LightWare SF30 High-speed LIDAR Range Sensor 50m or 100m

Overview

Detect Obstacles and Create maps

The SF30 high speed laser rangefinder is designed to detect obstacles or create maps from moving ground-based or arial vehicles. Using a time-of-flight system to make very fast and accurate distance and speed measurements, accuracy is not affected by the colour or texture of the surface, nor the angle of incidence of the laser beam. The SF30 is virtually immune to background light, wind and noise, making it an ideal sensor to detect unexpected obstacles.There are two members of the SF30 family: the SF30/B has a maximum measuring range of 50 meters; the SF30/C has a maximum measuring range of 100 meters.

The SF30 can take up to 20010 readings per second and can be incorporated into scanning systems to create 2D SLAM maps or 3D images. The configurable features and multiple hardware interfaces make the SF30 easy to connect with different types of controllers.

Operating from a regulated 5 V DC supply, the SF30 includes a serial port, analog voltage, alarm, and USB interfaces that can be easily connected to a flight controller or a standard processing platform. Each interface on the SF30 can be configured using a simple software menu that is accessible through the built-in, micro-B USB port.

The interfaces are as follows:

• Serial port: Provides distance readings and other communications to an embedded host controller
• Analog port: An analog voltage proportional to the distance reading
• Alarm: A logic level signal that warns when the distance measured is below a preset value
• USB port: Connects to a Terminal application for alarm set-point, update rate, and exposure time customization.

Readings can be taken as isolated “snapshots” at a moment determined by the update rate and exposure time settings, or they can be combined using a digital filter into a smoothed time series. At the full speed of 20010 readings per second, a single flash of laser light is used to take a measurement. The synchronisation signal marks the instant of the laser flash ensuring that the time of the measurement is known precisely.

There are two members of the SF30 family: the SF30/B has a maximum measuring range of 50 meters; and the SF30/C has a maximum measuring range of 100 meters.

The Acroname Support Engineering Team can help you decide if the LightWare SF30/B (50m) and SF30/C (100m) are right for your needs and systems. Support is also available for setup and troubleshooting. Call or email our US-based support team.