Summary of Using VL53L0X With Arduino to Measure Height
This project simplifies measuring a child's height at home by using an Arduino Nano combined with a VL53L0X distance sensor, MPU-6050 motion sensor, and an RGB backlight LCD display. The VL53L0X uses Time Of Flight to measure distance up to 2 meters with 1 mm resolution. The MPU-6050 detects orientation and acceleration to ensure accurate measurements. The components are housed in a wooden box with an acrylic plate for ease of use and precision.
Parts used in the Height Measurement Project:
- Arduino Nano
- MPU-6050 3-axis gyroscope and 3-axis accelerometer
- VL53L0X Distance Sensor
- RGB backlight LCD 16×2
- Wooden box
- Acrylic plate
Usually, when measuring a child’s height at home, a mark is drawn on the wall then the height is measured using a measuring tape. This process is not always easy and it may has low resolution. In an attempt to simplify this procedure, a new project was developed using an Arduino and a distance sensor.
The main parts which were used in this project are:
- Arduino Nano, the microcontroller which will read sensor’s values and display the results on the screen.
- MPU-6050, 3 axis gyroscope with 3 axis accelerometer
- VL53L0X, Distance Sensor
- RGB backlight LCD 16×2
- Wooden box and acrylic plate.
VL53L0X is a laser-ranging sensor that uses Time Of Flight (ToF) measurements of infrared pulses for calculating the distance of the facing surface. It can measure distances up to 2 meters with a resolution of 1 mm. This sensor works over an input voltage range of 2.6V to 5.5 V, and the measured values can be read through an I²C interface.
To get the best result, Vl53L0X must be attached on the bottom of the box as shown in this figure.
MPU-6050 is a low power, low cost, and high-performance motion tracking device, it contains 3-axis gyroscope and a 3-axis accelerometer with an onboard Digital Motion Processor (DMP™) which can be programmed with firmware and is able to do complex calculations with the sensor values and uses I²C interface. This sensor is used here for detecting the horizontal direction and for measuring X and Y axis acceleration.
For more detail: Using VL53L0X With Arduino to Measure Height
