YDLIDAR has designed a range of LiDARs for autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, distance measurement, mapping and 3D reconstruction.
Their Gx and Xx LiDARs are triangulation-based systems. Despite being inexpensive, they are good for high-frequency, high-accuracy measurements. Which makes them perfectly suitable for use in higher education and technical colleges.
They’re also small, and can be used to build prototypes of domestic and agricultural robots (including autonomous vacuum cleaners).
YDLIDAR: a very good sensor for robotics prototyping
YDLIDAR’s entry-level 360° LiDARs are inexpensive but very efficient.
- YDLIDAR 360° X4 => €94.90 incl. VAT
- YDLIDAR 360° G2 => €169 incl. VAT
- YDLIDAR 360° G4 => €319 incl. VAT
They are compact (the X4 and G2 stand just 4 cm high) and can be integrated easily into small mobile systems.
They are also energy-efficient, which is another plus for on-board use.
They are plug-and-play LiDARs that can be used easily and almost immediately under Windows, Linux, Android and ROS. More experienced users can also access their SDK.
YDLIDAR laser range finders are compatible with the Arduino and Raspberry Pi boards.
There is very comprehensive documentation available online, in addition to drivers, libraries and packages. There’s also a very active online community of users, famous for offering rapid technical support – just like us!
And to top it all, these LiDARs offer a low margin of error and stable performance.
Build your own small educational mobile robots with YDLIDAR
The YDLIDAR X4 360° laser range finder is ideal for small robots. It gives them autonomy by enabling them to avoid obstacles and to measure distances between them. The educational Lidarbot Odos mobile platform equipped with Mecanum wheels uses this LiDAR.
The YDLIDAR G2 and G4 360° laser range finders are more expensive than the YDLIDAR X4 360° laser range finder, but they perform better in terms of environmental measurements. They are more compact, with a diameter of 72 mm and a height of 41 mm.
The G4 is more efficient than the G2, and is also capable of 3D reconstruction (producing a three-dimensional representation of an object or scene from a set of images or point clouds).
The 3 following LiDARs use the OptoMagnetic technology:
| Scanning rate | Scanning range | |
| YDLIDAR X4 | 5000 Hz | 0.12–10 m |
| YDLIDAR G2 | 5000 Hz | 0.12–12 m |
| YDLIDAR G4 | 4000-9000 Hz | 0.10–16 m |
Our conclusions
If you want to build a small mobile robot, the YDLIDAR X4 is your best choice.
If you need greater accuracy, for mapping for example, you’ll be better off with the YDLIDAR G2.
For 3D reconstruction, or simply to benefit from a longer range or better precision, we recommend the YDLIDAR G4.