DIY Rangefinder 
 rangefinder 
 By ERIC UGLAND 

 on 7/19/19, 10:13 PM • 598 views
I've been reading up on arduino projects lately, and there are lots of inexpensive distance sensors on the market. It looks to me that it would be possible to build a basic rangefinder for cheap with some off the shelf parts, and a 3d printed enclosure. Arduinos are capable of sending out serial data, so it would be possible to get a readout sent to an LCUBE or other serial port. Just a matter of figuring out the proper pinouts/connector types. 
Has anyone here experimented with making something similar? Would be great to start an open source project on here for those interested in making something like this. 

 Here is a video demonstrating a simple rangefinding project. 

Here is a cheap ultrasonic sensor 
Or a lidar based sensor 




 Fabio 

 On 7/20/19, 1:31 AM
Hi Eric, there is a guy in England called Jack O’gara (you can find him on Facebook) who did what you say, with a Kickstarter campaign. He did a rangefinder that costed 200 GBP. I backed the campaign and I own one of those. It’s not bad, but at the same time doesn’t have the precision you need in real set situation and also has quite a few issues (pulsating noise) with the sound dept. I use it in low cost projects, videoclips and such. 
I think is also based on an Arduino. If you need more info I’ll be glad to answer your questions

 
 ERIC UGLAND 

 On 7/20/19, 6:57 PM
Oh interesting! I had seen that online, didn't know it was arduino based. This essentially is the idea, although I think serial output would be better than a display. That one doesn't have a serial out, right? I suppose those issues come down to the quality of the sensor used. Perhaps all the more reason to look at using lidar or laser based sensors. 

 

 Aidan Gray 

 On 4/13/20, 10:52 AM
Realizing this is an old thread but I’d be lying if I were to say the thought hasn’t crossed my mind... Most rangefinders on the market are either based in I2C or started their lives that way - the Sniper and CineRT coming to mind. I don’t think finding the right ToF or Ultrasonic sensor has ever been the difficult challenge when building something like this (MaxSonar have great units I’ve used in the past) - what’s been stopping me is having a usable output that can be sent to a handset... I’ve looked for any information on what the Cinetape, CineRT, or UDM are sending out in terms of a signal to be read by the LCUB and I have a feeling those are all pretty well kept industry secrets specifically to damper projects like this :) But if you find anything, let me know! 
 

 Rafael del Campo 

 On 4/13/20, 6:38 AM
Hi guys. About Jack O’gara, finally has the product for purchase. I never use it but look like fine. https://ogara.studio/userguide/
