Ouster has officially launched the latest firmware for their suite of LiDAR sensors, Firmware v2.0 (click here to update your firmware). Ouster Firmware v2.0 is the first significant release since the launch of the Gen 2 sensors, providing new features and a stable platform to support development across the entire Ouster range.
For the OS0, OS2, and Gen 2 OS1 sensors, v2.0 improves data rate control, helps conserve battery life, and expands the operating temperature down to -40 °C.
For Gen 1 sensors, v2.0 also delivers an improvement in maximum range and reduces data rates by 75% and 50% for the OS1-16 and OS1-32, respectively.
For the best performance, reliability, and security, it’s strongly recommended for all customers to update to Firmware v2.0. Given the number of safety-critical fixes in this release, all customers are required to upgrade to v2.0 for support requests. All prior beta firmware versions will no longer be supported going forward. Firmware v2.0 is backwards compatible with all current and prior sensor models.
You can check out the new firmware in all the possible sensor configurations by downloading sample data.
While stability and dependability are the primary focus of Ouster’s firmware development, their digital LiDAR architecture uniquely enables them to deliver significant performance improvements in a way never seen before in the LiDAR industry. Their digital approach to LiDAR means that the performance of the sensor is driven through the data processing layer of the sensor, unlocking the potential for significant continuous improvements without any hardware changes.
Months of rigorous testing, tuning, and bug-fixing have been invested to deliver Firmware v2.0:
All Gen 2 sensors can now reliably start and operate in even colder environments without any additional configuration.
In addition to Configurable Azimuth Window, Standby Mode, and critical bug fixes, Firmware v2.0 also delivers range performance improvements for all Gen 1 sensors and data rate improvements for 16 and 32 channel Gen 1 sensors.
Important: Please note that for Gen 1 OS1-16 and OS1-32 customers, it is necessary to update your drivers when upgrading to v2.0. The data structure in Firmware v2.0 has changed to accommodate the data rate reduction and will break any drivers working on Firmware v.1.13 (and all prior firmware versions).
View the Change Log for a more detailed, technical description of all the changes.
Once you have updated to Ouster Firmware v2.0, you will be able to downgrade your sensor back to a prior version if needed. However, downgrading to v1.13 requires a configuration reset. See the “Updating Firmware” section of the Software User Manual for details.
Find out if you have a Gen1 or Gen 2 sensor by checking the sensor serial number.
If you would like to discuss Ouster Firmware v2.0, or indeed anything else Ouster related, please don’t hesitate to contact us.