Ranger 8-Way Laser Ranging (TOF8)

Ultrasonic sensors have two fatal flaws in robotics competitions: slow reaction speed (limited by the speed of sound) and susceptibility to echo ghosts (interfering data). In sumo battles or high-speed obstacle avoidance, these flaws can directly lead to a match loss.

The Ranger 8-Way is equipped with 8 laser ranging units, covering a complete 90 degrees left and right, totaling a 180-degree full field of view. Your robot sees obstacles and targets across the whole front at once.

• 180-Degree Zero Blind Spot Coverage: 4 units on the left, 4 on the right, covering the complete forward semicircle. Detect all threats with zero blind spots.
• Laser-Speed Reaction: Measures distance at the speed of light with millisecond reaction times, allowing the robot to make decisions at maximum speed.
• 🥊 Ultimate Sumo Weapon: The full field of view gives opponents nowhere to hide. Lock on and pursue targets instantly.
• 🔼 Seamless Upgrade Design: Features dual 0-degree (straight forward) laser points, seamlessly integrating with the TOF2 programming logic for a zero-cost upgrade.

The 8 laser ranging units are distributed at fixed angles, covering a complete 180-degree field of view:

Channel	Angle	Direction
1	-90°	Direct Left
2	-60°	Left Forward 60°
3	-30°	Left Forward 30°
4	0°	Direct Forward
5	0°	Direct Forward (For TOF2 transition)
6	+30°	Right Forward 30°
7	+60°	Right Forward 60°
8	+90°	Direct Right

Design Ingenuity: Retaining two direct forward (0-degree) sensors allows users upgrading from TOF2 to seamlessly carry over their original programming logic. You only need to add processing for the extra channels.

Item	Spec
Sensing elements	8 laser time-of-flight (ToF) ranging units
Range	0 ~ 1200 mm (a reading of 1200 mm / 120 cm = no target in that direction)
Field of view	180° in front (90° to each side)
Bearing resolution	17 bearings (0 ~ 16, 8 = straight ahead)
Startup	About 2 ~ 4 s to initialize all 8 sensors (the link to the hub stays alive meanwhile)
Fault detection	Detects init failures, bus errors and timeouts per sensor; readable by the host

Platform	How
LEGO SPIKE Prime / Robot Inventor	Official app, Pybricks (👉 SPIKE beginner examples: official app / MBC blocks site / Pybricks, 5 each — in Chinese)
LEGO SPIKE Essential	Not supported
LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3	EV3 official software, Pybricks (EV3 beginner examples)
Arduino / ESP32 / Raspberry Pi	Universal I2C (address 0x29), Arduino Examples
MATRIX Mini R4	I2C (stock colour-sensor blocks, see MATRIX overview)
MakeBlock (mBot etc.)	Dedicated edition, blocks & wiring

Important

Each platform is a different factory edition (different connector and firmware). Please order the edition that matches your controller, or contact us if unsure.

Hub	Files
SPIKE (Pybricks 4.1)	Download all (.zip) · No library (blocks) · Library example (blocks) · Library MBC_laser8_obj_Lib.py · Shared library MBC_sensors.py (for new projects)
SPIKE (Pybricks 3.6.1, no longer updated)	Old files are under "Legacy (no longer updated)" on the Downloads page
EV3	EV3 beginner examples
Arduino (Universal I2C edition)	6 beginner examples (step by step) · All examples (.zip)
mBot etc. (MakeBlock)	Block extension and avoidance example

Import the library file into the same Pybricks project without renaming it.

Bearing: 0 ~ 16, 8 = straight ahead; smaller = further left, larger = further right; with a target it is only 1 ~ 15, and 0 or 16 means no target within 120 cm (keeps the side where the target was last seen, not far left / far right). The I2C edition reports it as -7 (far left) ~ +7 (far right), 0 = straight ahead; ±8 means no target within 120 cm (not far left / far right). EV3 edition: a single sensor bearing is -7 ~ +7 (negative = left, positive = right); ±8 means no target within 120 cm (not far left / far right).

SPIKE Modes (Pybricks: PUPDevice(Port.X).read(mode))

Mode	Content
1	Bearing of the nearest target (1 ~ 15 with a target; 0 or 16 = no target)
2	Distance to the nearest target (cm, 0 ~ 120)
3	Bearing, nearest distance, leftmost sensor distance (3 values; the rightmost distance is not available here — use mode 9)
9	Everything: 8 distances (cm), nearest bearing & distance, farthest bearing & distance, init-OK bitmap, fault bitmap

EV3 Modes

Mode	Content
0	Distance straight ahead (average of the two 0° sensors, 0 ~ 100: 1 unit = 1.2 cm, 100 = no target)
1	All 8 distances (0 ~ 100 each)
2	Nearest bearing (-7 ~ +7, ±8 = no target), nearest distance, farthest bearing, farthest distance

See the MBC Universal I2C Protocol for shared rules and Arduino helpers. Distances are uint16 in mm: 1200 = no target in range, 0xFFFF = sensor fault.

Tip

No coding experience? No problem: see the Arduino Examples. Every example can be copied and uploaded right away, with an English note on every line.

Register	Dir	Len	Content
0x01	R	17	Version bundle (model, firmware version, etc.; see the shared protocol)
0x11	R	6	Bearing bundle (= 0x12 ~ 0x15)
0x12	R	1	Nearest target bearing int8: with a target, -7 (left) ~ +7 (right), 0 = ahead; ±8 = none of the 8 sensors sees a target. Check 0x13 < 1200 first, then use the bearing
0x13	R	2	Nearest distance mm
0x14	R	1	Farthest target bearing int8 (0 when none of the 8 sensors sees a target)
0x15	R	2	Farthest distance mm
0x21	R	16	All 8 distances (= 0x22 ~ 0x29)
0x22 ~ 0x29	R	2	Sensor 0 ~ 7 distance mm (sensor 0 = leftmost, 7 = rightmost)
0x30	W	1	0x01 = reboot
0x31	R	9	Status bundle (= 0x32 ~ 0x37)
0x32	R	1	bit0 = ready (all 8 initialized, about 2 ~ 4 s after power-on), bit1 = any sensor faulty. Before it is ready, every distance reads 0, so wait for bit0 = 1 first
0x34 / 0x35 / 0x36	R	1	Init-OK / bus-error / timeout bitmaps (bit i = sensor i)

Variant 0x06 = [8, 120] (sensor count, max range ×10 mm); model 0x07 = LASER8.

// Wait until ready first (about 2 ~ 4 s after power-on; distances are 0 before that)
uint8_t flags = 0;
while (!(iicRead(0x29, 0x32, &flags, 1) && (flags & 0x01))) delay(100);

// Read the nearest target's bearing and distance
uint8_t d[6];
if (iicRead(0x29, 0x11, d, 6)) {
  uint16_t dist = ((uint16_t)d[1] << 8) | d[2];   // mm, 1200 = no target
  if (dist < 1200) {
    int8_t dir = (int8_t)d[0];                     // -7 left ~ +7 right, 0 = ahead
  }
}

1. SPIKE / EV3 edition: plug into SPIKE (Port AF) or EV3 (Port 14) with a standard cable Universal I2C edition: VCC → 5V, GND → GND, SDA → A4, SCL → A5 (Arduino UNO / Nano). See the Arduino Examples for details
2. Initialization takes about 2 ~ 4 s after power-on; once the indicator LED is on, it is ready

• Reading 120 cm (1200 mm)? → Nothing is within range in that direction — this is normal (EV3 reads 100).
• The two 0° sensors read differently? → Tiny angle differences between them cause small deviations; average them (EV3 mode 0 already does).
• One sensor never reports? → Check the fault bitmaps (SPIKE mode 9 or I2C 0x34~`0x36`) to see which one, then contact us for service.