rplidar_driver (lifecycle RPLIDAR driver)
- Software
- Perception
- Driver or SDK
A fault-tolerant ROS 2 driver for Slamtec RPLIDAR laser scanners, built on a lifecycle state machine so the robot keeps running through disconnections and permission failures.
Source on GitHub: github.com/frozenreboot/rplidar_driver (opens in a new tab). Facts read at commit 4446f8f (opens in a new tab).
Licenses
- Code
- BSD-2-Clause (opens in a new tab)
Read by Robotheca from LICENSE (opens in a new tab) (BSD-2-Clause) at commit 4446f8f (opens in a new tab), on 16 Oct 2026.
- Commercial use
- Yes
What it does
- Reconnects automatically after hot-plug or USB disconnection through the lifecycle state machine.
- Reports permission failures explicitly through diagnostics instead of failing silently.
- Allows runtime changes to motor RPM and scan mode without restarting the node.
- Offers standby services to park the motor while keeping the connection and publishers active.
- Can stop the motor automatically when nothing subscribes to the scan or point cloud topics.
- Supports composition as an rclcpp_components node and separates ROS logic from the vendor SDK via an interface layer.
Written by Robotheca from the project's README (opens in a new tab) at commit 4446f8f.
Getting started
- Difficulty
- Beginner
- How to start
- The project's website (opens in a new tab)
Maintenance
- Status
- Active: a commit in the last 90 days
- Newest commit
- 5 Oct 2026 on main
- Latest release
- None published on GitHub
Checked on GitHub on 16 Oct 2026.
Links
Robots on Robotheca that use it
No robot on Robotheca is linked to it yet. Links come from a robot's robot.yaml, from its dependency files read as text, or from Robotheca's editors.
Robotheca lists software as a reference: nothing is hosted or run here, and every fact links to where it was read.