Adafruit VL6180X Time of Flight Distance Ranging Sensor - STEMMA QT

The VL6180X (also known as the VL6180) is an advanced Time of Flight distance sensor that measures the time for a laser light to bounce back from a surface directly in front of it.

This precise sensor uses a tiny laser source and a matching sensor to accurately measure distances from about 5mm to 100mm, extendable up to 150-200mm under good ambient light conditions. Featuring a narrow sensing cone, it overcomes common problems of sonar and IR distance sensors such as linearity issues and double imaging.

This breakout board adapts the sensor for use with 3-5V microcontrollers by including a voltage regulator and level shifting. It supports I2C communication and is compatible with both 3.3V logic (e.g. Feather, Raspberry Pi) and 5V logic (e.g. Arduino Uno).

Key features include:

• High-precision laser Time of Flight distance measurement
• Range from 5mm to 100mm (up to 200mm in ideal conditions)
• Includes ambient light (lux) sensor
• 3-5V power and logic compatibility with onboard voltage regulator and level shifting
• Fully compatible with STEMMA QT / Qwiic connectors for no-solder plug-and-play I2C
• Includes solderable header pins for breadboard use

The sensor board has an updated PCB with legible silkscreen and comes in versions with either black or tan STEMMA QT connectors that provide easy connectivity. The product dimensions are 20.5mm x 18.0mm x 3.0mm and it weighs 1.4 grams.

For detailed usage, code examples, and tutorials, see the official Adafruit VL6180X tutorial.