High School / HS-11
Available Grades 9–12 Optics & EO Computing & data
Sweep a time-of-flight laser distance sensor on a pan-tilt mount to build a room point cloud, and log ranging accuracy against distance, surface color, and angle.
Students put a time-of-flight LiDAR on a two-servo pan-tilt head, turn (pan, tilt, range) into 3D points, and build point clouds of a test corner, a box and their classroom. Along the way they measure what a rangefinder really delivers: bias and noise against distance, the effect of surface colour, gloss and incidence angle, the beam footprint (a 2° beam vs a 27° beam), and the mixed pixels that appear at edges. They fit planes to the cloud and check a laser-cut 90° corner.
Eye-safe sensors only. Both sensors are Class 1 invisible-infrared devices per their manufacturers (Benewake TF-Luna,
850 nm, "Class1 (IEC60825)"; ST VL53L1X on an Adafruit breakout, 940 nm, ST VL53L1X datasheet §7: Class 1, IEC 60825-1:2014).
There is no visible laser and no Class 2, 3R or 3B device in the kit. See safety.md for the policy and sources.
Students will:
Every high school pack includes worked math and physics, prediction-versus-measurement labs, at least two design-and-test iterations, data logging, a rubric, and documentation templates, plus printable Builder's Corner build journal pages.
Parts, specs, quantities, and estimated unit costs, with places to buy. Prices change; anything marked as an estimate is an estimate. Links were checked when the BOM was written.
Totals are computed from the line items below. Prices were read from vendor pages on the dates shown and will change. Rows tagged estimate have no verified link and are planning numbers only.
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Benewake TF-Luna ToF LiDAR (Class 1) DFRobot product 1995 · 0.2–8 m (90 % target), 2° FOV, 100 Hz, ±6 cm (0.2–3 m), 3.7–5.2 V (Benewake manual REV 01/04/2024; older datasheet: 5 V ±0.1 V), UART/I²C 3.3 V logic, 850 nm VCSEL, Class 1 (IEC 60825) per datasheet; cable included | 1 | $24.90 | $24.90 | dfrobot.com DFRobot $24.90 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Seeed Studio TF-Luna, $28.90 (verified 2026-10-09: seeedstudio.com/TF-Luna-LiDAR-Module-Short-Range-Distance-Sensor-p-4561.html); RobotShop listed $20.96 in search (not fetched) | Class 1 invisible IR: no special controls; don't defeat the housing |
| E2 | Adafruit VL53L1X ToF sensor (Class 1) Adafruit PID 3967 · ~30–4000 mm, 27° full FOV, programmable ROI, 940 nm, Class 1 per ST VL53L1X datasheet §7 (IEC 60825-1:2014); STEMMA QT, I²C 0x29 | 1 | $14.95 | $14.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $14.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Leave out (low total): Lab 3's wide-vs-narrow beam comparison is then done with the footprint model only | — |
| E3 | STEMMA QT / Qwiic cable 200 mm Adafruit PID 4401 · VL53L1X to the Feather's STEMMA QT port; the extra length is the service loop for the ±90° pan sweep | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | adafruit.com Adafruit $1.25 · checked 2026-10-13 · In stock | — | — |
| E4 | Mini pan-tilt kit, assembled, 2 micro servos Adafruit PID 1967 · ~180° pan, ~150° tilt; SG-90/SG-92 type servos; base 37 × 33 mm (holes 30 × 26), top 38 × 36 mm, 67 mm tall, 37 g | 1 | $18.95 | $18.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $18.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Two SG92R micro servos + a laser-cut bracket (not drawn) | Small pinch points |
| E5 | ESP32 Feather V2 (controller) Adafruit PID 5400 · USB-C, STEMMA QT | 1 | $19.95 | $19.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $19.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Adafruit HUZZAH32 Feather (PID 3405); change the UART pins | Header soldering: adult supervision, Z87+ glasses, ventilation |
| E6 | 8-Channel PWM/Servo FeatherWing (PCA9685) Adafruit PID 2928 · I²C 0x40 | 1 | $9.95 | $9.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $9.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Generic PCA9685 breakout | — |
| E7 | Stacking headers for Feather Adafruit PID 2830 | 1 | $1.25 | $1.25 | adafruit.com Adafruit $1.25 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Plain female headers | — |
| E8 | 5 V 2 A switching power supply (UL listed) Adafruit PID 276 · 2.1 mm barrel; servos only (the TF-Luna is fed from USB, E10a) | 1 | $7.95 | $7.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $7.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | — | Listed adapter only |
| E9 | 2.1 mm DC jack to screw terminal Adafruit PID 368 | 1 | $2.00 | $2.00 | adafruit.com Adafruit $2.00 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | — | — |
| E10 | Electrolytic capacitor 1000 µF 25 V SparkFun COM-08982 · in the Wing's capacitor footprint: servo bulk capacitance | 1 | $0.50 | $0.50 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $0.50 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | 470–2200 µF, ≥ 10 V | Observe polarity |
| E10a | Schottky diode 1N5819/1N5817, 1 A (TF-Luna supply) SparkFun COM-10926 (1 A 40 V, 1N5819 datasheet) · Feather USB pin → TF-Luna pin 1 (stripe toward the sensor); reverse-polarity protection; ≈ 0.3–0.45 V drop at 70–150 mA (ESTIMATE from typical curves) → ≈ 4.0–5.0 V at the sensor, depending on the USB port | 1 | $0.30 | $0.30 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $0.30 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | LCSC C507852 (Diodes Inc. 1N5817-T), $0.0993 each, minimum order 5 ($0.50), 7,850 in stock 2026-10-09 (lcsc.com/product-detail/C507852.html); ships from overseas, so shipping can cost many times the part | Observe polarity (stripe toward the TF-Luna) |
| E10b | Electrolytic capacitor 100 µF 25 V (TF-Luna bulk) SparkFun COM-00096 · across TF-Luna pins 1–4 at the sensor end (≥ 10 V rating; 25 V is SparkFun's stocked part) | 1 | $0.50 | $0.50 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $0.50 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Any 47–220 µF, ≥ 10 V electrolytic | Observe polarity (stripe = negative, to GND) |
| E10c | Ceramic capacitor 0.1 µF (TF-Luna decoupling) SparkFun COM-08375 · 50 V, 0.1 in lead spacing; across TF-Luna pins 1–4 next to the 100 µF | 1 | $0.32 | $0.32 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $0.32 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Any 0.1 µF ceramic, ≥ 10 V | — |
| E10d | 2-pin JST SM plug + receptacle cable set (polarized TF-Luna power lead) Adafruit PID 2880 · keyed 2-pin housing for the TF-Luna +5 V/GND pair so it cannot be plugged in reversed | 1 | $0.75 | $0.75 | adafruit.com Adafruit $0.75 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | A labelled screw terminal; never loose Dupont pins | Check the red wire goes to TF-Luna pin 1 before first power |
| E11 | USB-A to USB-C data cable Adafruit PID 4474 | 1 | $4.95 | $4.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $4.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Classroom cable | — |
| E12 | Hook-up wire 22 AWG solid (6 × 25 ft) Adafruit PID 1311 · TF-Luna leads to the Feather | 1 | $15.95 | $15.95 | adafruit.com Adafruit $15.95 · checked 2026-10-09 · In stock | Classroom stock | — |
| Subtotal | $124.42 | Low-cost path: $87.32 | |||||
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1 | Baltic birch plywood 3 mm, 12 × 20 in Wood Vault, 1/8" Laser/CNC grade variant; 3 sheets (base, adapter, target + feet, angle base, corner target) | 3 | $3.50 | $10.50 | woodvault.com The Wood Vault $3.50 per sheet (1/8" Laser/CNC grade variant) · checked 2026-10-09 · Not confirmed (variant availability not in page HTML) | Any 3 mm laser plywood (slots are 3.2 mm) | — |
| S2 | White, mid-grey and black matte card (letter size) Target surfaces for Lab 3; plus one glossy/foil sheet for the specular test | 1 | $6.00 estimate | $6.00 | Craft / office store (no link) — | Printer paper + a black marker fill | — |
| S3 | M2 screws/nuts, zip ties, wood glue, C-clamp Kit to base, sensors to adapter, corner target glue-up, base to table | 1 | $10.00 estimate | $10.00 | Hardware store (no link) — | Classroom stock | — |
| S4 | Laser cutter access or cutting service 3 sheets (estimate) | 1 | $15.00 estimate | $15.00 | Makerspace / cut service (no link) — | — | Trained adult operator; never leave a running laser |
| Subtotal | $41.50 | Low-cost path: $28.50 | |||||
| ID | Part & spec | Qty | Unit (typical) | Line (typical) | Where to buy | Cheaper substitute | Adult handling / safety gear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Temperature-controlled soldering iron Pinecil | 1 | $68.50 | $68.50 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $68.50 · checked 2026-10-09 · Not recorded | Assumed owned in the low total | Adult supervision |
| T2 | Lead-free solder 15 g SparkFun | 1 | $4.95 | $4.95 | sparkfun.com SparkFun $4.95 (single-unit price) · checked 2026-10-09 · Not recorded | — | Wash hands after soldering |
| T3 | Safety glasses, ANSI Z87.1 (Z87+) impact-rated, clear 3M SecureFit SF201AF · clear anti-fog polycarbonate lens marked Z87+ (ANSI Z87.1 impact-rated; 3M spec table on strobelssupply.com and safetycompany.com, read 2026-10-09); for soldering and the laser-cutting area. Not laser-protective eyewear (none is needed for Class 1) | 2 | $5.32 | $10.64 | platt.com Platt Electric Supply $5.32 EA · checked 2026-10-09 · 40 in stock (company-wide) | Any glasses marked Z87+ (ANSI Z87.1 high-impact). Not SparkFun SWG-11046: it lists only CE/EN 1836, a sunglass standard, not impact-rated | Check the Z87+ marking on arrival |
| T4 | Tape measure, 5 m (metric) Ground truth for Labs 2–3 | 1 | $8.00 estimate | $8.00 | Hardware store (no link) — | Classroom metre sticks | — |
| T5 | Laptop with Python 3, numpy, matplotlib, pyserial, Arduino IDE; MeshLab or CloudCompare (free) Logs scans over USB; views PLY point clouds | 1 | $0.00 estimate | $0.00 | School (no link) — | — | — |
| Subtotal | $92.09 | Low-cost path: $15.59 | |||||
The pack is digital files only. Hardware is bought separately.
These are standards the pack's activities are mapped to by Laue Labs. They are not a certification or endorsement by any standards body or state.
| Activity | NGSS | Common Core Math |
|---|---|---|
| Lab 1 Geometry and servos | HS-ETS1-2 (break a design problem into parts); SEP 3 (plan and carry out investigations) | HSG-SRT.C.8 (trig); HSF-TF.A (angles, radians) |
| Lab 2 Accuracy and calibration | HS-PS4-5 (devices that use waves/light to capture information); SEP 4 (analyse data) | HSS-ID.B.6 (fit a line, residuals); HSS-IC (variability, standard error) |
| Lab 3 Colour, angle, footprint | HS-PS4-1 / HS-PS4-3 (light behaviour; inverse-square spread); HS-PS4-4 by extension (light-matter interaction) | HSF-LE.A.4 (logs: log-log slope); HSG-SRT.C.8 |
| Lab 4 Point cloud | HS-ETS1-3 (evaluate a solution against criteria); SEP 5 (computational thinking) | HSN-VM (vectors: normals, dot product, by extension); HSG-GMD (3D shapes) |
| Lab 5 Room measurement | HS-ETS1-4 (simulate/model to predict performance) | HSN-Q.A.3 (accuracy appropriate to measurement) |
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One homeschool family, or one co-op group of up to 10 learners with its facilitator(s).
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One teacher with up to 30 students in a single class or cohort.
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All licenses: digital files only (hardware not included). Keep Laue Labs attribution on printed handouts. After checkout you get an instant download on the thanks page. License questions, more learners, or site licenses: lance.haney@gmail.com.
