How are LIDARs changing field of Robotics

How are LIDARs changing field of Robotics - Science Feed

In the field of robotics, there is crucial role of sensors out of which the LIDARs (Light Detection and Ranging Sensors) are very important.

LIDAR sensors send the light and detects back the reflected light from any object to estimate how much far away the object is based on the calculations. Laser is used as primary light source as it can bounce back on most surfaces. These are used to make maps of the area where the robot will move around for navigation.

There are different kinds of LIDAR sensors like 1D LIDARs, 2D LIDARs, 3D LIDARs and even 4D LIDARs.

1D LIDARs are most basic type of it because these emit laser in one direction at a time and a point for point cloud is created. A point cloud is a group of large number of points that create map of the area. 1D LIDAR then moves in other direction and make different point after that.

2D LIDARs are the better version of 1D LIDARs as if you are rotating the 1D LIDAR in continuous rotation to project it in a circular manner. Because of this, it is able to make a 2D map of the area faster and also update it in real time. This type sensor helps as a safety sensor of robot or passive autonomous navigation of the robot.

3D LIDARs are generally used for making the map in three dimensional basically all the angles possible. These are also able to create a real time map of the area but in 3D which gives better perception to the robot. Because of the these features, 3D LIDARs are expensive in pricing and delicate. It is able to do static mapping.

4D LIDARs are the most advanced of all LIDARs. These are one step ahead of 3D LIDARs. 3D LIDARs only get coordinates of the point, 4D LIDARs get co-ordindates and velocity at the same time. It provides dynamic perception that helps in real time motion tracking of autonomous vehicles or robots. This gives feature of dynamic mappning too.

These LIDARs are used in sensor fusion with other sensors for better working of robots.

Nowadays, SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) is being implemented for autonomous navigation using different path finding algorithms like A*, RRT etc.

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