LiDAR Driver

Owned by Andrew Shum
Last updated: 2024-08-13
1 min read

The LiDAR Driver in the obstacle avoidance repository is specifically designed for the Lightware SF45/b LiDAR that WARG owns. The driver allows two-way communication between the LiDAR and a computer. Use this driver to configure the LiDAR’s settings including minimum/maximum angle, rotation speed, and output frequency.

Usage:

  1. Connect the lidar to a serial port on the computer.

  2. Get the port name and baud rate.

  3. Initialize an instance of the LidarDriver class. See example below.

import lidar_driver lidar = LidarDriver(lidar_serial_port_name, baudrate, timeout)

  1. Configure the lidar’s settings. See example below.

self.lidar.set_update_rate(lidar.serial_port, update_rate) self.lidar.set_default_distance_output(lidar.serial_port) self.lidar.set_low_angle(lidar.serial_port, low_angle) self.lidar.set_high_angle(lidar.serial_port, high_angle) self.lidar.set_speed(lidar.serial_port, rotate_speed)

Note: Update rates follow the following chart:

Update rate value

Frequency (readings per second)

Update rate value

Frequency (readings per second)

1

50 Hz

2

100 Hz

3

200 Hz

4

400 Hz

5

500 Hz

6

625 Hz

7

1000 Hz

8

1250 Hz

9

1538 Hz

10

2000 Hz

11

2500 Hz

12

5000 Hz

  1. Enable LiDAR output streaming.

lidar.set_distance_stream_enable(lidar.serial_port, True)

  1. Get lidar readings. See example below.