Parallax Has A New Toy
idbruce
Posts: 6,197
Too my ultimate surprise, I seen a pic on the Parallax homepage with the words "laser rangefinder" attached. So I did a little research.....
I have been waiting a long time for this and I have the PERFECT project for this new product. Time to start saving my pennies.
http://www.parallax.com/product/28043
I have been waiting a long time for this and I have the PERFECT project for this new product. Time to start saving my pennies.
http://www.parallax.com/product/28043
Comments
Nice looking product - I see it used a MicroSemi A2F060
- This type of product would be an ideal Application Benchmark for the new P2
It is this FPGA-Assisted side of the market, where I think the P2 can get good traction.
14W?!
must be a VERY wide beam and a short pulse to some how Still gain CRDH FDA Class 1M
something does not smell right here .....
A quick Ebay search found this handheld Chinese TOF laser RF for ~$120 shipped... http://www.ebay.com/itm/251511133118
Food for thought!
Now Bruce, please finish your El Cheapo CNC/3D printer project (you know, the one with 7000 views) before you start on another project!
Jim
IIRC that was laserdeveloper, and his final say was "not for sale in the US". If this was his, seems like we would have heard from him before now.
And Ken mentioned this product a few days ago:
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/155648-C-code-review-for-SF02-Laser-Rangefinder-to-Propeller
and here shared this info with me a few weeks ago when I saw him at the Washington DC Science and Engineering Festival.
Also see:
http://www.parallax.com/news/2014-05-14/unable-resist-temptation-new-sf02-laser-rangefinder
Yes on both comments and the necessary FDA paperwork has been completed by the importer of this product.
Ken Gracey
LOL.... Agreed..... However, I definitely want one of these, which would go back to an older idea... http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/138199-Anyone-Interested-In-Building-A-Money-Making-Robot?p=1077260#post1077260
The eye safety criteria for Class 1 and Class 1M lasers allow for a relatively high peak power, provided that the pulse width, firing frequency and wavelength are all within certain limits. The safety regulations are very conservative but most modern laser range finders can easily achieve the safest categories, thanks to the availability of extremely high speed electronics.
The reason why earlier products weren't offered in the USA was because of the requirement by the FDA to have a registered agent or distributor based in the USA who can handle queries and paperwork that the FDA sends out from time to time. I have to thank Prof Braino for helping us with this and also Ken and the team at Parallax for introducing the SF02 to a wider audience. No doubt the Parallax laser has given them considerable experience in making sure that everything is done by the book.
Finally, if the SF02 is successful, then there are many other laser ideas for robots and UAVs just waiting to be put into production - anti-collision, SLAM, 3D mapping etc. I hope that this is the beginning of a long and successful relationship between Parallax and LightWare. Perhaps the combined innovation of both companies will bring you amazing new technologies for many years to come.
What are the possibilties of increasing the accuracy of this range finder and if impossible, do you foresee a more accurate range finder in the future?
I have this one from Bosch, works great and it is cheaper than erco's eBay find. I especially like that it takes regular AA cells.
http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-DLR130K
No external interface? Didn't see any.
How odd - I'll look into that ASAP.
We fixed the issue; hopefully that takes care of the permissions problem. Thanks for the heads up!
Getting around these performance compromises is straight forward from a technical perspective but it makes the laser more expensive. The SF02 has been designed with a particular market in mind and the price and performance reflect the needs of that market. Changing one aspect of the performance, such as the accuracy, may allow for other applications, but inevitably there will be a mismatch in terms of price, range, update rate, weight, form factor, interfaces, power supplies etc. that makes that particular enhancement somewhat less attractive.
A good way to get changes to the SF02, or any other product for that matter, is to keep talking about the applications and specifications on this forum. If there looks to be enough interest then maybe Ken and I can work something out. We would be delighted to find new applications for laser technology and if we can get the right mix of specifications at the right price then we'll try to find a way to make it for you. In the meantime, enjoy the first step that we've taken with the SF02.
Thanks for your response.
Ken Gracey
I think you have to be a distributor to import this item, (FDA paper work involved IIRC) .
Parallax has them back in stock!
http://www.parallax.com/product/28043
I didn't want to install the software yet so I just used the default configuration to start with.
I powered it with a 2S LiPo and plugged the RX and TX lines into a Prop Plug. The default baud is apparently 9600 bps. When I connected the trigger line to ground the SF02 started spitting out distance reading. It would also send a reading if I typed "D" into the terminal.
It has a regulated 5V output so I'll use it to power a QuickStart board and have the QuickStart board control some sort of portable display.
I've only tried it indoors so far, but it's supposed to work out in the sun too. I'll test this aspect of the rangefinder tomorrow (it's starting to get dark here).
The other "Laser Range Finder" doesn't work well in bright sunlight. The SF02's abilty to work out in the sun will make it a very useful sensor.
Not only does Parallax have a new toy, now I do too.
I was all set to get this $400 laser scanner but can't really justify it. Instead I'll spend that money and more on a 3D printer that I'll use every day.