note : for discussing any technical issues or project designs with your LIDAR-Lite, please proceed to our forum and create a new topic here.
For robots, being able to understand or navigate their environment is often critical to functioning properly. While there are plenty of sensors that allow
Hi,
Thank you for this article,
I’m looking for a solution tu measure the grass height with a drone.
Do you think a lidar laser could work ?
If yes, could you give me more information about that and also tell me wich sensor do you advise me ?
Thank you very much for your help
@clement lantonnat: Considering the size of grass, it probably will not work. Most of the LIDARs we offer are meant to detect objects and obstacles (walls, floors ceilings, etc.) that are quite large compared to the sensor beam. With a quick online search, you can find various researchers trying to do this using cameras, which may be more reliable for this kind of measurement. You’d most likely want to have a way to level your drone and know it’s altitude to correlate pictures taken horizontally to grass height. Good luck!
Hi
This is very good one thanks for your efforts.
can we measure the distance from an object when its surface is inclined where I am thinking the reflection may not be back in the same direction.
And also while measuring the distance if the corner of a wall the light may not reflect in the same path then it works?
if it works please give me explanation?
thank you
@raju: Typically, you will get part of the signal back to the receiver in most cases, even when the surface is curved or angled away. That being said, this depends heavily on the surface type. If you have a surface that is partially transparent or mirror-like to IR, then you may not get enough back to actually have a proper measurement result (or worse, a very wrong result!).
I think for your second question you are talking about the receiver of the sensor receiving an echo from an indirect reflection. If that is the only signal coming back, you will most likely get a wrong measurement, too.
Measuring tree distance in the forest
@Steve herso: You can have a look at the most recent comments here about trees and LIDARs. If you need more help with technical issues or project design, please post on our forum here. Make sure to include as many details as possible, such as diagrams/images of your design and any requirements for the project.
Hi
This is a good article. Thanks for your effort.
You mentioned that the direct sunlight will reduce the maximum range and accuracy.
Could I ask why? Is this because the IR sun radiation cover reflected laser pulses?
Thank you
@Ray: We’re glad yo hear you appreciate the article. Yes, the sunlight’s own IR does have an impact. Depending on the quality of the sensor (optical filtering, signal processing, physical sensor on board, etc.), sunlight may introduce noise in the detected signal, therefore creating more variance in the accuracy and causing the device to report wrong measurements. If enough light gets in, it may even cause saturation of the sensor, causing it to read completely wrong values (i.e.: not just inaccurate). Of course, some LIDAR products can resist most sunlight (and indoor lighting). Sunlight typically varies between 1000-120000 lux.
Would you please suggest a suitable sensor for use in a warehouse for forklift movements in narrow corners and alleys
@Iftikhar Mahmood: Do you mean for assisting a human driver or for autonomous driving? Either way, you would most likely be better served by a rotational LIDAR product. Which one to use will depend on your goals, such as what type of information you need (collision detection/object avoidance only, SLAM, etc.). As mentioned at the top of the article, for more detailed support, please post here with as many details as possible.
hi I am creating a robot that identifies a helium balloon outside in a distance of up to 10 meters approximately. I am thinking of using infrared sensors but not sure they are the best possibility any suggestions? Or suggestions about specific IR sensors that will work in the sunlight and a pretty long distance?
@pazfro: Since you will be trying to identify a specific object in an environment where IR and (most) LIDARs will probably not perform well (direct sunlight / looking up outside) and where the object can move in 3D (freely?), it may be best to use CV (computer vision) instead!
LIDAR based solutions that can work at ~10 meters in 2D with direct sunlight (~100kLux) are expensive. Those that work in 3D will be even more so (and the complexity of using them will increase accordingly, too).
Instead, with CV you can probably achieve good results with a stereo camera system with low cost USB cameras and a RPi or something similar.
I recommend having a look at OpenCV and other similar libraries available online.
