Time-of-flight sensor enables low cost PM2.5 particle sensing
STMicroelectronics has teamed up with Mobile Physics in Israel to integrate a time of flight optical sensor with a smartphone for low cost air particle measurements.
Mobile Physics is a software-development startup that specializes in environmental physics and has used the €8 VL53L8CX ToF optical sensor from ST to detect harmful PM2.5 particles as small as 2.5 microns from a smartphone.
The VL53L8X is an 8 x 8 multizone ToF based on the STMicroelectronics’ FlightSense technology that is designed to provide accurate ranging up to 400 cm with a 65° diagonal field of view (FoV). The VL53L8CX integrates a VCSEL laser diode with two advanced meta-surface lenses and is housed in an innovative all-in-one module that can link to a smartphone.
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Using STMicroelectronics’ patented algorithms, the VL53L8CX can detect and track multiple targets within the FoV with a 64-zone depth measurement. The histograms ensure the cover glass crosstalk immunity is above 60 cm. The EnviroMeter Android app from Mobile Physics enables the sensor to provide accuracy comparable to purpose-designed air-quality monitor and smoke detector with ‘always on’ capability.
This is a a key step for environmental monitoring where the cost of the sensors has been prohibitive.
The VL53L8CX measures 6.4mm x 3.0mm x 1.75mm and supports SPI and I²C interfaces for high-frequency framerates and short boot times. The VCSEL of the VL53L8CX emits fully invisible 940 nm IR light with a Class 1 certification that it is safe for the eyes. It has been integrated into the latest Snapdragon smartphone platform.
The air-quality sensing solution developed with ST is included in Mobile Physics’ EnviroMeter Software Development Kit (SDK), which also provides data on temperature, wind, precipitation, humidity, light-intensity, UV, and noise-level monitoring. Sensing can detect particles smaller than 2.5 micron and thus empower users to protect their health. The solution does not require any additional equipment; a standard dToF sensor and the Mobile Physics software is all that is needed.
“Personal environment monitoring can give everyone greater control over their own health and safety, using their smartphones. The customer will also have the option to opt in to access wider environmental data covering their local area,” said Erez Weinroth, CEO, Mobile Physics. “ST’s direct ToF sensors enabled us to deliver a solution with accuracy close to that of high-end dedicated environment monitors but at lower cost and in a smaller package.”
“The team at Mobile Physics has made ingenious use of the data from our dToF sensor to produce this groundbreaking yet economical and elegant environment monitor,” said Alex Balmefrezol, General Manager, Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics. “We are delighted to enable this new, wellness-enhancing feature that complements the established ToF use cases providing even more value to our customers.“
The VL53L8 is already used in a wide range of electronic products including smart speakers, projectors, laptops, robots and home appliances, and door-entry systems, as well as IoT devices such as occupancy sensors. Any of these products can now deliver extra value by providing air-quality indication and fire protection with no extra hardware components required.
Engineers can accelerate projects including proximity and presence detectors using the development ecosystem available from ST. This includes the X-Nucleo-53L8A1 development board, the P-Nucleo-53L8A1 evaluation pack that also contains a microcontroller development board, and SATEL-VL53L8 breakout boards. The VL53L8 is in production now.
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