Expert Guide | CANRange™

In this episode of the CTR Electronics Expert Guide series, CTRE product expert Dalton Smith takes you inside the CANrange™ Time-of-Flight Proximity Sensor, a precision CAN-enabled distance and proximity sensor built for FRC robotics, competitive robotics, and automation applications. The CANrange™ gives you accurate distance readings from 1–300 cm, configurable proximity thresholds, and multiple measurement modes that make tasks like object detection, beam break emulation, and custom sensing more reliable and easier to tune on your robot or automation system. You’ll also see how the sensor fits naturally into the Phoenix ecosystem. CANrange™ supports high-speed sampling, straightforward calibration, and real-time feedback over CAN, giving you cleaner data so your mechanisms behave more predictably. 

In this video you’ll learn:

• ✅ What the CANrange™ sensor is and how it works
• ✅ How its detection modes, high sampling rates, and factory calibration benefit your robot
• ✅ Setup tips, measurement modes, and practical best practices for robotics use
• ✅ Clear answers to common questions about distance sensing and CAN integration 

Whether you’re building for FIRST Robotics Competition or developing a custom automation project, this walkthrough shows what the sensor’s capabilities actually mean for you and how to get the most out of the CANrange™ Time-of-Flight Proximity Sensor. 🔗 Learn more about CANrange™.

Timestamps 

• 0:00 Introduction
• 0:24 What is the CANrange™?
• 0:45 What is a Time of flight Sensor?
• 1:05 LED States
• 2:23 Distance Measurements
• 3:24 Demo Setup
• 4:09 Using with Phoenix Tuner
• 10:50 Final thoughts

Subscribe for more CTR Electronics Expert Guides featuring in-depth product breakdowns, practical insights, and real-world guidance for design and integration.