Benewake TF03 User manual

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
Benewake(Beijing)Co., Ltd
Page1
TF03 Long-Distance LiDAR
Rs485/RS232
Product Manual V1.3.2

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
Benewake(Beijing)Co., Ltd
Page2
Specified Product
Product model: TF03 UART/CAN
Product Name: Long-Distance LiDAR
Manufacturer
Company name: Benewake (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
Address: NO.28 Xinxi Road, Haidian District, Beijing, PRC
Copyright
The Copyright of this document is protected. All the rights involved herein belong to Benewake
(Beijing) Co., Ltd. Any copy activity of this document, no matter in whole or in part, should be in
conformity of the Copyright Law. The actives of modification, omission or translation of this
document are not allowed unless a written permission from Benewake (Beijing) Co., Ltd.
All rights reserved © Benewake (Beijing) Co., Ltd.

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
Benewake(Beijing)Co., Ltd
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Foreword
Dear users:
Thanks for choosing Benewake products, and it’s our pleasure to help you to solve any technical
question.
For the purpose of offering a better operation experience to you, we hereby write this manual for
an easier and simpler operation of our product, hoping to better solve the common problems you
maybe meet. Please contact us if you have any questions.( [email protected])
This operation manual covers the product operation introduction and common problem solutions,
but it is really hard to cover all the problems you maybe meet. So if you have any further questions
or problems, please feel free to consult our technical support service ([email protected]).
We will do our best to solve any problem related to the product. If you have any other good advice
or suggestions, welcome to visit our official website and offer us your feedback there
(http://en.benewake.com/support), and we are looking forwards to your participation.
We are Benewake who dedicated to making the best “Robotic Eyes” worldwide!

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
Benewake(Beijing)Co., Ltd
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Catalog
1ATTENTIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 6
1.1 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT............................................................................................................................. 6
1.2 INSTALLATION AND MAINTENANCE................................................................................................................ 6
1.3 CONDITIONS WITH POTENTIAL PRODUCT FAILURE............................................................................................ 6
2INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 7
2.1 APPEARANCE OVERVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 7
2.2 DIMENSIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 7
2.3 PRINCIPLE OF MEASUREMENT...................................................................................................................... 7
2.4 DETECTION ANGLE DESCRIPTIONS ................................................................................................................. 8
3PHYSICAL INTERFACE ............................................................................................................................... 9
3.1 WIRING................................................................................................................................................... 9
3.2 ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS.................................................................................................................... 10
4HARDWARE AND COMMUNICATION PROTOCOL ................................................................................... 11
4.1 HARDWARE PROTOCOL............................................................................................................................. 11
4.2 COMMUNICATION INTERFACE..................................................................................................................... 11
5CUSTOM CONFIGURATION..................................................................................................................... 12
5.1 PROTOCOL DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................................... 12
5.2 INSTRUCTION PROTOCOLS ......................................................................................................................... 13
5.3 INSTRUCTIONS OF COMMAND EDITING......................................................................................................... 15
6MODBUS DESCRIPTION.......................................................................................................................... 15
6.1 PROTOCOL DESCRIPTION........................................................................................................................... 15
6.2 FUNCTION CODE...................................................................................................................................... 16

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6.3 REGISTER ADDRESS DESCRIPTION ................................................................................................................ 16
6.4 INSTRUCTION PROTOCOLS ......................................................................................................................... 17
7QUICK TEST PROCEDURE........................................................................................................................ 18
7.1 REQUIRED TOOLS OF PRODUCT TEST........................................................................................................... 18
7.2 TEST PROCEDURE..................................................................................................................................... 18
7.3 TEST EXAMPLE........................................................................................................................................ 20
7.3.1 TEST RANGE WITH DIFFERENT REFLECTIVITY................................................................................................ 20
7.3.2 ACCURACY OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS........................................................................................................ 20
8CONFIGURATION SOFTWARE OF TF03.................................................................................................... 21
9FAILURE REASONS AND TROUBLESHOOTING......................................................................................... 22
10 FAQ ...................................................................................................................................................... 23
ATTACHMENT 1: REFLECTIVITY OF DIFFERENT MATERIALS .......................................................................... 24

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1Attentions
1.1 About this Document
This Manual provides information necessary for the use of this product.
Please read this Manual carefully before using this product and make sure that you have fully
understood its contents.
1.2 Installation and maintenance
This product can only be maintained by qualified professionals and only the original spare
parts can be used to ensure its performance and safety.
The working temperature of the product is -25°C~60°C; please do not use it beyond this
temperature range, so as to avoid risks.
The storage temperature of the product is -40°C~85°C; please do not store it beyond this
temperature range, so as to avoid risks.
Do not open its enclosure for assembly or maintenance beyond this Manual; otherwise, it will
affect the product performance.
Do not twist the cable forcefully, so as to avoid damage to product.
The product can’t be aimed directly to the sun or another TF03, so as to avoid damage the
detector by strong light. If there is such an application, please contact our technician.
1.3 Conditions with Potential Product Failure
When the product transmitter and receiver lens are covered by dirt, there will be a risk of
failures. Please keep the lens clean.
The product will have a risk of failure when immersed completely in water. Do not use it
underwater.
When detecting objects with high reflectivity, such as mirrors and smooth tiles, the product
may have a high risk of failures.

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2 Introduction
2.1 Appearance Overview
Figure 1 Appearance
2.2 Dimensions
The LiDAR mounting holes are applicable to M3 screws.
Figure 2 Dimension (Left 1: top; Left 2: bottom; Left 3: front; Unit: mm)
Note: The length of the screw entering the enclosure shall be no more than 3.5mm.
2.3 Principle of Measurement
TF03 is a single point LiDAR, which is based on Pulse Time of Flight (PTOF). It adopts an
incoherent energy receiving mode, and the detection is mainly based on Pulse counting.
TF03 emits a narrow pulse laser, which is collimated by the transmitting lens to form a collimated

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
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light, which enters the receiving system after being reflected by the measured target and is
focused on the APD detector by the receiving lens. The time between the transmitted signal and
the received signal is calculated through the circuit amplification and filtering, and the distance
between TF03 and the measured target can be calculated through the speed of light.
Figure 3 Principle of measurement
2.4 Detection angle descriptions
TF03 has a 0.5-degree detection angle and rectangular light spot, see Figure 4 for simulated
diagrams of the light spot. Therefore, at different distances, the spot size, namely detecting range,
is different as shown in Table 1.
Note: The side length of common objects detected should be greater than that of the detection
range of TF03; When the side length of the detected object is less than that of the detection range,
the LiDAR effective range will be reduced
Figure 4 Detection angle of TF03
Laser
Pulse timing
Module

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Table 1 Spot simulated diagrams and sizes at different distances
Spot 20m away
Size：20cm*6cm
Spot 50m away
Size：50cm*14cm
Spot 100m away
Size：100cm*28cm
Spot 150m away
Size：150cm*42cm
Note: In these pictures, color represents the light intensity distribution, the red is the strongest,
the green is weak, the blue is the background. The spot size is the length and width of the green
in the picture.
3 Physical Interface
New version of TF03-100/180 is released since August 2020, the physical interface is adjusted
as follows:
⚫Bold cable, the size of single wire is changed from AWG30 to AWG 26
⚫Remove a wire, the amount of wire is 6 now, color is shown in Figure 5
⚫Add overvoltage and polarity protection, shown as Table 3
3.1 Wiring
Terminal model: MH1.25-7P-W/B, size of single wire is AWG26, diameter of single wire is

TF03 RS485/RS232 Product Manual V1.3.2
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0.404mm, cross-sectional area is 0.129mm2.
Figure 5 New Line Sequence of TF03
Table 2 Pin functions and connection instructions of TF03
No.
Color
Pin
Function
1
Red
VCC
Power supply
2
White
RS485-B/RS232-RX
RS485-B/RS232 receive
3
Green
RS485-A/RS232-TX
RS485-A/RS232 transport
4
N/A
N/A
N/A
5
Blue
UART_RX
UART receive(debug1)
6
Brown
UART_TX
UART transport(debug)
7
Black
GND
Ground
Note: If UART is used, the TTL_RXD and TTL_TXD must be connected and not allowed to be left
floating, so as not to be affected by electromagnetic interference.
3.2 Electrical Characteristics
New version has overvoltage and polarity protection.
Table 3 Main electrical parameters
Parameter
Typical value
Supply voltage
5V~24V
Average current
≤150mA
1
The UART interface of TF03-100 RS485 version is debugging interface. It cannot be used to read detection data.

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Average power consumption
≤1W
Overvoltage protection
300V
Polarity protection
200V
4 Hardware and communication protocol
The industrial version of TF03 supports two communication interfaces, RS485 and RS232. The
default interface is RS485. These two interfaces cannot work simultaneously. The communication
interface can be switched by command.
4.1 Hardware protocol
TF03 supports two communication interfaces, RS485 and RS232. See the hardware protocol
parameters below.
Table 4 Hardware protocol of TF03
Item
Parameter
Communication interface
RS485/RS232
Baud rate
115200
Data bit
8
Stop bit
1
Parity
None
4.2 Communication interface
The output data (hexadecimal numbers) of TF03 is shown in

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Table 5. Each data frame consists of 9 bytes and the data contains the distance and signal
strength
2
information.
2
New version of TF03 adds strength information. Strength value is between 0 and 3500, threshold of strength is 40, when
strength is lower than 40, dist will output maximum value. When strength is between 40 and 1200, dist is more reliable. When
there is a high reflectivity object, strength will be over 1500.

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Table 5 TF03 UART data format
Data bit
Definition
Description
Byte0
Frame header
0x59
Byte1
Frame header
0x59
Byte2
DIST_L
DIST low 8-bits
Byte3
DIST_H
DIST high 8-bits
Byte4
Strength_L
Signal strength low 8-bits
Byte5
Strength_H
Signal strength high 8-bits
Byte6
Reserved bit
/
Byte7
Reserved bit
/
Byte8
Checksum
Low 8 bits of Checksum bit.
Checksum = Byte0 + Byte2+…+Byte7
5 Custom configuration
5.1 Protocol description
To meet the need of different customers, parameters can be set by yourselves. Parameters, such
as data format, frame rate could be changed by sending command. Parameter will be stored in
flash after configured successfully and customers don’t need to configure again when restart.
Please change the parameter according to certain demands and do not frequently try irrelevant
instructions. Please configure the product according to the demands of the manual and never
send unstated command.
Table 6 Description of TF03 instruction protocol
Byte
Definition
Description
Byte0
Head
Fixed to 0x5A
Byte1
Len
The length of the entire instruction frame (unit: Byte)
Byte2
ID
Identifies the function of each instruction
Byte3~ByteN-2
Payload
Different meanings and lengths in different ID
instruction frames
ByteN-1
Check sum
the lower 8 bits of the Len-1-byte data

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5.2 Instruction protocols
Table 7 List of TF03 instruction protocols
Function
Command
Response
Remark
Default
setting
Obtain firmware
version
5A 04 01 5F
5A 07 01 V1 V2 V3 SU
The version number
V3.V2.V1
SU is check sum
/
System reset
5A 04 02 60
Succeed: 5A 05 02 00 61
Fail: no response over 1s
/
/
Frame rate3
5A 06 03 LL HH SU
Succeed: 5A 06 03 LL HH
SU
Fail: no response over 1s
/
100fps
Output control
Enable: 5A 05 07 01 67
Disable: 5A 05 07 00
66
Succeed: same as
downward command
Fail: no response over 1s
/
Enable
Trigger
command
5A 04 04 62
Data frame
/
/
Output format
5A 05 05 LL SU
Succeed: 5A 05 05 LL SU
Fail: no response over 1s
LL: format shown as
below,
00: ASCII (Reserved)
01: Binary output
Binary
output
Modify baud
rate4
5A 08 06 H1 H2 H3 H4
SU
Succeed: 5A 08 06 H1 H2
H3 H4 SU
See chapter 4.3.3
115200
3
New version of TF03 can only support (1~9) *10N, N values for 0, 1, 2, 3. If other value is set, TF03 will set it to 100Hz. If
10000Hz is necessary, please contact our technician.
4
Baud rate of UART can be set to 9600, 14400, 19200, 38400, 56000, 57600, 115200, 128000, 230400, 256000, 460800,

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Fail: no response over 1s
Enable
checksum
Enable: 5A 05 08 01 68
Disable: 5A 05 08 00
67
Succeed: same as
command
Fail: no response over 1s
/
Enable
Restore factory
settings
5A 04 10 6E
Succeed: 5A 05 10 00 6F
Fail: 5A 05 10 ER SU
Fail (when ER is not 0)
/
Save settings
5A 04 11 6F
Succeed: 5A 05 11 00 70
Fail: 5A 05 11 ER SU
same as above
/
Over range
threshold value
5A 06 4F LL HH SU
Succeed: 5A 05 4F 00 AE
Fail: no response over 1s
Unit: cm
See chapter 4.3.3
18000
Communication
interface
UART: 5A 05 45 01 A5
CAN: 5A 05 45 02 A6
Succeed: 5A 05 45 00 A4
Fail: no response over 1s
/
UART
Rain-fog
algorithm
Enable: 5A 05 64 00
C3
Disable: 5A 05 64 01
C4
Succeed: 5A 05 64 00 C3
Fail: no response over 1s
/
Enable
Offset
configuration5
5A 06 69 LL HH SU
Succeed: 5A 05 69 00 C8
Fail: no response over 1s
Unit: cm
See chapter 4.3.3
0
Switch
communication
interface
5A 05 45 CI SU
Succeed: 5A 05 45 00 A4
Fail: no response over 1s
CI: communication
interface
0x01: RS232
0x03: RS485
RS458
500000, 512000, 600000, 750000, 921600 and 1000000, if other value is set, TF03 will set it to 115200.
5
“Offset configuration” can be used for secondary calibration of distance, for example, when dist is 195cm and you want LiDAR
outputs 200cm, you can set offset value to 5cm. This function is supported from v1.11.3 firmware version.

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Enable Modbus
5A 05 6F 00 CE
Succeed: 5A 05 6F 00 CE
Fail: no response over 1s
Restart to take effect
Disable
Set Modbus
address
5A 05 70 AD SU
Succeed: 5A 05 70 00 CF
Fail: no response over 1s
AD: Modbus
communication address.
Effective range: [1,247]
0x01
5.3 Instructions of command editing
To send certain command to TF03, these steps should be followed:
⚫Change value of parameter to HEX
⚫Put the HEX value to certain command
⚫Calculate the checksum, put low 8-bits into command
For example, changing the baud rate to 460800, first, changing 460800 to HEX, we can get 0x00
07 08 00, then we can get this command-5A 08 06 00 08 07 00 77.
6 Modbus description
TF03 Modbus adopts a 2-wire interface. For the line sequence, see the physical interface
description-line sequence description; for the check and baud rate setting, see the communication
protocol and data format. For custom parameter configuration, you need to switch to serial port
mode to set the baud rate.
The TF03 RS485 interface is in half-duplex mode. Based on reliability considerations, it is not
recommended to use a baud rate above 115200 for communication.
6.1 Protocol description
When Modbus protocol is enabled, the Modbus reading distance command format:
Table 8 Distance reading command of TF03 RS485 Modbus
Address
field
Function
code
Register address
Number of bytes read
CRC_low
CRC_high
01
03
00
00
00
01
xx
xx
The data frame returned by TF03 is as follows:

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Benewake(Beijing)Co., Ltd
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Address field
Function code
Data length
Dist_high
Dist_low
CRC_low
CRC_high
01
03
02
xx
xx
xx
xx
6.2 Function code
The functions supported by the Modbus protocol are relatively simple, only two function codes
are open
Table 9 Function code of TF03's Modbus
Function code
description
03
Read register
06
Write register
6.3 Register address description
Table 10 Register address list of Modbus protocol (Function code: 0x03)
Register address
Definition
Description
00 00
Dist
Distance
00 01
Strength
Signal strength
00 03
Timestamp (16 high-order bits)
Unit: ms
00 04
Timestamp (16 low-order bits)
Unit: ms
00 06
High16bit of software version
00 + major version number
00 07
Low16bit of software version
Minor version number + revised version number
Table 11 Register address list of Modbus protocol (Function code: 0x06)
Register address
Definition
Description
00 80
Save settings
Write any value to take effect
00 81
Restart
Instruction value: 0x01
00 82
Disable Modbus
Instruction value: 0x01
00 83
Baud rate (16 high-order bits)
Restart to take effect
00 84
Baud rate (16 low-order bits)
Restart to take effect

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00 85
Slave ID
Set TF03’s ID. Restart to take effect
00 86
fps
Restart to take effect
00 87
Working mode
0x00: Continuously detection mode
0x01: triggering mode
00 89
Restore default
Write any value to take effect
6.4 Instruction protocols
The default address field is 0x01.
Table 12 Instruction protocols of Modbus
Category
Function
Instruction
Response
Description
UART
instructio
ns
Enable Modbus
5A 05 15 01 75
5A 05 15 01 75
Save settings and restart to
take effect.
Save settings
5A 04 11 6F
5A 05 11 00 70
Modbus
instructio
ns
Read distance
01 03 00 00 00 01
84 0A
01 03 02 DH DL CL
CH
DH: 8 high-order bits of
distance
DL: 8 low-order bits of distance
CH: 8 high-order bits of CRC
CL: 8 low-order bits of CRC
Read distance and
signal strength
01 03 00 00 00 02
C4 0B
01 03 04 DH DL SH
SL CL CH
DH: 8 high-order bits of
distance
DL: 8 low-order bits of distance
SH: 8 high-order bits of signal
strength
SL: 8 low-order bits of signal
strength
Read software
version
01 03 00 06 00 02
24 0A
01 03 04 00 VM VS
VC CL CH
The software version is
VM.VS.VC

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Set Baud rate
01 06 00 83 BH1
BH2 CL CH
01 06 00 84 BL1
BL2 CL CH
01 06 00 83 BH1
BH2 CL CH
01 06 00 84 BL1
BL2 CL CH
For example, set baud rate to
9600 (0x00002580)
BH1=00 BH2=00 CL=78
CH=22
BL1=25 BL2=80 CL=D2
CH=D3
Set Slave ID
01 06 00 85 IH IL CL
CH
01 06 00 84 IH IL
CL CH
Set slave ID to 0x02，IH=00
IL=02 CL=19 CH=E2
Set frame rate
01 06 00 86 FH FL
CL CH
01 06 00 86 FH FL
CL CH
Set frame rate to 100 (0x0064)
，FH=00 FL=64 CL=69 CH=C8
Save settings
01 06 00 80 00 00
88 22
01 06 00 80 00 00
88 22
Restart to take effect
Disable Modbus
01 06 00 82 00 01
E8 22
01 06 00 82 00 01
E8 22
Save settings and restart to
take effect
7 Quick Test Procedure
7.1 Required Tools of Product Test
Note: the product package contains only TF03 and factory certificate, other accessories are
prepared by yourself. If you need RS485-USB convert board, please contact sales or technical
support. The UART version needs a RS485-USB board when connected with computer. Tools
and method are shown as below.
Table 13 Tools of test
TF03(UART)
RS485-USB
Board
USB Cable
PC
TF display
application
7.2 Test procedure
1）Download the TF display application

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Please download the TF display application from http://en.benewake.com/supportNote:
Please close the antivirus software before unpacking the TF display application, otherwise the
files will be deleted as viruses. The TF display application currently only supports running on the
Windows system. See Attachment 1: Instruction of TF Series PC Display Software.
2）Connecting
Figure 6 Diagram of connection
As Figure 6 shown, connect 『TF03』 and 『RS485-USB board』 and 『USB cable』, ensure
no looseness, then connect 『USB cable』with 『computer』.
3）TF display software connection and reading
Figure 7 The interface of TF display software
As shown in Figure 7, test steps are shown as below:
➢Open the TF display application
A
B
C
D