Three-dimensional mapping is a know-how that’s completely important to purposes like autonomous automobiles, surgical planning, and digital actuality. Nonetheless, industrial options value tens of hundreds of {dollars}. This retains them far out of attain for many hobbyists who want to experiment with these programs of their private tasks. Furthermore, these units are additionally proprietary, which makes it almost unattainable to reverse-engineer them and construct a lower-cost DIY resolution.
Regardless of these difficulties, mechatronics engineer 9nl got down to construct a DIY three-dimensional mapping system. The objective was to rely solely on open-source instruments in order that others may reproduce the work, and preserve the price below a thousand {dollars} in order that it’s much more accessible than an off-the-shelf resolution. Whereas 9nl was in a position to obtain this objective, it took an enormous quantity of effort. Thankfully for us, we will study from his work and skip straight to the objective of constructing an inexpensive mapping software.
A Raspberry Pi logs sensor knowledge (📷: 9nl)
The system is constructed round a Velodyne 16-channel LiDAR sensor, which blasts out 300,000 laser pulses per second in each course. To remain inside finances, a used LiDAR sensor was bought for $400 from eBay. This was paired with a high-precision WHEELTEC N100 IMU module. A Raspberry Pi 5 single-board pc logs knowledge captured by these devices.
Underneath the management of a Teensy microcontroller, a motor spins the LiDAR module. This permits it to seize full volumetric protection of the surroundings from a single place. The collected knowledge is processed by a SLAM algorithm to supply a three-dimensional map.
Not like many current options, 9nl’s system doesn’t depend on GPS. As such, it’s helpful in GPS-denied environments, like caves or parking garages, the place different programs would fail.
If this challenge has sparked your curiosity, you should definitely keep tuned to Hackster Information. 9nl guarantees extra movies are on the way in which, so verify again quickly to get all the small print it’s good to construct your individual cheap three-dimensional mapper.