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rplidar-turtlebot2

Hi. Have any body out here used the RP-LiDAR on TurtleBot2 with ROS INDIGO from github. https://github.com/roboticslab-fr/rplidar-turtlebot2 I can't get the laser to spin. When I list al my USB's I can see the laser. If I conect the laser to my workstation it's working. The problem is only on my turtlebot notebook. I have also tested with the instalation file from vendor.I have the RPLIDAR A2.

Tanks

GT

Asked by GT on 2017-01-15 08:02:24 UTC

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Answers

I can't get the laser to spin [..] If I conect the laser to my workstation it's working. The problem is only on my turtlebot notebook.

If the lidar draws current from the USB port to power the electromechanics, then it could very well be that the netbook doesn't have the capacity to provide enough current on its USB ports.

You could check the specifications of your netbook to figure out what the maximum rated power output of those USB ports is.

If this is indeed the issue, I've seen people use a powered usb hub between the netbook and your peripheral. The USB hub would then provide the power to the peripheral. The TB has various connections for power output, so you could probably use one of those to power the hub.

Asked by gvdhoorn on 2017-01-15 08:19:55 UTC

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Thanks for the information. Have contacted the vendor and they had not heard off this issue before. The motor is pulling 1.5 amp and I also think that the output for notebook can't handle so mutch amp. I will check around for external powered USB hub.

Asked by GT on 2017-01-15 08:35:48 UTC

A 'normal' USB (1 & 2) port can only provide 500mA, so that would seem to be well below what your device needs. An in-spec USB hub will also not provide that much current on a single port. Perhaps you can power the device directly from one of the DC connections on the TB base.

Asked by gvdhoorn on 2017-01-15 08:58:50 UTC

FYI. I made it spin without USB hub, my fault not setting correct USB rules.

Asked by GT on 2017-01-31 15:28:46 UTC

If you elaborate a bit and post it as an answer, you could accept your own answer.

Asked by gvdhoorn on 2017-01-31 15:43:07 UTC