Newark, the Development Distributor, is now shipping a range of Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors designed to meet the changing needs of design engineers and address demand for 3D information and extended range created by new use cases. Today’s ToF devices support applications such as gesture sensing, distance measurement, robotics, industrial automation and process control, enabling practical solutions such as monitoring the position of an object in production as it is transported through a plant on a conveyor belt.

Devices from leading suppliers, available for next day delivery from Newark, increase distance capabilities irrespective of colour and surface of the item tracked, maximise use potential within both indoor and outdoor environments and satisfy high-speed, small size and low power demands, driven by Industrial IoT application needs.

Time of Flight sensing products available from Newark include:

• New to Newark, the ISL29501 ToF IC from Renesas is designed for detecting objects at distances up to 2m providing a cost effective and efficient solution for distance measurement. The ISL29501 is an innovative time of flight signal processing IC that provides a complete object detection and distance measurement solution when combined with an external emitter (LED or laser) and photodiode. Its one-of-a-kind functionality, including ultra-small size, low power consumption and superior performance, makes it ideal for use with connected devices in Internet of Things (IoT) applications, as well as for consumer mobile devices, home automation and the emerging commercial drone market.

• The VL53L1X ToF Nucleo pack from ST Microelectronics is a complete evaluation kit allowing anyone to learn, evaluate and develop their application using the VL53L1X ToF, the latest product based on ST's patented FlightSense™ technology. The VL53L1X is the fastest miniature ToF sensor on the market with accuracy ranging up to 4m and fast-ranging frequency up to 50 Hz. This ground-breaking technology allows absolute long-distance to be measured independently of target reflectance as instead of estimating the distance by measuring the amount of light reflected back from an object the VL53L1X precisely measures the time the light takes to travel to the nearest object and reflect back to the sensor.

• The newly launched AFBR-S50MV85G evaluation kit, from Broadcom, comprises an NXP FRDM-KL46Z evaluation board and the AFBR-S50MV85G adapter board delivering out-of-the-box connectivity between the sensor and a microcontroller board without the need for soldering. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use and optimised for distances of up to 10m, this sensor has been developed with a special focus on industrial sensing and gesture sensing applications that require high speed, small size and very low power consumption, such as human machine interfaces, robotics, and augmented reality.

Lee Turner, Global Head of Semiconductors and SBC at Newark said: “Newark's strong supplier relationships with ST and Broadcom, and now including new addition Renesas, give access to the latest technologies in Time-of-Flight sensing options. For design engineers seeking the right devices for their application, our technical support team are available 24/5 to help identify the most suitable device for their application, no matter how complex the design or requirement of the application.”

View the full range of Time of Flight devices by visiting Farnell in EMEA, Newark in North America and element14 in APAC.

element14.com, the community for engineers, has announced the winners of its “Sixth Sense” Design Challenge. As one of five challenges the element14 Community runs each year, element14 encouraged its members to create a small, remotely-operated or autonomous vehicle, leveraging the powerful processing capabilities of STMicroelectronics and TE Connectivity products to improve remote vehicle sensing and data collection.

The element14 Community team of judges selected a Grand Prize and Runner Up winner for the design challenge:

• Grand Prize – Douglas Wong, Canada – Douglas created GraffitiBot, a fully autonomous ground vehicle capable of printing graphics on the surface it traverses and producing a liquid canvas drawing. Although the GraffitiBot itself might be small, the scope of the project was anything but, incorporating mechanical, electronics, software and hydraulic design.

• Runner Up – Rod B, UK – Rod created a robot to help those working in construction by hauling heavy materials such as sand or gravel. To achieve this, Rod made his own PCB to host the TE Magnet sensor so that it would be board-mountable, showing an inventive way of using the required technology. This was Rod’s first ever element14 design challenge.

Through detailed blog posts, the challengers made all of their build steps and code open source, so other element14 Community members can learn from these designs and replicate projects on their own.

“As the Development Distributor, we are committed to being a champion for makers and are proud to help drive innovation for our 600,000-plus member community,” said Dianne Kibbey, Global Head of Community and Social Media for the element14 Community. “As always, we were very impressed by the creativity and innovative spirit our community demonstrated with this challenge and are looking forward to offering more opportunities for our members to push the boundaries of electronic design.”

The element14 Community is part of Premier Farnell, the development distributor, which helps design engineers, maintenance and test engineers, makers, parents, and teachers develop the future generation of coders and products that apply technology to change our world for the better.

To learn more about element14 design challenges and the community’s commitment to drive innovation and champion makers, visit: https://www.element14.com/community/community/design-challenges