we are users of all three sensor models - OS0, OS1 and OS2 and even updated to the Rev7 to gain from the advertised benefits.
In general, the Rev7 perform better than the previous generations, that is super and helps us a lot. But one thing which nags me is, that the OS2 does not receive any FW updates.
Still, only 2.5.3 is available.
As now with 3.1.x and 3.2 came some features which we would love to use, but it is just not possible to benefit with the OS2…
Could you please explain me why this is? Did the OS2 not receive a L3 Chip?
Thanks for being such a power user across the whole OSx lineup! I definitely understand how that could nag you.
To give you the straight answer on the OS2: while it definitely uses the L3 chip, it’s actually paired with our legacy turntable and processing architecture.
The newer features in the 3.x firmware (like the Zone Monitor and some of the newer signal processing) require more compute “overhead” than that specific OS2 FPGA can handle. It’s a hardware-defined ceiling, which is why the OS2 is staying on the 2.5.x branch while the OS0/OS1/OSDome move into 3.x.
We’re still keeping 2.5.x rock-solid with stability updates, but the newer 3.x feature set just won’t fit in the OS2’s current processing bucket.
thanks for the honest reply and information, much appreciated.
Nevertheless, a bit annoying to be stuck now with “outdated” HW and that OS2 diverged that far from the rest.
But good to know the background and that we do not need to expect any new major features for OS2.
Follow up question:
Will the OS2 be continued with a model upgrade with e.g. Rev8 so they are aligned with the others or is it a dying product branch?
We will continue to support OS2 production and critical firmware patches, but we are not planning any feature improvements, including PTP upgrades, in the OS2 firmware. We have only so many resources to develop our free firmware updates and have chosen to focus on the 3.x and 4.x firmware stacks spanning the REV7 OS0/1/Dome, and all REV8 sensors.
That being said, if you are representing an enterprise customer with significant OS2 purchasing history, please reach out to your AE/FAE to outline your request so we can discuss your particular issue.
If you have ongoing need for long range sensors, we strongly recommend you adopt the REV8 OS1-MAX for future orders. It has superior performance to the OS2 and runs the modern chipsets that will be receiving firmware feature and stability updates for many years to come.
You can view OS1-MAX data in Ouster Studio - link below. More data is available to view and download if you create an account and log in: