The VL6180 is the latest product based on STMicroelectronics’ patented FlightSense technology. This is a ground-breaking technology allowing absolute distance to be measured independent of target reflectance. Instead of estimating the distance by measuring the amount of light reflected back from the object (which is significantly influenced by colour and surface), the VL6180 precisely measures the time the light takes to travel to the nearest object and reflect back to the sensor (time-of-flight).
Combining an IR emitter and a range sensor in a two-in-one, ready-to-use reflowable package, the VL6180 is easy to integrate and saves the end-product maker long and costly optical and mechanical design optimisations. The module is designed for low-power operation. Ranging measurements can be automatically performed at user defined intervals. Multiple threshold and interrupt schemes are supported to minimise host operations. Host control and result reading is performed using an I2C interface.
Optional additional functions, such as measurement ready and threshold interrupts, are provided by two programmable GPIO pins.A complete API is also associated with the device, which consists of a set of C functions controlling the VL6180 to enable fast development of end-user applications. This API is structured in a way that it can be compiled on any kind of platform through a well isolated platform layer (mainly for low-level I2C access).
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