Support for ST VL53L1X

ArduPlane Plane 4.0
1

I believe this device is available for Arducopter - is it also available in Arduplane?

2

it’s in plane4.0 and up

3

Thanks - any idea on how to configure within Mission Planner? Flashed my Pixracer with Arduplane 4.0 and curious how to configure the device in MP.

4

i don‘t have that hardware at hand, but there‘s a wiki page that might contain the information required:
http://ardupilot.org/plane/docs/common-vl53l0x-lidar.html

5

Thank you -

What I’m specifically interested in is the following - I think I can figure out the other stuff:

RNGFND1_TYPE = 16 (VL53L0X)

Any sense what the type is for this 53L1X?

RNGFND1_ADDR = 41 (I2C Address of lidar in decimal). The sensor’s default I2C address is 0x29 hexademical which is 41 in decimal.

Do you know what the address I2C address is for the 53L1X?

6

as far as i can read from the code, RNGFNDn_TYPE = 16 will autodetect both VL53L0X and 1X types.
RNGFNDn_ADDR is the I2C address number you‘ve got your device connected to. i‘m a little confused by the param description reading „bus address“, imho this param is unrelated to the I2C bus used.
from the ST VL53L1X datasheet i read the I2C adress defaults to 0x52 = 82:


might be worth trying that, but mind i don‘t have any hardware to verify…

EDIT: searching this forum for „VL53L1X“, others report address 0x29 = 41 working, and that’s the address too that was hardcoded in the initial VL53L1X driver commit.

if you get this working, it‘d be great to report back so we can add info to the wiki.

7

Thanks - I connected the VL53L1X in the same configuration I have the VL53L0X. That is, with the Type = 16 and I2C address as 41. No connection (as indicated by sonar range values in Mission Planner). I updated the I2C address to 82, rebooted the Pixracer (disconnected USB power, reconnected) and had the same result.

Is there another test protocol I can use?

8

@f4corsair i finally got me a VL53L1x type lidar. it works right away using:
RNGFND1_TYPE = 16 (VL53L0X)
RNGFND1_ADDR = 41
following the wiki instructions.

mind you need to peel the protective plastic off the sensor at some point to allow for reliable measurements, plus you need to set RNGFND_LANDING = 1 to make the lidar turn healthy.

cheers, basti.