Streamer for Slamtec RPLIDAR Sensor in MATLAB®

Package for streaming Slamtec RPLIDAR Laser scanner data into MATLAB.

Support platforms

Windows®

Setup

Download & Install Slamtec RPLIDAR SDK for C++
Install Slamtec RPLIDAR device driver software (if not already installed)
Compile mex file from MATLAB and run demo script

MathWorks® Products (https://www.mathworks.com)

Requires MATLAB release R2020b or newer

Lidar Toolbox™

3rd Party Products:

Depends on Slamtec RPLIDAR Public SDK for C++ (https://github.com/slamtec/rplidar_sdk). Requires Microsoft Visual Studio ® for SDK installation.

Installation Instructions (Windows x64 Platform)

Download Slamtec RPLIDAR Public SDK for C++ from Github

Download SDK sources from https://github.com/slamtec/rplidar_sdk and extract the downloaded zip file.

SDK License

Slamtec RPLIDAR Public SDK for C++ is licensed under BSD 2-Clause LICENSE

Install the required Device Driver Software (If not already installed)

Device driver software for Windows is included in the downloaded SDK.

Navigate to 'tools\cp2102_driver' folder of the extracted RPLIDAR SDK sources folder.

Extract CP210x_Windows_Drivers zip file and install the driver software by double clicking appropriate setup file (CP210xVCPInstaller_x64.exe or CP210xVCPInstaller_x86.exe) and follow the instructions on the screen.

RPLIDAR SDK Installation:

Refer to installation instructions found here: https://github.com/Slamtec/rplidar_sdk#on-windows. Only 'rplidar_driver' project solution needs to be built for this RPLIDAR Streaming package. Change Build configuration:

In Visual Studio, change Solution Configuration and Solution platform to 'Release' and 'x64' respectively.
To do this, right-click on 'rplidar_driver' solution in 'Solution Explorer', select 'Properties' and click on 'Configuration Manager' on top-right corner.
Create a new x64 Solution platform (if it does not exist) from platform dropdown against 'rplidar_driver' row. In New Project Platform dialog select copy from Win32 and click OK. If you encounter 'This platform could not be created because a solution platform of the same name already exists' error, uncheck 'Create new solution platforms' option in 'New Project Platform' dialog.
In Configuration Manager dialog, select 'Release', 'x64' and checkbox in Configuration, Platform and Build entries respectively against 'rplidar_driver' row and close the dialog box. Click OK in Properties page to apply changes.
Build 'rplidar_driver' solution. Right click on 'rpildar_driver' project in 'Solution Explorer' and click Build.

Compile mex file

Open MATLAB
CD to folder containing this package (slamtec_rplidar_streamer) contents.
Run compile.m file in the current folder:

% Select appropriate include and library paths:
>> includePath = '.....\rplidar_sdk-master\sdk\include'; 
>> libraryPath = '.....\rplidar_sdk-master\workspaces\vc14\x64\Release';
>> compile(includePath, libraryPath)

API help and example

Run the following command for help on MATLAB API:

>> help slamteclidar
<Change the port and baudrates accordingly in the example code>
Run the example to see the sensor stream data.

Demo script

Run the attached demo script 'demo_slamteclidar.m' that plots lidar data in pcplayer as point cloud data.

>> demo_slamteclidar

Community Support

MATLAB Central

mathworks/Streamer-Slamtec-RPLIDAR-Sensor-in-MATLAB