Raspberry Pi Lidar Scanner
Falling Cost and Capabilities of LIDAR
- Commenters note how consumer‑grade LIDAR now delivers “good enough” performance at hobbyist prices (<$100 sensors), compared to early multi‑$k units from SICK/Hokuyo.
- Some recall similar DIY setups being possible a decade ago (e.g., Neato vacuum lidars + ROS), but acknowledge today’s ecosystem is richer and easier to assemble.
- Short‑range (~12 m) scanners are seen as ideal for small robots and indoor mapping; long‑range automotive‑grade units remain orders of magnitude more expensive and complex.
Impact of Tariffs and Policy on Electronics Hobbies
- Strong concern that new US tariffs and loss of de minimis exemption will 2–3× bills of materials, making projects like this inaccessible to many hobbyists, students, and small hardware businesses.
- Several describe concrete impacts: price hikes from US vendors reliant on Chinese parts, cash‑flow crises from unexpected duties, and undergrad/side projects becoming unaffordable.
- Disagreement over tariffs: some argue they never make economic sense except as strategic self‑harm; others see them as potentially catalyzing reshoring but acknowledge severe short‑term pain.
- Non‑US commenters note this is mainly a US problem; others reply that parts already incur heavy fees in some European countries.
Project Design, Cost, and Documentation
- One commenter compiles an approximate BOM ($200–$280) and argues that publishing links and prices is low‑effort and highly valuable for reproducibility and future self‑reference.
- Pushback comes from those with limited time who see this expectation as “ungrateful,” but others defend documentation as a time‑saver, not altruism.
- Clarification: device combines a planar 360° lidar with a motor to sweep vertically (approaching full sphere) plus a fisheye camera; it’s a data‑acquisition rig, not a processing model.
Debate: LIDAR in Automotive / Tesla
- Extensive argument over Tesla’s camera‑only approach:
- Many in the thread call skipping lidar “insane,” “short‑sighted,” or “morally bankrupt,” citing redundancy, poor visibility in smoke/fog, and existing competition using lidar safely.
- A minority echoes the original “humans drive with just vision” logic and cost sensitivity, but others rebut that humans have multiple modalities and far richer world models.
- Discussion touches on processing bandwidth, sensor cost trends, regulatory gaps, and Tesla’s past use/removal of radar and ultrasonics.
- Some stress that cheap hobbyist lidars are nowhere near automotive requirements (range, robustness, safety certification), so this exact unit is not drop‑in for cars.
Accessibility of Hardware Hobbies and Manufacturing Geography
- Broader reflection that electronics and mechanical tinkering have declined with harder repairs, loss of parts stores, and now tariffs.
- Several argue small local manufacturing for hobby parts is uneconomic versus global Shenzhen‑scale production; fixed costs and small markets make domestic sourcing difficult.
- Others lament that just as right‑to‑repair and new small shops are resurging, tariffs threaten a “second death of hardware.”
Technical Questions and Use Cases
- Interest in:
- Using the scanner for home improvement (mapping behind walls), room digitization, and content for games vs high‑accuracy surveying.
- Post‑processing pipelines: generating point clouds, merging scans to see around occlusions; comparisons to photogrammetry.
- Eye safety and potential sensor damage from lidar—questions raised but not conclusively answered.
- IMU choice: MPU6050 is criticized as low‑quality (yaw drift); BNO055‑based modules are suggested as better but costlier alternatives.
- Very high‑precision distance measurement (~10 µm over 300 mm) leads to discussion of interferometry, DROs, and expensive precision stages.
Licensing and Commercial Use
- One commenter notices a restriction on commercial use without contribution and asks how much contribution is required and where to do it; no clear answer appears in the thread.