In an official documentation update completed in September 2025, ArduPilot — one of the world's leading open-source drone autopilot ecosystems — formally added three Benewake LiDAR products, the TFS20-L, TF-NOVA, and TF350, to its official rangefinder support page. A new CAN bus wiring section for TF350 was also added. The page received two further updates over the following year, with I2C wiring instructions and TFS20-L-specific driver parameters added in August–September 2026.

ArduPilot is one of the most widely used open-source autopilot systems in the world. Maintained by a global developer community and widely adopted by research institutions, universities, and enterprises, it provides open-source control software and a hardware ecosystem for unmanned platforms such as drones, unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned boats. For a hardware product, being included in the official documentation means it has been formally accepted by the ecosystem as a "supported device" — users can deploy it out of the box with no additional development. This has long been regarded as an important indicator of product adoption within developer communities. In fact, six Benewake-related entries are currently listed in ArduPilot’s mainline rangefinder driver enumeration, making it the most natively supported rangefinder LiDAR brands.

Unlike the common practice of vendors applying for inclusion themselves, this update was initiated by Randy Mackay, a core ArduPilot maintainer. In open-source hardware ecosystems, official documentation maintained by the ecosystem typically reflects devices that community developers and industry users actively deploy and use. The inclusion of these three products means that Benewake's relevant products have achieved significant growth in installed base and user inquiries within overseas developer communities, further strengthening Benewake’s presence in the global developer ecosystem.

The TFS20-L, TF-NOVA, and TF350 are LiDAR products developed and launched by Benewake.

• TFS20-L is a fully integrated, single-channel dToF ranging module in a compact form factor, designed for lightweight scenarios such as consumer drones, service robots, and the Internet of Things. It integrates a highly sensitive infrared-enhanced SPAD sensor and delivers a range of up to 20 m. Built on a fully integrated SPAD chip solution with a histogram-based statistical algorithm and a fast TDC architecture, it achieves high-precision ranging while providing sunlight resistance up to 15 m @ 100 KLux, together with a reflectivity correction function.
  
  

• TF-NOVA is a line-beam, purely solid-state LiDAR innovatively developed by Benewake. It pioneers the use of a line-beam infrared laser source in place of conventional point laser emitters, paired with a high-performance single-photon avalanche receiver chip, providing a 14° wide-angle detection area and a measurement range up to 14 meters. Through optimized optical design on both the transmit and receive paths and an ambient-light-resistant algorithm, TF-NOVA delivers stable ranging of dark, highly reflective, and small-sized targets, even under strong outdoor lighting.
  
  

• TF350 is an industrial-grade, ultra-long-range, high-frequency LiDAR with a maximum range of up to 350 m. It integrates strong ambient light resistance and rain/fog compensation algorithms and supports multiple industrial-grade communication interfaces. Its IP67-rated construction makes it suitable for a wide range of indoor and outdoor applications. In addition, TF350 integrates multiple measurement modes and opens up various parameters for customers to configure freely, meeting ranging requirements across different scenarios. With its long detection range and easy installation, TF350 also offers competitive cost performance and high integration, with a more efficient optical system and an optimized circuit design.
  
  

Benewake will continue to invest in collaboration with the global open-source developer ecosystem, continuously improving driver and documentation support across platforms to help more overseas users complete product selection and integration with greater ease.