Do Unity Robotics simulate reflectivity in objects while using a laser scanner?

Hi,

I want to simulate the reflectivity of objects in a simulation because I want to use a 2D laser scanner to detect certain objects that have higher reflectivity than other objects in a particular scene. I want to know if Unity Robotics support this?

I came across this blog post:

https://blog.unity.com/manufacturing/velodyne-lidar-and-unity-team-up-to-enhance-lidar-simulation

where they mention that simulations that use reflectivity is now possible within Unity’s Sensor SDK framework. Is it something that is already integrated in the Unity Robotics sim?

Best,

 

Hi @amanda-unity,

Sure, currently, in my project in order to localize an AGV in a particular room, I use reflectors which are installed at the same height as a 2D laser scanner mounted on the AGV. The intensity values that comes within the laser scanner data is used to detect reflectors. Currently, I'm reviewing Robotics Sims to see which one comes with the built-in functionality of returning reflectivity of certain objects in the 2D laser scanner data simulation. Given that you can change the reflectivity of objects in a scene, I would add cylinders with a lot of reflectivity to simulate the reflectors in real life.

 

Hi @andrestoga,
when I get you right, you would like to know the beam intensity. Refelectors have higher intensity refelctions than other materials, right?
You can build it very simple by adding a value to each material. But the UIC license with the SensorSDK has already an implementation of the intensity using the GPU to calculate the laser beams.