docs(interface): document the CCW angle-convention contract on LaserScan

Every driver must normalize its device's native scale into ROS REP-103
right-handed CCW (0 = front, + = left). Spells out the three stackable
device quirks to absorb — shifted 0° reference, clockwise scale,
upside-down mounting — and warns that a CW scale decoded as CCW mirrors
the world invisibly on single-lidar devices: verify handedness against
the real room, not just against motion.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

include/lidar_interface.hpp

@@ -79,6 +79,21 @@ inline const char* to_string(ErrorCode e) {
 
 // ROS sensor_msgs/LaserScan-shaped output (radians, meters, seconds).
 // ranges[i] is at angle_min + i*angle_increment, in sweep order.
+//
+// ANGLE CONVENTION CONTRACT (ROS REP-103, right-handed): 0 = device front,
+// positive = LEFT, increasing counter-clockwise viewed from the top. Every
+// driver must NORMALIZE its device's native scale into this frame — three
+// independent, stackable device quirks to absorb:
+//   1. shifted 0° reference        -> ModelConfig::angle_offset_deg
+//      (OLEI LR-1F/1FMI/1BS5: 0° at the rear; SICK TiM: front at 90°);
+//   2. CLOCKWISE angle scale       -> mirror the raw angle (θ -> −θ) BEFORE
+//      the offset (all Slamtec RPLIDARs per the Interface Protocol spec;
+//      OLEI LR-1BS5, field-verified). Decoding a CW scale as CCW mirrors the
+//      whole world left/right — undetectable with a single lidar (the SLAM
+//      map is self-consistently mirrored and heading checks still pass), so
+//      verify handedness against the real room, not just against motion;
+//   3. upside-down mounting        -> the physical flip reverses the
+//      apparent rotation, one more angle negation (the driver's `inverted`).
 struct LaserScan {
     uint32_t timestamp_ms = 0;   // device clock (ms); 0 if not on the wire
     float angle_min       = 0.f; // rad

plugins/driver_olei/olei_driver.cpp

@@ -40,11 +40,41 @@ static constexpr uint16_t FRAME_ID_A = 0xFAF0;  // 2D Ethernet (VB, VF, LR-1F)
 static constexpr uint16_t FRAME_ID_B = 0xFEF0;  // LR-1BS5 / LR-1BS2 Ethernet variant
 static constexpr uint16_t FRAME_ID_C = 0xFEAC;  // Protocol V3 (GS1-5)
 
+// Models whose angle scale runs CLOCKWISE (left-handed): decoding them as CCW
+// mirrors the world left/right. Undetectable with a single lidar (the SLAM map
+// is self-consistently mirrored, and heading-vs-motion checks pass because a
+// mirror about x preserves "ahead") — it only surfaces when a second,
+// right-handed lidar disagrees, or when the map is compared against the real
+// room.
+//
+// Evidence:
+//  - LR-1BS5: field-verified 2026-07-23 (rotation-only decode produced a
+//    left-right mirrored map versus the actual room; mirrored decode matches).
+//  - The Family B azimuth protocol itself is clockwise per DF Automation's
+//    production ROS driver (github.com/dfautomation/ole2d,
+//    src/olelidar/src/decoder.cpp: walks the device array backwards with the
+//    comment "reverse, laserscan is anticlockwise"; its packet layout —
+//    azimuth x0.01 deg, invalid sentinel 0xFF00 — is exactly our Family B).
+//    LR-1FMI speaks the same Family B protocol, so it is listed too.
+//  - Family A (VB/VF/LR-1F) and Family C (GS1-5) units are unverified; they
+//    stay CCW until checked against a real room.
+static bool model_angles_clockwise(const char* name) {
+    return std::strcmp(name, "LR-1BS5") == 0 || std::strcmp(name, "LR-1FMI") == 0;
+}
+
 OleiDriver::OleiDriver(const ModelConfig& cfg, const std::string& ip, uint16_t port,
                        bool inverted)
     : cfg_(cfg), ip_(ip), port_(port), inverted_(inverted)
 {
     auto_detect_ = (std::strcmp(cfg.name, "AUTO") == 0);
+    model_mirror_ = model_angles_clockwise(cfg.name);
+}
+
+// Device angle -> our CCW convention: clockwise models get their raw angle
+// negated BEFORE the model's 0°-reference offset is added (LR-1BS5: 0° at the
+// rear AND clockwise, so out = 180 − raw).
+float OleiDriver::device_deg(float raw_deg) const {
+    return (model_mirror_ ? -raw_deg : raw_deg) + cfg_.angle_offset_deg;
 }
 
 OleiDriver::~OleiDriver() { close(); }
@@ -238,7 +268,7 @@ bool OleiDriver::parse_family_a(const uint8_t* buf, int len) {
         uint8_t  intensity = blk[2];
 
         float frac  = (num_pts > 1) ? static_cast<float>(i) / (num_pts - 1) : 0.f;
-        float angle = to_signed_deg(ang_start + frac * (ang_end - ang_start) + cfg_.angle_offset_deg);
+        float angle = to_signed_deg(device_deg(ang_start + frac * (ang_end - ang_start)));
         angle       = maybe_invert(angle, inverted_);
 
         if (angle < cfg_.scan_angle_min || angle > cfg_.scan_angle_max) continue;
@@ -285,6 +315,7 @@ bool OleiDriver::parse_family_b(const uint8_t* buf, int len) {
                     cfg_.range_min_m      = entry.cfg->range_min_m;
                     cfg_.range_max_m      = entry.cfg->range_max_m;
                     cfg_.angle_offset_deg = entry.cfg->angle_offset_deg;
+                    model_mirror_         = model_angles_clockwise(entry.cfg->name);
                     break;
                 }
             }
@@ -308,7 +339,7 @@ bool OleiDriver::parse_family_b(const uint8_t* buf, int len) {
         }
         last_angle_ = dev_deg;
 
-        float    angle     = maybe_invert(to_signed_deg(angle_raw * 0.01f + cfg_.angle_offset_deg), inverted_);
+        float    angle     = maybe_invert(to_signed_deg(device_deg(angle_raw * 0.01f)), inverted_);
         float    dist_m    = le16(blk + 2) * scale_mm * 0.001f;
         uint8_t  intensity = static_cast<uint8_t>(le16(blk + 4) >> 2);   // 10-bit → 8-bit
 
@@ -397,7 +428,8 @@ bool OleiDriver::parse_family_c(const uint8_t* buf, int len) {
             range_mm = le16(blk + 2);
         }
 
-        float angle = to_signed_deg(static_cast<float>(first_index + i) * angle_inc - 180.f + cfg_.angle_offset_deg);
+        float angle = to_signed_deg(
+            device_deg(static_cast<float>(first_index + i) * angle_inc - 180.f));
         angle       = maybe_invert(angle, inverted_);
         if (angle < cfg_.scan_angle_min || angle > cfg_.scan_angle_max) continue;
 

plugins/driver_olei/olei_driver.hpp

@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_VB     { "VB",      -135.f, 135.f, 0.05f, 30.
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_VF     { "VF",      -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f };  // 2D 360°
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_LR1F   { "LR-1F",   -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 50.f, 180.f };  // 2D 360° 50m; device 0° = rear
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_LR1FMI { "LR-1FMI", -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f, 180.f };  // 2D 360° (Family B); device 0° = rear
-inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_LR1BS5 { "LR-1BS5", -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f, 180.f };  // 2D 360° (Family B); device 0° = rear (field-verified on OLELR-1BS5: with offset 0 the SLAM heading came out 180° from the direction of travel)
+inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_LR1BS5 { "LR-1BS5", -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f, 180.f };  // 2D 360° (Family B); device 0° = rear AND the angle scale runs CLOCKWISE — the driver mirrors it (out = 180 − raw, see model_angles_clockwise). Field-verified on OLELR-1BS5: offset 0 flipped the SLAM heading, rotation-only 180 then left-right mirrored the whole map.
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_LR16F  { "LR-16F",  -135.f, 135.f, 0.05f, 30.f };  // 3D 16 line
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_GS15   { "GS1-5",   -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f };  // 2D 360° (Family C/V3)
 inline constexpr ModelConfig MODEL_AUTO   { "AUTO",    -180.f, 180.f, 0.05f, 30.f };
@@ -54,11 +54,18 @@ private:
 
     void push_point(float signed_angle_deg, float dist_m, uint8_t intensity);
     void flush_scan();
+    // Raw device angle -> our CCW convention (negated for clockwise-scale
+    // models, then the model's 0°-reference offset).
+    float device_deg(float raw_deg) const;
 
     ModelConfig  cfg_;
     std::string  ip_;
     uint16_t     port_;
     bool         inverted_  = false;
+    // Model's angle scale runs clockwise (e.g. LR-1BS5): device_deg() negates
+    // the raw angle so the output is right-handed. Set from the preset in the
+    // ctor and again when AUTO locks onto a detected model.
+    bool         model_mirror_ = false;
     int          sock_fd_   = -1;
     ScanCallback cb_;
 

plugins/driver_rplidar/rplidar_driver.cpp

@@ -2,9 +2,10 @@
 // (third_party/rplidar_sdk, sl_lidar.h). Scan math: angle/distance decoding,
 // inversion, FOV window, invalid points as NaN.
 //
-// Unlike the network drivers, angles are reported in the DEVICE frame
-// [0, 2π), 0 = ahead, ascending — exactly what the SDK's ascendScanData
-// yields.
+// Unlike the network drivers, angles arrive in the DEVICE frame [0, 2π),
+// 0 = ahead, ascending (the SDK's ascendScanData order) — but Slamtec's
+// angle scale runs CLOCKWISE viewed from the top, so decode mirrors it into
+// our right-handed convention (see the handedness comment in recv_scan).
 #include "lidar_interface.hpp"
 #include "plugin_helpers.hpp"
 
@@ -199,14 +200,25 @@ public:
 
         LaserScan& scan = out.scan;
         scan = LaserScan{};
-        // Inverted mount -> mirror the angles (angle' = 2π - angle) and walk
-        // the nodes backwards to keep ascending order.
+        // Handedness: Slamtec devices count their angle CLOCKWISE viewed from
+        // the top (Interface Protocol spec; the official rplidar_ros node
+        // mirrors the angles for exactly this reason). Our output convention
+        // is right-handed (CCW, + = left), so:
+        //   - right-side-up (inverted_ == false): mirror (angle' = 2π − raw)
+        //     and walk the nodes backwards to keep ascending order;
+        //   - upside-down (inverted_ == true): the flip makes the rotation
+        //     appear CCW from above, so the raw ascending angles are already
+        //     right-handed — use them as-is.
+        // Field-verified (2026-07-23): a right-side-up C1 decoded as CCW
+        // produced a left-right mirrored sweep against a verified
+        // right-handed reference lidar; invisible with the C1 alone because
+        // a single-sensor SLAM map is self-consistently mirrored.
         if (inverted_) {
-            scan.angle_min = kTwoPi - angle_last;
-            scan.angle_max = kTwoPi - angle_first;
-        } else {
             scan.angle_min = angle_first;
             scan.angle_max = angle_last;
+        } else {
+            scan.angle_min = kTwoPi - angle_last;
+            scan.angle_max = kTwoPi - angle_first;
         }
         scan.angle_increment = (scan.angle_max - scan.angle_min) / static_cast<float>(count - 1);
         scan.scan_time       = scan_time;
@@ -221,7 +233,10 @@ public:
         scan.ranges.reserve(count);
         scan.intensities.reserve(count);
         for (std::size_t i = 0; i < count; ++i) {
-            const std::size_t node_index = inverted_ ? count - 1 - i : i;
+            // Mirrored branches walk backwards (see the handedness comment
+            // above): backwards for a right-side-up unit, forwards when the
+            // physical flip already reversed the apparent rotation.
+            const std::size_t node_index = inverted_ ? i : count - 1 - i;
             // dist = 0 is the SDK's "no return" sentinel; together with
             // out-of-range / out-of-window points it becomes NaN.
             const float distance = node_distance_m(nodes[node_index]);