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New longer-range Pololu distance sensors

Posted by Kevin on 4 June 2021

We released the first of our new Pololu distance sensors a few months ago, and now we’re releasing additional Pololu Digital Distance Sensors with longer ranges! These boards have the same form factor and pinout as both our old Sharp/Socle GP2Y0D8x carrier boards and the short-range Pololu distance sensors designed to replace those, but the new versions offer greatly increased detection and measurement ranges, opening up new possibilities in applications where longer-distance sensing capabilities are desired.

Comparison of a Pololu Carrier with Sharp GP2Y0D8x Digital Distance Sensor and two Pololu Digital Distance Sensors (irs16a and irs17a).

Like their shorter-range counterparts, these new Pololu distance sensors determine distance by using an integrated lidar module to measure the time of flight (ToF) of invisible, eye-safe infrared laser light. The new versions include four digital output versions, which simply indicate whether they detect an object within their respective range thresholds:

There are also two new versions with pulse width outputs, which encode a distance measurement in a pulsed signal:

(For more detail on how the different output types work, see the earlier announcement or the sensors’ product pages.)

This brings us up to ten different Pololu distance sensor options, as shown in these tables:

Sensor	Maximum range¹	Minimum range	Minimum update rate	Jumper settings (4321)	PCB ID
Digital output (does not provide distance measurement)
#4050: Digital output, 5cm	5 cm	< 5 mm	145 Hz	0000	irs16a
#4052: Digital output, 10cm	10 cm	< 5 mm	115 Hz	0010
#4054: Digital output, 15cm	15 cm	< 5 mm	95 Hz	0100
#4066: Digital output, 25cm	25 cm	< 1 mm	100 Hz	0000	irs17a
#4067: Digital output, 50cm	50 cm	< 1 mm	100 Hz	0001
#4069: Digital output, 100cm	100 cm	< 1 mm	100 Hz	0011
#4077: Digital output, 200cm	200 cm	< 1 mm	30 Hz	1011

Sensor	Maximum range¹	Minimum range²	Resolution	Minimum update rate	Jumper settings (4321)	PCB ID
Pulse width output (provides distance measurement)
#4064: Pulse width output, 50cm max	~50 cm	1 cm	3 mm	50 Hz	1110	irs16a
#4071: Pulse width output, 130cm max	~130 cm	4 cm	1 mm	100 Hz	0101	irs17a
#4079: Pulse width output, 300cm max	~300 cm	4 cm	2 mm	30 Hz	1101	irs17a

¹ Effective range depends on object reflectivity and ambient lighting conditions.
² Objects closer than the minimum distance can still be detected, but the measured distance might be inaccurate. The minimum detection range is < 5 mm for irs16a boards and < 1 mm for irs17a boards.

We’ve also just published comprehensive information about all the possible jumper settings for these sensor boards on their respective product pages. By changing the jumper connections, you can make a sensor act like a different version or even select another configuration that isn’t available as a standard product. (And if you have a special volume requirement, we can manufacture a custom batch of sensors for you; please contact us for more information.)

Once again, we are offering an extra introductory special discount on these sensors, to help share in our celebration of releasing new products. The first hundred customers to use coupon code DISTSENSORS can get up to three units of each type (including the shorter-ranged versions released earlier) for just $9.95 each!

Related products

	Pololu Digital Distance Sensor 25cm
	Pololu Digital Distance Sensor 50cm
	Pololu Digital Distance Sensor 100cm
	Pololu Digital Distance Sensor 200cm
	Pololu Distance Sensor with Pulse Width Output, 130cm Max
	Pololu Distance Sensor with Pulse Width Output, 300cm Max

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4 comments

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simoon

19 Nov 2023

Hello. I have two question please :

1- What is the minimum size of object we can detect with it ?
We need to detect small object which dimension is at least 2x2mm square (almost a grain of rice).
Is this detector enough reliable for that ?

2- Concerning the FOV : Is it necessary that an object cut the whole cone to trigger the sensor, or if this object is on half of this cone it will also trigger the sensor ?
IE : is it possible to detected a grain of rice at 20cm of the sensor ?

Thanks

Patrick

20 Nov 2023

Hello.

A target does not need to completely overlap the cone projected from the sensor's FOV for the sensor to work, but it does need to reflect enough light back to the sensor's detector for it to estimate the distance accurately. So, the combination of maximum range and minimum target size will depend on external conditions like ambient lighting and target characteristics (e.g. color, size, shape, texture, and reflectivity). That typically makes it hard for us to say with certainty whether or not our sensors will work in a particular application, but I think it is very unlikely for a grain of rice at a distance of 20 cm to reflect enough light for these sensors to work reliably.

- Patrick