STMicroelectronics launched the VL53L9, a compact direct Time-of-Flight 3D LiDAR all-in-one module that sets a new benchmark in high-resolution sensing.
The VL53L9 combines state-of-the-art features in a compact and cost-effective package, delivering AI-ready output data for low-compute edge AI systems on small microcontrollers (MCUs) and high-performance sensing across a wide range of applications across robotics, industrial automation, smart buildings, AR/VR, and healthcare.
“VL53L9 demonstrates how far Time-of-Flight sensing has evolved, combining high-resolution depth data, up to 100 frames per second, and a fully integrated architecture in a single compact module. By simplifying integration and reducing system complexity, we enable customers to accelerate the development of applications such as robotics, smart infrastructure, and healthcare monitoring,” said Alexandre Balmefrezol, Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Imaging Sub-Group at STMicroelectronics. “This launch reflects our strategy to move beyond standalone sensors and deliver integrated sensing systems that support real-world edge AI.”
“3D sensing demand accelerates across robotics, industrial automation, XR, and intelligent consumer devices. Time-of-Flight technology is expanding beyond smartphones into applications requiring compact, affordable, and precise depth perception, from navigation and people monitoring to gesture recognition and safety. Higher resolution multizone dToF modules are now emerging as key enablers for this next wave of 3D sensing adoption(1),” said Anas Chalak, Market & Technology Analyst at Yole Group.
Enhancing 3D sensing with precision and efficiency
The VL53L9 offers an unprecedented 2,268 resolution zones (54×42) with a wide 54°x42° field of view, enabling detailed 3D depth mapping and precise detection of small objects, contours, and edges.
Leveraging ST’s proprietary stacked BSI SPAD sensor technology and innovative metasurface optical elements (MOE), the module delivers fast and accurate ranging from less than 5 cm up to 9 meters with up to 1% accuracy and a frame rate of 100 frames per second.
All-in-one sensing data for edge AI and easy integration
The VL53L9’s dual-scan flood illumination replaces traditional dot scanning, reducing motion artifacts, eliminating dead zones, improving small-object detection, and capturing complementary 2D infrared and 3D depth images.
Compared to competition, this greatly simplifies post-processing and enables a broad range of edge AI use cases to run efficiently on small MCUs with low compute requirements. The all-in-one module further integrates on-chip dToF processing, a dedicated power management IC, and is fully calibration-free, simplifying integration and reducing system cost and complexity.
