Ouster OSDome

The Ouster OSDome is a high-resolution, hemispherical 3D LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor designed primarily for near- and mid-range observation.
The sensor provides a 180° vertical field of view (VFOV) and a 360° horizontal field of view, allowing it to observe virtually the entire hemisphere around its mounting location.
The OSDome's design is particularly well-suited for ceiling mounting, on vehicles, mobile robots, and in security and space monitoring systems.

Typical applications include:
object monitoring and security,
person detection and tracking,
crowd analytics – analysis of movement and density of people,
warehouses and logistics centers,
autonomous mobile robots (AMR/AGV),
machine safety systems,
infrastructure monitoring,
autonomous vehicles, and perception support systems.
The latest generation, REV8, enables the generation of native RGB-D point clouds, i.e., 3D data containing both distance and color information. The manufacturer describes the OSDome as a sensor designed for, among other things, full coverage of spaces while tracking people inside buildings and detecting objects near robots and vehicles.

Technical Specifications – OSDome REV8

Hardware version: REV8.0.
Available vertical resolutions: 32, 64, or 128 LiDAR channels/beams.
Vertical field of view: 180°.
Horizontal field of view: 360°.
Horizontal resolution: 512, 1024, 2048, or 4096 points per rotation, configurable.
Scanning rate: 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, or 40 Hz, depending on the resolution setting.
Maximum number of points: 10,485,760 points/s.
Number of signal returns: up to 2 returns.
Possible return ordering methods:
-strongest to weakest,
-farthest to nearest,
-nearest to farthest. Range for an object with 10% reflectivity: 20 m at 100 klx, with a detection probability of >90%. Range for an object with 80% reflectivity: 45 m at 100 klx, with a detection probability of >90%.
Minimum measurement range: 0.0 m, with the manufacturer also providing configurable values ​​of 0.3 m and a default value of 0.5 m.
Range measurement resolution: 0.1 cm, and in the Low Data Rate profile – 0.8 cm.
Typical distance measurement accuracy:
- approximately ±1.25 cm for Lambertian targets,
- approximately ±2.5 cm for retroreflectors.
Measurement precision: from approximately ±0.5 cm to ±5 cm, depending on conditions and distance.
Angular sampling accuracy: ±0.01° vertical and horizontal. Maximum horizontal angular resolution: approximately 0.09°.
Maximum representable distance according to the current REV8 datasheet: 500 m.
Laser wavelength: 865 nm.
Laser safety class: Class 1 eye-safe, according to IEC/EN 60825-1.
Beam diameter at the sensor exit: 5 mm.
Beam divergence: 0.35° FWHM.

Generated Data

The sensor can provide the following data for each point:
-RGB – color,
-Range – distance,
-Signal – signal level,
-Reflectivity – reflectivity,
-Near Infrared – near infrared information,
-channel number,
-azimuth angle,
-timestamp – timestamp.
The maximum LiDAR data throughput is up to approximately 295 Mb/s for the 128-channel version, depending on the number of channels.

Data latency: <10 ms.

Timestamp resolution: <1 µs.
Data transmission is via UDP over Gigabit Ethernet.
Data is secured with an end-to-end CRC mechanism covering the entire packet.

Native Color / RGB-D – REV8

REV8 enables the generation of a native color RGB-D point cloud. Color and depth data are acquired within the sensor architecture, rather than through subsequent software image adjustment from a separate camera.
Color depth: 48 bits total / 16 bits per channel.
Dynamic range: 116 dB.
Claimed capability for very high light intensity – up to 2,000,000 lux.
Ouster cites native color as one of the key changes in the REV8 generation.

IMU and Synchronization

OSDome has an integrated IMU – Inertial Measurement Unit, a module for measuring motion and orientation.
The IMU includes:
- 3-axis gyroscope,
- 3-axis accelerometer.
IMU sampling rate: 640, 1280, or 2560 samples/s.
Default value: 2560 samples/s.
Supported synchronization mechanisms:
- IEEE 1588 PTP – Precision Time Protocol,
- gPTP – Generalized Precision Time Protocol,
- NMEA $GPRMC,
- external PPS – Pulse Per Second,
- internal sensor clock.

A multi-sensor phase lock function is also available, useful for installations with multiple sensors.

Interface and Communication
Data interface: Gigabit Ethernet.
The current REV8 datasheet specifies 1000BASE-T. Configuration interface: HTTPS API.
The sensor can be configured and managed over the network.
It supports:
- DHCP,
- IPv4/IPv6 Link-Local,
- Static IP address.
Ouster also provides a built-in Sensor Dashboard accessible via a browser, so basic configuration does not require installing specialized software on a computer.
Communication with the sensor requires a computer or edge device with Gigabit Ethernet.