I2C Proximity sensor?

You will need to provide more details, such as the model of the sensor you are using, a link to its documentation and possibly some example C++ code provided by the manufacturer, along with a description of what you tried already.

The C++ library looks in good shape, though they could have totally put some extra effort in the documentation (there is no description of what the methods in include/lidar_lite.h do).

So, first thing you want to do, as the README file says, is to install the libi2c-dev package. If your BBB is connected to the internet (e.g.: with a wifi dongle or an ethernet cable), simply do

apt-get install libi2c-dev

otherwise, run

apt-get install --print-uris libi2c-dev

this will return a URL at which you can find the needed package. In this case the URL is this: http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian/pool/main/i/i2c-tools/libi2c-dev_3.1.1-1_all.deb . You should download the file at that URL and copy it on your board, either through scp or by drag-and-drop on the IDE window.
You then need to manually install it. Assuming you dragged and dropped it on the IDE while a project called `PROJECTNAME", run this in the console at the bottom of the IDE:

dpkg -i projects/PROJECTNAME/libi2c-dev_3.1.1-1_all.deb && rm projects/PROJECTNAME/libi2c-dev_3.1.1-1_all.deb 

If you are terminal-savy you would then copy the whole codebase from https://github.com/Sanderi44/Lidar-Lite to the board, then run

cd Lidar-Lite/test && make && ./test

to build and run the test program. You can also skip this step if you want and come back to it only if you find troubles in the next step.

To include the sensor in a Bela project, you would first create a new C++ project, then drag and drop the files Lidar-Lite/src/lidar_lite.cpp and Lidar-Lite/include/lidar_lite.h on the Bela IDE. Then you should open the file lidar_lite.cpp and edit the first line from

#include <include/lidar_lite.h>

to

#include <lidar_lite.h>

Then in your render.cpp file try to add something like what is in the Lidar-Lite/test/test.cpp file, for instance a quick test can be made by editing the setup() function as follows:

#include <lidar_lite.h>
bool setup(BelaContext *context, void *userData)
{
	Lidar_Lite l1(1);
	int err = l1.connect();
	if (err < 0){
		printf("%d", l1.err);
	} else {
		for(int n = 0; n < 40; ++n){
			int dist = l1.getDistance();
			if(l1.err)
			{
				break;
			}
			printf("%d\n", dist);
			usleep(100000);
		}
	}
    return true;
}

I managed to compile the above, but of course I don't have the sensor so I cannot test it.

The above is a quick test which will take 40 measurements over 4 seconds before starting the audio.
Not very useful if you want to use the distance sensor to affect the audio in real time.
To do that you should create an auxiliary task and run the content of the function above in the AuxiliaryTask instead of in setup(), then pass the values to the audio thread, e.g.: using global variables.
But first, try to get here and see that it works.

From what I read, I would exclude a power issue, as the device is detected.

To check that the sensor is working you could try on an Arduino with the official library. Alternatively / additionally I would encourage you to run the test they provide, as mentioned above:

giuliomoro If you are terminal-savy you would then copy the whole codebase from https://github.com/Sanderi44/Lidar-Lite to the board, then run

cd Lidar-Lite/test && make && ./test

to build and run the test program. You can also skip this step if you want and come back to it only if you find troubles in the next step.

that RPi issue seems to be very Pi-specific (it is an issue int the kernel module for their chipset).

It may well be an issue with "repeated starts" (whatever that is in I2C parlance), as mentioned in the page you link, but the I2C library you are using does not seem to contemplate them.

so did you try the bash script provided there:

#!/bin/sh
date >> lidar.txt

while :
do
i2cset -y 1 0x62 0x00 0x04

sleep 2

i2cget -y 1 0x62 0x8f w
i2cget -y 1 0x62 0x8f w >> lidar.txt
done

It would be good if you could try this both by booting from the SD card and booting without it (therefore using the stock BeagleBone Black image).

That should work, see here for some examples of reading serial port https://forum.bela.io/d/104-usb-serial-port-input-into-bela/19

Not sure about the voltage levels: the post you linked says that it works fine without level shifters and links to this page on the subject: https://pedronf65.wordpress.com/2015/03/22/lidar-lite-and-beaglebone-black-i2c-signals/