LightWare gives machines eyes with the world’s smallest scanning microLiDAR
Maryam Farag
MRO Electronics Manufacturing Innovation manufacturer manufacturing Technology
Photo: LightWare LiDAR LLC.
LightWare LiDAR LLC is now shipping the smallest and lightest scanning LiDAR on the market.
The SF45 scanning microlidar weighs 59g, “and delivers the performance of much larger sensors.”
“The SF45 democratizes machine perception, bringing vision, safety and practicality to even the smallest unmanned systems,” said Philip Constantine, CEO, LightWare LiDAR LLC. “Machines don’t have 3D perception, so they can’t make sense of unexpected obstacles. Our mission is to save the world’s machines one microLiDAR at a time.”
LightWare LiDAR manufactures a family of microLiDAR sensors such as the tiny SF000/B (8g). Data from these sensors allow drones a safe take-off and precision landing, to hold position near an object being inspected or closely follow terrain without flying into trees.
“Conventional GPS is often relied upon to provide location information so a drone can follow a pre-determined flight plan. Unfortunately, the real world puts unexpected obstacles in the way. This leads to collisions and the loss of both the drone and its expensive payload. The SF45 keeps a continuous lookout for these hazards and warns of potential collisions, giving the autopilot plenty of time to react.” said Constantine.
The microlidar family is compatible with standard autopilots (Ardupilot/PX4) and API’s are provided for custom controllers, such as RaspberryPi and Arduino.
