Using LIDAR sensors under water

Help & Support Robot Parts
1

hi,

can we use the SLAMTEC RPLIDAR C1 360° DTOF Laser Scanner under water successfully? Or do you recommend any other LIDAR sensor instead?

3

Hello @kkole ,

Welcome to RobotShop community.

The SLAMTEC RPLIDAR C1 360° DTOF Laser Scanner is not designed for underwater use. LIDAR sensors generally rely on light (laser beams), which are absorbed or scattered in water.

For underwater applications, LIDARs are typically replaced by other types of sensors that are better suited for water, such as sonar or acoustic sensors.

Here’s an option to consider:

Feel free to contact us again if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,

3 Likes
4

Hello,

thanks for the reply. The advantage we see from the LIDAR sensor is that it provides a 3D pointcloud (due to it high scanning rate option since working with lightspeed). We’re considering it for an application only say 200-600mm from the object it scans (potentially even less). In such scenario, would a LIDAR sensor potentially work?

The SONAR sensor: would it also provide a 3Dpointcloud of the object it scans?

thanks, regards Klaas

5

Hello @kkole ,

Thank you for your reply.

While LIDAR might theoretically work in clear water for ranges of 200–600 mm, the limitations of light in water make it less reliable than sonar-based alternatives.

If you need 3D mapping or point cloud generation underwater, you can consider the following option:

it can create a 2D map of the surroundings, which can be combined into a 3D dataset with additional processing.

Feel free to contact us again if you need further assistance.

Sincerely,

1 Like
7

Thanks Ebram,
highly appreciated!
Afte having considered several sensor types,we stuill would like to go first for a relatively simple LIDAR as the SLAMTEC RPLIDAR C1 360° DTOF. To get the data out of it, it recommends to use a plug in for RobotStudio (which is quite expensive on itself). Would you know a more cost-effective way how to retrieve the sensor data?
Thanks! regards Klaas

1 Like
9

HI @kkole ,

Isn’t RoboStudio a free to use software as mentioned on this page?

10

Yes, thanks for the URL!
Now we’re struggling getting the sensor itself visible in RoboStudio but that’s the next challenge:)
Thanks anyway!

1 Like
11

Hi @kkole ,

When you connect your LIDAR, do you see a new device in Device Manager?

You can refer to this FAQ:
https://wiki.slamtec.com/display/SD/RPLIDAR+FAQ

12

Hi Igor,

Thanks for your help. Yes, we do see the device visible in the control panel. Also there is 5V at the socket. Still no appearance of that sensor in RoboStudio under the ‘LIDAR’ panel in RoboStudio. Maybe a reboot of the PC is needed? Will try that in the evening later today. Thanks anyway!

1 Like
13

Hi @kkole ,

Were you able to make it work in the end?

14

Hi! Finally I got it working. Turned out that in RoboStudio the automatic sensor detection (as described in the software manual) did not work out; instead we used the manual connection (screen of the LIDAR, right mouse button etc) and simply checked all available COM ports. Now the sensor is working as intended. when downloading the data (via RoboStudio) only here and there some samples are missing but maybe I’ll check whether I can get the data download working with another plug in. Thanks anyway for all the good advices!

1 Like
15

Perfect! Thank you for informing us.