Hi everyone, I’m really excited to share my latest project with you. I’ve been working on integrating a TFMini LiDAR sensor into my smart home setup using ESPHome. The goal is to create a custom sensor that can accurately measure distance and provide real-time data for various automation tasks. While I’ve made some progress, I’m hitting a snag and could really use some guidance from the community.
First, let me walk you through what I’ve accomplished so far. I purchased the TFMini LiDAR sensor from DFRobot and followed their provided Arduino code to get it working on an ESP32. The sensor communicates via UART, and I was able to read distance and signal strength data directly from the device. It’s pretty impressive how precise it is, even in different lighting conditions.
However, my challenge lies in translating this functionality into a custom ESPHome component. I’ve set up the basic structure, but I’m unsure how to properly incorporate the existing Arduino code into the custom sensor. My current setup involves a class that extends PollingComponent and Sensor, but I’m struggling with how to integrate the UART communication and data parsing effectively.
Here’s a brief overview of my current code structure:
cpp
#include “esphome.h”
#include “DFRobot_TFMini.h”
class DFRobotTFminicustom : public PollingComponent, public Sensor {
public:
DFRobot_TFmini tof;
DFRobotTFminicustom() : PollingComponent(1000) {}
float get_setup_priority() const override {
return esphome::setup_priority::IO;
}
void setup() override {
tof.begin();
}
void update() override {
publish_state(42.0);
}
};
And in my configuration.yaml:
yaml
sensor:
- platform: custom
lambda: |
auto tof_distance = new DFRobotTFminicustom();
App.register_component(tof_distance);
return {tof_distance};
name: “Distance”
I know I need to implement the data parsing logic from the Arduino code into the update() method, but I’m not entirely sure how to structure this within ESPHome’s framework. Specifically, I’m unsure about how to handle the UART communication and ensure that the data is parsed correctly without blocking the main loop.
I’d really appreciate it if anyone with experience in creating custom sensors or working with UART devices could offer some advice or point me in the right direction. Whether it’s suggestions on how to structure the code, pointers to relevant documentation, or even examples of similar implementations, I’m all ears!
Thank you in advance for your help. I’m really looking forward to getting this project up and running and contributing to the community with a working custom LiDAR sensor component.