3m, standard deviation<8cm@3~5m | ||
Resolution | 1mm | |
Power supply | 3.7 ~ 5.2V (reverse-proof) | |
Operating temperature | -10°C ~ 60°C | |
Wavelength | 940nm (Class1 standard compliant) | 750 ~ 830nm compliant with IEC 60825-1:2014 version 3 Class2 standard |
Field of view (FOV) | 15° ~ 27° (adjustable) | 1° ~ 2° |
Communication interface | UART (3.3V TTL signal level) | |
CAN (both of the two ports can be used as CAN simultaneously) | I2C (cascading support, the slave address is 0x08+module ID) | |
Baudrate | UART: 115200 ~ 3000000bps (921600bps by default) | |
UART: 115.2Kbps ~ 3000Kbps (921.6Kbps by default) | I2C: up to 400Kbps | |
Cascade support | UART: supports up to 8x cascades, CAN: supports up to 7x cascades | I2C: supports up to 8x cascades |
Ambient light resistance | weak resistance, indoor only | about 100K LUX resistance, suits both indoor and outdoor |
Power consumption | 290mW (UART active output, long-range mode, 5.0V power supply, 58mA current) | 610mW (UART active output, 5.0V power supply, 122mA current) |
Weight | 2.7g | 7.7g |
Dimensions (L × W × H) | 35.58 × 12 × 8.05mm | 22.7 × 28 × 13.6mm |
Applications
- Unmanned aerial vehicle height setting, ceiling detection
- Robot obstacle avoidance
- Measuring and detecting
- Intelligent gesture control
- 1-dimension gesture identification
Technology Overview
TOF is an absolute distance detection technology, where the sensor emits calibrated near-infrared light, which is reflected upon encountering an object. By calculating the time or phase difference between light emission and reflection, the sensor converts it into distance information about the captured scene, thus generating depth information. Compared to stereo vision and 3D structured light approaches, TOF offers advantages such as longer working distances, broader applicability, and higher accuracy at longer distances. Therefore, it is commonly used in applications such as proximity detection of individuals, obstacle avoidance for robots, and automatic focusing in cameras. However, in outdoor environments, near-infrared light from sunlight can affect the measurement accuracy of the module.
Function Description
【ID】
- ID is one variable designed for distinguishing the different sensors, which is used to identify each sensor during the cascade connection.
【Interface & Baudrate】
TOF Laser Range Sensor (B) supports UART, I2C, and I/O.
UART
The communication baud rate setting range is as follows:
UART Baud Rate | Note |
---|---|
115200,230400,460800,921600,1000000,1200000,2000000,3000000 | 921600 (by default) |
The UART interface mode supports "active output" and "query output":
PC Download:
- TOF Assistant (For Windows 7/10 64 bits)
- TOF Assistant (For Windows 7/10 32 bits)
- Active Output:
- The active output mode can only be used with a single module. In this mode, the module actively outputs measurement information at a frequency of 50 Hz, the format of output data is based on the NLink_TOFSense_Frame0 protocol.
- Users can connect the Sensor to Windows PC by USB to TTL module and configure the module by Waveshare TOFAssistant software. Just like the picture below. You need to click the "Write Parameter" button to save the setting and don't forget to check them by "Read Parameter".
- Query Output:
- The query output mode can be used in a single module. In this mode, the controller sends a query command containing the module ID to the desired query module, and the module can output one frame of measurement information. The query command is based on NLink_TOFSense _Read_Frame0 protocol, and the output data from the module is based on the NLink_TOFSense_Frame0 protocol.
- Connect the TOF series products to the Waveshare TOFAssistant software through the USB TO TTL module (line sequence and power supply voltage reference data sheet), click to enter the setting page after the identification is successful, the UART query output mode configuration is as shown in the figure below, after configuring the parameters, you need to click the write parameter button To save the parameters after the parameters are written successfully, you can read the parameters once to confirm whether the parameters are written successfully. (After changing the baud rate parameter of the module, you need to re-plug the USB TO TTL module to automatically identify the module):
I2C
- The baudrate rate
I2C baudrate | Description |
---|---|
Max 400KHz | Max 4000KHz, it is defined by the host device |
- I2C address
I2C address | Description |
---|---|
0x08 ~ 0x77 | The default address is 0x08 (7 bits), and the slaver address of the module is 0x08 + ID, you can change the device address by modifying the module ID. Please take care of offset and the behavior bit while communicating. for example, if the device address is 0x08, if you need to write data, you need to add the write bit and the byte sent should be 0x10, if you need to read data, you need to add the read bit and the byte sent should be 0x11. |
- In the I2C communication mode, the controller sends a reading frame to the expected query module of the specified slave address, and then the information such as the distance of the module can be obtained. In addition, various parameters such as the output mode of the module can also be changed through I2C communication. The reading frame and write frame format follow the protocol NLink_TOFSense_IIC_Frame0. You can connect the sensor to the PC by USB to the TTL module and change the device address (0x08 + ID, the ID should be in the range 0 ~111) by the Waveshare TOFAssistant software. Note that, the Waveshare ToFAssitant software can only support UART mode.
I/O output
- In I/O output mode, it doesn't output distance data. The voltage of I/O is toggled when the distance is over the threshold.
- When the module is in UART mode, users can connect it to the Windows PC by USB to TTL module and configure the band data by the Waveshare TOFAssistant software. The distance value is converted to high and low-level output through hysteresis comparison. TX/SCL and RX/SDA output complementary levels. The hysteresis comparison diagram is shown in Figure 5. After configuring the parameters, you need to click the Write Parameters button to save the parameters. Note: After switching to I/O mode, you can refer to the FAQ chapter to change back to UART mode.
- For example, Band_Start and Bandwidth are both set to 500, which corresponds to 0.5 meters. When the distance measurement value is 0.3 meters, RX is high, TX is low, the distance measurement value increases to 0.8 meters, RX is high, TX is low, and when the distance measurement value exceeds 1 meter, the level is reversed and RX is low, TX is high. When the distance measurement value drops from more than 1 meter to 0.8 meters, RX is low and TX is high. When the distance measurement value drops below 0.5 meters, the level is reversed, RX is high and TX is low.
- The range of Band_Start, Bandwidth is 0~15000 and 0~25000.
【Distance Status】
The module can output the current distance status, the user can perform the data processing with the combination of distance status. The meaning of distance status is as follows:
Value | Note |
---|---|
0 | Measuring distance is invalid |
1 | Measuring distance is valid |
【Signal Strength】
Indicate the strength of the current return signal, and the larger this value indicates the stronger the return signal.
【Range Precision】
Indicate the precision of the current signal, the smaller the data, the higher the prevision.
【FOV】
The field angle FOV determines the vision scope of TOFSense. The FoV of the ToF Sensor (B) is 1~2°.
【Mode Switch】
If the sensor is in UART mode, users can connect it to the PC and change it to I2C or I/O mode by the Waveshare TOFAssistant software. If the sensor is in I2C mode, users can send commands to switch the mode to UART. Users can check the FAQ chapter about how to change to UART from I/O mode.
Protocol Analysis
- The protocol is composed of Frame Header, Function Mark, Data, and Sum Check.
- The Frame Header and Function Mark are fixed values;
- Data is the content of the transmitted data;
- Sum Check is the lowest byte after the addition of Frame Header, Function Mark, and Data (that is, the addition of all the previous bytes).
- Agreement composition:
Frame Header + Function Mark + Data + Sum Check
Note: Protocol packets follow the principle of little-endian mode, that is, the low byte is first and the high byte is last.
- The frame:
Protocol | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
NLINK_TOFSENSE_FRAME0 | Fixed length | UART output data, contains the timestamp, distance, distance status, and signal strength, etc. |
NLINK_TOFSENSE_READ _FRAME0 | Fixed length | UART read, contain device ID |
NLINK_TOFSENSE_IIC_FRAME0 | Flexible length | I2C data, contain distance, distance status, and signal strength, etc. |
NLink_TOFSense_Frame0
- Data Sources: Connect the module to the host computer and configure the UART as active output mode.
- Raw data:
57 00 ff 00 9e 8f 00 00 ad 08 00 00 03 00 06 41
- Analysis table:
- Analysis table:
Data | Type | Length (Bytes) | Hex | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Frame Header | uint8 | 1 | 57 | 0x57 |
Function Mark | uint8 | 1 | 00 | 0x00 |
reserved | uint8 | 1 | ff | * |
id | uint8 | 1 | 00 | 0 |
System_time | uint32 | 4 | 9e 8f 00 00 | 36766ms |
dis*1000 | uint24 | 3 | ad 08 00 | 2.221m |
dis_status | uint8 | 1 | 00 | 0 |
signal_strength | uint16 | 2 | 03 00 | 3 |
range_precision | uint8 | 1 | 06 | 6cm |
Sum Check | uint8 | 1 | 41 | 0x41 |
NLink_TOFSense_Read_Frame0
- Data Sources: Connect the module to the host computer, and configure it as UART query output mode. The host device sends the command to query the data
- Raw data:
57 10 FF FF 00 FF FF 63
- Analysis table:
- Analysis table:
Data | Type | Length (Bytes) | Hex | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
Frame Header | uint8 | 1 | 57 | 0x57 |
Function Mark | uint8 | 1 | 10 | 0x10 |
reserved | uint8 | 2 | ff | * |
id | uint8 | 1 | 00 | 0 |
reserved | uint8 | 2 | ff | * |
Sum Check | uint8 | 1 | 63 | 0x63 |
NLink_TOFSense_IIC_Frame0
- Device Address: The sensor works as a slaver device, the default device address is 0x08 (7bits), the whole device address is 0x08 + ID, user can change the device address by modifying the ID.
- Register address: If the register is NULL, the output is 0xff by default
AD 08 00 00 03 00 FF FF
- Analysis table:
- Analysis table:
I2C communication
NLink_TOFSense_Setting_Frame0
- Data Sources:: Setting Commands
- Analysis table:
- Analysis table:
Software
TOF Assistant is the debugging software supporting the TOF laser ranging module. Its main functions are configuration debugging, status display, function application, and firmware upgrade:
- Configuration and debugging: used to configure node-related parameters, such as ID, working mode, baud rate, etc.
- Functional application: used for application development, such as data import and export, motion track storage, historical track playback, etc.
- Firmware upgrade: used to upgrade the product by wired firmware.
Dimensions
Work with Raspberry Pi
Enable UART interface
Open the Raspberry Pi terminal and enter the following command to enter the configuration interface
sudo raspi-config Select Interfacing Options -> Serial, disable shell access, and enable the hardware serial port
Enable I2C Interface
Open a terminal and run the following commands:
sudo raspi-config Choose Interfacing Options -> I2C -> Yes.
Reboot Raspberry Pi:
sudo reboot
Module parameter Settings
The UART baud rate of the TOF Laser Range Sensor module needs to be set to 115200 through the host computer;
The effect of using the TOF Laser Range Sensor module on Raspberry Pi is as follows:
Hardware Connection
Connect to UART
Connect to I2C
Working with Jetson Nano
Hardware Connection
Software Settings
The UART baud rate of the TOF Laser Range Sensor module needs to be set to 115200 by the host computer;
The effect of Jetson nano using TOF Laser Range Sensor module is as follows:
Working with Arduino
Hardware Connection
Software Settings
- The UART baud rate of the TOF Laser Range Sensor module needs to be set to: 115200 by the host computer;
Resource
Demo code
Software
- TOF Assistant PC Assistant (Windows 7/10 64-bit machine)
- TOF Assistant PC Assistant (Windows 7/10 32-bit machine)
FAQ
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- Currently, the NAssistant software only supports the recognition of modules in UART mode. InUART mode, the host computer can enter the setting page to configure the module as an IICor I/Ocommunication mode after successful recognition through the software. In IIC communication mode, the module can be switched back to UART or I/O mode by sending instructions to the module according to the IIC communication protocol. Additionally, if there is no IIC test environment or if it is switched to I/O mode, it can be switched back to UART mode as follows:
- The user needs to prepare a USB to TTL module that supports 921600 baud rate (CP2102 is recommended) and install the corresponding driver, connect the USB to TTL module's TX, RX, andGND to the corresponding pins of the TOF module, and temporarily not connect the VCC pin. Thenplug the USB to TTL module into the computer.
- Open the NAssistant software, click on the icon to enter the serial port debugging assistant, change the baud rate to 921600, select the COM port corresponding to the USB to TTL module, andthen click the connect button to connect to the COM port (most situations will automatically connect). In the one-way send text box, enter 54 20 00 ff 00 ff ff ff ff 00 ff ff 00 10 0e ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff 00 ff ff ff ff 7c, change the send interval in the timer send column to 20ms, and then check the timer send.
- At this point, connect the USB to TTL module's 5V to the TOF module's VCC pin. The module will switch to UART mode and start outputting data. Then uncheck the timer send button, disconnect the USB to TTL module, and then power on the module. Finally, click the recognition button on the main page to recognize the module.
- If the switch fails, pull out the USB to TTL module and repeat the entire step. Do not plug andunplug the VCC pin repeatedly while sending commands. If the module can be recognized normallybut the serial port output data is abnormal, you can manually change to UART mode in the settingpage
- PS: If the TOF module's VCC pin is connected to the USB to TTL module's 5V and the module continuously sends protocol data such as 80 00 80 00..., first click the connect button to temporarilydisconnect the COM port, change the baud rate to 115200, and then click the connect button toreconnect to the COM port. If the data in the serial port debugging assistant starts with b3 b1 at this point, enter de ed 00 00 05 04 3b 01 00 00 10 in the one-way send text box and click send. Thendisconnect the USB to TTL module, power on the module, and click the recognition button on the mainpage to recognize the module. If the data still starts with b3 b1 after re-plugging, repeat the PS steps.
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55 01 00 ef 03 is 0x55+0x01+0x00+0xef+0x03=0x0148
then the checksum is 48, so The complete data of this frame is 55 01 00 ef 03 48.
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Support
Technical Support
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