Shell - Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0

This is the description of the Shell API bindings for the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0. General information and technical specifications for the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0 are summarized in its hardware description.

An installation guide for the Shell API bindings is part of their general description.

Examples

The example code below is Public Domain (CC0 1.0).

Simple

Download (example-simple.sh)

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#!/bin/sh
# Connects to localhost:4223 by default, use --host and --port to change this

uid=XYZ # Change XYZ to the UID of your Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0

# Turn laser on and wait 250ms for very first measurement to be ready
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable true
sleep 0.25

# Get current distance
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid get-distance

# Turn laser off
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable false

Callback

Download (example-callback.sh)

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#!/bin/sh
# Connects to localhost:4223 by default, use --host and --port to change this

uid=XYZ # Change XYZ to the UID of your Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0

# Turn laser on and wait 250ms for very first measurement to be ready
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable true
sleep 0.25

# Handle incoming distance callbacks
tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid distance &

# Set period for distance callback to 0.2s (200ms) without a threshold
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-distance-callback-configuration 200 false threshold-option-off 0 0

echo "Press key to exit"; read dummy

# Turn laser off
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable false

kill -- -$$ # Stop callback dispatch in background

Threshold

Download (example-threshold.sh)

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#!/bin/sh
# Connects to localhost:4223 by default, use --host and --port to change this

uid=XYZ # Change XYZ to the UID of your Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0

# Turn laser on and wait 250ms for very first measurement to be ready
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable true
sleep 0.25

# Handle incoming distance callbacks
tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid distance &

# Configure threshold for distance "greater than 20 cm"
# with a debounce period of 1s (1000ms)
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-distance-callback-configuration 1000 false threshold-option-greater 20 0

echo "Press key to exit"; read dummy

# Turn laser off
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet $uid set-enable false

kill -- -$$ # Stop callback dispatch in background

API

Possible exit codes for all tinkerforge commands are:

  • 1: interrupted (ctrl+c)
  • 2: syntax error
  • 21: Python 2.5 or newer is required
  • 22: Python argparse module is missing
  • 23: socket error
  • 24: other exception
  • 25: invalid placeholder in format string
  • 26: authentication error
  • 201: timeout occurred
  • 209: invalid argument value
  • 210: function is not supported
  • 211: unknown error

Command Structure

The common options of the call and dispatch commands are documented here. The specific command structure is shown below.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet [<option>..] <uid> <function> [<argument>..]
Parameters:
  • <uid> – Type: String
  • <function> – Type: String

The call command is used to call a function of the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0. It can take several options:

  • --help shows help for the specific call command and exits
  • --list-functions shows a list of known functions of the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0 and exits
tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet [<option>..] <uid> <callback>
Parameters:
  • <uid> – Type: String
  • <callback> – Type: String

The dispatch command is used to dispatch a callback of the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0. It can take several options:

  • --help shows help for the specific dispatch command and exits
  • --list-callbacks shows a list of known callbacks of the Laser Range Finder Bricklet 2.0 and exits
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> <function> [<option>..] [<argument>..]
Parameters:
  • <uid> – Type: String
  • <function> – Type: String

The <function> to be called can take different options depending of its kind. All functions can take the following options:

  • --help shows help for the specific function and exits

Getter functions can take the following options:

  • --execute <command> shell command line to execute for each incoming response (see section about output formatting for details)

Setter functions can take the following options:

  • --expect-response requests response and waits for it

The --expect-response option for setter functions allows to detect timeouts and other error conditions calls of setters as well. The device will then send a response for this purpose. If this option is not given for a setter function then no response is sent and errors are silently ignored, because they cannot be detected.

tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> <callback> [<option>..]
Parameters:
  • <uid> – Type: String
  • <callback> – Type: String

The <callback> to be dispatched can take several options:

  • --help shows help for the specific callback and exits
  • --execute <command> shell command line to execute for each incoming response (see section about output formatting for details)

Basic Functions

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-distance
Output:
  • distance – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [0 to 4000]

Returns the measured distance.

The laser has to be enabled, see set-enable.

If you want to get the value periodically, it is recommended to use the distance callback. You can set the callback configuration with set-distance-callback-configuration.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-velocity
Output:
  • velocity – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-12800 to 12700]

Returns the measured velocity. The value has a range of -12800 to 12700 and is given in 1/100 m/s.

The velocity measurement only produces stables results if a fixed measurement rate (see set-configuration) is configured. Also the laser has to be enabled, see set-enable.

If you want to get the value periodically, it is recommended to use the velocity callback. You can set the callback configuration with set-velocity-callback-configuration.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-enable <enable>
Parameters:
  • <enable> – Type: Bool, Default: false
Output:
  • no output

Enables the laser of the LIDAR if set to true.

We recommend that you wait 250ms after enabling the laser before the first call of get-distance to ensure stable measurements.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-enable
Output:
  • enable – Type: Bool, Default: false

Returns the value as set by set-enable.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-configuration <acquisition-count> <enable-quick-termination> <threshold-value> <measurement-frequency>
Parameters:
  • <acquisition-count> – Type: Int, Range: [1 to 255], Default: 128
  • <enable-quick-termination> – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • <threshold-value> – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 0
  • <measurement-frequency> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 Hz, Range: [0, 10 to 500], Default: 0
Output:
  • no output

The Acquisition Count defines the number of times the Laser Range Finder Bricklet will integrate acquisitions to find a correlation record peak. With a higher count, the Bricklet can measure longer distances. With a lower count, the rate increases. The allowed values are 1-255.

If you set Enable Quick Termination to true, the distance measurement will be terminated early if a high peak was already detected. This means that a higher measurement rate can be achieved and long distances can be measured at the same time. However, the chance of false-positive distance measurements increases.

Normally the distance is calculated with a detection algorithm that uses peak value, signal strength and noise. You can however also define a fixed Threshold Value. Set this to a low value if you want to measure the distance to something that has very little reflection (e.g. glass) and set it to a high value if you want to measure the distance to something with a very high reflection (e.g. mirror). Set this to 0 to use the default algorithm. The other allowed values are 1-255.

Set the Measurement Frequency to force a fixed measurement rate. If set to 0, the Laser Range Finder Bricklet will use the optimal frequency according to the other configurations and the actual measured distance. Since the rate is not fixed in this case, the velocity measurement is not stable. For a stable velocity measurement you should set a fixed measurement frequency. The lower the frequency, the higher is the resolution of the calculated velocity. The allowed values are 10Hz-500Hz (and 0 to turn the fixed frequency off).

The default values for Acquisition Count, Enable Quick Termination, Threshold Value and Measurement Frequency are 128, false, 0 and 0.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-configuration
Output:
  • acquisition-count – Type: Int, Range: [1 to 255], Default: 128
  • enable-quick-termination – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • threshold-value – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 0
  • measurement-frequency – Type: Int, Unit: 1 Hz, Range: [0, 10 to 500], Default: 0

Returns the configuration as set by set-configuration.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-distance-led-config <config>
Parameters:
  • <config> – Type: Int, Range: See symbols, Default: 3
Output:
  • no output

Configures the distance LED to be either turned off, turned on, blink in heartbeat mode or show the distance (brighter = object is nearer).

The following symbols are available for this function:

For <config>:

  • distance-led-config-off = 0
  • distance-led-config-on = 1
  • distance-led-config-show-heartbeat = 2
  • distance-led-config-show-distance = 3
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-distance-led-config
Output:
  • config – Type: Int, Range: See symbols, Default: 3

Returns the LED configuration as set by set-distance-led-config

The following symbols are available for this function:

For config:

  • distance-led-config-off = 0
  • distance-led-config-on = 1
  • distance-led-config-show-heartbeat = 2
  • distance-led-config-show-distance = 3

Advanced Functions

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-moving-average <distance-average-length> <velocity-average-length>
Parameters:
  • <distance-average-length> – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 10
  • <velocity-average-length> – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 10
Output:
  • no output

Sets the length of a moving averaging for the distance and velocity.

Setting the length to 0 will turn the averaging completely off. With less averaging, there is more noise on the data.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-moving-average
Output:
  • distance-average-length – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 10
  • velocity-average-length – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255], Default: 10

Returns the length moving average as set by set-moving-average.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-offset-calibration <offset>
Parameters:
  • <offset> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 28767]
Output:
  • no output

The offset is added to the measured distance. It is saved in non-volatile memory, you only have to set it once.

The Bricklet comes with a per-sensor factory-calibrated offset value, you should not have to call this function.

If you want to re-calibrate the offset you first have to set it to 0. Calculate the offset by measuring the distance to a known distance and set it again.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-offset-calibration
Output:
  • offset – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 28767]

Returns the offset value as set by set-offset-calibration.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-spitfp-error-count
Output:
  • error-count-ack-checksum – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • error-count-message-checksum – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • error-count-frame – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
  • error-count-overflow – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Returns the error count for the communication between Brick and Bricklet.

The errors are divided into

  • ACK checksum errors,
  • message checksum errors,
  • framing errors and
  • overflow errors.

The errors counts are for errors that occur on the Bricklet side. All Bricks have a similar function that returns the errors on the Brick side.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-status-led-config <config>
Parameters:
  • <config> – Type: Int, Range: See symbols, Default: 3
Output:
  • no output

Sets the status LED configuration. By default the LED shows communication traffic between Brick and Bricklet, it flickers once for every 10 received data packets.

You can also turn the LED permanently on/off or show a heartbeat.

If the Bricklet is in bootloader mode, the LED is will show heartbeat by default.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For <config>:

  • status-led-config-off = 0
  • status-led-config-on = 1
  • status-led-config-show-heartbeat = 2
  • status-led-config-show-status = 3
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-status-led-config
Output:
  • config – Type: Int, Range: See symbols, Default: 3

Returns the configuration as set by set-status-led-config

The following symbols are available for this function:

For config:

  • status-led-config-off = 0
  • status-led-config-on = 1
  • status-led-config-show-heartbeat = 2
  • status-led-config-show-status = 3
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-chip-temperature
Output:
  • temperature – Type: Int, Unit: 1 °C, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1]

Returns the temperature as measured inside the microcontroller. The value returned is not the ambient temperature!

The temperature is only proportional to the real temperature and it has bad accuracy. Practically it is only useful as an indicator for temperature changes.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> reset
Output:
  • no output

Calling this function will reset the Bricklet. All configurations will be lost.

After a reset you have to create new device objects, calling functions on the existing ones will result in undefined behavior!

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-identity
Output:
  • uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
  • connected-uid – Type: String, Length: up to 8
  • position – Type: Char, Range: [a to h, z]
  • hardware-version – Type: Int Array, Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
  • firmware-version – Type: Int Array, Length: 3
    • 0: major – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 1: minor – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
    • 2: revision – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]
  • device-identifier – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 216 - 1]

Returns the UID, the UID where the Bricklet is connected to, the position, the hardware and firmware version as well as the device identifier.

The position can be 'a', 'b', 'c', 'd', 'e', 'f', 'g' or 'h' (Bricklet Port). A Bricklet connected to an Isolator Bricklet is always at position 'z'.

The device identifier numbers can be found here

Callback Configuration Functions

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-distance-callback-configuration <period> <value-has-to-change> <option> <min> <max>
Parameters:
  • <period> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • <value-has-to-change> – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • <option> – Type: Char, Range: See symbols, Default: x
  • <min> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
  • <max> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
Output:
  • no output

The period is the period with which the distance callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

It is furthermore possible to constrain the callback with thresholds.

The option-parameter together with min/max sets a threshold for the distance callback.

The following options are possible:

Option Description
'x' Threshold is turned off
'o' Threshold is triggered when the value is outside the min and max values
'i' Threshold is triggered when the value is inside or equal to the min and max values
'<' Threshold is triggered when the value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>' Threshold is triggered when the value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

If the option is set to 'x' (threshold turned off) the callback is triggered with the fixed period.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For <option>:

  • threshold-option-off = x
  • threshold-option-outside = o
  • threshold-option-inside = i
  • threshold-option-smaller = <
  • threshold-option-greater = >
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-distance-callback-configuration
Output:
  • period – Type: Int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • value-has-to-change – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • option – Type: Char, Range: See symbols, Default: x
  • min – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
  • max – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the callback configuration as set by set-distance-callback-configuration.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For option:

  • threshold-option-off = x
  • threshold-option-outside = o
  • threshold-option-inside = i
  • threshold-option-smaller = <
  • threshold-option-greater = >
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-velocity-callback-configuration <period> <value-has-to-change> <option> <min> <max>
Parameters:
  • <period> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • <value-has-to-change> – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • <option> – Type: Char, Range: See symbols, Default: x
  • <min> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
  • <max> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
Output:
  • no output

The period is the period with which the velocity callback is triggered periodically. A value of 0 turns the callback off.

If the value has to change-parameter is set to true, the callback is only triggered after the value has changed. If the value didn't change within the period, the callback is triggered immediately on change.

If it is set to false, the callback is continuously triggered with the period, independent of the value.

It is furthermore possible to constrain the callback with thresholds.

The option-parameter together with min/max sets a threshold for the velocity callback.

The following options are possible:

Option Description
'x' Threshold is turned off
'o' Threshold is triggered when the value is outside the min and max values
'i' Threshold is triggered when the value is inside or equal to the min and max values
'<' Threshold is triggered when the value is smaller than the min value (max is ignored)
'>' Threshold is triggered when the value is greater than the min value (max is ignored)

If the option is set to 'x' (threshold turned off) the callback is triggered with the fixed period.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For <option>:

  • threshold-option-off = x
  • threshold-option-outside = o
  • threshold-option-inside = i
  • threshold-option-smaller = <
  • threshold-option-greater = >
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-velocity-callback-configuration
Output:
  • period – Type: Int, Unit: 1 ms, Range: [0 to 232 - 1], Default: 0
  • value-has-to-change – Type: Bool, Default: false
  • option – Type: Char, Range: See symbols, Default: x
  • min – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0
  • max – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-215 to 215 - 1], Default: 0

Returns the callback configuration as set by set-velocity-callback-configuration.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For option:

  • threshold-option-off = x
  • threshold-option-outside = o
  • threshold-option-inside = i
  • threshold-option-smaller = <
  • threshold-option-greater = >

Callbacks

Callbacks can be used to receive time critical or recurring data from the device:

tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> example

The available callbacks are described below.

Note

Using callbacks for recurring events is always preferred compared to using getters. It will use less USB bandwidth and the latency will be a lot better, since there is no round trip time.

tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> distance
Output:
  • distance – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm, Range: [0 to 4000]

This callback is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by set-distance-callback-configuration.

The parameter is the same as get-distance.

tinkerforge dispatch laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> velocity
Output:
  • velocity – Type: Int, Unit: 1 cm/s, Range: [-12800 to 12700]

This callback is triggered periodically according to the configuration set by set-velocity-callback-configuration.

The parameter is the same as get-velocity.

Internal Functions

Internal functions are used for maintenance tasks such as flashing a new firmware of changing the UID of a Bricklet. These task should be performed using Brick Viewer instead of using the internal functions directly.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-bootloader-mode <mode>
Parameters:
  • <mode> – Type: Int, Range: See symbols
Output:
  • status – Type: Int, Range: See symbols

Sets the bootloader mode and returns the status after the requested mode change was instigated.

You can change from bootloader mode to firmware mode and vice versa. A change from bootloader mode to firmware mode will only take place if the entry function, device identifier and CRC are present and correct.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For <mode>:

  • bootloader-mode-bootloader = 0
  • bootloader-mode-firmware = 1
  • bootloader-mode-bootloader-wait-for-reboot = 2
  • bootloader-mode-firmware-wait-for-reboot = 3
  • bootloader-mode-firmware-wait-for-erase-and-reboot = 4

For status:

  • bootloader-status-ok = 0
  • bootloader-status-invalid-mode = 1
  • bootloader-status-no-change = 2
  • bootloader-status-entry-function-not-present = 3
  • bootloader-status-device-identifier-incorrect = 4
  • bootloader-status-crc-mismatch = 5
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> get-bootloader-mode
Output:
  • mode – Type: Int, Range: See symbols

Returns the current bootloader mode, see set-bootloader-mode.

The following symbols are available for this function:

For mode:

  • bootloader-mode-bootloader = 0
  • bootloader-mode-firmware = 1
  • bootloader-mode-bootloader-wait-for-reboot = 2
  • bootloader-mode-firmware-wait-for-reboot = 3
  • bootloader-mode-firmware-wait-for-erase-and-reboot = 4
tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> set-write-firmware-pointer <pointer>
Parameters:
  • <pointer> – Type: Int, Unit: 1 B, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
Output:
  • no output

Sets the firmware pointer for write-firmware. The pointer has to be increased by chunks of size 64. The data is written to flash every 4 chunks (which equals to one page of size 256).

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> write-firmware <data>
Parameters:
  • <data> – Type: Int Array, Length: 64, Range: [0 to 255]
Output:
  • status – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 255]

Writes 64 Bytes of firmware at the position as written by set-write-firmware-pointer before. The firmware is written to flash every 4 chunks.

You can only write firmware in bootloader mode.

This function is used by Brick Viewer during flashing. It should not be necessary to call it in a normal user program.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> write-uid <uid>
Parameters:
  • <uid> – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]
Output:
  • no output

Writes a new UID into flash. If you want to set a new UID you have to decode the Base58 encoded UID string into an integer first.

We recommend that you use Brick Viewer to change the UID.

tinkerforge call laser-range-finder-v2-bricklet <uid> read-uid
Output:
  • uid – Type: Int, Range: [0 to 232 - 1]

Returns the current UID as an integer. Encode as Base58 to get the usual string version.