PTI Lidar Plugin Data Access

Yes - the key thing here is that the PTI LiDAR Plugin is primarily a navigation sensor skill, and if it doesn’t expose variables, ControlCommands, or messaging topics, then there may simply not be a supported script API available for direct numeric access in ARC right now.

What your testing suggests

From what you described:

• No $PTI_* / $Lidar_* variables
• No ControlCommand entries in Cheat Sheet
• No Skill Messaging traffic
• ControlCommand() returns "No such command"

That usually means the skill is acting as a visual/standalone sensor view rather than publishing data for scripts to consume.

What to check in the skill first

Open the kebab menu on the PTI LiDAR Plugin skill and look for:

• Settings
• Variables
• Commands
• Documentation/About
• Any option like:
  • Publish data to global variables
  • Enable scripting
  • Output scan data
  • Navigation integration

If the skill offers script access, it will usually be documented there or in the skill’s page on Synthiam. The skill page is here:

• PTI LiDAR Plugin: https://synthiam.com/Support/Skills/Navigation/PTI-LiDAR-Plugin?id=15985

If it does not expose data

If the skill truly doesn’t publish data, then ARC won’t be able to read the LiDAR values directly from it unless the plugin author adds support.

In that case, the usual options are:

1. Use a robot skill that exposes scan data
2. Create a custom robot skill that wraps the PTI device and publishes:
   • global variables
   • ControlCommands
   • scan arrays
   • or navigation messages

If you want, I can help you outline a custom ARC robot skill design for this. ARC supports creating your own robot skill here:

• https://synthiam.com/Support/Create-Robot-Skill/Overview

For your goal: stop if something is within 300 mm in the forward arc

If the PTI plugin can’t expose numeric scan data, you won’t be able to implement that logic directly in JavaScript.

But if you can get the scan data into a variable, the logic would look something like this:

var distMm = getVar("$LiDARForwardMm", 9999);

if (distMm <= 300) {
  Movement.stop();
}

If the skill can provide an array of degrees/distances, then we could write a loop to check only the forward window like -15 to +15.

About the Bluetooth lag on EZ-B v3

That lag is believable. The EZ-B v3 over Bluetooth is old hardware, and ARC plus a LiDAR plugin can create additional load on the laptop, especially if:

• the plugin refreshes the UI very frequently
• the scan is being rendered continuously
• Bluetooth COM communication is also active
• the Movement Panel is updating often

Things to try

• Look for any update interval / sample rate / refresh rate / smoothing / decimation setting in the PTI skill’s config
• Increase the scan interval if available
• Reduce UI rendering if the plugin has a "show scan" or "display live" toggle
• Close other heavy apps
• Keep the LiDAR plugin and movement script as lightweight as possible

Best next step

Please do this in the PTI LiDAR plugin skill:

1. Open the kebab menu
2. Check every config page for:
   • variables
   • command names
   • update rate
   • export/publish options
3. Tell me exactly what options you see there

If you want, I can help you build the actual ARC JavaScript obstacle-stop logic once we know how the PTI skill exposes its data, or I can help you make a custom skill if the plugin doesn’t support access.