Contents

Overview

The aLaser application is a tool to visualize data in real time for the Hokuyo scanning laser range finders.  Included in the Laser download is a cross platform viewer application and C++ source code that leverages Acroname's core libraries to interface with the Hokuyo rangers. 

Acroname provides a real time viewing application that works on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. 

Laser viewing application running on Mac OS X.

General Usage

Typically a Hokuyo laser is connected directly to the computer that will do the data processing.  Once a laser is powered and properly identified by the operating system, the laser application can begin visualizing data from the laser. 

General aLaser application usage.

The laser application utilities a plain text configuration file to define how to perform laser communication.  The configuration file is located in the aBinary folder where the aLaser application is located.  The "laser.config" configuration file may need to be edited to reflect the proper communication port that the laser is connected to.  For example, to specify that a laser is connected to "COM5", one would edit the "laser.config" file as:

Remote Usage with the aRelay Application

Acroname's software libraries allow the ability to adjust the communication mechanism by manipulating the "linktype" property in the configuration file. 

Connecting to a remote Hokuyo laser using the aRelay application.

If not familiar with how to use the aRelay application , please review the documentation. 

Once the aRelay application is running and with a Hokuyo laser connected, the "laser.config" file will need to be modified.  For example, on the remote machine with an IP address of 192.168.1.217 and the aRelay application open on port 8000, edit the "laser.config" file on the local machine to contain:

This will allow remote visualization of a Hokuyo laser across a network connection. 

Revision History:

• 2009-07-15: Informational page created.