Slamtec RPLIDAR A1M8-R6 with MX1.25 to 2.54 Dupont Wire kit, 2D LIDAR Sensor 360 Degree Scanning Radius, for Bstacle Avoidance and Navigation of Robots

I've wanted to play with one of these for a while, it's nice to see the price coming down.Assembly was easy, the USB connector board is included, as are the wires. Just plug them in (different size connectors so you can't mess it up). Getting the computer to recognize the device required a driver update. But once I did that the Slamtec Robostudio software recognized it right away.It is much better at detecting large objects and there also seems to be a sweet spot when it comes to distance from the device. Too far and it just doesn't get a return signal, too close and it kinda feels like it's not registering either. Then again, I've only played with it about an hour, so perhaps there are ways to mitigate that.It's not silent, but I wouldn't call it loud either.It's bigger than I was expecting. The photos are correct it's slightly bigger than a Raspberry Pi in the X and Y, and a little taller than 2 Raspberry Pi's stack on top of each other.Oh, and the USB connector is Micro USB, I really wish they would switch it to USB-C.

This is cool and all but it lacks software for Mac set up.. you’re going to have to find a GitHub repository if you’re on Mac.. I got it running but only to spit out raw data in my terminal printing statement faster than any human can read… so no cool 3D maps just yet.. you are going to need a decent coding familiarity..

I used the Slamtec RPLIDAR A1M8-R6 for robotics projects like SLAM mapping and obstacle avoidance with a Raspberry Pi. It provided accurate 360-degree scanning and was easy to set up. Perfect for navigation and detection tasks, making it a great choice for hobbyists and professionals.