LeddarOne Lidar
LeddarOne is small-size Lidar module with a narrow, yet diffuse beam that offers excellent overall detection range and performance, in a robust, reliable, cost-effective package. It has a sensing range from 1cm to 40m and needs to be connected to a UART/serial bus.
Overview
PX4 supports LeddarOne "out of the box" for many flight controllers.
The driver is present in firmware by default on many Pixhawk-series boards, including: px4fmu-v3, px4fmu-v4, px4fmu-v4pro, px4fmu-v5, aerofc-v1, aerocore2, auav-X21, mindpx-v2, nxphlite-v3.
You can use any other board but you will need to add the driver to the firmware.
The SENS_EN_LEDDAR1 can be used to start the driver on the following (board-specific) ports:
| Board | Port |
|---|---|
| PX4FMU_V2 | Serial 4/5 |
| PX4FMU_V4PRO | Serial 4/5 |
| Intel Aero RTF | TELEMETRY port |
| Other boards | TELEM2 |
You can connect to any other free serial port but you will need to start the driver on that port.
Parameter Setup
To enable LeddarOne set the SENS_EN_LEDDAR1 parameter to 1 (instructions here) and reboot the board.
Your hardware must be connected to the board-specific port listed above in order to enable it using this parameter.
If you are connecting the hardware to TELEM2 then set the parameter SYS_COMPANION to 0. Otherwise the serial port may be used by another application and you will get unexpected behaviour.
Hardware Setup
Build a cable following your board and pinout and LeddarOne pinout (shown below). You only will need to connect 5V, TX, RX and GND pins.
| Pin | LeddarOne |
|---|---|
| 1 | GND |
| 2 | - |
| 3 | VCC |
| 4 | RX |
| 5 | TX |
| 6 | - |
You can connect to any free port, but usually you'll use the board-specific port listed above.
Additional Setup
This is only required if you want to use LeddarOne on a board that doesn't include it in firmware, or to connect to a different port.
Add LeddarOne to Firmware
LeddarOne is present if the build configuration includes drivers/distance_sensor or drivers/distance_sensor/leddar_one (check using this search).
If it isn't present you can include the driver in firmware by adding the following line to the cmake config file that corresponds to the target you want to build for:
drivers/distance_sensor/leddar_one
Start the Driver
If you want to use LeddarOne on a different port than listed above you will need to manually start the driver during system startup.
The easiest way to do this is to add the following line to an extras.txt file located on your SD card.
leddar_one start -d /dev/serial_port
In the above command you will have to replace the last argument with the id of the serial port used to connect the hardware.
If you are connecting to TELEM2 then set the parameter SYS_COMPANION to 0. Otherwise the serial port may be used by another application and you will get unexpected behaviour.
Intel Aero
The LeddarOne is the recommended rangefinder for the Intel® Aero Ready to Fly Drone. For more information on hardware setup and configuration see: The Intel® Aero Ready to Fly Drone.
Further Information
- PX4 Development Guide
- System Startup > Customizing the System Startup (PX4 Development Guide)
- LeddarOne Spec sheet