Sweep Is a 250 LIDAR With Range of 40 Meters That Works Outdoors

Are you building a robot that's supposed to autonomously navigate in a useful way? Cool, that means you'll be needing a LIDAR system, then. For better or worse, it's usually just that straightforward: LIDAR is arguably the best sensor we have right now for reliable navigation, localization, and obstacle avoidance for ground robots. In terms of relatively low-cost sensors, sonar is poor resolution and short range; structured light and time-of-flight sensors are short range and don't work well outdoors; and camera-based vision systems aren't robust enough for reliable navigation. The "relatively low cost" bit is the problem: LIDARs are pricey, and an "affordable" 2D unit, with a range of 10 meters or less, can cost you over US 1,000.