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Lightwave SF30/B Product Manual

Accelerated rangefinder
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SF30
Accelerated rangefinder
The SF30 is a high speed, light weight
laser rangefinder for mapping and
obstacle detection by robotic
vehicles such as UAVs.
The SF30 can take up to 18316
readings per second and can be
incorporated into scanning systems to
create 2D SLAM maps or 3D images.
The configurable features and
multiple hardware interfaces make
the SF30 easy to connect with
different types of controllers.
The SF30 uses a time-of-flight system
to make very fast and accurate
distance and speed measurements to
natural or artificial surfaces.
SF30 Accelerated laser rangefinder - Product Manual - Revision 5
Product manual
Features:
•
Very fast update rate of 18316 readings per
second on all models.
•
Measuring range > 100 m (SF30/C only).
•
Configurable to measure distance or speed.
•
Serial port, analog voltage, alarm and USB
interfaces.
•
USB port to change the alarm set-point, update
rate and resolution.
•
The host controller can change settings on the fly
via the serial port.
•
Compact and lightweight - 35 grams.
•
Easy to configure using the built-in menu and
LightWare Terminal
•
Fully calibrated and ready to run.
•
Accurate, reliable measurements in sunlight or
dark conditions.
•
Not affected by: speed; wind; changes in
barometric pressure; noise; ambient light; terrain
or air temperature.
1
of
15
software.
© LightWare Optoelectronics (Pty) Ltd, 2015

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Summary of Contents for Lightwave SF30/B

  • Page 1 SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual The SF30 is a high speed, light weight Features: laser rangefinder for mapping and • Very fast update rate of 18316 readings per obstacle detection by robotic second on all models. vehicles such as UAVs. •...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual Table of contents 1. Overview ..............................2. Quick start guide ............................3. Powering up the SF30 ............................ 4. Communicating with the USB port ........................5. System configuration ............................. 6. Communicating with the serial port ........................7.

  • Page 3: Overview

    There are two members of the SF30 family: the SF30/B has a maximum measuring range of 50 meters; and the SF30/C has a maximum measuring range of 100 meters. Both SF30 models have settings to smooth the distance measurements if higher resolution is required or use the raw results if higher speed is needed.

  • Page 4: Quick Start Guide

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 2. Quick start guide 1. CAUTION - The SF30 laser rangefinder contains a laser and should never be aimed at a person or an animal. Do not look at the beam directly with optical instruments. 2.
  • Page 5 SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual A summary of the settings available through the USB port is given in the table below: Setting Values Description Serial distance in m <-> Serial speed in m/s <-> USB distance in m <-> USB distance plus 1: Active data port Selects the serial or USB port to output distance or speed data.

  • Page 6: Powering Up The Sf30

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 3. Powering up the SF30 The SF30 gets power from either a regulated +5 V DC supply on the main connector or via the USB port when it is connected to a PC. There are a number of digital and analog interfaces on the main connector and either one or a combination of interfaces may be connected to a host controller.

  • Page 7: Communicating With The Usb Port

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 4. Communicating with the USB port The SF30 has a micro-B USB port that can be used to communicate with LightWare Terminal software on a PC. This connection also gives power to the unit providing a quick way to test and configure the SF30. The LightWare Terminal software will automatically detect the USB port that is connected to the SF30 and communications can be established by clicking on the “Connect”...

  • Page 8: Communicating With The Serial Port

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 6. Communicating with the serial port The serial port is used to transmit distance readings to an embedded host processor such as the flight controller in a UAV. The hardware interface uses 3.3 V logic levels and can be connected directly to any similar, compatible interface. The serial port protocol should be set to 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity or handshaking (8N1).

  • Page 9: Figure 7 :: An Oscilloscope Screen Capture Showing The Serial Port Data

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual There is a synchronisation signal that goes into a low state at the instant when a distance measurement is taken. This signal then goes high just before the result is transmitted on the serial port. Figure 7 :: An oscilloscope screen capture showing the serial port data on the orange trace and the synchronisation signal on the blue trace There may be occasions when settings such as the alarm activation distance needs to be changed on the fly and a serial port...
  • Page 10 SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual A summary of the commands recognised by the serial port is given in the table below: Command n values Description Selects the resolution of each reading taken. 0 = 0.25 m 1 = 0.12 m For the value 0 to 3 the result is provided as a two byte snapshot.

  • Page 11: The Analog Voltage Interface

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 7. The analog voltage interface The analog interface on the main connector produces a linear voltage of between 0.00 V and 2.56 V that is proportional to the measured distance. A distance reading of zero meters always produces a 0 V output. Figure 8 :: Analog voltage connections Setting Values...

  • Page 12: The Alarm Interface

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 8. The alarm interface The alarm output is a 0 V to 3.3 V signal that becomes active low when the distance reading falls below a preset distance. The distance value used to calculate the alarm state is taken from the analog port settings. However, the maximum range selection of the analog port does not limit the operational range of the alarm.

  • Page 13: Instructions For Safe Use

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual 10. Instructions for safe use The SF30 is a laser rangefinder that emits ionizing laser radiation. The level of the laser emission is Class 1M which indicates that the laser beam is safe to look at with the unaided eye but must not be viewed using binoculars or other optical devices at a distance of less than 15 meters.

  • Page 14: Appendix A :: Specifications

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual Appendix A :: Specifications SF30/B (50 m) SF30/C (100 m) Range 0 … 50 meters (natural targets) 0 … 100 meters (natural targets) 0 … 175 meters (reflective targets) 0 … 175 meters (reflective targets) Resolution 0.25 m ..

  • Page 15: Appendix C :: Main Cable Type 1, 35 Cm

    SF30 Accelerated rangefinder Product manual Appendix C :: Main cable type 1, 35 cm Revision history Version Date Authors Comments Rev 5 2015/12/17 Updates to this document revision are applicable from SF30/* SN: S30-00491, firmware revision 7.0. Update rate modified from “36633” to “18316” readings per second (pages 1, 3, 5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14).

This manual is also suitable for:

Sf30Sf30/c

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