RPLidar SetUp in PC

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 An RPLIDAR, short for Robust and Precise LIDAR, is a 2D laser scanner (LIDAR = Light Detection and Ranging), used primarily in robotics and mapping applications to detect distances to objects in its surroundings. It is a low-cost, compact, and 360-degree scanning with a range of 12metres LIDAR sensor produced by a company called Slamtec.

RPLIDAR-A1 




What does an RPLIDAR do?

It emits laser pulses and measures the time it takes for the pulses to bounce back from surrounding objects. By rotating 360°, it collects distance data from all directions, allowing it to build a 2D map of the environment.

Common Uses:

  • Robotics navigation and obstacle avoidance

  • Autonomous vehicles

  • SLAM (mapping and localization)

  • Indoor/outdoor mapping

  • Object detection


RPLidar SetUp

Ensure the RPLidar is connected to your PC via USB.

  • To enable your WSL detect the RPLidar from your ports, you first have to install usbipd.

Open Windows PowerShell as admin and copy the command below to install usbipd.

winget install usbipd

Usbipd will install as shown below:




  • Restart your PC.

  • Open a new Windows PowerShell as administrator and run the code below to list USB devices that are available for sharing over the network using the USB over IP protocol.

usbipd list

 

  • Then bind (share) a USB device with bus ID 2-3 on your Windows host, making it available for remote access over USB/IP—typically for use in WSL. Run the code below to implement this.

usbipd bind --busid 2-3

  • Then attach a USB device (with bus ID 2-3) from Windows into WSL2.

usbipd attach --busid 2-3 --wsl

The above processes will be visible on your PC as shown below:



  • Open your WSL and run the code below to view the port the RPLidar is connected to.

ls /dev/ttyUSB*

It should output a port such as: /dev/ttyUSB0


  • Now clone the sllidar_ros2 repo on your workspace under your src file as shown below:

cd ~/ros2_ws/src git clone https://github.com/Slamtec/sllidar_ros2.git

If you don’t have a workspace create it as shown below:

mkdir -p ~/ros2_ws/src cd ~/ros2_ws colcon build

 

  • Get out of your src file and be in your workspace by running the code below:

cd ..

or

cd ~/ros2_ws

  • Source your environment by running the code below:

source install/setup.bash

 

  • Launch your RPLidar as shown below:

ros2 launch sllidar_ros2 view_sllidar_a1_launch.py serial_port:=/dev/ttyUSB0


This will open Rviz and you’ll be able to visualize your RPLidar in real time as shown below:




Incase of any problems encountered with the setup refer to:

Troubleshooting tips for the RPLidar SetUp in PC







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