SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S2 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner User Manual
- June 6, 2024
- SLAMTEC
Table of Contents
RPLIDAR S2 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner
Development Kit
User Manual
Overview
RPLIDAR S2 development kit includes the matched tools used for evaluating RPLIDAR’s performance and initial development. After connecting the RPLIDAR S2 with the 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
Figure 1-1
Items in the RPLIDAR Development Kit
RPLIDAR S2
Figure
1-2 The RPLIDAR S2
The RPLIDAR S2 development kit contains a standard RPLIDAR S2 unit. The
RPLIDAR is embedded with a 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 purposes.
RPLIDAR usage and interface definition will be introduced in the coming
sections.
USB Adapter
The USB adapter supports a communication rate of 1M baud.
Figure 1-3 RPLIDAR Adapter
Connection and Usage
Connection
RPLIDAR S2 can be easily connected to PC according to the following steps.
- Connect RPLIDAR S2 with the USB adapter.
Figure 2-1 Connect RPLIDAR S2 and 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.
Figure 2-2 Connect the USB Adapter to PC via Micro-USB Cable
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 are the installation steps in Windows: after connecting the RPLIDAR with the 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.
Figure 2-3 Choose USB Adapter Driver for Installation 
Figure 2-4
Start Page of USB Adapter Driver Installation
After Installing the driver according to the above installation steps, you will see the corresponding serial port name in the [Control Panel] -> [Device and Printers]. Please refer to the below figure.
Figure 2-5
Recognized Serial Port Name Matched with the USB Adapter
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 the PC by using a USB adapter
and installing the device driver correctly before running the demo application
in RoboStudio. Launch RoboStudio and log in.
Figure 2-6 RoboStudio Login Page
If the connection is ok, you shall see the user interface is shown 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 S2 previously connected to your PC;
- Click the RPLIDAR S2 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.
Figure 2-7 The
Lidar Plugin in RoboStudio
The serial number, version, and model of the RPLIDAR S2 will show next with its icon in the lidar control panel. The supported commands of RPLIDAR are shown in the toolbar. 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.):
Figure 2-9 The
Scan Outline by RPLIDAR in RoboStudio
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 shown 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 a
scenario happened, please send a restart command to reset the scan core.
Motor Speed Adjustment
During the running process, different motor rotating speeds 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 a
dashboard pop-up for users to enter the 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 12.88Hz.
Figure 2-10
The Motor Speed Adjustment Dialogue of RPLIDAR in RoboStudio
RPLIDAR S2 Pin Definition and Specification
The RPLIDAR S2 uses separate 5V DC power for powering the range scanner core
and the motor system. And the standard RPLIDAR S2 uses an XH2.54-5P male
socket. The detailed interface definition is shown in the following figure:
Figure 3-1 RPLIDAR S2 Pins
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 S2 Pin Definition and Specification
RPLIDAR S2 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 a build-in and speed-adjustable motor driver, RPLIDAR S2 can control the start, the stop, and the rotating speed of the motor via the MOTOCTL signal.
- Reference Design for RPLIDAR development
Figure 3-3
RPLIDAR S2 Pins Reference Design
Pin Definition for the USB Adapter
The USB adapter is also using XH2.54-5P specification socket, and it can be
connected with RPLIDAR S2 directly. The pin definition is the same as the
RPLIDAR S2.
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 S2 Scan Frequency
The RPLIDAR S2’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 S2 performs better to resist ambient
light interference, which supports it to work properly in outdoor
environment.
Revision History
| Date | Version | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 28/03/2019 | 1 | RPLIDAR S2 initial version |
Copyright (c) 2009-2017 RoboPeak Team
Copyright (c) 2013-2017 Shanghai Slamtec Co., Ltd.
Documents / Resources
|
SLAMTEC RPLIDAR S2 Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range
Scanner
[pdf] User Manual
RPLIDAR S2, Low Cost 360 Degree Laser Range Scanner
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