Puck VLP-16 real-time 3D LiDAR scanner

The Velodyne Puck VLP-16 is a compact 16-channel 3D LiDAR scanner that rotates to give a 360 degree horizontal field of view and about 30 degrees of vertical field. It measures distances to around 100 m with accuracy of about plus or minus 3 cm, and produces roughly 300,000 points per second in single return mode. The housing is small, about 100 mm in diameter, and weighs about 830 g, drawing around 8 W. Data is sent as UDP packets over Ethernet, with GPS time synchronisation and a web interface for configuration. The unit has an IP67 enclosure and can be used outdoors. Typical applications include autonomous vehicles and mobile robots, mapping, surveying, security, and obstacle avoidance.