Suitable for detecting proximity of an object at close range the LTR-559 is great for approach detection and ambient light compensation. The range is useful to around 5cm, and this is the type of sensor you might find in a smartphone to determine if you're holding it against your head.

We've created an easy installation script that will install all pre-requisites and get your LTR559 up and running with minimal efforts. To run it, fire up Terminal which you'll find in Menu -> Accessories -> Terminal on your Raspberry Pi desktop, as illustrated below:

In the new terminal window type the command exactly as it appears below (check for typos) and follow the on-screen instructions:

git clone https://github.com/pimoroni/ltr559-python
cd ltr559-python
./install.sh

Note Libraries will be installed in the "pimoroni" virtual environment, you will need to activate it to run examples:

source ~/.virtualenvs/pimoroni/bin/activate

If you want to contribute, or like living on the edge of your seat by having the latest code, you can install the development version like so:

git clone https://github.com/pimoroni/ltr559-python
cd ltr559-python
./install.sh --unstable