Changelog

Version 1.0

The first public release.

Streaming

• Live streaming of Slamtec RPLIDAR sensor data into Houdini as SOP geometry — one point per laser return, updated every cook
• Standard (_{4k samples/s) and Express (}8k samples/s) scan modes
• Background reader thread so no rotations are dropped between cooks, including while recording
• Self-contained single asset file — talks the RPLIDAR serial protocol directly, with no Python packages to install
• Auto-detection of the CP210x USB/UART adapter (with a manual Port override), and a Units per Meter control for working in meters, centimeters, or any scale

Recording & playback

• Record the live stream to disk as .jsonl and replay it against the playbar clock — develop and iterate with the sensor disconnected
• Recording folder management: directory, file picker (blank = newest), loop, and delete

Visualization

• Sensor marker and range-ring guides, with adjustable color, range, and sensor size
• Connect Points (beam fan) — draw a ray from the sensor to each scan point
• Static map bake — capture a short slice of the live stream into a fixed reference map
• Attribute color — tint the scan points by angle or distance through a color ramp, for a viewport-only view or baked into Cd for downstream use

Blob tracking

• Cluster the scan into blobs and track them across frames, each with a stable id and a velocity (v) — Single mode for one primary blob, Multi for many at once
• Background subtraction — bake the empty scene, then track only what intrudes on it, so clustering locks onto the moving hand or person instead of the furniture
• Clustering, smoothing, and association controls (cluster gap, blob size, position/velocity smoothing, max speed, hold time)
• Solver Output switch — the solver-ready output carries either the full scan cloud or just the tracked blob points
• On-screen blob markers with velocity lines

Crop & camera

• Cull scan points outside a rotatable ground rectangle, so only the region you care about reaches your solver
• Interactive viewport handle — resize, move, and rotate the crop box directly in the Scene View
• One-click top-down orthographic camera, plus a Camera-to-Crop button that frames it to your crop region

Live simulation

• One-click Create Generic POP Network button that builds a ready-to-run POP network wired to the solver-ready output, plus a control null to start, stop, and reset the live sim
• Recipes — a loader for whole downstream networks (sim + look) packed as a single .py file; no recipes ship with 1.0, so for now it loads your own
• Two outputs — Points & Guides (display) and Points (solver-ready, guides stripped)

Test Sensor

• Prints the sensor's identity, health, and available scan modes to the console — and live stream statistics while streaming

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