I purchased a TFMini and another similar device by Sharp. Had problems with both regarding range.
These are both a lot cheaper than the Garmin Lidar Lite V4…but will it work better? Anyone with experience with both TF-Mini and the Garmin device?
I want to detect cars on highway to count them so need about 10 meter (30 feet) sensing, to get both lanes. In testing in my shop, I can barely get 8 feet with the TFMini. A dark shop.
How is Lidar Lite V4 in sunlight? I watched the SparkFun video…sort of impressed.
I haven’t tried a Lidar Lite v4 in the sun but other customers have mentioned that sunlight drastically reduces range with LIDAR.
You might consider a lower tech, lower price solution like using a small, cheap red laser pointer and a photo detector.
If you mount the photo detector inside a tube and place that beside the laser and aim the laser at a reflector across the street, the laser will bounce off the reflector and back to the photo detector. When a car goes by, the laser will be interrupted briefly and the photo detector will sense the absence of light indicating a car has passed by in either lane.