Bringing the Ouster OS1 to the VOXL 2 with voxl-os1-server

Autonomous flight relies on precise environmental awareness to navigate safely and reliably. One key enabler of this capability is LiDAR technology, which has a long history of rock-solid performance and accuracy in the surveying and mapping industry. Another is companion computers, which have added leaps in intelligent processing power beyond what a flight controller alone can provide. The voxl-os1-server project, developed by Zachary Lowell, Co-Founder of Ascend Engineering, bridges the powerful Ouster OS1 LiDAR Sensor with ModalAI’s VOXL 2 compute platform, bringing this necessary fusion of critical technologies into the public sphere. The Ouster OS1 offers high-resolution 3D scanning ideal for mapping, localization, and obstacle detection, and the VOXL 2 has few competitors when it comes to onboard AI for drones. This new repo handles the communication between these two systems.

The server operates as a translation layer between the Ouster OS1 and VOXL 2 hardware. It establishes communication through a serial RNDIS Ethernet connection, effectively creating a network interface over USB. This approach maintains the reliable data transfer rates necessary for real-time LiDAR processing. 

Setup requires a VOXL 2 with a breakout board capable of accepting an SD card formatted as ext4. From there, developers can connect to the VOXL 2 through ADB over USB-C and execute the provided build and run scripts to compile and launch the service.

It was fun working on this project - especially considering getting to implement this on two of the best platforms in the industry. Exciting that with this - VOXL 2 now has the ability to ingest some of the best point cloud data on the market - Zachary Lowel

Ascend Engineering supports the open-source drone ecosystem and gives back whenever it can. We hope this release will help developers clear a significant integration hurdle, allowing them to quickly incorporate high-quality LiDAR into their autonomous systems and add sophisticated perception capabilities to their drones. Be sure to reach out to us if you need any help with your integration project!