Distance sensors
Time-of-flight, ultrasonic, LiDAR, IR proximity, mmWave presence and break-beam sensors all measure distance or detect objects, but they differ in range, interface, field of view and what happens when something moves slowly or stands still.
About 180 listings spanning VL53-series ToF breakouts, HC-SR04 and MaxSonar ultrasonics, 360° triangulation LiDARs, IR proximity sensors, 24GHz mmWave presence detection and laser break-beam sensors.
- ToF options cover short to medium range: VL53L0X (30–1000mm), VL6180X (5–100mm), TMF8801 (20–2500mm) and VL53L3CX as compact I2C breakouts; longer-range laser sensors reach 25–80m on UART. The MaixSense A010 is a compact 3D ToF module with onboard LCD.
- Ultrasonic sensors like HC-SR04, the MaxSonar MB series (including IP67-rated waterproof variants) and DFRobot's URM family (URM07, URM09, URM13, URM37) work well outdoors and around dust, though strong surfaces and narrow targets affect accuracy.
- 360° triangulation LiDARs (LD14P D200 kit, STL27L, STL-19P, LakiBeam) and area-array LiDARs (HPS-3D160-U, CE30-C, the 64×8 matrix DTOF) add spatial mapping for robotics; most connect over UART or Ethernet. Leddar evaluation kits are here for 95° beam-angle ranging work.
- mmWave radar (Gravity C4001 24GHz, 24GHz presence modules at 6m and 25m) detects stationary humans that PIR misses; break-beam and photoelectric sensors (background suppression, capacitive proximity, adjustable IR) handle object detection on conveyors and through barriers.
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Pick the board you have - we'll show what we know about swapping it.
Known swap options (2)
General board checks (5)
- Check whether the design expects a simple I²C ranging sensor or a wide-field LiDAR/depth module.
- Match supply voltage and power budget. Do not wire a 12 V LiDAR module into a 3.3 V or 5 V breakout footprint.
- Compare field of view, minimum range, maximum range, update rate and output shape before assuming one sensor can replace another.
- Confirm host interface support: I²C library support for VL53L1X, CAN/TCP handling and cabling for CE30-A.
- Check physical size, mounting, enclosure, connector and environmental requirements before buying or swapping.
