Introduction

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A CircuitPython & Python library for Garmin LIDAR Lite sensors over I2C

Dependencies

This driver depends on:

Please ensure all dependencies are available on the CircuitPython filesystem. This is easily achieved by downloading the Adafruit library and driver bundle.

Installing from PyPI

On supported GNU/Linux systems like the Raspberry Pi, you can install the driver locally from PyPI. To install for current user:

pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-lidarlite

To install system-wide (this may be required in some cases):

sudo pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-lidarlite

To install in a virtual environment in your current project:

mkdir project-name && cd project-name
python3 -m venv .env
source .env/bin/activate
pip3 install adafruit-circuitpython-lidarlite

Usage Example

import time
import board
import busio
import adafruit_lidarlite

# Create library object using our Bus I2C port
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)

# Default configuration, with only i2c wires
sensor = adafruit_lidarlite.LIDARLite(i2c)

while True:
    try:
        # We print tuples so you can plot with Mu Plotter
        print((sensor.distance,))
    except RuntimeError as e:
        # If we get a reading error, just print it and keep truckin'
        print(e)
    time.sleep(0.01) # you can remove this for ultra-fast measurements!

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please read our Code of Conduct before contributing to help this project stay welcoming.

Documentation

For information on building library documentation, please check out this guide.

Table of Contents

Simple test

Ensure your device works with this simple test.

examples/lidarlite_simpletest.py
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# SPDX-FileCopyrightText: 2021 ladyada for Adafruit Industries
# SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT

import time
import board
import busio
import adafruit_lidarlite


# Create library object using our Bus I2C port
i2c = busio.I2C(board.SCL, board.SDA)

# Default configuration, with only i2c wires
sensor = adafruit_lidarlite.LIDARLite(i2c)

# Optionally, we can pass in a hardware reset pin, or custom config
# import digitalio
# reset = digitalio.DigitalInOut(board.D5)
# sensor = adafruit_lidarlite.LIDARLite(i2c, reset_pin=reset,
#    configuration=adafruit_lidarlite.CONFIG_MAXRANGE)

# If you want to reset, you can do so, note that it can take 10-20 seconds
# for the data to 'normalize' after a reset (and this isnt documented at all)
# sensor.reset()

while True:
    try:
        # We print tuples so you can plot with Mu Plotter
        print((sensor.distance,))
    except RuntimeError as e:
        # If we get a reading error, just print it and keep truckin'
        print(e)
    time.sleep(0.01)  # you can remove this for ultra-fast measurements!

adafruit_lidarlite

A CircuitPython & Python library for Garmin LIDAR Lite sensors over I2C

  • Author(s): ladyada

Implementation Notes

Hardware:

Software and Dependencies:

class adafruit_lidarlite.LIDARLite(i2c_bus, *, reset_pin=None, configuration=0, address=98)

A driver for the Garmin LIDAR Lite laser distance sensor. :param i2c_bus: The busio.I2C object to use. This is the only required parameter. :param int address: (optional) The I2C address of the device to set after initialization.

configure(config)

Set the LIDAR desired style of measurement. There are a few common configurations Garmin suggests: CONFIG_DEFAULT, CONFIG_SHORTFAST, CONFIG_DEFAULTFAST, CONFIG_MAXRANGE, CONFIG_HIGHSENSITIVE, and CONFIG_LOWSENSITIVE.

distance

The measured distance in cm. Will take a bias reading every 100 calls

read_distance(bias=False)

Perform a distance reading with or without ‘bias’. It’s recommended to take a bias measurement every 100 non-bias readings (they’re slower)

reset()

Hardware reset (if pin passed into init) or software reset. Will take 100 readings in order to ‘flush’ measurement unit, otherwise data is off.

status

The status byte, check datasheet for bitmask

Indices and tables