I’ve done quite a bit of research and think the TFMini Plus Lidar sensor might work for my application. I want to use it in sensing distance of a material in a PVC pipe.
What Qwiic board or Arduino board do I need to operate the sensor?
Do I need cables?
Can I purchase or make longer cables?
Thanks for any advice!
How big of a pipe and how long is it? From the data sheet, it looks like a 12" pipe could only be about 10-12 feet long before the cone of light from the LIDAR starts detecting the pipe itself rather than the object you’re wanting to detect.
An Arduino Uno would be a good choice to go with this sensor and you can find a library with an example sketch here.
Thank you for the advice! In the “Hookup Accessories for TFMini Plus” area are 2 cables; USB to TTL serial cable, and USB to TTL serial cable 5V VCC. Which one would I need?
Those are only for connecting the TFMINI directly to a computer, I’m not sure why sparkfun chose to include those as “hookup accessories.”
You don’t need them if connecting the TFMINI to an Arduino.
I don’t think you really need cables other than a USB cable for the Arduino. You can connect small jumper wires directly to the connector on the TFMINI or just cut the connector off and wire directly to the leads on the TFMINI.
You will need the following components.
SparkFun RedBoard Qwiic, SparkFun Qwiic Micro, Arduino Uno, or Arduino Nano Every.
SparkFun Qwiic Adapter (if using a Qwiic-compatible board).
Qwiic cables (standard or custom) or jumper wires.
Longer Qwiic cables or custom wiring for extended distance.