> **Source:** Core Electronics is an Australian maker-electronics retailer and manufacturer based in Newcastle, NSW, run by a team of makers and educators. We design and manufacture our own product lines (PiicoDev, CE originals) and are official retailers for iconic maker and industrial brands including Raspberry Pi, Arduino, Adafruit, SparkFun and DFRobot. Orders ship Australia-wide from our Newcastle warehouse. Prices are in AUD and include GST. Pricing, stock and dispatch on this page are generated from the store's live catalog. Full machine-readable index: https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt # Pimoroni Near Optical Flow SPI Breakout (PAA5100JE) **Type:** Product page · **SKU:** PIM573 · **Brand:** [Pimoroni](https://core-electronics.com.au/brands/pimoroni-australia) · **GTIN:** 769894018262 **Page:** https://core-electronics.com.au/pimoroni-near-optical-flow-spi-breakout-paa5100je.html ([markdown](https://core-electronics.com.au/pimoroni-near-optical-flow-spi-breakout-paa5100je.html.md)) Detect motion of close-up surfaces with this Breakout Garden compatible optical navigation breakout - great for floor tracking for ground-dwelling robots! ## Pricing - **Price:** $41.90 (inc GST) — $38.09 AUD, exc GST - **Quantity discounts:** 10+ $36.56 (exc GST) · 25+ $35.43 (exc GST) ## Availability & dispatch - Out of stock — the product page offers email notification when it returns. ## How to buy - **Build a cart:** compose `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link?items=PIM573:1` (comma-separated SKU:qty pairs) and share the link. Opening it shows a confirmation page with live pricing and stock before anything is added to the cart. - **Verify the cart first:** fetch `https://core-electronics.com.au/cart/link/PIM573:1.md` for live line prices (inc & exc GST, quantity discounts applied), stock and dispatch estimates, and totals. Append `/to/{AU-postcode}` (or `/to/{country-code}:{postcode}`) before `.md` for delivery options and prices to that destination. Unknown, retired, or out-of-stock SKUs are flagged. (Query form `cart/link.md?items=...` also works but some robots parsers refuse query strings here.) - **Checkout** is completed on-site and includes a captcha at the payment step. Share the cart link; checkout takes it from there. - **Search the catalogue:** `https://core-electronics.com.au/search/{query}.md` (URL-encode the query; pages 2-3 at `search/{query}/{page}.md`; `search.md?q=` also works) - **Payment methods, purchase orders, policies and contact details:** https://core-electronics.com.au/llms.txt ## Description Detect motion of close-up surfaces with this Breakout Garden compatible optical navigation breakout - great for floor tracking for ground-dwelling robots! The PAA5100JE sensor is used in robot vacuum cleaners and uses a low-resolution camera and some clever algorithms to detect motion of surfaces. This sensor has a **super close range of 15-35mm** so it's suitable for use with a variety of different surfaces. If you're looking for a similar sensor with a bigger range (for attaching to something like a drone) check out the [PMW3901 breakout](https://core-electronics.com.au/pimoroni-pmw3901-optical-flow-sensor-breakout.html). You can use this breakout completely solder-free with any [Breakout Garden](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=breakout+garden) with an SPI slot, for ease of prototyping. **Features** - PAA5100JE-Q optical tracking sensor ([datasheet](https://core-electronics.com.au/attachments/localcontent/PAA5100JE-Q-GDS-R1_156734b7ed7.pdf)) - Two white LEDs on-board for illumination - Frame rate: 242 FPS (frames per second) - Range: 15-35mm - Field of view: 42° - Maximum speed: 1.14 metres per second (with sensor 25mm away from surface) - 6mA typical current draw - SPI interface - 3.3V or 5V compatible - Reverse polarity protection - Compatible with Raspberry Pi and Arduino - Measurements: approx 24mm x 24.5mm x 5mm (L x W x H, including components) - [Python library](https://github.com/pimoroni/pmw3901-python) **Software** Pimoroni has adapted the PWM3901 [Python library](https://github.com/pimoroni/pmw3901-python) to work with this sensor as well. It makes reading the x/y motion values and their magnitude really straightforward. Use the following line at the beginning of your code to make sure it's set up correctly: *from pmw3901 import PAA5100* **Connecting to your Raspberry Pi** If you're not using a [Breakout Garden](https://core-electronics.com.au/search/?q=breakout+garden), this is how to connect your Near Optical Flow Sensor Breakout up to your Raspberry Pi. This library is set up to use the front SPI slot by default: BCM 7 for CS, BCM 11 for SCK, BCM 10 for MOSI, BCM 9 for MISO, and BCM 19 for the INT pin. Here's which pins to connect between your Near Optical Flow Sensor Breakout and your Pi's GPIO (**note that it's BCM pin numbering**): - 3-5V to any 5V or 3V pin - CS to BCM 7 - SCK to BCM 11 - MOSI to BCM 10 - MISO to BCM 9 - INT to BCM 19 - GND to any ground pin You can of course use other pins but you'll have to change them accordingly when you instantiate the sensor in your code. ## Guides for this product - [Effective Ways To Measure Distance In Maker Projects](https://core-electronics.com.au/guides/sensors/effective-ways-to-measure-distance-in-maker-projects/) ## Videos for this product - [Effective Ways To Measure Distance In Your Maker Projects!](https://core-electronics.com.au/videos/effective-ways-to-measure-distance-in-your-maker-projects) ## Images - [Product image 1](https://core-electronics.com.au/media/catalog/product/p/a/paa5100jeopticaltrackingspibreakout_3of3_large.jpg)