LIDAR-Lite Laser Rangefinder – Simple Arduino Sketch of a 180 Degree “Radar”

Posted on by & filed under Arduino Tutorials, Electronics, Software and Apps.

*note* : for discussing any technical issues with your LIDAR-Lite, please proceed to our forum and create a new topic here.

Example Two-Wheeled Robot

*** The LIDAR-Lite v3 is out! Go check this blog post for more details ***

 

Range Finding

Finding the range of an object in front of your robot is a rather simple task and has been done reliably using sonar and IR range sensors for a long time. In most cases, those two types of sensors fulfill the basic needs of the robot when it comes to distance measurement. Sonar can provide good ranging on most surfaces but they have wide detection beams that can easily be interfered with. On the other hand, IR range sensors provide a confined beam that is very small but suffers from reflective differences on varying surfaces, thus changing the distance readings. Until recently, there was no good option for projects on a hobbyist budget which needed a long range, high precision, small detection beam for distance measurement.

lidar-lite-laser-rangefinder_1

LIDAR-Lite Laser Rangefinder [RB-Pli-01]

LIDAR-Lite Laser Range Finder

We would like to introduce you to the LIDAR-Lite Laser Rangefinder [RB-Pli-01] from PulsedLight. This affordable and compact laser range finder is all the robotics enthusiast with ranging needs could want! It features laser range finding for distances of up to 40m (~131 feet) with an accuracy of ± 2.5 cm (~ 1 inch) and an acquisition time under 20 ms. All of this is offered in a module that weighs 16 g (~ 0.56 ounce) and consumes less than 100 mA @ 5 V DC (under 2 mA idle). The device uses a simple I2C interface to communicate the distances measured.

Servo-mounted LIDAR-Lite

Arduino Example

To demonstrate how easy this device is to use, we provide here a simple example of a 180 degree “radar” using the LIDAR-Lite, a small servo motor and some mounting brackets.

BoM (Bill of Materials)

Here is the list of what parts were used to make this example:

*: Please note that while we used a HS-645MG in our example, the HS-422 and almost any other standard RC servo motor could perform this task.
**: We used some double sided tape to hold the LIDAR-Lite in place on the bracket.

Setup

Below you can find the wiring diagram for connecting the Lynxmotion BotBoarduino to the servo motor and the LIDAR-Lite using one power source for both logic and servo. Check here for a wiring diagram using two power sources for the Lynxmotion BotBoarduino.

Wiring Diagram with One Power Source

Sample Code

You can find the source code here.

Output

The output of the sample code is in a simple format of one line per measurement reading, indicating the angle and distance of each reading. This output is meant to be read by a human. If interfacing with another microcontroller or a computer, it is recommended to have a more compact (probably binary) format for the output with some error correction to ensure the validity of the data. Below is an example of the output of the example code.

Typical Output in Arduino Serial Monitor

We look forward to seeing what you do with your LIDAR-Lite!

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153 Responses to “LIDAR-Lite Laser Rangefinder – Simple Arduino Sketch of a 180 Degree “Radar””

  1. Manish

    Arduino Sketch of a 180 Degree is used mainly in compact robot kits to know test the sensing and obstacle detecting . Well this blog give more information about sensors . Thanks for sharing keep on updating.

  2. Isa

    Hi,
    This work looks great and may enable many to upgrade their obstacle sensing ability. Moreover, I would like to know how fast you can read the measurement and position data. I look forward to hearing from you.
    Thanks

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Isa: The measurements (distance) are reported to take at most 20 ms by the manufacturer (with default settings), so the example code can be tweaked to make readings from the LIDAR-Lite faster. You can find more information about this in the datasheet and operation manual, both available on the product page under “Useful Links“.

  3. Federico

    Would there be any problems implementing this vertically, from floor to ceiling for example? Also could the steps in angle be made smaller? Thanks!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Federico: There should be no issue using this sensor vertically as long as the ceiling is within the maximum range and is reflective enough. Concerning the steps, we used degrees for simplicity in the example, but you can change the command “myservo.write” for “myservo.writeMicroseconds” which allows finer control of the position in microseconds instead of degrees (usually around 5.5 times more points over 180 degrees).

  4. rocky

    Can we increase the range to say 1000m. What would that involve?

  5. Sébastien Parent-Charette

    @rocky: The maximum range of the RB-Pli-01 is 40 m. The range may be extended under some circumstances (no interference, highly reflective material on target, etc.), but you shouldn’t expect much increase. A range of 1000 m would require different optics, electronics and power source and is therefore not achievable with this product. Most of the professional grade LIDARs we sell offer at most ranges of ~80 m.

  7. Jorge

    Hi Sebastien,
    First of all, I’m prety new on this DIY thing. I’ve some acknowledge of electronic and I’ve scripted for some time so I understand most of the theory but I’ve never put my hands in any of this boards/devices. I’ve been doing some research and I think the Lidar laser rage finder might be the answer I’m looking for. I basically need to build a device that can track and store relative position and rotation data in real time. So I thought that may be the lidar laser plus a 9dof board and an arduino board (I have no idea which one) might do the thing. What do you thing or what would you recommend me buying for getting started with my project?
    Thanks in advance.
    Jorge.-

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Jorge: Concerning the 9 DoF IMU, we recommend you browse our Inertia Measurement Units category. Make sure to scroll down the product pages to check the longer description and documentation (under Useful Links). Most of these devices can be used with any basic Arduino board. The choice really depends on your design. We recommend that you post about your project design on our forum here to obtain more detailed help from the RobotShop community.

  8. J~

    If the max range is approximately 40m and a precision of approximately 1 .0025m, does the precision increase at all the closer the object. i.e. would reflecting off of a surface 2m away increase the .0025m precision to .0010 or less?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @J~: The accuracy of 2.5 cm is usually the worst case scenario with this product. In most cases, you should get better accuracy. Please check this link for more details.

  9. Joe

    What is the MINIMUM range? I can’t find that information anywhere. Also, what gets reported when something is closer than minimum range?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Joe: The manufacturer does mention that while the minimum range is effectively zero, the distance measured at ranges under 30 cm may vary in quality due to the alignment of the components inside the case. Some users have reported good measurements as close as 10 cm while others only get good readings after 20-30 cm. Therefore, we recommend that you consider ~30 cm as a safe (but conservative) minimum distance. You may want to check your individual sensors as they may have a lower minimum distance due to tolerance in part placement/assembly.

  10. Vinter

    Great project! I’d like to set this up, but using an Arduino Uno board. Are there any changes I need to make to the code to use an Uno? And can you tell me what pins I should wire up to the Uno to match what you did on the BotBoard?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Vinter: There are no changes to the code (unless you change to different pins!) or the connections required but a few minor differences on where the pins actually are. For reference, the servo motor channel 5 on the right-hand side of the Lynxmotion BotBoarduino is the same as digital pin 5 at the top of an Arduino.
      You can view this wiring diagram from the manufacturer of the LIDAR-Lite here for the Arduino Uno. Obviously, the Uno does not have extra pins for a servo motor connection, so you will need to wire those differently. The servo motor signal pin (usually yellow/orange/white) will go to one of the PWM-able pins and the VCC/GND will need to be powered outside of the Arduino since most motors use too much current for what it can provide. Please make sure to have a common ground though, to prevent signal issues.

  11. Vinter

    Thanks for clearing that up for me. I was having some issues running the above set up, and I wasn’t sure why. I was using the newer version of LidarLite, and It turns out the new LIdarLite V2 (blue label) handles I2C differently from version 1. Thanks again!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Vinter: Ok, that makes a lot of sense then! As an side note, we are preparing a new blog post concerning the LIDAR-Lite v2 specifically to help users complete a basic setup. We do not have a time frame yet but it will certainly help many users with the basics of using this new product.

  12. Juan

    Hi! My son is looking to build a lidar based obstacle avoidance rover, he has done other with basic type of sensors… would there be sample arduino code he can look at, he said he is interested in figuring out distance? We bought the version 2 of the lidar, should we have bought version 1? Thanks!!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Juan: Both versions of the LIDAR-Lite work great to get distance readings with good precision and accuracy. Version 2 as a few new features and can take faster measurements. You can also use multiple sensors on one I2C bus, which can be advantageous in some cases. You can find the library on the manufacturer’s GitHub, available here. Please note that this library is still in beta (but functional) and is being modified regularly. Someone else also posted on our forum about using the LIDAR-Lite v2 with this blog post. You can read more details here.

  13. Juan

    Thank you Sebastien. My son got the lidar-lite to work with his robot this weekend. He borrowed code from different sources to make a very basic obstacle avoiding rover. so far so good, but he would like to test a bit more. His project involves comparing various types of sensors, so far ultrasonic and lidar. He is betting on lidar btw 🙂 thanks again!

  14. Tom

    Wondering, if anyone used the Lidar-lite yet for wind speed/direction measurement? Since it would use the small particles’ movement in the air, how would that be isolated and measured from all the reflected data?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Tom: It’s potentially doable, but not with the sensor as-is. The LIDAR-Lite is built specifically for range finding, not reliably detecting the motion of a mass of particles on a grand scale. This would require different components and signal processing in the device. Basically, a new product! 🙂

  15. Bill

    Sebastien, I am interested in using one LIDAR-Lite to generate a matrix of lasers, is this possible? I want to attach the device to the front of a car and use it to detect potholes in the road and was wondering if you think this is feasible.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Bill: This may be very hard to solve this problem using the LIDAR-Lite. At your average city driving speeds, you would be covering over 27 cm (or ~11 inches) in the time required to perform one reading (~20 ms). This means you would have a “blind spot” of nearly a foot between readings. This is probably enough to miss small pot holes. At faster speeds (such as on the highway), of course, the “blind spot” becomes greater (linearly proportional). Since the beam of the LIDAR is very small, if you use only one sensor you would need to rotate it to see ahead for the width of the car, which will add more delay and make the “blind spot” size impractical enough to make this device not helpful for warning of pot holes (it would miss most of them). There may be other more suitable devices available to make such a detection system. We recommend that you post about your idea in our forum and see what the RobotShop community suggests. You can also post about it on Let’s Make Robots.

  16. Tom

    Thank you for the quick reply. I believe the sensor has a built-in function for “velocity” as it applies to the target, which I guess is the “ranged object”. I am in the process of dusting off an Arduino Mega (can’t find my Uno:) and was wondering if instead of aiming at a target on the terrain where it gets reflected from a solid object, I could aim in the air without a mass of solid objects present except potential small aerosol particles to reflect from. I guess without trying this I would not know if any of the reflections back could be isolated from the noise. I see your point that the expected reflection signal from a larger solid mass object is probably 10,000 times higher (my guess only) than the “noise” of air particles…

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Tom: You can certainly use the velocity mode to do this (against a large object). But, with the current signal processing, the product expect a certain “signal strength” to be returned. Small airborne particles probably won’t return enough to meet this requirement. Therefore, the product will return most likely measure a distance of 0, which will prevent proper calculation of the velocity. This may be getting a bit too complicated for a comment on the blog post, so we recommend that you post about your idea on our forum and/or on Let’s Make Robots.

  17. Saad Hayat

    Hello Sebastian

    I was thinking of using Lidar-Lite to detect objects in a 3D cone or any 3D plane.
    any thoughts on how I can use Lidar Lite to achieve this.

    Another question
    The Servo motor displayed on this page takes 0.2 sec to cover 60degrees(no load)
    what would that speed look like when the Lidar is mounted on the servo?

    Thank You in advance

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Saad Hayat: Hi Saad. The simplest solution for 3D scans using the LIDAR-Lite would be to use a pan & tilt kit, such as this one. The distance and servomotor angles can be used to determine the spherical coordinates of the objects/surfaces detected. From there, you can create a point cloud and process this data as needed.
      Since the entire RB-Pli-01 has a weight of about 16 g, you can expect the servomotor to move at a speed very close to its maximum.

  18. Ryan

    Hi Sebastien,

    I have a similar project to @Jorges, needing to store LiDAR data and process it for coordinates to fly to, all onboard the UAV. But there are so many different configurations of Arduino and RaspberryPi boards available, could you recommend one? Also, is it a good idea or completely bonkers, if i had two Arduino boards(possibly of different configuration). One for the LiDAR, one for the UAV rotors, and most likely one RaspberryPi board between the two for processing power. Could i get your feedback on this?
    Cheers,
    Ryan

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Ryan: Hi Ryan. Since this is a more advanced design question, we recommend you instead post about it on the forum. This would allow for easier communication and adding diagrams and such to the replies. Having simple boards such as Arduinos to handle low-level, real-time operations such as basic sensor data gathering and motor control is actually a great idea. While the Raspberry Pi has more processing power, it is usually used with a Linux distribution which (in most cases) prevents a complete real-time operation. This can be very important in time-critical steps such as motor control on a UAV.

  19. A. Hassan

    Hi Sebastien,
    I am planning to make this project go wireless using xbee pro. module. Can you please suggest (1) Any suitable shield for BotBoarduino to achieve this (2) High capacity rechargeable battery pack available for this project.

    Regards.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @A. Hassan: You could use any of the XBee shields we offer. You can see a few here such as RB-Ite-13. You can find all of our battery options here. Simply click a category (battery technology) on the left to browse it. If you need more technical help, we recommend that you post about your project and issues on our forum.

  20. Federico

    Hi Sébastien,

    I have seen that the maximum range is 40m. I read @rocky question and your answer, but I would like to know, if it is possible, how I can increase that measuring range. Do I need another module or device to increase it? Could it measure objects up to 60m?

    Thanks in advance!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Federico: The range of the RB-Pli-03 is 40 m. This range is due to many factors, including hardware placement on the PCB of the product, optics used in the casing and firmware on board. There is no way to change the maximum measuring distance for the end-user. You may be able to increase the distance slightly by using highly reflective surfaces on the targets and ensuring perpendicular targeting, but you will probably not get 60 m and any distance further than 40 m will most likely be unreliable at best.

  21. Angel Eduardo

    Hi Sebastien, my project is something. But I have a doubt, at the time of capture distances LIDAR-lite that transmits data format?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Angel Eduardo: The LIDAR-Lite is an I2C slave device. You send commands to it as an I2C master (usually using a microcontroller) to setup the device and start taking measurements. The values are obtained by reading a 16-bit register. This value returns the distance measured in cm.

  22. Denise Arciniega

    How fast can you get it to rotate? What optimal speed would it be able to achieve?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Denise Arciniega: The maximum (or optimal) speed of rotation depends on many factors, such as how many measurements you wish to take and how long you expect the measurements to need to complete. In our case, we took measurements every degree over a 180 degree radius. For the measurement duration, it will vary based on the returned signal strength, which depends on many characteristics, such as the LIDAR-Lite registers’ settings, the distance to the objects, the reflectivity of the objects, etc. To ensure proper reading, we assumed a safe duration of 20 ms per reading. Therefore, out fastest speed would be roughly 180 degrees in 3600 ms (3.6 s) = 50 degrees / s. Using the LIDAR-Lite v2, you can also achieve faster speeds than with the v1. We recommend that you experiment with various setups and see what kind of results you obtain.

  23. Nasir Nuru

    Dear Sebastien
    This is Nasir and currently i am working on self positioning robot based on LIDAR sensor. for that i have 51duino “51duino Smart Car Robot Driver Board 51 Development Board for Motor Servo Sensor for Arduino” and RPLIDAR A1M1 (i hope you are familiar with this 360 degree scanning). But i am having troubles in connecting these two circuits…..anything on how to connect these two circuits/devices??
    I appreciate you concern and help in advance…

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Nasir Nuru: We recommend that you contact the manufacturers of those two boards directly to obtain the documentation and support required for your integration issue. Another solution would be to write about it on our projects oriented website, Let’s Make Robots.

  24. Jedidiah

    Hi Sébastien,
    I’m mounting the LiDAR-Lite v2 on a drone and I only need the readings from it while it is facing down, would I still need the servo motor attachment to generate a point cloud? Can a point cloud be generated without the use of the servo motor or is it required to figure out the spherical coordinates?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Jedidiah: To get a point cloud of spherical coordinates, you need 3 components: the polar angle, the azimuth angle and the radial distance. The distance is provided by the LIDAR-Lite. To get the two angles, you would need two servo-motors to produce them, not one. Another option, if your drone has the ability to do so, is to keep it stationary and then angle it to create the angles needed for the measurements of the LIDAR-Lite. If you wish to discuss this in more details, we recommend that you post about it in the forum.

  25. Frank Musil

    Hello Sébastien; I am trying to build an altitude hold feature on my large Buffalo C115 R/C rescue plane. It needs to hold a 20 -30 cm altitude off our GRASS runway in full sunlight ( It will drop a R/C jeep out the back cargo door.) IR range module and ultrasonic ping does not work. Can a LIDAR accomplish this? Here’s what I’ve done sofar………. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOSbXaUq98c
    R/C jeep out the back usually in full sunlight

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Frank Musil: Nice video! If powered and oriented properly, the LIDAR-Lite should have no issue with full daylight (due to the way it processes the signal sent/received). Please note that for reliable operation (due to parallax with the optics), it usually needs at least 20-30 cm to an object to report the proper measurement (some customers have reported success with distances as small as 10 cm).

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Hazem: The LIDAR-Lite cannot be used underwater as the casing is not waterproof. Also, even if it was (or made to be, without interacting with the casing’s optics), you would face a few major problems:
      1) Refraction will make the beam take paths that are not direct (and hard to predict), which will lead to (possibly large) errors in measurement that would need to be corrected.*
      2) Particles in the water will also absorb and scatter the beam, which will lead to loss of signal or errors (these ones are harder to correct).*
      3) The IR laser (and optics) used in the LIDAR-Lite is quite probably the wrong type for underwater use (since it is not meant for underwater use) and also may need to be more powerful.
      #1 & 2 would most likely need the firmware to be modified to account for those. #3 would need different hardware.

  27. Mohammad

    Hi Sebastien
    Is it possible to point this LIDAR to mirrors and build a 2D or 3D RangeFinder ???

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Mohammad: Yes, it is possible to use a mirror. You can find some examples online of some projects doing just that! It has the added benefit of not needing a slip-ring as you can simply move and rotate the mirror around instead, keeping the LIDAR-Lite stationary.

  28. Mohammad

    Thanks Very much, Sebastien
    I’m sorry, but questions keep coming:
    How much is the minimum dimension of the object for measurements ? In what kind of conditions should I worry about the distance between sender and receiver ?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Mohammad: In theory, to get a proper signal back, the object should be at least as large as the beam emitted by the LIDAR-Lite. Since the beam’s divergence is very small (~0.5 degrees), at around 40 m (the typical maximum distance for this sensor), the beam would be roughly 40 cm wide. If your object is smaller than the beam, it may only partially reflect (or not at all / not significantly enough, if it is too small) the beam and it will take longer for the sensor to get a proper measurement (you can change the maximum number of measurements in the registers). For more technical details, we recommend that you post on the forum.

  30. Augustine

    Hi Sebastien,
    For my project I want to use 3 lidar sensors and 3 servo motors. Can I use 1 arduino to control them or would I have to use 3 separate ones?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Augustine: It is possible to use only one Arduino, though you will certainly run into power issues. In fact, in some cases, the 5V pin of the Arduino does not provide adequate power for just one LIDAR-Lite v2, so three of them would certainly be an issue. We recommend that you use an external 5 V DC power source with good current capacity. A possible solution would be a 5 V step-down voltage regulator such as RB-Pol-115 with a powerful enough wall adapter, such as RB-All-40 or RB-Ada-135. You may want to use a barrel connect to screw terminal adapter to connect the wall adapter to your voltage regulator, such as the RB-Dfr-182. We do not have much data on using three sensors together on the same I2C bus so that is something to be tried. If it did not work, you could still use only one Arduino by cleverly using the others pins to simulate I2C buses in software.

  31. Manjunath

    Hi I wanted to use Lidarlite for water Level Measurement from height of 25 meters. I am successful at measuring. But I need more readings and then average it. What would be the minimum time delay between each successive measurements?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Manjunath: While we can approximate the minimum time delay, in reality is it unknown since it is directly proportional to the number and strength of returned signals. And this varies based on external conditions such as distance to target, reflectivity of the surface, angle of the surface, environmental conditions between the target and sensors (rain, fog, snow, etc.). All of these things will affect the minimum duration of a measurement. What we do know is the maximum duration of a measurement by setting the maximum number of samples to take (set in the registers) to obtain a valid measurement. You can try and changing this value (lower to make it faster, high to make it slower) and see what kind of results you get. A good idea would be to setup your measurement to be at its absolute worst case (longest distance, least reflectivity, etc.) and then incrementally lower the maximum amount of measurements until the results become unreliable. Then use a slightly higher value and check how long those measurements take. This should be the maximum amount of time a measurement will take and will help determine how fast you can repeat measurements in your specific situation.

  32. James Dougherty

    Hi Sébastien,

    Thank you for the great sketch and example here for the PulsedLight3d module. I had planned to do something similar for a project which I am working on and then I found your site and voila! Excellent. Anyhow, I purchased and built your entire setup and (some soldering issues aside) got it running in about 15 minutes. I’ve since made a few modifications to the Sketch so as to include:

    – updated sketch to include the pulselight3d library code to get all the features of their examples (https://github.com/pulsedlight3d)
    – Changed the output format to a framed binary representation with a 3-byte synch word, tested to run in realtime at 115 Kbaud
    – developed a serial framing and user-space capture library for Linux
    – developed an SDL based 180-degree Radar-screen rendering application with a 3-point memory and phospor style fading
    – developed up/down scaling in realtime to see near/far objects
    – developed color based temperature/distance measurement display
    – output stats in realtime (distance, closest/furthest)

    I’m thinking this may be interesting to you and/or anyone else who would like to further their developments with LIDAR scanning using this module and some of the great products you guys sell at your store.
    If anyone is interested, let me know, I may post the project to github in a few days as I have some free time now.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @James: That sounds very amazing (and useful)! We recommend that you make a detailed post about this on our forum and/or on our project-oriented website, Let’s Make Robots. We are certain the RobotShop community would be interested in such development. We are eager to see your project on GitHub!

  33. Kemal Firat

    Hello Sebastien
    We have a fish farm on the field and having trouble with birds eating our fishes. I made an arduino prototype which scans the sky and upon detection it plays wierd sound, then a shotgun fired sound and finally sprays pressured water against the locked target. Now I want to build this project in real, would you suggest this laser distance rangefinder for my project. Would it work for detecting birds over 40m. distance. (birds are 40 cm. height and with wings open they are about 90 cm. wide)
    Best Regards

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Kemal: This sensor is meant for range detection, not object detection, so it may not perform very well for your application. You may have more success with PIR (Proximity Infra-Red) sensors, such as these. If you need more detailed help, we recommend that you post in our forum instead.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @James Dougherty: We apologize for any inconvenience with those issues and recommend that you open a support ticket regarding your website access issues. Do so here for Let’s Make Robots and here for our forum.

  35. kalix

    Hi Sebastien, can anyone use LIDAR-Lite for UAV mapping? any example?
    Thank you

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @kalix: As mentioned previously, the LIDAR-Lite is meant for detecting the range in a set direction. While it is possible to perform some rudimentary mapping using the LIDAR-Lite, this is certainly not a trivial problem and will require much effort to accomplish. You can certainly find some examples online with a simple search.

  36. JOUHRI

    Hello, found this top very interesting, thanks a lot, btw, how much it costs, and how i can get it ? waiting for ur answer, greets 😀

  37. Cyril Jay

    im having some trouble because i cant stabilize for example it goes 34,35,36,38,33 that measures +5cm beyond the wall.. and i dont know why the measurements are not accurate enough .. ive already average it stilll the values are not good.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Cyril Jay: We recommend that you verify your wiring and ensure you have the following:
      * A stable 5 V DC power source that provides enough current for the LIDAR-Lite
      * A large capacitor between the VCC & GND pins of the LIDAR-Lite
      If this is already the case, then we recommend you open a support ticket with us if you think it is defective. If it is more an integration issue, you can post about it on our forum here.

  38. Cyril Jay

    im controlling 3 of them in one microcontroller.. maybe i should go have an external 5V DC have common ground with arduino and a 10V 1000uF cap connected to 5V and GND ?sorry im a bit newbie here.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Cyril Jay: If you are using three of them, then you may very well run into power issues. We recommend that you obtain a good quality 5 V DC regulated power supply. For capacitors, you should have one of 680 uF per sensor (as close as possible to the VCC & GND of the sensor), as recommended by the manufacturer. If you do not have large enough capacitors, you can combine multiple capacitors. You can read more about combining them here.

  39. Cyril Jay

    thanks a lot !! its now working but.. one of my sensors has still have +5 readings.. i dont know what to do. i did not put any +5 in my code..

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Cyril Jay: If all three of your sensors are in the same setup, please try each of them one by one. If the possibly faulty one still has a +5 value difference, we recommend that you open a support ticket with us and we can look into further troubleshooting your issue.

  40. Cyril Jay

    i’m not having accurate results when measuring centimeters.. im reading below 20cm but it gives me 28,25,27.. is it reliable in measuring centimeters?? (actually ive float the output values from the sensor).

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Cyril Jay: Here is a citation of a previous answer: The manufacturer does mention that while the minimum range is effectively zero, the distance measured at ranges under 30 cm may vary in quality due to the alignment of the components inside the case. At short distances (< 30 cm), the optics (since they are made for very long range) create a parallax effect that may create invalid results.

  41. Adie

    Hi all: Fantastic, will the unit measure powder in a silo (cement powder) so we can build a level indicator?

    Thanks

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Adie: This unit will return the distance of any surface that is reflective to IR. You can read more about it in the documentation here.

  42. pepe

    how ca i use a lidar to make some mapping?? i would use it for an aerial drone, is there anything i can do to not purchase it for a huge amount of money???? loking forward to your answers

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @pepe: The simplest solution is to mount the LIDAR facing either upwards or downwards with a rotating mirror at an angle in front of it (45 degrees?). You can then move your drone around to change the angle with respect to the ground. Of course, mapping so many data points will require some work. You may want to do a quick online search to see what has been done already for this kind of stuff, such as the Point Cloud Library (PCL).

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @cyril: Change the optics, the components inside and the firmware on the chip. 🙂 Basically, make a new device for a shorter range!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: Please check the documentation for this information. You can find the documentation for the v2 (RB-Pli-03) here.

  45. Sree

    Would it be possible to view the pulse in an oscilloscope as it is transmitted? Also can we instruct Arduino to get the raw digitized data from the the return pulse from the chip memory? I would like to understand the processing mechanism and I think I do a certain extent but would like to test it out on the raw data from the memory for both the reference signal and the return signal.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Sree: It is not possible to access any of the raw data from the RB-Pli-03. If you wish to know more, you can check out the documentation for the v2 here.

  46. sam

    it is mentioned that i have to use 680 mf capacitor but it what about the voltage of the capacitor ?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: To be on the safe side, we would recommend a capacitor rated for a DC voltage about 2 times higher than the nominal voltage used. Since the nominal voltage in this case is 5 V DC, that would be 10 V DC. In the range of 680 uF, you will probably not find any parts rated under 10~16 V DC and most likely rated for 25 V DC or more, so it should not be an issue. If you do not have a 680 uF one, for this application you can use a slightly large one, such as a 1000 uF like this, this or this.

  47. sam

    i have got the sensors and i want to use them to bulid a map
    can u help where to start ???

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Carl: Short answer: yes it can.
      Long answer: Lets just say it is a non trivial project. Here are the two main approaches we have seen:
      1) Connect the LIDAR-Lite to a pan & tilt system and make your 3D point cloud by “scanning” ahead, like taking a picture.
      2) Connect the LIDAR-Lite through a slip-ring (or position it perpendicular to a rotating mirror) and change the angle of the scan. Particularly helpful on quadcopters or other flying robots that can hover / change angles easily.

  49. Paul Creaser

    Looks like a really useful device. It looks like a really good piece of kit. However I am currently living in Japan. I guess standards with regards to laser power are different here, so it may not be possible to use it or purchase it over here.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Paul Creaser: You may not have any issue, actually, since Japan is a full member of the IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission), as seen here. Products on our website usually specify their ratings using the “IEC 60825-1 – Safety of laser products”. From what we understand, the equivalent in Japan is the “JIS C 6802 – Safety of laser products”, and while it is translated into Japanese in order to comply with the JIS standard, the technical contents have not been changed.

  50. Eran

    i am looking for lidar lite V2 but i cannot find anyplace to puchese it. do you know where can i get it? or maybe a good replacment for it?

    thanks

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Eran: Earlier in January 2016 the manufacturer of the LIDAR-Lite was purchased by another company. Since then. they started moving production to a new facility (and a different country), so there is none being produced right now. For now, a potential replacement may be RB-Plx-317.

  51. sam

    hi
    do you know what the idea from using a mirror and spinning the sensor it to provide a 360 scan instead of just spinning the sensor ????

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: It is much easier to simply spin a mirror around then the sensor itself. By doing this, you do not need a slip-ring since the mirror has no wires.

  52. sam

    ok thanks
    i have question about the difference between 2d and 3d laser scanner ???

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: A simple scanner, like the LIDAR-Lite, only returns a distance (1 dimension). A 2D scanner would normally return polar coordinates: distance & angle. Following the same logic, a 3D scanner would return spherical coordinates: radial distance, polar angle and azimuth angle.

  53. sam

    ok thanks
    i have 2 qustions
    1-where i can find information about using mirror to scanner (type of mirror, how it should be ,which angle ) and every thing else ????
    2- how measurements not affected by angle of incidence laser pulse assuming 2 causes (mirror,wall) and in both causes angle of incidence is not 90 dgree

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: We recommend that you perform a quick online search, such as searching for “lidar-lite rotating mirror”. This should find plenty of examples implementation.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @chinalu: You can find the source code link for this example under “Source Code” here. Here is a direct link. For the libraries from the manufacturer, you can find here.

  55. Otto

    Hi, thanks so much for the code. Just got one question to ask, My project is using two servo motors which do the vertical part(height) and the horizontal sweeping part. So do I need to change something in the part of ‘Get a measurement from the LIDAR Lite’ . Caz I have tried just adding a new variable (height) and the servo motor sweep just vertically slowly. Thanks for telling me I am new on this sensor.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Otto: To add a second servo for vertical control, you would need to make a few changes, such as adding a second servo object/variable here, making sure it is also attached here and then controlling it in the main loop. To do a basic 2D scan, you could simply add a second loop to control the new servo around the other ones already there for controlling the horizontal positioning. We recommend that you post about your project on our Project Showcase section of our forum.

  56. Rico

    Hello, I was wondering if you can point me in the right direction, I want to find a laser that i can take a reading from, almost like a depth gauge, at a distance of about 10cm away. The marking depth would be in less than a millimeter deep…? Thanks for your reply.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Rico: You can find our laser range finder products here. The best ones we currently offer have an accuracy of 0.1 mm under 10 m, but the resolution of the measurement is 1 mm, so it would most likely not be helpful for your case.

  57. omar

    And I want to build a military radar detector, those that detect the distance cars to apply fine. Can you tell me which component to use the Arduino to identify the presence of a radar of these at least 500 meters before? I understand the pistolinha radar is a laser.

  58. sam

    Hi, can you explain to be the term angular resolution to make sure that i understand it well?????
    what is beam divergence ??????
    i got the sf30-b and i want to build a scanner an i dont know the angular resolution i should use that suitable with the laser beam ????
    regards

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @sam: For mote advanced details of this kind, we recommend that you find a good book on optics. You should be able to find plenty of those available online. As a starter, you may want to read more on angular resolution and beam divergence.

  59. Daniel Montoya

    Dear Sebastien

    I’m writing to thank you for your work here.

    I am preparing to make my final work in order to get the degree of System Engineer (computer science…).

    I will make a self balancing robot that use this lidar on a servo motor to get 2d point data, store it on a matrix and create a map from it. Later, I will create some algorithms to avoid obstacles. In the final stage, I will create some algorithms to find the better path going from current position to a desired location avoiding obstacles.

    I will check the pcl library.

    Can you tell me which keywords should I use to find other libraries like this on google or indexed databases?

    I am not sure to use an embedded or a pc oriented solution like MatLab one. I could use an android based solution too over bluetooth too.

    I have a partner that is building the robot in order to get his own final work. I am focusing on the algorithms to avoid obstacles and find the best path to go from current position to a desired location avoiding obstacles.

    I will take note of that minimum 10 cm to 30 cm minimum distance between my lidar and the obstacles advice.

    I have access to a “Slamtech 360° lidar development kit 2D lidar” device too, but I prefer to use the small one to justify all the work I need to made on a new degree final work.

    Thanks so much for your help.

    Yours sincerely,
    Daniel Montoya
    Engineering student at ITM Colombia, South America

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Daniel Montoya: What you may want to look for is SLAM using a laser range finder.

  60. Darren

    I am interested in developing a lidar device that is used for competitive trampoline at olympics for example. It needs to detect where on the trampoline the person lands every time they hit the trampoline by scanning just below the surface of the trampoline. The two pieces of information we want to extract are postion on the trampoline and the time the athlete is in the air for each of 10 skills being performed. Would a devise like this be capable of doing such a task? Any help or thoughts would be great.
    Darren

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Darren: No, such a device would not be appropriate (at least, not by itself). The LIDAR-Lite is meant for range finding at long distances.

  61. Akshay

    Hi ..I am doing experiments on lidar sensor ..I have used the same code..but it give m he readings such as 32456,23000, minimum was 172 aprx and maximum was 32000 apprx …what are these values exctly ?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Ashkay: If you are using the library from the manufacturer, then the readings would normally be in cm. We recommend that you post about your technical issue on our forum instead. You can do so here. It will be easier to troubleshoot your situation there. Also, please make sure to post pictures of your setup and give as much details as possible about code and hardware used.

  62. grttblu

    Some aircraft are hard to land as they rapidly lose lift close to the ground when engine power is cut. I’m referring to real aircraft not models. It would be interesting to see if a range finder could be used for an altitude display from a range of 2 – 3 meters, looking down at asphalt or concrete runways, at a speed of 160 km/hr. This is the upper touchdown speed for most small aircraft, normal is a little lower. Any experience with fast moving target fields?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @grttblu: This may work, but we do not have any reliable data of it being used at such speeds, only for smaller model aircraft. Please note that this device is hobbyist-grade hardware meant for small robots and model aircraft and it is most likely not suitable for real airplane use. Feel free to try one and report about your results on the forum. You can most likely have it work reliably by changing the angle (not pointing straight down) to compensate for the speed (and figure out the transformation/calibration afterwards to obtain a proper height measurement), though this is beyond the scope of our support… 🙂

  63. ahs

    If this was to be used on a rotating servo at the same speed you used above (or faster) but for 360 degrees obstacle avoidance, would the 40m range be reduced? Also, would the accuracy of the readings be reduced? I’m asking because I noticed that rotating lidar rangefinders have a much lower range of about 5-6m, while most other lidar units are much higher. Also, does fire or sunlight interfere with the lidar’s readings?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @ahs: Yes, the speed could be increased and the system could be used for 360 degrees obstacle avoidance. The maximum range is a function of the signal strength returned. The main reason why the range gets smaller as you turn faster is because accurate distance measurements require multiple signals to be sent, received and processed. In most cases, with the LIDAR-Lite v1/v2, this is in the order of 50-250 samples that get analyzed per measurement (the stronger the signal, the less samples you need). This accumulation of signals allows for greater accuracy. Of course, you can always change the settings of the device to use less samples and therefore run faster (and allow for faster turning). But, this will cause the maximum range to be reduced / the accuracy at long ranges to be very low or even useless. Fire should not have significant impact aside from the fact that it cannot be sensed, since it will not reflect the IR signal. Sunlight has a minor impact but the signal used is pulsed with a complex signature and a filter is used, so the impact should be minimal.

  64. n6xb

    I wonder if it is possible for the LIDAR Lite to detect a smoke or water vapor cloud from a distance of 5-25 meters. Since the cloud is not very dense, it seems the signal would penetrate into the cloud and perhaps be dispersed. Or perhaps it would be reflected, but the signal attenuated from dispersion into and then out of the cloud. Do you have any thoughts or comments on this application? Thank you!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @n6xb: Since the LIDAR-Lite is designed to measure distance by accumulation of differences in emitted/reflected signals, it will most likely not be able to effectively do what you wish. The main problem is that as long as some light is reflected from a surface behind the smoke/vapor, the device will do its best to get a distance measurement. If no signal is reflected back (all dispersed), it will then return a distance of 0/maximum. Since you do not have access to any of the process’ detection data (only the final result), you cannot know enough to determine is a cloud is detected or not. This would require you to have a custom firmware for the device (not likely, since it is of proprietary design). We recommend instead that you obtain a device built specifically for this kind of detection instead.

  65. Enno

    Dear Sebastien,
    I’m looking to use the Lidar for measuring weave heights and the draft of my vessel, would thfa be possible? Is the the sensor capable to detect water surface, or do you recommend something else?
    Thanks, Enno

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Enno: The LIDAR-Lite is not the appropriate tool for your purpose, since the signal will go through and get lost in most liquids that are transparent, especially if placed perpendicular to the surface. You me better off with a ultrasonic sensor. Since you will be around lots of water and humidity, we recommend to go for an outdoor grade sensor and seals the connections using epoxy (back of the sensor) once you have confirmed the sensor is working with your setup.

  66. Mani

    Hi, can you suggest ultrasonic sensor for distance measurement which can detect maximum range of 10 metres,
    For low cost usage in toys

  67. Cesar

    Hey, whats up guys, nice tutorial, i dont know if u can help me so this is it. i have a big problem, im from Mexico and since august i have been waiing for a lidar sensor because there isnt in stock, and has been extending the arrival date many times, i need it so much for university, so if u know an another place where can i get it or even if you can sell me one used sensor I would thank you a lot,
    or can u recommend a laser sensor with the same architecture, with compatibility for arduino, for long distance.
    Thanks.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Cesar: As you may know, last week we announced the availability of the LIDAR-Lite v3 for pre-order. The changing expected delivery date was due to the manufacturer making sure no issues with the product would make it to production. The LIDAR-Lite v1 was discontinued last year and the LIDAR-Lite v2 production was stopped in Januray 2015 when Garmin purchased PulsedLight 3D. Therefore, until we receive stock for the LIDAR-Lite v3 (soon, it is now in production), there are no alternatives for obtaining a LIDAR-Lite at this moment.
      If you still want an alternative, we recommend that you check our LIDAR category.

  68. n6xb

    Hi Sebastien, I wonder if you could comment a little bit about the purpose and function of the tx laser optics on the LIDAR-Lite? Also, is the detector optics the same? If not, what is the function of the detector optics? Thank you!

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @n6xb: The TX and RX optics perform the same function, which is to focus the light either emitting from or returning to the sensor. Without the optics the sensor would not work.

  69. Bahadir Gurel

    Hi, Sebastien, i was wondering if i can put wireless read out screen to LIDAR-Lite v3?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Bahadir Gurel: We are not completely sure of your intention, but if you wish to have a screen display data from the LIDAR-Lite v3 remotely, this can certainly be done, but you will need a few components to achieve this. Since this can get quite complex depending on your chosen solutions / requirements, we recommend that you instead post about your request on our forum. Make sure to provide as many details as you can concerning your project and your requirements to make it easier for others to help you find the required parts!

  70. Santosh Pavan

    Hi Sebastian, I was wondering if it would be able to function in the similar way if the module was in a medium (air) and I need it to be able to detect the obstacle (floor) in another medium? I have tried it with a cell phone called Asus Zenfone Laser with a built in LIDAR and it showed the distance of surface of water. So will the module work the same way or otherwise?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Santosh Pavan: If placed perpendicularly to water (or another transparent material), the signal from the LIDAR-Lite will most likely go through (nearly completely) and not come back to the receiver with enough strength to detect the distance appropriately. It seems the phone you are referring to uses a different type of technology (for autofocus) which will have different types of properties. The LIDAR-Lite is meant/configured for long-range, high-speed distance measurement. For water to be detectable, it would be preferable if it has a way to reflect the signal sufficiently, such as high turbidity.

  71. Santosh Pavan

    Thanks Sebastian for replying so fast. The project that I am doing is detecting pothole(primary) and puddles (secondary). So this mainly involves the LIDAR being used in an inclined position rather than a perpendicular one. Will it work the same? And I am trying to use LIDAR to detect the ground from air through water, not detect the water surface.
    And can I rely on LIDAR to function even if I don’t use it perpendicularly. And is there another version of LIDAR or another sensor that will surely give me the required output? Thanks in advance.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Santosh Pavan: If you search (CTRL+F) the previous comments for “potholes”, you will notice we already answered another community member about a similar inquiry but concerning a different issue.
      Using the LIDAR-Lite at an angle may work, but this would need experimentation. Of course, if the water is murky at all, it may very well absorb/reflect much of the signal and appear as “road” to the sensor. There is also the issue of field of view (FoV). Since the LIDAR-Lite is meant for long-range measurements, it does not detect along a wide FoV. You would also need to rotate or move the sensor to detect potholes over a large enough width/area to be useful. And, as mentioned in the other answer, the movement speed of the detector/equipment relative to the road is also an issue (the faster it is, the larger the “blindspot” between scans). Therefore, while the LIDAR-Lite might work for low-speed applications (on dry days) for a “proof-of-concept” type of project, it may not function very well in the real world. You would most likely need custom equipment, such as this research project from 2013.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Pranav: No, it is not waterproof. It also does not have any IP rating. You can create a casing to protect it from the environment. If you do, Make sure the optics are flat against a IR transparent surface to prevent any issues with the signals and measurements.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Ola: At this time, there are no official LIDAR-Lite v3 Python examples or libraries. But you should be able to find examples in Python for the LIDAR-Lite v2 with a simple online search. Since the system has not changed much in its interface, you should be able to use those with minimal changes. We recommend that you also check the instructions for the v3 available on the product page under Useful Links. They contain much information about the device and its use and interface. One thing you should be careful with is I2C repeated starts. The device does not support them and using them will result in it always returning 0x00 instead of proper values. Good luck!

  74. FABRIZIO

    Hi Sebastien, ii ve just know this device and your review googling in the web, very interesting. I ve found the LIDAR in yr shop and it really doesn’t cost so much for what it do. But, i ve always had a question, a dubt. If we need a laser-meter device we can find easly in internet and even in a hardware shop, and with better features, more than 80mt lenght, no particular reflective surface needed etc etc. And at the end with prices for a complete device below 100$ I wonder why we can’t have that kind of technology for our projects. Am i wrong ? Which is the issue ? Tnx Fabrizio

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Fabrizio: This is most likely due to many factors, but one really comes up to us first: the LIDAR-Lite (and many other LIDARs we offer) are meant for robotics. This means fast, accurate measurements are required. While the handheld laser distance measurement devices look like they are doing the same thing, they only work at “human speeds”, which is rather slow in comparison. For example, the LIDAR-Lite v3 can make measurements at 500 Hz, much faster than the handhelds can (one every few seconds?). This is because it is expected to be mounted on robots (such as drones), which require very fast acquisition rates to update their understanding of their surroundings. This alone can easily increase the price by one or more orders of magnitude. Considering this, the LIDAR-Lite v3 is indeed quite a bargain!

  75. Ted Jackson

    Might there be a way to widen the narrow beam using a lens? My application involves the detection of human beings within about a >15 degree cone. I don’t want them to have to walk a very narrow line in order to be detected. Of course, one would need to be mindful of obstacles with a large beam angle. Or somehow subtract off a baseline (no target) signal for use with a statically mounted sensor. I need only reasonable accuracy. Thanks.

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Ted Jackson: Unfortunately, there is no easy way to modify the beam width of the device, as this would prevent its proper function. Such a change of optics would most likely require a change of firmware, too, which is not available for modifications. Of course, trying to modify the device in such a way would void any warranty and may even expose you to unsafe levels of laser radiation. The device is only considered class 1 in its unmodified state. An alternative solution that would be more reliable would be to use more than one device, to provide multiple beams. This is what is done in most store entrances/exits to count people coming in or out.

  76. Shanab

    I am looking for some laser can penetrate underground
    Would lidar lite penetrat underground and what is the range

  77. muhammed

    First, this product comes to Turkey for several days; Second, I want to cut off the bill on behalf of the university how do I do it

  78. Marcus

    Does the LIDAR on the v3 report accurately through a laminated or double glazed window without any issues?

  79. Raymond Clark

    It mentions in the datasheet that the internal I2C interface is 3.3 but it has level shifters to cope with 5v logic, It should be OK but just to confirm will this be safe to use with Arduinos that are not 5v, such as the due or zero?

    • Sébastien Parent-Charette

      @Raymond Clark: Yes, that should be fine. If you prefer to use a level shifter, you can check here. Make sure to choose a bi-directional one that supports I2C, such as this one or that one.

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