LiDAR Sensor for Robotics

LiDAR, short for Light Detection and Ranging, uses light in much the same way radar uses radio waves— to create a highly accurate, highly reliable map of surrounding objects. Since it relies on its own laser light source rather than ambient light, it can “see” even in darkness and when the atmosphere is opaque to visible light. Less prone to interference than ultrasonics, it is well suited to robotic vision, especially where precision and reliability are at a premium. 

Advances in robotics promise more effective systems with the potential for more autonomy, and it is in these effective, semi-autonomous systems that require minimal guidance that foul-proof vision systems are becoming of more and more importance. Developments in LiDAR sensors have made this technology, once inaccessible except to the best funded research, well within the reach of any industrial or research application. In this article we’ll look at several different types of LiDAR sensors— 1D, 2D, and 3D sensors— and how they function in various robotic applications. To read the entire article, visit Avantier