This code for Arduino allows the use of the 9xVL53LXX sensor array via MAVLink. Build in Platformio.

Usage

The following instructions are for testing with ArduPilot

1. Connect the sensor array via I2C to SparkFun SAMD21 Mini Breakout running this code (any other Arduino board should work).
2. Connect the SparkFun SAMD21 Mini Breakout via USB to the board running ArduPilot.
3. Set the parameters in ArduPilot as follows:
   • SERIAL2_BAUD 1500
   • SERIAL2_PROTOCOL 1
   • PRX_TYPE 2
   • RNGFND1_TYPE 10
   • RNGFND1_ORIENT 25
4. Restart ArduPilot with the option -D (if you configured SERIAL2 in step 2, otherwise adjust according to table below) and point it to the serial port that your SparkFun SAMD21 Mini Breakout is connected to. For example: sudo ./arducopter -A udp:192.168.0.100:14550 -D /dev/ttyACM0

Select options and serial ports in steps 2 and 3 according to this table:

Serial	Option
SERIAL0	-A
SERIAL1	-C
SERIAL2	-D
SERIAL3	-B
SERIAL4	-E
SERIAL5	-F
SERIAL6	-G

Known issues

In our testing taking this approach instead of using a direct connection of the sensors via I2C resulted in significant delays between an object appearing in front of the sensors and ArduPilot recognizing that input. The ArduPilot itself was also unresponsive.