This is a small (17.9 mm x 10.3 mm) breakout board for PixArt's PAA3905 optical flow sensor. It provides X-Y velocity at 126 Hz via Optical Flow and 35 x 35 pixel video camera at 18 Hz. There is a well-commented Arduino sketch showing how to use the device for navigation and frame grabbing. The frame grab rate is significantly improved over its predecessor, making for a practical low-resolution still imaging and video camera capability. Power usage is a modest 3.5 mA and the sensor can move in and out of shutdown mode quickly allowing flexible power management. The light level adjustment is automatic (although can still be done manually), streamlining sensor management. The sensor is smaller than its predecessors, with fewer pins making design and assembly easier. Light level sensitivity extends down to 5 lux. The frame grab occurs at a crisp ~15 Hz (56 milliseconds to complete), allowing low-resolution video imaging using the infrared-sensitive sensor element. Open source design!
