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Neato Robotics Hacking, 2014This site is devoted mainly to iRobot hacking. Just for reference extensive Neato hacking has been developed you can find in Google search. The interest has been in using the lidar out of the Neato, and interfacing Neato's system to other robotics control systems (not so much interest to vacuum users). Complete software packages have been developed, e.g.https://www.labviewhacker.com/doku.php?id=projects:lv_neatolds_interface:lv_neatolds_interfacehttp://www.ros.org/news/2011/02/neato-xv-11-laser-driver.htmlInteresting the technical details of Neato's lidar invention was described in an engineering journal article posted at RobotShop http://www.robotshop.com/media/files/PDF/revolds-whitepaper.pdfAs initial sales promotion when Neato was introduced several years ago, Neato encouraged hacking the lidar and held a contest for it, to stimulate exposure. Now the results have been polished into full software packages. The company still does not sell the lidar unit separately for robotics -- to help sell vacuums...[edit] another Neato post this section on adding bluetooth (possible only on older system boards including a serial interface header besides the USB) http://www.robotreviews.com/chat/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=15349Neato labels board several ways including a display on the LCD, with older boards showing up to 113, and hand marked Rev.7 on the board, and Rev.1 on silkscreen. Old and new photos:old with serial http://xv11hacking.wikispaces.com/XV-11+PCB+InformationNew without: http://xv11hacking.wikispaces.com/PCB+rev.+64(Besides the port change the major incompatibilities are a new charger system incompatible with old chargers, backwards compatible new, and a pin connector for the LCD cable instead of the bare ribbon cable clamp.)Last edited by glnc222 on January 10th, 2014, 5:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.glnc222As a result of the initial XV-11 hacking frenzy, you can obtain a complete Lidar unit for your Neato for under $100 with free shipping from ebay and can sometimes find Lidar sellers w/shipping for around the same price on Amazon.
Cover story in the September, 1993 Sensors magazine.Frequency-Modulated Laser Ranging by Neal Woodbury & Michael Brubacher
The OSLRF-01 is an open source laser range sensor that works on the time-of-flight principle. It includes a laser, detector, optics and sequential-equivalent-time-sampling (SETS) circuits. Designed as a bare-metal front end for a laser rangefinder system, the OSLRF-01 is a high quality sensor that can interface directly to the ADC channels of a micro controller. The OSLRF-01 is ideal for obstacle detection, distance measurement and laser rangefinder research.