SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S1 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner User Manual
- June 4, 2024
- SLAMTEC
Table of Contents
SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S1 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner
Overview
RPLIDAR S1 development kit includes the matched tools used for evaluating RPLIDAR’s performance and initial development. After connecting the RPLIDAR S1 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 Development Kit contains:
- RPLIDAR（PWM motor driver embedded）
- USB Adapter
- Micro-USB cable
- Power cable
RPLIDAR S1
The RPLIDAR S1 development
kit contains standard RPLIDAR S1 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 comes with a dial switch. It can be used to switch the Baud rate from 115200 to 256000 or vice versa. Please note that the Baud rate should be set as 256000 if the USB adapter is connected with RPLIDAR S1..
Connection and Usage
Connection
RPLIDAR A3 can be easily connected to PC according to the following steps.
- Connect RPLIDAR S1 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 a 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.
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. 
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.
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 A3 previously connected to your PC;
- Click the RPLIDAR A3 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.
The serial number, version and model of the RPLIDAR S1 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. 
Press the Start Scan button ，the scan data will be displayed as below(by
default, the motor rotating speed should be about 10Hz.): 
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 11.88
SDK Introduction and Usage
RPLIDAR S1 Pin Definition and Specification
The standard RPLIDAR S1 uses SH1.0-6P female receptacle and interface lead as
communication interface. A Cable will be provided. One end of the cable uses a
SH1.0-6P male socket. The other end of the cable uses the XH2.54-5P male
socket. The detailed pin definition is shown as below:
Color
|
Signal Name
|
Type
|
Description
|
Min
|
Typical
|
Max
---|---|---|---|---|---|---
Black
| | | | | |
| VCC| Power| Total Power| 4.8V| 5V| 5.5V
Red| | | | | |
White
| | | | | |
| GND| Power| GND| 0V| 0V| 0V
Yellow| | | | | |
Blue
|
RX
|
Input
| Serial port input of the scanner core|
0V
|
3.3V
|
3.5V
Green
|
TX
|
Output
| Serial port output of the scanner core|
0V
|
3.3V
|
3.5V
Figure 3-2 RPLIDAR S1 Pin Definition and Specification
RPLIDAR S1 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 S1 can control the
start, the stop and the rotating speed of the motor via the MOTOCTL signal.
- Reference Design for RPLIDAR development
Pin Definition for the USB Adapter
The USB adapter is also using XH2.54-5P specification socket, and it can be
connected with RPLIDAR S1 directly. The pin definition is the same as the
RPLIDAR S1.
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 S1 Scan Frequency
The RPLIDAR S1’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 platforms. And
users can embed the SDK source code to other operating system or embedded
systems 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
extremely high temperatures (>45 ℃) and too low temperatures (<-5 ℃).
Ambient Light
Compared with RPLIDAR A series, RPLIDAR S1 performs better to resist ambient light interference, which supports it to work properly in outdoor environment.
Revision History
| Date | Version | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-03-28 | 1.0 | RPLIDAR S1 initial version |
| 2019-06-18 | 1.1 | Items change in the Development Kit |
2021-06-11
|
1.2
| Change the power adapter to USB-DC power cord
The ambient temperature range is
changed to -5℃~45℃
2021-11-24| 1.3| Delete MOTOCTL