D · Interactive tool · Module 02
Sensor Selection Calculator
Describe the robot and its environment; get candidate sensor types and combinations with the reasoning, the trade-offs, the integration problems and the datasheet items to check.
Preliminary engineering guidance. The tool ranks sensor types using class-level tendencies (what a LiDAR, a stereo camera or a GNSS receiver typically does). It does not rank products and contains no product specifications. Verify every candidate against its datasheet and test it in your own environment.
Your robot
Conditions it must handle
Result
Assumptions and limitations
- Every rating is a class-level tendency written from general engineering knowledge, for example “active-infrared depth cameras are degraded by direct sunlight” or “radar keeps working in fog and rain”. Individual products differ widely and some contradict the tendency.
- Range limits are order-of-magnitude classes (metres, tens of metres, hundreds of metres), accuracy and rate are coarse classes. They exist to flag obvious mismatches, not to certify a sensor.
- The role of each sensor in each application (core, common, niche, not typical) is engineering judgement about common practice, not a survey of products or papers.
- Scoring: role weight, plus adjustments for the conditions you tick, range, accuracy, rate, budget, compute and power. The score orders options inside a function group. Differences of a few points are not meaningful.
- The tool does not know your mechanical constraints, regulations, safety requirements or supply situation. Redundancy and functional-safety needs are out of scope; see Module 18.
- Combinations are common starting points. They still need synchronisation and calibrated extrinsics; see Modules 6 and 7.
References
- Module 02: Sensor Selection, Trade-offs & Integration (planned guides for each sensor, with datasheet citations).
- ROS 2 message types named in the results are those in sensor_msgs (jazzy branch) where listed.