SLAMTEC - RPlidar Series

The RPlidar series from SLAMTEC is a compact distance measurement device using ToF (Time of Flight) technology. The devices are mainly used for long-range analyzes and allow the collection of information in a 360° horizontal plane. Thanks to their compactness, precision and low price, devices from this series can often be found in many robotics projects.

Sources:

• Slamtec RPlidar Official Documentation
• RPlidar ROS 2 Repository
• RPlidar Docker Repository

Getting started

To run the device, you must meet certain requirements listed below:

Software

• Docker Engine and Docker Compose.

Hardware

• Connectivity: Serial Port/USB 2.0/Ethernet *

Demo

In this demo, we'll walk you through using the RPlidar devices with ROS 2 via a Docker image. You'll also learn how to visualize data, including laser scan, using RViz. Demo based on rplidar_ros repository.

Tested on

ROSbot 2R / ROSbot 2 PRO and the RPlidar A2M12 lidar.

Start guide

1. Plugin the device

For optimal performance, please connect the device using the appropriate communication medium based on the lidar model.

2. Clone repository

git clone --branch ros2 https://github.com/husarion/rplidar-docker
cd rplidar-docker/demo

3. Select the appropriate baudrate

export RPLIDAR_BAUDRATE=<baudrate>

Replace <baudrate> with appropriate baudrate for your LiDAR from below table.

Product Name	Baudrate
RPlidar A2M8	115200
RPlidar A2M12	256000
RPlidar A3	256000
RPlidar S1	256000
RPlidar S2	1000000
RPlidar S3	1000000

4. Run compose.yaml

ROSbot

docker compose -f compose.rplidar.yaml up

PC

xhost local:root
docker compose -f compose.rviz.yaml up

Result

The Laser Scan topic should appear in the RViz2 tool.

ROS API

The full API of the robot can be found in the official documentation of the device.

Summary

RPlidar is a relatively small and cheap device that allows you to collect information about objects around you, which makes it an extremely useful device when mapping and navigating a robot. After completing this tutorial, you can easily integrate the LiDAR with your robot using Docker.

---

Do you need any support with completing this project or have any difficulties with software or hardware? Feel free to describe your thoughts on our community forum: https://community.husarion.com/ or to contact with our support: support@husarion.com