VL53L1X: Will multiple sensors be able to work together?

[MZilv.1]

We are trying to extend the FOV of this VL53L1X sensor, and our current idea is to use multiple that are overlapping. Will these sensors cause interference with each other when they are close together?

[John E KVAM]

The answer is a resounding no. And we didn't believe ether. Digging really deep each sensor has some logic that dithers the clock so that we lower the EMI the chip produces. This means that a bunch of these chips will not run in lock step.

Each sensor treats the others as ambient light.

So in theory, the extra ambient would lower the overall ranging distance, but in my testing I was unable to see it make any difference at all.

I should note that I did have one customer that placed the two sensor 5cm apart and facing each other.

He noticed one bad measurement out of 20. He complained. I thought it was an acceptable result.

[MZilv.1]

Hi John, thanks for the information.

I was recently informed that we might be moving to the VL53L5CX chip instead. Can I assume that this result would remain true, or might this look different?

[John E KVAM · Accepted solution]

The sensors do not interfere with each other when pointed at different angles.

So if one sensor covered one 45 degree area and the other covered a different 40 degree area, it would work just fine. For sure some of the light from sensor A would get into sensor B, but that light would be treated as ambient discounted.

A VL53L5 covers a 45x45 versus the 20x20 that the VL53L1 covers.

The L5 is more expensive, but it's not 2X the L1, so switching to the VL53L5 in this case makes a lot of sense.

You also get simultaneous zone information, which could be a plus.