TF-NOVA User Manual

TF-NOVA User Manual

Preface

This user manual contains the introduction, use and maintenance of TF-NOVA LiDAR. Please read this manual carefully before formal use, and strictly follow the steps described in the manual during use to avoid product damage, property loss, personal injury or/and violation of product warranty terms.

If you encounter problems that cannot be solved during use, please contact Benewake staff for assistance.

Contact Details

Official website: en.benewake.com Contact number: 400-880-9610 For technical questions, please contact: support@benewake.com For sales inquiries or to request brochure, please contact: bw@benewake.com

Headquarter Address

Benewake (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

3rd Floor, Haiguo Jiaye Sci-Tech Park, Haidian District, Beijing, China

Copyright Notice

This User Manual is copyright © of Benewake. Please do not modify, delete or translate the description of this manual contents without the official written permission from Benewake.

Disclaimer

The TF-NOVA product is constantly being improved, and its specifications and parameters will undergo iterative changes. Please refer to the official website for latest version.

5.4.13 Enable/disable on-off mode ID_ON_OFF_MODE=0x3B .............................. 14 Appendix IIC REGISTER TABLE ................................................................................................. 15

1 Laser Safety Information

TheLiDARcontainsnm; Class 1 according to IEC 60825-1:2014, EN 60825-1:2014+A11:2021.

CAUTION!

Use of controls, adjustments or performance of procedures other than those specified herein may result in hazardous radiation exposure.

2 Installation and Maintenance

CAUTION!

This laser product is classified as Class 1 during operational procedures. When the ranging feature is activated, the laser emitter of the LiDAR module may emit laser radiation, therefore, the LiDAR should NOT be aimed at humans and animals to ensure safety.

This product is designed and calibrated for installation with exposed lenses. If a protective window needs to be added in front of the lens, it is necessary to ensure the use of materials with high transmission at 905nm wavelength and anti- reflective coating.

Avoid the presence of smoke and fog in the detection field.

Avoid condensation.

Avoid direct exposure to moisture and water.

Do not use rough fabric or dirty towels or aggressive products to clean the laser lenses.

Do not use a supply voltage higher than the maximum required in the specifications to power the product.

Clean the laser lenses with compressed air. When needed, wipe the laser lenses only with a soft, clean microfiber cloth.

Make sure the sensor is securely mounted to prevent false readings or damage.

Only trained and qualified personnel may install, setup and repair the LiDAR.

3 Product Overview

This chapter mainly introduces the measuring principle, technical specifications, structural description, equipment coordinates and field of view distribution of the TF-NOVA LiDAR.

3.1 Measuring Principle

TF-NOVA is a typical Pulse Time of Flight (PToF) sensor. TF-NOVA emits a narrow pulse laser, which is collimated by the transmitting lens, which enters the receiving system after being reflected by the measured target and is focused on the detector by the receiving lens. The time between the transmitted signal and the received signal is calculated through the circuit amplification and filtering, and the distance between TF-NOVA and the measured target can be calculated through the speed of light.

Figure. 1: Pulsed time of flight

3.2 Technical Specifications

Table. 1: Specification

Measurement Performance
Detection range①	≥14m @90%reflectivity, 0Klux ≥13m @10% reflectivity, 0Klux ≥7m @90% reflectivity, 100Klux ≥4m @10% reflectivity, 100Klux
Blind zone②	≤ 0.1m
Accuracy②	± 5cm @ 0.1-4m
Repeatability②	< 1cm (1 sigma) @ 0.1-4m
Distance resolution	1cm
Default frame rate	Default 100Hz, 1-900Hz customizable
Optical Parameters
Light source	VCSEL
Central wavelength	905nm
FoV of laser emission③	Typ. 14°×1°
Eye safety	Class 1 Eye-safe[EN60825]
Mechanical/Electrical
Average power consumption④	< 500mW
peak current when starting④	< 850mA
Start-up time	< 1s
Power supply	DC 5±5%V
Operating temperature	-25℃ ~ +70℃
Storage temperature	-30℃ ~ +80℃
Dimensions	TYP. 26.5x 21.05 x 12.0mm³
Weight	<5g
Connector	1.25mm-5P
Protection Level	N.A.
Front window protection level	IP65
Cable length	10cm
Communication Protocol
Communication Interface	UART, IIC, I/O
Baud rate	Default 115200

Data bit	8
Stop bit	1
Parity	None
Dimensions (Unit: mm）

NOTICE ① The measurement range is measured when all light spots are placed on the target board, at 25 ℃.

② The parameter is measured at 25 ℃, 0Klux, when all the light spots are placed on the target board with a reflectivity of 10%.

③This angle is the design divergence angle of the laser spot. The actual field of view angle that can trigger distance measurement depends on specific conditions such as the measured object and background. Please confirm according to the specific application.

④Measured at 25 ℃, changes in conditions may cause variations in the measurement results.

3.3 Structural Appearance

The overall appearance of the LiDAR is as shown in the figure below:

Figure. 2: TF-NOVA Appearance

3.4 FoV

The FoV (field of view) is the angle covered by the LiDAR sensor. The vertical FoV is 14° and the horizontal FoV is 1°.

4 Device Installation

This section introduces the mechanical installation and connection information of TF-NOVA LiDAR.

4.1 Mechanical Installation

As shown in the following figure. TF-NOVA has 2 installation positioning holes available for use.

Fe

4.2 Connector

The connector is 1.25mm-5P, appearance and definition are shown as below:

Table. 2: Interface connector pin definitions

Pin number	Definition
PIN 1	VCC
PIN 2	GND
PIN 3	TXD(3.3V)/SCL
PIN 4	RXD(3.3V)/SDA
PIN 5	IO

5 Communication Protocol and Data Format

5.1 Serial Communication

To connect two devices for TTL communication, the TXD of the transmitter should be connected to the RXD of the receiver, and the TXD of the receiver should be connected to the RXD of the transmitter.

The LiDAR does not include a power switch. When power is supplied to the LiDAR, data will begin to be automatically transmitted.

Table. 3: Characteristics of UART Interface

Character	Value	Configurability
Baud rate	115200	Configurable
Data bit	8	Non-configurable
Stop bit	1	Non-configurable
Parity	None	Non-configurable

NOTE Baud rate can be set to 9600, 14400, 19200, 38400, 56000, 57600, 115200, 128000, 230400, 256000, 460800, 500000, 512000, 600000, 750000, and 921600. If other value were set, TF-NOVA will set it to 115200.

Serial port output format: 9-byte/cm (Default)

Byte	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Description	0x59	0x59	Dist_L	Dist_H	Peak_L	Peak_H	Temp	Confidence	Check_sum

Dist: cm Peak: Signal strength Temp: Chip Temperature ℃ Confidence: Confidence level 0-100

9-byte/cm

Byte	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Description	0x59	0x59	Dist_L	Dist_H	Peak_L	Peak_H	Temp	Confidence	Check_sum

Dist :mm Peak: Signal strength

Temp: Chip Temperature ℃ Confidence: Confidence level 0-100

5.2 IIC Communication

TF-NOVA supports up to 400kps clock speed as slave machine and its default address is 0x10. For more information about IIC register table refer to "Appendix IIC REGISTER TABLE".

Note: In this document, the address of IIC slave device is a 7-bit value with value range [0x08, 0x77] ([08, 119] in decimal). For the first byte after IIC releases a start signal, the 7-bit address should be shifted leftward for one bit (i.e. multiplied with 2), and then filled with the read-write sign on the lowest bit. For TF-NOVA, the default address of slave device is 0x10, the address for write operations is 0x20, and the address for read operations is 0x21.

Write register timing:

egiste ddr

Start Slave Addr W Ack Register Addr Ack Stop

Start Slave Addr R Ack Data1 Ack … DataN Nack Stop Note that in the read register sequence, the host can directly generate the second Start signal without generating the first Stop signal. The last Nack can also be an Ack signal.

After a write operation on the IIC register, it takes TF-NOVA some time to process.

If users need to read the value from the register for validation purposes, we recommend waiting for 100ms after the write operation, prior to the next read operation.

5.3 On/off Mode

On/off mode is designed from those users who only need to detect the existence of an object. TF-NOVA can start this mode using “Enable/disable on-off mode ID_ON_OFF_MODE=0x3B” and then shows result through pin 5. Figure 5 below

shows how the mode works when a high level is set to represent an object is detected.

Zone value: If an object is detected closer than Dist, then Pin 5 outputs high-level, but only if an object is detected farther than Dist + Zone, then Pin 5 outputs low- level. When zone is set to 0, pin 5 may output up and down cause by fluctuation of the measuring when the real distance happens to be the same as Dist. That is why a proper zone value is needed to help avoid this situation by having a hysteretic interval.

Delay is also supported to avoid inaccurate jumping output. Pin 5 changes its output depends on the Dist value condition and the time it lasts. Delay1 (ms) and Delay2 (ms) determine how long that approaching changes and leaving changes should wait after Dist value is already over the line.

Note: Since the Dist value is set to 0 under factory setting when no object is detected and Amp is too low, then pin 6 may have false output in the on/off mode.

5.4 Serial communication commands

Some parameters in TF-NOVA can be customized by customers, such as data frame format, frame rate, etc., which can be changed by sending specific instructions. After successful configuration, all parameters will be saved in Flash and do not need to be reconfigured when powered on again.

When configuring parameters, please follow specific formats and rules to avoid sending commends not introduced below.

Description

Fixed0x5A

The length of bytes from the head byte to check- sum

Indicates how to parse the payload data

Byte 3~Byte Data segment, parsed based on ID, Little Endian N-2 Opt: Non 1 read/ 1. Write in

The lower 8 bytes of the sum from Head to Byte N-1 sum Payload

5.4.1 Version information ID_GET_VERSION=0x01

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Check_sum

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3-5	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Version	Check_sum

Version: For instance, if the third, fourth, and fifth bytes are 112, 50, 9, then the version is 9.50.112.

Sample: Command [5A 04 01 5F]

5.4.2 System software restore ID_SOFT_RESET=0x02

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Check_sum

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status	Check_sum

Status: 0 (success), otherwise (fail)

Note: Any change without “save current setting” instruction will not be saved and will restore to original setting.

Sample: Command [5A 04 02 60]

5.4.3 Output frequency ID_SAMPLE_FREQ=0x03

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3~4	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	FPS	Check_sum
Default				100

Freq: The actual operating frequency achieved by the LiDAR.

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3~4	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	FPS	Check_sum

Freq: The actual operating frequency achieved by the LiDAR.

Sample: 10Hz [5A 06 03 0A 00 6D]

5.4.4 Output format setting ID_OUTPUT_FORMAT=0x05

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Format	Check_sum
Default				0x01

Format: 0x01(9byte cm),0x06(9byte mm) Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Format	Check_sum

Format: current output format setting Sample: 9byte mm [5A 05 05 06 6A]

5.4.5 Baud rate setting ID_BAUD_RATE=0x06

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3~6	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Baudrate	Check_sum

Default 115200 Baudrate: current baud rate.

Note: Configurable baud rate range [9600 921600], save to take effect after power off.

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3~6	7	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Baudrate	Status 0: success !0: fail	Check_sum

Sample: 9600 [5A 08 06 80 25 00 00 0D] 19200 [5A 08 06 00 4B 00 00 B3] 38400 [5A 08 06 00 96 00 00 FE] 57600 [5A 08 06 00 E1 00 00 49] 115200 [5A 08 06 00 C2 01 00 2B] 230400 [5A 08 06 00 84 03 00 EF] 460800 [5A 08 06 00 08 07 00 77] 921600 [5A 08 06 00 10 0E 00 86]

5.4.6 Enable/disable output ID_OUTPUT_EN=0x07

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Enable	Check_sum
Default				1

Enable: 0 (disable),1 (enable).

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Enable	Check_sum

Sample: Enable output [5A 05 07 01 67] Disable output [5A 05 07 00 66]

5.4.7 Enable/disable checksum comparison

ID_FRAME_CHECKSUM_EN=0x08

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Enable	Check_sum
Default				0

Enable: 0 (disable), 1 (enable) Note: Even if the Downward data checksum comparison is disabled, the valid checksum is still included in the upward data frame.

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Enable	Check_sum

Sample: Enable checksum comparison [5A 05 08 01 68] Disable checksum comparison [5A 05 08 00 67]

5.4.8 Communication interface settings

ID_IF_PROTOCOL=0x0A

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Opt	If_protocol	Check_sum
Default					!1

Opt: !1:read, 1:write If_protocol: !1:UART, 1:IIC Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status 0: success !0:fail	If_protocol	Check_sum

Sample: Set to IIC [5A 06 0A 01 01 6C] Note: Effective after saving

5.4.9 IIC slave machine address configuration

ID_IIC_SLAVE_ADDR=0x0B

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Opt	IIC_slave_addr	Check_sum
Default					0x10

Opt: !1: read, 1:write IIC_slave_addr: range[0x08, 0x77]； Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4		Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status 0:success !0:fail	IIC_slave_addr	Check_sum

Sample: Set to 0x20 [5A 05 0B 01 20 8B]

5.4.10 Restore default setting

ID_RESTORE_DEFAULT=0x10

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Check_sum

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status	Check_sum

Status: 0(success), Non 0(fail).

Sample: Command [5A 04 10 6E]

5.4.11 Save current setting ID_SAVE_SETTINGS=0x11

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Check_sum

Upward: Byte 0 1 2 3 Len-1

Description Head(0x5A) Len ID Status Check_sum Status: 0 (success), Non 0 (fail).

Sample: Command [5A 04 11 6F]

5.4.12 Distance limit setting range ID_DIST_RANGE=0x3A

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4-5	6-7	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Opt	Min_dist	Max_dist	Check_sum
Default					0	65535

Opt: !1:read, 1:write Min_dist: minimum distance output in mm Max_dist: maximum distance output in mm Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	4-5	6-7	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status	Dist_min	Dist_max	Check_sum

Status: 0 (success), Non 0 (fail).

Sample: Output limit when out of range with the minimum set to be 200mm and the maximum set to be 5000mm [5A 09 3A 01 C8 00 88 13 01]

5.4.13 Enable/disable on-off mode

ID_ON_OFF_MODE=0x3B

Downward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	44	5-6	7-8	9-10	11-12	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Opt	Mode	Dist	Zone	Delay1	Delay2	Check_sum
Default					0	0	0	0	0

Opt:!1:read, 1:write Mode: 0 (Normal output), 1 (On-off mode with high level output when closer) , 2 (On-off mode with low level output when closer) Dist: critical dist value (the closer one) in centimeters.

Zone: Zone size in centimeters Delay1: Delay time 1 in millisecond. Pin 6 switch level only if the distance detected is less than Dist and the situation last for Delay1 long.

Delay2: Delay time 2 in millisecond. Pin 6 switch level only if the distance detected is more than Dist + Zone and the situation last for Delay2 long.

Upward:

Byte	0	1	2	3	44	5-6	7-8	9-10	11-12	Len-1
Description	Head(0x5A)	Len	ID	Status	Mode	Dist	Zone	Delay1	Delay2	Check_sum

Sample: Enable on-off mode with high level output when closer, and set Dist = 200cm, Zone=10cm, Delay1 = Delay2 = 1000ms: [5A 0E 3B 01 01 C8 00 0A 00 E8 03 E8 03 4D]

CAUTION Do not send the command that is not in the list above.

Appendix IIC REGISTER TABLE

Addres s	R/ W	Name	Initial Valu e	Description
0x00	R	DIST_LOW	--	cm
0x01	R	DIST_HIGH	--
0x02	R	PEAK_LOW	--
0x03	R	PEAK _HIGH	--
0x04	R	TEMP_LOW	--	Unit: 0.01 Celsius
0x05	R	TEMP_HIGH	--
0x06	R	TICK_LOW	--	Timestamp
0x07	R	TICK_HIGH	--
0x08	R	ERROR_LOW	--	Error code
0x09	R	ERROR_HIGH	--
0x0A	R	VERSION_REVISION	--
0x0B	R	VERSION_MINOR	--
0x0C	R	VERSION_MAJOR	--
0x0D	W/ R	IIC_SLAVE_IO_SPEED	0x00	0(2MHz),1(10MHz),2(50MH z)
0x10- 0x1D	R	SN	--	Production code in 14 byte ASCII code (0x10 is the first byte)
0x1E	W/ R	IF_PROTOCOL	0x00	0x00: UART 0x01: IIC Save and restart to take effect
0x20	W	SAVE	--	Write 0x01 to save current setting
0x21	W	SHUTDOWN/REBOOT	--	Write 0x02 to reboot
0x22	W/ R	SLAVE_ADDR	0x10	range: [0x08, 0x77]
0x25	W/ R	ENABLE	0x01	0x00: Turn off LiDAR 0x01: Turn on LiDAR
0x26	W/ R	FPS_LOW	0x64	Frame rate

0x27	W/ R	FPS_HIGH	0x00
0x29	W	RESTORE_FACTORY_DEFAULT S	--	Write 0x01 to restore factory default settings
0x2E	W/ R	MIN_DIST_LOW	0x00	Minimum dist in mm, but not working on DUMMY_DIST
0x2F	W/ R	MIN_DIST_HIGH	0x00
0x30	W/ R	MAX_DIST_LOW	0xFF	Maximum dist in mm, but not working on DUMMY_DIST
0x31	W/ R	MAX_DIST_HIGH	0xFF
0x32	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DIST_LOW	0x00	ON_OFF mode related registers, please refer to: ON_OFF mode. Note that the distance unit in the IIC register is mm. Note: Minimum firmware version V1.3.19
0x33	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DIST_HIGH	0x00
0x34	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_ZONE_LOW	0x00
0x35	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_ZONE_HIGH	0x00
0x36	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DELAY1_LOW	0x00
0x37	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DELAY1_HIG H	0x00
0x38	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DELAY2_LO W	0x00
0x39	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_DELAY2_HIG H	0x00

0x3A	W/ R	ON_OFF_MODE_EN	0x00
0x3C- 0x3F	R	SIGNATURE	--	‘S’ ’P’ ‘A’ ‘D’