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RoboSense Airy 96-Beam Hemispherical Digital LiDAR Sensor

A full 360° × 90° hemisphere of perception from a body the size of a ping-pong ball, 1.72 million points per second at 1 cm precision and a dense point cloud using under 8 watts. Ideal for industrial automation and robotics navigation needing 360° perception.

360° × 90°
Hemispherical FOV
192 / 96
Beams (switchable)
1.72M
Points / second
1 cm
Range precision (1σ)
30 m
Range @ 10% reflectivity
φ60 × H63
Dimensions (mm)
< 240 g
Weight
< 8 W
Power consumption
Overview

The first hemispherical digital LiDAR

The Airy is a compact hemispherical digital LiDAR designed for robotics, humanoids and autonomous systems. Its 360° horizontal and 90° vertical field of view generates dense, high-precision point cloud data for real-time 3D perception.

With up to 1.72 million points per second and a 60 metre coverage radius, Airy supports reliable SLAM, navigation and obstacle avoidance from a single mounting point.

RoboSense Airy hemispherical LiDAR held in a robotic hand showing its palm-sized 60 millimetre body
Design

A hemisphere from a ping-pong-ball body

Three properties that decide whether a sensor fits a robot at all.

RoboSense Airy at 60 by 63 millimetres and under 240 grams compared in size to a ping-pong ball
Form factor

Compact and lightweight, flexible to deploy

Airy is the industry's first compact hemispherical digital LiDAR. A diameter of just 60 mm, a height of 63 mm and a weight under 240 g mean it takes almost no volume out of a robot's design envelope.

That budget is the real constraint on most robotics programmes. A sensor that has to sit on a mast, or that forces a wider chassis, changes the whole machine around it. One that fits in a palm can go on a head, a shoulder, a mast top or a chassis corner without a redesign — and its sub-8 W draw keeps it viable on battery. An IMU is integrated, so there is no separate inertial module to mount and align.

Diagram of the RoboSense Airy 360 by 90 degree hemispherical field of view across a 60 metre radius
Coverage

A hemisphere, not a band

RoboSense's opto-mechanical design gives the Airy an ultra-wide hemispherical field of view — 360° horizontal by 90° vertical — spanning a 60-metre radius despite the compact body.

The difference from a conventional 360° spinning LiDAR is the vertical span. A typical mid-range unit covers 30–40° vertically, which leaves a robot blind to anything low and close, or high and overhead: a kerb at its feet, a shelf edge at head height, a doorframe, a low branch. Ninety degrees of vertical coverage closes both at once.

Point cloud showing a dog resolved by the RoboSense Airy at distances from 1 to 9 metres
Resolution

192 beams, 1 cm precision

Airy reaches a breakthrough 192 beams, delivering up to 1.72 million points per second at 1 cm @ 1σ precision. It detects dynamic and static small obstacles at both short and long range, and completes 3D mapping efficiently — reconstructing homes, warehouses, courtyards and ports accurately enough to work from.

Airy uses a repetitive scanning approach, generating high-precision, evenly arranged point-cloud imagery in real time. Repetitive scanning matters for perception software: a stable, predictable point distribution frame after frame is far easier to register, segment and track against than the drifting pattern a non-repetitive scan produces.

Digital architecture

Chip-based transceiver, ultimate integration

Next-generation VCSEL emitters and high-sensitivity SPAD-SoC receivers, with a digital signal path from the first photon.

No analogue stage left to lose information in

A fully digital transmission and reception architecture streamlines the signal path. Against non-digital products the consequence is concrete: no loss of echo data, higher-quality point-cloud output and a significantly smaller product. Every analogue conversion stage costs information and adds board area; removing them is what allows hemispherical coverage in a 60 mm body.

Efficient 3D SLAM

Performs SLAM in large outdoor environments and confined indoor spaces alike, delivering high-precision 3D models.

High-precision detection

Up to 1 cm @ 1σ — ahead of comparable LiDAR in this class.

Small animal detection

Resolves small animals on lawns and concrete, keeping robots operating safely instead of stopping.

Hemispherical coverage

360° × 90° over a 60 m radius from one mounting point and one calibration.

All-weather operation

Active illumination works independently of ambient light — continuous operation around the clock.

Digital transceiver architecture with VCSEL emitter chips and high-sensitivity SPAD-SoC receivers
Three-dimensional SLAM reconstruction built from a RoboSense Airy point cloud
Deployment

Applications

The seven robot categories RoboSense builds the Airy for.

RoboSense Airy on a courtyard robot resolving lawn boundaries, garden furniture and small animals

Courtyard robots

Lawn boundaries, garden furniture and small animals resolved at 1 cm precision.

RoboSense Airy on a quadruped robot keeping ground and overhead in view while the body pitches

Quadruped robots

Ninety degrees of vertical coverage keeps ground and overhead in view while the body pitches.

RoboSense Airy providing structured point clouds for warehouse SLAM and re-localisation on AGV and AMR platforms

AGV / AMR

Structured point clouds for reliable warehouse SLAM and re-localisation.

RoboSense Airy capturing pallet faces, racking uprights and load edges from a single hemispherical view

Unmanned forklifts

Pallet faces, racking uprights and load edges from a single hemispherical view.

RoboSense Airy resolving table legs, chairs and people in crowded interiors in any lighting

Service robots

Table legs, chairs and people in crowded interiors, in any lighting.

RoboSense Airy covering container edges and yard traffic across a 60 metre radius day and night

Smart ports

Container edges and yard traffic across a 60 m radius, day and night.

RoboSense Airy mounted in a humanoid robot head at under 240 grams without shifting the mass budget

Humanoid robots

Under 240 g and 60 mm across — mountable in a head without shifting the mass budget.

Hemispherical coverage keeping both low kerbs and overhead obstacles inside the field of view

All-weather operation

Active illumination works independently of ambient light — continuous operation around the clock.

Why teams choose the Airy

360° × 90° — a genuine hemisphere, not a narrow band
192 beams and 1.72M points per second
1 cm @ 1σ range precision
60 m radius coverage; 30 m at 10% reflectivity
φ60 × H63 mm and under 240 g — palm-sized
Below 8 W, so battery runtime survives it
IMU integrated — one fewer module to mount and align
Repetitive scanning: stable, algorithm-friendly point clouds
Specifications

As published by RoboSense. Parameters not disclosed publicly are marked “—”; contact us for the controlled datasheet under NDA.

Performance
Field of view (H × V)
360° × 90° (hemispherical)
Beams
192 / 96 (switchable)
Point cloud rate
1,720,000 points/sec (192-beam)
~860,000 points/sec (96-beam)
Range precision
1 cm @ 1σ
Coverage radius
60 m
Range @ 10% reflectivity
30 m
Scanning pattern
Repetitive
Angular resolution
Frame rate
Blind zone
Architecture
Platform
RoboSense R platform (robotics), digital hemispherical LiDAR
Emitter
Next-generation VCSEL chip
Receiver
High-sensitivity SPAD-SoC
Signal path
Fully digital transmission and reception — no echo data loss
Inertial measurement unit
Integrated
Wavelength / laser class
Data interface
Mechanical & Environmental
Dimensions
φ60 × H63 mm
Weight
< 240 g
Power consumption
< 8 W
Ambient light
Operates across diverse lighting conditions; all-weather continuous operation
Operating temperature
Ingress protection
Vibration / shock
Version variance

RoboSense states that product specifications may vary by version. For specific information refer to the structural drawings or the 3D digital model — we can supply both.

Precision figures

1 cm @ 1σ is the figure published on the RoboSense product page. RoboSense's own online store has at times listed 1.5 cm @ 1σ for the same model, and range is quoted there as a 120 m diameter rather than a 60 m radius — the same number expressed differently. Confirm the binding figure for your version against the controlled datasheet.

Typical values

Published parameters are typical values obtained under specific test conditions. Actual performance varies reasonably with batch, version and operating environment; the factory inspection certificate is the definitive standard.

Note

Specifications are subject to change. Please confirm against the current RoboSense datasheet before design-in.

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