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6.2.3 LiDAR Usage Guide

Last Version: 11/09/2025

Overview​

This section explains how to integrate mainstream 2D LiDAR devices under ROS 2 Humble, covering SDK compilation, driver-package creation, and usage instructions for YDLidar and RPLidar.

After completing the following steps, your YDLidar or RPLidar device will be ready to use with ROS 2 Humble.

YDLidar Driver Setup​

Build the YDLidar SDK​

The YDLidar ROS 2 driver depends on the official YDLidar-SDK, which must be compiled and installed manually:

git clone https://github.com/YDLIDAR/YDLidar-SDK.git
cd YDLidar-SDK
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . -- -j8
sudo cmake --install .

Build the ROS 2 Driver Package​

Create and build the ROS 2 package for the YDLidar driver:

mkdir -p ~/demo_ws/src && cd ~/demo_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/YDLIDAR/ydlidar_ros2_driver.git --branch=humble --depth 1
cd ~/demo_ws
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
colcon build

RPLidar Driver Setup (rdlidar)​

This section explains how to set up the RPLidar driver by building the ROS 2 driver package.

Build the ROS 2 Package​

mkdir -p ~/demo_ws/src && cd ~/demo_ws/src
git clone https://github.com/allenh1/rplidar_ros.git --branch=ros2 --depth 1
cd ~/demo_ws
source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash
colcon build