Project: Breakbeam sensor for garage. Can I use LIDAR?

Sensors Distance
1

I have two bigger cars and a packed garage. I’d like to build a set of breakbeam sensors that light up a stop sign if you hit them on either the sides of the garage, or the front.

I saw the TFMini-S - Micro LiDAR Module ( https://www.sparkfun.com/products/16977 ) and am wondering if it would fit the bill? I’m not too familiar with lidar, but my ‘requirements’ for this project would be:

  • Can detect range up to 10 meters (depth of the garage)

  • Has a narrow radius of beam (so it can act as a ‘trip wire’)

  • Doesn’t need a ‘reflector’ on the other side (our walls are so full of stuff the ‘reflector’ would have to be where the garage is open)

  • Works with arduino or raspberry pi

I think it covers most of the bases but I’m unsure of the ‘narrow radius of beam’ requirement. Does lidar ‘sense’ in a cone at all, or is it effectively a ray?

Thanks!

2

It’s a cone but a narrow one. If you experiment and place the sensor in different areas on the back wall of the garage (front of car) you should be able to find a spot where it reliably detects your car in front of it and gives a distance to the car. Simply light up your stop sign when the distance is less that the stopping point.