SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner User Manual

: June 12, 2024
: SLAMTEC

Table of Contents

Overview
Connection and Usage
SDK Introduction and Usage
Operation Recommendation
Revision History
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

RPLIDAR S3
Low Cost 360 Degree
Laser Range Scanner
Development Kit User
Manual

Overview

RPLIDAR S3 development kit includes the matched tools used for evaluating RPLIDAR’s performance and initial development. After connecting the RPLIDAR S3 with PC via USB cable and connecting the power adapter to the USB cable, users can observe the cloud map of the environment scanning point collected by the RPLIDAR in RoboStudio and start development based on the SDK.
Items in the Development Kit
RPLIDAR S3 Development Kit contains:

RPLIDAR S3（PWM motor driver embedded）
USB Adapter
Micro-USB cable
Power cable

SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
1

RPLIDAR S3

The RPLIDAR S3 development kit contains standard RPLIDAR S3 unit. The RPLIDAR is embedded with logic IO drivable motor controller which can be used to configure the scan frequency by tuning motor speed. Developers can also choose to turn off the motor for power saving purpose.
RPLIDAR usage and interface definition will be introduced in the coming sections.

USB Adapter
The USB adapter supports a communication rate of 1M baud.

Connection and Usage

Connection
RPLIDAR S3 can be easily connected to PC according to the following steps.

Connect RPLIDAR S3 with the USB adapter.
Connect the USB adapter to your PC via the Micro-USB cable. If the PC is on, after connecting the USB cable to your PC and connecting the power adapter to the USB cable, the indicator light of the USB will light up but the RPLIDAR will not start scanning.

Install Driver for the USB Adapter
The USB adapter converts UART to USB by using CP2102 chip. You need to install the device driver for the chip. The driver can be found in the provided SDK package or downloaded from Silicon Labs’ official website:
http://www.silabs.com/products/mcu/Pages/USBtoUARTBridgeVCPDrivers.aspx

Here’s the installation steps in Windows: after connecting the RPLIDAR with PC, please find the driver file “CP210x VCP Windows” and choose correct operating system version accordingly: x86 for 32-bit OS and x64 for 64-bit OS. SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
6

After Installing the driver according to the above installation steps, you will see corresponding serial port name in the [Control Panel] -> [Device and Printers].
Please refer to the below figure. SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree
Laser Range Scanner - Figure 7

Run Demo Application
SLAMTEC provides a Lidars plugin in RoboStudio for users in test and evaluation.
You can view the scan result directly in the UI and save the scan result to files for further processing.
This GUI demo can only run under Windows. For Linux and MacOS users, please refer to the other simple demo provided in the SDK.
Please make sure you have connected RPLIDAR to PC by using USB adapter and installed the device driver correctly before running the demo application in RoboStudio. Launch RoboStudio and log in. SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360
Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure 8

If the connection is ok, you shall see the user interface is shown as below.

Click File->Lidars to open the lidar control panel in the left;
Click Serial Ports to extend the lidar lists and you’ll find the RPLIDAR S3 previously connected to your PC;
Click the RPLIDAR S3 icon to extend the tool buttons below the icon: the left one is to adjust the motor speed while the right one is to open the tool bar in the major work area as shown in Figure 2-7.

SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
9

The serial number, version and model of the RPLIDAR S3 will show next with its icon in the lidar control panel. The supported commands of RPLIDAR are showed in the tool bar. The descriptions are listed in the bellow table. SLAMTEC
RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
10

Press the Start Scan button , the scan data will be displayed as below (by default, the motor rotating speed should be about 10Hz.): SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3
Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure 11

Right click in the major working area to choose a range so as to zoom in or out the view.
The scan frequency is also showed in the above interface.

Troubleshooting
When the scan core or the laser power works abnormally, the scan core will enter protection mode. This state can be retrieved via SDK API. If such scenario happened, please send restart command to reset the scan core.
Motor Speed Adjustment
During the running process, different motor rotating speed can be achieved by pressing the button, which can fit in different working environments or meet specific requirements. There will be a speed adjustment dialog box and dash board popped up for users to enter required speed. After entering a value, the motor will work as the settled rotating speed automatically. User can also drag the sliding handle to the required rotating speed.
The current actual rotating speed will show in the upper left corner of the major work area. For instance, the actual rotating speed in the following screenshot is 10.31Hz. SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range
Scanner - Figure 12

SDK Introduction and Usage

RPLIDAR S3 Pin Definition and Specification
The RPLIDAR S3 uses separate 5V DC power for powering the range scanner core and the motor system. And the standard RPLIDAR S3 uses XH2.54-5P male socket. Detailed interface definition is shown in the following figure: SLAMTEC
RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
13

Color| Signal Name| Type| Description| Min| Typica| Max
---|---|---|---|---|---|---
Red| VCC| Power| Total Power| 4.9V| 5V| 5.2V
Yellow| TX| Output| Serial port input of the scanner core| 0V| /| 3.5V
Green| RX| Input| Serial port input of the scanner core| 0V| /| 3.5V
Black| GND| Power| GND| 0V| 0V| 0V

RPLIDAR S3 uses the one 5V DC power supply for powering the scan motor and the scan core at the same time. No extra power is required.
With build-in and speed-adjustable motor driver, RPLIDAR S3 can control the start, the stop and the rotating speed of the motor via the MOTOCTL signal.

Reference Design for RPLIDAR development

SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S3 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner - Figure
14

Pin Definition for the USB Adapter
The USB adapter is also using XH2.54-5P specification socket, and it can be connected with RPLIDAR S3 directly. The pin definition is the same as the RPLIDAR S3.
USB-DC power cord instruction
The developer kit provides USB-DC power cord for the user to connect additional power to the USB adapter for additional power supply. For the output voltage and current requirements of the power supply, please refer to the datasheet of the corresponding lidar model.
Configure RPLIDAR S3 Scan Frequency
The RPLIDAR S3’s scan frequency can be modified by invoking the related functions in the SDK to configure the motor speed.
Please refer to the RPLIDAR protocol and application note for more information and the SDK for the sample code on RPLIDAR scan frequency.
SDK Usage
SLAMTEC provides RPLIDAR SDK support on both Windows and Linux platform.
And users can embed the SDK source code to other operational system or embedded system quickly. Please refer to the SDK document for more information.

Operation Recommendation

Pre-Heating for Best Performance
The scan core will be heating when start working. We recommend pre-heating RPLIDAR (Start the scan mode and the scan motor is rotating) for more than 2 minutes to get the best measurement accuracy.
Ambient Temperature
RPLIDAR’s measurement resolution is sensitive to the ambient temperature.
Improper use may even damage the sensor. Please avoid using RPLIDAR in extreme high temperature (>50℃) and too low temperature (<-10 ℃).
Ambient Light
Compared with RPLIDAR A series, RPLIDAR S3 performs better to resist ambient light interference, which supports it to work properly in outdoor environment.