Actually the Xshut pins are supposed to be used when connecting multiple VL53L0X sensors, to turn off and turn on sensors to assign different addresses.
But what if i connect according to the following schmatic
And controlling the vcc pins using the pwm of arduino to turn it on and off using the following code
#include "Adafruit_VL53L0X.h"
// Define power control pins
#define PWR_LOX1 2
#define PWR_LOX2 3
// Create instances of the VL53L0X sensors
Adafruit_VL53L0X lox1 = Adafruit_VL53L0X();
Adafruit_VL53L0X lox2 = Adafruit_VL53L0X();
// This holds the measurements
VL53L0X_RangingMeasurementData_t measure1;
VL53L0X_RangingMeasurementData_t measure2;
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// Initialize power control pins
pinMode(PWR_LOX1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(PWR_LOX2, OUTPUT);
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX1, LOW);
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX2, LOW);
Serial.println(F("Powering up VL53L0X sensors..."));
// Power on sensor 1
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX1, HIGH);
delay(10);
if (!lox1.begin(0x30)) {
Serial.println(F("Failed to boot first VL53L0X"));
while (1);
}
// Power on sensor 2
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX2, HIGH);
delay(10);
if (!lox2.begin(0x31)) {
Serial.println(F("Failed to boot second VL53L0X"));
while (1);
}
Serial.println(F("VL53L0X sensors initialized successfully"));
}
void loop() {
lox1.rangingTest(&measure1, false);
lox2.rangingTest(&measure2, false);
Serial.print(F("1: "));
if (measure1.RangeStatus != 4) {
Serial.print(measure1.RangeMilliMeter);
Serial.print(F(" mm"));
} else {
Serial.print(F("Out of range"));
}
Serial.print(F(" | 2: "));
if (measure2.RangeStatus != 4) {
Serial.print(measure2.RangeMilliMeter);
Serial.println(F(" mm"));
} else {
Serial.println(F("Out of range"));
}
delay(50);
}
This code works and gives the correct readings of both the sensors.
Q1. Can the above method be used? Am i doing anything wrong or harming the sensors in anyway? If not then what is the point of xshut pin?
Now, I wanted to get the reading continuously from the sensors. For that i modified the following code which works perfectly fine for a single sensor:
CODE FOR SINGLE SENSOR:
#include "Adafruit_VL53L0X.h"
Adafruit_VL53L0X lox = Adafruit_VL53L0X();
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// wait until serial port opens for native USB devices
while (! Serial) {
delay(1);
}
Serial.println("Adafruit VL53L0X test.");
if (!lox.begin()) {
Serial.println(F("Failed to boot VL53L0X"));
while(1);
}
// power
Serial.println(F("VL53L0X API Continuous Ranging example\n\n"));
// start continuous ranging
lox.startRangeContinuous();
}
void loop() {
if (lox.isRangeComplete()) {
Serial.print("Distance in mm: ");
Serial.println(lox.readRange());
}
}
To this, for multiple sensor:
#include "Adafruit_VL53L0X.h"
// Define power control pins
#define PWR_LOX1 2
#define PWR_LOX2 3
// Create instances of the VL53L0X sensors
Adafruit_VL53L0X lox1 = Adafruit_VL53L0X();
Adafruit_VL53L0X lox2 = Adafruit_VL53L0X();
void setup() {
Serial.begin(115200);
// Initialize power control pins
pinMode(PWR_LOX1, OUTPUT);
pinMode(PWR_LOX2, OUTPUT);
Serial.println(F("Powering up VL53L0X sensors..."));
// Power on sensor 1
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX1, HIGH);
delay(50); // Give sensor time to power up
if (!lox1.begin(0x30)) {
Serial.println(F("Failed to boot first VL53L0X"));
while (1);
}
// Power on sensor 2
digitalWrite(PWR_LOX2, HIGH);
delay(50);
if (!lox2.begin(0x31)) {
Serial.println(F("Failed to boot second VL53L0X"));
while (1);
}
Serial.println(F("VL53L0X sensors initialized successfully"));
// Start continuous mode
lox1.startRangeContinuous();
lox2.startRangeContinuous();
}
void loop() {
Serial.print(F("1: "));
if (lox1.isRangeComplete()) {
Serial.print(lox1.readRange());
Serial.print(F(" mm"));
} else {
Serial.print(F("Waiting..."));
}
Serial.print(F(" | 2: "));
if (lox2.isRangeComplete()) {
Serial.print(lox2.readRange());
Serial.println(F(" mm"));
} else {
Serial.println(F("Waiting..."));
}
//delay(50);
}
But the code for multiple sensor does not work like the code for single sensor , without the commented out delay line.
Q2. Why does the code for multiple sensor need a delay to be specified, while the single sensor and read continuously without a a delay being explicitly specified. Is this in anyway related to the way to Q1.
