Light and proximity sensor LTR-559 Breakout

This light and proximity sensor detects light over a wide dynamic range (0.01 lux to 64,000 lux) and proximity in a short range of about 5 cm.

The LTR-559 is the same type of sensor you’ll find next to your phone’s camera that detects when it’s next to your ear to disable the touch screen.

It’s ideal for an automatic and manual nightlight switch that detects when the ambient light falls below a certain level and automatically triggers something like Unicorn pHAT to turn on, or simply wave your hand over it to turn the light on or off manually using proximity detection.

It has an I2C interface and is 3.3V or 5V compatible. You can solder a header at right angle and then place it directly on the GPIO of your Raspberry Pi (pins 1, 3, 5, 7, 9).

It is also compatible with the Breakout Garden. You will just have to slide it in one of the 6 slots before starting to develop your project, to create and to code.