Slamtec China has announced the RPLIDAR A2 2D laser scanner which can take up to 4000 samples of laser ranging per second at a range of 6 meters. The RPLIDAR A2 features a LIDAR unit A2M4-R1 and an embedded motor controller to increase/decrease the speed of the motor or stop them.
This sensor is supposed to be used in robotics for autonomous navigation, localization, and obstacle avoidance. This means that you can use it indoor as well as outdoor. If the LIDAR technology embedded in the sensor has excellent performance when is used for indoor applications, for outdoor applications it should not be exposed to direct sunlight.
RPLIDAR A2 – 360 Degree Laser Scanner Development Kit
RPLDIAR-A2 Specifications
- Distance Range: 0.15 – 6 m
- Angular Range: 0-360 degree
- Distance Resolution: <0.5 (0.15~1.5 meters)
<1% of the distance (All distance range) - Angular Resolution: 0.9degree
- Sample Duration: 0.25 millisecond
- Sample Frequency 4000Hz
- Scan Rate: 10Hz
- Weight: 340g
The LIDAR kit comes with a USB adapter to connect the sensor to a PC. But if you’re looking to work with Arduino or any other development board, the RPLIDAR A2 is interfaced using the UART bus.
RPLIDAR A2 Pins Specifications
The RPLIDAR A2 is priced at $480, which is a few times more expensive than its competitors such as LIDAR-Lite or Sweep. The LIDAR kit can be pre-order only, and you’ll have one starting from July 2016.
(image credits: dfrobot.com)
