Imaging (sensors)

Hi there, we recently purchased the VL53L8CH and are hoping to take advantage of its advanced capabilities for use in a small embedded product (without having to use a desktop GUI or large ST expansion board).Can you tell us more about the advanced AI applications (sensing solid materials like glass vs ceramic, sensing liquids, gesture motion detection, hand posture)?What exactly is the "AI enabler" in this package and do you have software we can review or explanations of how these functions work?I read about the coffee cup application here (rim and fill level detection): https://www.st.com/resource/en/application_presentation/26oct2023-artificial-intelligence-enabler-time-of-flight-sensors-with-cnh-data.pdf and also read MZ “CH” Product Training - Part 1 and 2.The STSW-IMG043 Python scripts don't seem to implement these advanced features. Is that the place to look, or maybe the STSW-IMG035 Turnkey solution (reverse engineering for an embedded solution rather than a desktop G

Hi, I am currently testing the VL53L7CX ToF sensor. During my evaluation, I came across the parameter "range sigma", but I could not fully understand what it actually represents.In addition, while creating a correlation map, I noticed that the most influential feature affecting distance measurements is the range sigma value.I would greatly appreciate it if anyone clarified what exactly "range sigma" indicates, and how the sensor calculates or measures this value. Can anyone enlight me?Thanks

I'm currently trying to use the VL53L5CX to detect motion in the range of about 1m in front of the sensor.This seems to work fine indoors - but outdoors - I don't seem to be able to get anything more than around 30cm, even with xtalk calibration, and a shroud.I don't actually need 8x8 or even 4x4 - i basically just need to see if there is something passing in front of the sensor (think beam breaking - but with just one device)Am I missing something ?Is there some config to increase outdoor performance ? Should I use a different sensor ? Any thoughts gratefully received.

Hi,Been a while :) Seeing some odd readings after the sensor has no real changes.  After some time when a change in the sensor distance happens it "seems" to take many readings to get good readings.Is there a sleep I don't know about? What is the recommended way to "wake up" the sensor if it has been dormant for some time......or am I imagining this? Thanks,Will 

When using the VL53L1CB for ranging, we want to achieve lower power consumption by reducing the measurement frame rate. I performed the following two experiments:A 50ms measurement budget (integration time) followed by a 50ms waiting period.A 50ms measurement budget followed by a 100ms waiting period.I observed that the power consumption in both scenarios is nearly identical, with no significant difference. Using a photodetector, we confirmed that the ToF sensor's light emission time aligns with the measurement budget; a 50ms integration time results in approximately 50ms of light emission, confirming my parameter settings are effective. The power consumption curve shows that the power level remains high even after the ToF sensor has finished emitting light.How can we reduce the power consumption during the waiting interval between measurements (without shutting down the sensor)?If shutting down the sensor after each measurement achieves lower power consumption, what is the reason for

VL53L1CB的最低投资回报率配置是 4x4？我可以将其配置为 1x1 吗？ Translated : The minimum ROI configuration for the VL53L1CB is 4x4? Can I configure it as 1x1?

Hello!I am using the VL53L4CD TOF Sensor as sold by Adafruit. I am running it with the circuit patched together as described in the example file VL53L4CD_Sat_HelloWorld.ino, also with the exact code (the only change being the port number). I am using an Arduino R4 WiFi. When I start the unit up, it runs normally for a bit (<1 min), and then stops.Starting... Status = 0, Distance = 37 mm, Signal = 232 kcps/spad Status = 0, Distance = 38 mm, Signal = 234 kcps/spad Status = 0, Distance = 35 mm, Signal = 233 kcps/spad Status = 0, Distance = 36 mm, Signal = 230 kcps/spad Status = 0, Distance = 39 mm, Signal = 236 kcps/spad Status = 0, Distance = 35 mm, Signal = 234 kcps/spad ...I have an Arduino R3 Uno, and tested the TOF sensor using that, and it seemed to run endlessly.Based on reading around, I am guessing this has something to do with the resistors required for I2C connections and some builtin difference between the R4 WiFi and the R3 UNO, but I am not sure where I should start here.

Hello,I am using the 53L8A1A to evaluate the VL53L8CH with the MZAI_EVK_v1.0.1 software. For my application, I need high CNH resolution for as long a histogram as possible, but for only one histogram. Because of that, I aggregated down to one row and one column with the following configuration settings. CNH_4x4_ONECNH: StartType: 0 Resolution: 16 RangingPeriod: 500 ZoneMode: 2 GlareFilter: 0 ExtendedMode: 2 cnhStartX: 0 cnhStartY: 0 cnhMergeX: 4 cnhMergeY: 4 cnhCols: 1 cnhRows: 1 cnhNumBins: 75 cnhSubSample: 1 isDefault: false isVisible: trueI see in the CNH_Data_Size sheet within the MZ-AI_Configuration Excel sheet that the MZ-AI GUI limits the cnhNumBins parameter to 75. The calculator says that the data size for more bins than that does work, however.Is there a reason that the parameter is limited to 75 and, if not, is there an easy way for me to change that limit?Thanks,Garrett

I am trying to use the VL53L3CX with an STM32G070 for water level sensing. The app is based upon the Simple Ranging example.What I am seeing is that the distance read by the sensor alternates between two values, quite far apart. The sensor is mounted in a stable position for this testing, a little less than an inch from a flat white target.Pointers on how to debug this would be much appreciated.Sid 

Hello ST team,I'm currently working with the **SmartPresenceDetectionEVK v1.0.0** on a setup consisting of:- **NUCLEO-F401RE**- **X-NUCLEO-53L8A1**- Firmware version: **1.7.0.0**- Driver version: **VL53LMZ_2.0.10**When I interact with the board using **Tera Term via UART**, everything works perfectly. I can use commands such as `enable`, `help`, and receive presence detection results in real-time.However, when I try to launch the provided **SmartPresenceDetectionEVK.exe** GUI on Windows 11, I encounter the following unhandled exception: --------------------------------------------------------------------------------2025-04-03, 10:32:13--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<class 'wmi.x_wmi'>:<x_wmi: Unexpected COM Error (-2147217396, 'OLE error 0x8004100c', None, None)>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------File "SmartPresenceDetectionEVK\__main__.py", line 77, in createWindowFile "Smart

Our use of the VL534LCD is within what we call a bin.  A long rectangular container.  The sensors job is to measure the distance to items placed into the bin.  Very contained environment with little interference.  When we calibrate the sensor we do this when our bin is empty.  There is a white panel always at the beginning of the container bin which moves forward (backwards) along a track when items are placed in it or taken out.  When it is empty it is stationary at 231mm.  So,  we calibrate using 231mm.When we calibrate to 231mm we get back offsets from the sensor > -45.  These seem unusually large to me? Why would this be?  

Hello,For a project I would like to use the VL53L4CD or VL53L4ED to measure distances in the range of ~1 cm to 80 cm. The expected ambient temperatures can vary (maximum between -10°C and +80°C, although the temperature will usually be in the range of 0°C to 50°C). Initial tests showed promising measurement results under real conditions.The project requires a minimum service life of 10 years for the components used. I know from other projects that such a long operating life is often a problem e.g. for laser diodes.Are there any recommended strategies for maximizing the sensor's service life?Should I e.g. provide a cut-off option for the sensor's supply voltage to protect it when it does not need to be active? Or would the HW standby state have the same effect?Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi, Is it possible to get some sort of frame timestamp from the evaluation boards? Ideally, I would love to have start and end of exposure timestamps but any timestamp from the sensor would be great. I could timestamp when I receive the frame on my device, but that might not be accurate enough for my application since it would also include other delays from my computer. Inaccuracies in the 10s of microseconds range are acceptable. Thanks.

The STSW-IMG009 VL53L1X ULD API (Ultra Lite Driver Application Programming Interface) has a bug in the function VL53L1X_SensorInit that blocks the code from being executed if  status |= VL53L1X_CheckForDataReady(dev, &tmp);  write 0 constantly in tmpThe block  while (tmp == 0) { status |= VL53L1X_CheckForDataReady(dev, &tmp); }has no timeout implemented and, for instance, if a cable or a sensor breaks for some reason, the code will endup stuck therePlease also see this github issue exit VL53L1X_SensorInit() after timeout if no sensor / sensor doesn't work · Issue #29 · sparkfun/SparkFun_VL53L1X_Arduino_Librarywhere a timeout is added Add timeout to sensorInit · sparkfun/qwiic_vl53l1x_py@1154d07 · GitHub

Do the current VD56G3 drivers support the CM5 module? I have followed the installation guides several times (including building libcamera from the ST source files) and I can't get libcamera to stream the camera. Here is the error message:$ libcamera-hello [0:18:08.863706754] [1547] INFO Camera camera_manager.cpp:326 libcamera v0.5.0 [0:18:08.870764844] [1548] INFO RPI pisp.cpp:720 libpisp version v1.2.0 50426319aa1a 02-07-2025 (19:52:09) [0:18:08.887921079] [1548] INFO RPI pisp.cpp:1179 Registered camera /base/axi/pcie@1000120000/rp1/i2c@88000/fox@10 to CFE device /dev/media2 and ISP device /dev/media0 using PiSP variant BCM2712_D0 Preview window unavailable Mode selection for 562:682:12:P R8,320x240/0 - Score: 3558.98 R8,480x640/0 - Score: 2470.14 R8,640x480/0 - Score: 2614.48 R8,768x1024/0 - Score: 2359.14 R8,1024x768/0 - Score: 2327.98 R8,720x1280/0 - Score: 2973.64 R8,1024x1280/0 - Score: 2337.14 R8,1120x1360/0 - Score: 2310.55 R8,1124x1364/0 - Score: 2311 R10_CSI2P,

Hi, I'm curious to see if it is possible to connect more than one STEVAL-EVK-U0I boards to a computer and read images of all of them? The SDK has  an init function that allows you give a board id, but it is unclear what the board id means or if it will give the desired effect. Any help is appreciated.  Thanks

Dear ST team,Hello, I am using the VL53L1CX with the 3.2.1 library and have noticed that when measuring the distance to an iPhone, the results are not very accurate and tend to jump between several different distances. Is this caused by the iPhone’s Face ID sensor, the reflective glass surface of the iPhone, or some other reason? What can I do to improve the measurement accuracy in this scenario?Thank you for your help.

Hi All,I'm developing a proximity switch using VL53L4CDMy unit works perfectly 99.9% of the time but I’m seeing occasional instances where the unit triggers very briefly even when there’s nothing in range. It may go an hour between such events, even several hours, but equally it can on rare occasions do it twice in a minute. It’s almost like a fly flew through the beam. It’s literally on in one frame and off again in the next.I’m using the UL driver without thresholds (RS_IT_DEFAULT), since I need to enforce some hysteresis. My ranging frequency is 20Hz. The unit has the standard cover glass and I’m calibrating it before use with a 17% target. I get the problem whether or not the cover glass is fitted, and the amount of ambient light doesn’t seem to be a factor.I only allow a change of state to ‘on’ when ToF status = 0 and distance <= threshold, so that must be happening occasionally even when there’s no target.This is a production ready pcb but in an effort to see what was happenin

 Hi all, I'm back with another question re: our 5-TOF setup (VL53L4CX x 5, all 'looking' out of the centre of a spherical sculpture, trying to detect and interpret people approaching and interacting with it).I posted earlier about trying to multiplex these 5 sensors to avoid crosstalk, and that sort-of-worked but introduced enough lag that it wasn't worth it -- we have carefully managed the positioning of the cones and I don't think we are getting much crosstalk, or at least, once we started throwing out rangeStatus 4, 12, and 11 we got pretty good results.  We are basically only using rangeStatus 0 readings now.Further note: we are looking for targets at about .75-2.5m, so right at the edge of where these results seem reliable.My question is:I'm seeing a bit of 'bouncing' where on one read a sensor will report 2 targets, then just one, then back to 2... since we're only taking the 0 rangeStatus readings, I'm going to assume that it's basically having trouble confirming a sec

I'm trying to port the VL53L0X library for use with the RP Pico W for academic reasons, but I can't map the calls between the VL53L0X SDK and the RP Pico W SDK. For example, the function int32_t VL53L0X_read_multi(uint8_t address, uint8_t index, uint8_t *pdata, int32_t count) would theoretically need to be adjusted to call the function int i2c_read_blocking(i2c_inst_t *i2c, uint8_t addr, uint8_t *dst, size_t len, bool nostop) Attempt to read specified number of bytes from address, blocking. Am I right? Or should it be another way?Thanks

Hi, I have teh VD55G1 connected to UCM-IMX8m PLUS sbev from compulab Here is the links to the SBC : https://www.compulab.com/products/computer-on-modules/ucm-imx8m-plus-nxp-i-mx-8m-plus-som-system-on-module-computer/ I am compiling the driver with my kernel for that SBC and it loads and registers the device accurately. I would like to start the stream with the camera using v4l2-ctl but it give me a negotiation error. The logs attached is what i see when i try to start the video.  Is there anything that I should attempt to fix this issue?   

I use the VL53L1X TOF- Sensor on an Arduino Mega.With just the Sensors, everything works well.But when I try to read from Serial1 (and I tried Serial2 and 3 as well) I do not receive any Data from the SerialPort.Without the Sensors the SerialPorts work well.I do not undestand, where this comes from. Has anyone some advice for me?Thanks!!

Hello,We have an issue with the VL53L7CX. We are using 2.8V for both IOVDD and AVDD. We have 4x TOF sensor on the same I2C line. We set the LPn for 3x of them to low to disable the i2c comm. We are only using 1x TOF for now with it's LPn set to High for testing purpose.We are able to finish the initialization OK using the ULD API https://www.st.com/en/embedded-software/stsw-img036.html. However, when we reach the while loop (using the polling mode) to check for the : uint8_t vl53l7cx_check_data_ready(VL53L7CX_Configuration *p_dev,uint8_t *p_isReady) p_isReady is always false and We hit this particular return line:status |= p_dev->temp_buffer[2]; /* Return GO2 error status */ What is the G02 error values ? i cannot find any definition for it.Any help is welcome to investigate this issue.  --From file VL53L7CX_api.c:uint8_t vl53l7cx_check_data_ready( VL53L7CX_Configuration *p_dev, uint8_t *p_isReady) { uint8_t status = VL53L7CX_STATUS_O

Hi, I would like to use an external signal to trigger camera capture with the STEVAL-EVK-U0I board. I am using a promodule (CAM-56G3), and looking at the document: how-to-integrate-and-configure-the-vd56g3-vd66gy-and-vd16gz-devices  (p.g. 22 section 1.3), I know it should be possible to do this by using the gpio 0 pin, and setting the first 2 bits of the VT_CTRL  register to EXTERNAL_SYNC. However, it is unclear to me if the STEVAL-EVK-U0I board exposes the gpio pin I need or if there is another way to go about this with the STEVAL-EVK-U0I board and a promodule.Thanks

Hi Guys,I'm on windows 11, i installed all the drivers needed (STSW-IMG501_v.1.1.1) that contains InstallCx3Driver.exe and EVK GS_1.1.1_win64.exe  I have connected the steval-56g3mai module to steval-evk-u0i.I'm trying to run the script vdx6gx_example_open_cv.py from STSW-IMG507_56G3_v.2.0.2.zip What i noticed is that for some image sizes (like 600x600) the camera can acquire correctly and i see the image displayed with openCV, but if i increase the size to for example 800x800 or more i get this error from the script:c:\tmp\windows>python vdx6gx_example_open_cv.pyLoading st_brightsense_sdk_vdx6gx.dllIMG platform version 305 loaded :)Boards connected: (0,P4405C-00A#0219)No board id was specified, selecting board 0.Initiating CCI communication at address 32No sensor on interface 0, checking interface 1Sensor detected on interface 1.CSI reconfigured with 2 lanes at 1500 Mbps, 1116x1356 pixels, 8 bits per pixel, 160.8 MHz pixel clock1119IMG_PLAT error (1):