RE: Unable to start VL53l0x - LIDAR distance ranger sensor | CUBE orange

sibujacob · November 23, 2022, 2:42pm

Hi,

I am unable to start the subject VL53l0x distance sensor . The sensor is compiled and i can run the command vl53l0x status and it says " Not running "

Attached a picture of the commands available.

Is the address of the i2c device to be given as a hex address or some other format
what is internal i2c ( option -i ) & what is external i2c bus ( option -x)

rroche · November 23, 2022, 4:46pm

Can you please create a public post?

sibujacob · November 23, 2022, 5:25pm

this was a public post

JulianOes · November 23, 2022, 8:14pm

Do you have a link?

sibujacob · November 24, 2022, 12:18am

Hi

https://px4.github.io/Firmware-Doxygen/dir_23bbffb6e72bc3144be61337e75c0477.html

sibujacob · November 25, 2022, 3:34pm

@JulianOes Hi

Were you able to figure out this coding for the sensor.

thank you

JulianOes · December 8, 2022, 5:51pm

Do you have the param enabled? Parameter Reference | PX4 User Guide

sibujacob · December 8, 2022, 10:53pm

Hi
i see this parameter list indicates vl53l1x distance sensor. The one I am currently using is vl53l0x sensor.
Were you referring to the parameter " SENS_EN_VL53L1X

Also i tried to run this sensor using RasPi 3b+ with no success. I will revert once i am sure it works with Raspi.
I am assuming here that there are internal pull ups enabled for the i2c port on the Orange CUBE. I have measured 5v as power from i2c port of the CUBe and 3.4V from SDA line . .

JulianOes · December 14, 2022, 5:59am

I would check what the the difference is between the two sensors. It could be that they have a different WHO_AM_I (or other device id). If so, then you’d have to adapt the driver a bit.

sibujacob · January 2, 2023, 1:47pm

Hi

I confirm here that my distance sensor works fine but we have to use the command vl53l0x START -X command thro’ mavlink console every time . What other parameters should I enable or edit to make it obstacle sensing.

JulianOes · January 4, 2023, 2:58am

Ok, are you building your own firmware for this?

If so, then you just need to add the start command to the startup script, e.g. somewhere here:

github.com

PX4/PX4-Autopilot/blob/main/ROMFS/px4fmu_common/init.d/rc.sensors#L109


      
          if param greater -s SENS_EN_PMW3901 0
          then
          	pmw3901 -S start
          fi
          
          
# vl53l1x i2c distance sensor
          if param compare -s SENS_EN_VL53L1X 1
          then
          	vl53l1x start -X
          fi
          
          
# ADIS16448 spi external IMU
          if param compare -s SENS_EN_ADIS164X 1
          then
          	if param compare -s SENS_OR_ADIS164X 0
          	then
          		adis16448 -S start
          	fi
          	if param compare -s SENS_OR_ADIS164X 4
          	then
          		adis16448 -S start -R 4

sibujacob · January 7, 2023, 6:23am

No. I am not building my own firmware as I don’t know the setup of these custom firmware.
Where is the " px4fmu_common/init.d/rc.sensors " . Is it on the SD card of the Orange CUBE f.c or do I need to custom compile the firmware !!

sibujacob · January 7, 2023, 6:53am

Also i am not able to see the parameter MPC_COL_PREV_D to enable collision prevention in QGroundControl GCS . In this case what is the use of the VL53l0x sensor

JulianOes · January 8, 2023, 11:31pm

Oh I think I realized what is wrong now. The param and startup entry for this sensor is just missing, isn’t it? Sorry that took me a while.

JulianOes · January 8, 2023, 11:36pm

Until that change goes into PX4, you can try to add this command to a custom startup script on the SD card.

You can just add the startup to a file extras.txt in a folder etc on your sd card.

Something like:

#!/bin/sh

vl53l0x start -X

Here are the docs: System Startup | PX4 User Guide

JulianOes · January 8, 2023, 11:38pm

Can I make this thread public in the forum so that others can see it?

sibujacob · January 9, 2023, 11:43am

yes of course…let’s go public…we need your support on this as i am still hunting for a solution…i will try out your file creation and will be back in few minutes from this moment

thank you

sibujacob · January 9, 2023, 12:10pm

Your start up script under /etc/extras.txt solution was not working initially … But when i removed the .txt from the filename and renamed it as extras , it works !! I could see the distance sensor graph readings.

Now the next question is while check listing the collision prevention and obstacle avoidance under QGroundControl safety menu , the drone doesn’t take off. it says obstacle sensing is not configured. i unchecked the obstacle sensing , the drone arms but it is not doing the collision prevention in POSITION flight mode … … What other parameters should i input from here .

your input is very very valuable …

thank you

JulianOes · January 9, 2023, 8:28pm

Windows probably adds the .txt and you don’t see it.