RPLIDAR A1M8 with Arduino UNO R4 WIFI

[moounally]

Hi everyone,

I am having trouble getting consistent performance from my RPLIDAR A1M8 sensor with my Arduino Uno R4 WiFi. The sensor only works intermittently, typically providing a reading once every 20 seconds, and often these readings are incorrect. Occasionally, it performs perfectly, but this is rare and unpredictable.

Here are the details of my setup:

• Microcontroller: Arduino Uno R4 WiFi
• Sensor: RPLIDAR A1M8

Symptoms:

1. The LIDAR gives a valid reading approximately once every 20 seconds.
2. The readings are often false or equal to distances I gave to my variables.
3. Occasionally, the sensor works perfectly for a short period before reverting to the issues above.

Things I've tried:

• Ensuring all connections are secure.
• Using different power supplies.
• Checking and re-uploading the code.
• Testing the LIDAR sensor with an adapter and robotstudio (slantec) and it works perfectly

#include <RPLidar.h>
#define RPLIDAR_MOTOR 3 // The PWM pin for control the speed of RPLIDAR's motor (MOTOCTRL).

RPLidar lidar;
                      
void setup() {
  Serial.begin(115200);
  Serial1.begin(115200);  // For RPLidar
  lidar.begin(Serial1);
  pinMode(RPLIDAR_MOTOR, OUTPUT);  // set pin modes
}

float minDistance = 100000;
float angleAtMinDist = 0;

void loop() {
  if (IS_OK(lidar.waitPoint())) {
    //perform data processing here... 
    float distance = lidar.getCurrentPoint().distance;
    float angle = lidar.getCurrentPoint().angle;  // 0-360 deg
    
    if (lidar.getCurrentPoint().startBit) {
       // a new scan, display the previous data...
       printData(angleAtMinDist, minDistance);
       minDistance = 100000;
       angleAtMinDist = 0;
    } else {
       if ( distance > 0 &&  distance < minDistance) {
          minDistance = distance;
          angleAtMinDist = angle;
       }
    }
  }
  else {
    analogWrite(RPLIDAR_MOTOR, 0); //stop the rplidar motor
    // Try to detect RPLIDAR
    rplidar_response_device_info_t info;
    if (IS_OK(lidar.getDeviceInfo(info, 100))) {
       // Detected
       lidar.startScan();
       analogWrite(RPLIDAR_MOTOR, 255);
       delay(1000);
    }
  }
}

void printData(float angle, float distance)
{
  Serial.print("dist: ");
  Serial.print(distance);
  Serial.print("    angle: ");
  Serial.println(angle);
}