Configuration for VL53L1X

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espgraf
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Configuration for VL53L1X

#1 Post by espgraf » 11 Jun 2024, 20:46

I am on the way the setup the VL53L1X for water level measurement.
Overall set setup is working and i get the values via MQTT.
I have a few question regarding the configuration of device: Distance - VL53L1X (400cm)
How can I set the ROI down to e.g. 20°?
In the value section of the configuration page there are are fields like Stats, Hide, Axis.
I haven't found any description what they mean. Esp. for Axis there are option L1-L4 and R1-R4?

Any information is welcome.

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Ath
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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#2 Post by Ath » 11 Jun 2024, 22:46

espgraf wrote: 11 Jun 2024, 20:46 I am on the way the setup the VL53L1X for water level measurement.
Overall set setup is working and i get the values via MQTT.
I have a few question regarding the configuration of device: Distance - VL53L1X (400cm)
This sounds like you are talking about having the sensor connected to an ESP running ESPEasy, so far it's clear to me.

espgraf wrote: 11 Jun 2024, 20:46 How can I set the ROI down to e.g. 20°?
In the value section of the configuration page there are are fields like Stats, Hide, Axis.
I haven't found any description what they mean. Esp. for Axis there are option L1-L4 and R1-R4?

Any information is welcome.
This part I don't have a clue what you are talking about :?: Is this about your MQTT server setup?
Can you show a screenshot or something similar what your question is about?
/Ton (PayPal.me)

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#3 Post by espgraf » 12 Jun 2024, 21:12

yes it is ESPEasy, sorry not to mention it.
here is a screenshot from the device configuration page
Screenshot 2024-06-12 205551.png
Screenshot 2024-06-12 205551.png (118.45 KiB) Viewed 9030 times
regarding the ROI i have attached another screenshot, it talks about how to reduce this ROI from its nominal
27 ° field of view (FoV) down to 15 °
Screenshot 2024-06-12 210120.png
Screenshot 2024-06-12 210120.png (214.59 KiB) Viewed 9030 times

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Ath
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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#4 Post by Ath » 12 Jun 2024, 22:49

Ah, in the meantime I've done a little reading in the data sheet of the sensor, as this part/feature wasn't mentioned in the plugin at all, when I moved it from the PluginPlayground to the main ESPEasy repository.

I'll see if I can add useful configuration options to enable this.
And it might also be useful for the VL53L0X sensor, though strangely that sensor isn't software-compatible with this one at all, even though they are from the same manufacturer, have nearly the same feature-set and only seem to differ in range :shock:
/Ton (PayPal.me)

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#5 Post by espgraf » 13 Jun 2024, 11:44

Thanks, sounds good.
Any information regarding the axis in the value section of the device configuration?

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ThomasB
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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#6 Post by ThomasB » 24 Jun 2024, 18:22

Any information regarding the axis in the value section of the device configuration?
+1. The "axis" setting is a mystery to me too.

- Thomas

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#7 Post by Ath » 30 Jul 2024, 23:17

@espgraf, @ThomasB,
I've added configuration for the Region of Interest parameters in PR #5094. A Github Actions run is building the binaries for testing, so if you could, please...

Please report your findings here or add a PR comment.
/Ton (PayPal.me)

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#8 Post by ThomasB » 31 Jul 2024, 00:04

Nice work. Your new ROI function seems to be working! I can change the centering and SPAD count and see small differences in the measurements. From these initial tests, I think I will run with a 8x8 at the center SPAD (offset 199).

Even though my application involves measuring milk levels, for validation I'm using jugs of clear water. That way I don't have to waste precious moo juice.

It seems that with clear water, a narrower ROI shows slightly less water depth. I think it is because the smaller optical sensing area misses some reflections and instead is seeing random reflections below the surface. Clear water is a tough surface to measure with optics; Milk is more reliable because it is an opaque surface.

This is a cool feature. Thanks for adding it.

BTW, does anyone know what the axis settings are for? Could their presence be a leftover setting from another plugin that was used as a template for this one?

- Thomas

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Ath
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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#9 Post by Ath » 31 Jul 2024, 08:21

ThomasB wrote: 31 Jul 2024, 00:04 BTW, does anyone know what the axis settings are for? Could their presence be a leftover setting from another plugin that was used as a template for this one?
espgraf wrote: 13 Jun 2024, 11:44 Any information regarding the axis in the value section of the device configuration?
I finally understand what Axis setting you guys are talking about... :?
That's the Axis where the statistics graph draws the scale/range for that value in the graph. It's just not updated in the documentation yet.
The L1..4 is drawn at the left side, and the R1..4 at the right side of the statistics. If the range of the values is (nearly) the same you can have multiple values on the same axis (they used to be all on the same axis), but if the ranges are far apart it would reduce the usability of the graph.
/Ton (PayPal.me)

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#10 Post by TD-er » 31 Jul 2024, 09:03

For example if you try to plot WiFi RSSI against free memory on an ESP32, then those typical values are off by 5 orders of magnitude.
Maybe I should change it to "Chart Axis" ?

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#11 Post by ThomasB » 31 Jul 2024, 18:56

That's the Axis where the statistics graph draws the scale/range for that value in the graph.
That's a surprise. Thanks for the info, I would never have figured that out on my own.
Maybe I should change it to "Chart Axis" ?
That will help. And for extra credit, add a "info" hyperlink balloon tag to the RTD. Like the Formula column uses in the Values box.

Mockup Example:
Hyperlink Info Tag
Hyperlink Info Tag
axis.jpg (48.64 KiB) Viewed 8111 times

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#12 Post by TD-er » 31 Jul 2024, 23:00

And I thought it was -for once- extremely compact and still intuitive...
So intuitive it doesn't need any documentation...

OK, I clearly need new excuses for my lack of documentation.

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#13 Post by espgraf » 01 Aug 2024, 11:57

sounds pretty good, where i could find the binaries for testing?

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#14 Post by TD-er » 01 Aug 2024, 12:25

espgraf wrote: 01 Aug 2024, 11:57 sounds pretty good, where i could find the binaries for testing?
You can try these: https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEas ... 0169840163

Either download a single file, or the complete ZIP at the bottom (N.B. GitHub limits the download speeds, so may still take 5 mintes to download the full zip)

You need to have a (free) GitHub account to download from the GH Actions builds

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#15 Post by espgraf » 01 Aug 2024, 21:11

Good implemenatation, works quite well for me. I have put a few comments into github.
The test i did was in a fountain with water and it is fully dark inside. The distance was ~110 cm with a variance of +/-6 mm

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#16 Post by Ath » 28 Sep 2024, 22:19

This feature has been merged into ESPEasy, and will be included in the next release.

You can test by installing a build from this GH Actions run: https://github.com/letscontrolit/ESPEas ... 1086536342
/Ton (PayPal.me)

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Re: Configuration for VL53L1X

#17 Post by ThomasB » 29 Sep 2024, 19:00

Thank You.

- Thomas

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