[o3d2xx] 3D LIDARs Are Cool

This summer I wrote a C API and Matlab driver for an IFM O3D200. This is a really cool LIDAR. It basically captures distance images, meaning the pixels of the image represent distance rather then color, like with a normal camera. It can also send out the Cartesian coordinates of each pixel, so you don't have to do it in preprocessing.

The O3D2XXs use XML-RPC for configuration, and a simple TCP socket for data flow. The XML-RPCs are useful and provide a good deal of customization. They allow the user to change the exposure time, frame rate, frequency mode, etc. The network settings are also configurable, and the LIDAR can use DHCP or a static IP address. Using the socket is easy, the user simply requests and image and then reads in the buffer(s).

Right now my code has to stay top secret, you know, to give Vader Lab a competitive edge. Hopefully someday later I can publish it. Even though most people don't have O3D2XXs right now, I expect this sensor to gain in popularity. After all it's very cool.