Hokuyo is a Japanese company that specializes in "budget" laser rangefinders (LRFs, also known as LIDARs). Unlike industrial laser rangefinder manufacturers (such as SICK), Hokuyo laser rangefinders have gained notoriety in robotics applications (particularly indoor robotics) by focusing on lower-end designs -- namely those that benefit from lower price and lower weight by way of more lax specifications and economies of scale. Hokuyo has taken a bottom-up approach to laser rangefinder design, starting with less capable, lower cost units (such as the URG series) and progressing to more capable units (such as the UTM series).
There are numerous Hokuyo laser rangefinder variants; a few are highlighted below:
The Hokuyo URG-04LX was the first popular "budget" laser rangefinder from Hokuyo,
and has been featured on many indoor robots. It isn't the most capable
laser rangefinder; it has a sensing range of only 4 meters and it has
detection problems when scanning absorptive surfaces (such as black
trimming). However, it possesses a 10 Hz scan rate over 270° range,
with 0.36° angular resolution, and it requires a mere 2.5 Watts of
power at 5VDC. At 5.0 x 5.0 x 7.0 cm, it is also one of the most
compact laser rangefinders commercially available. Most importantly,
the URG-04LX retails for a mere $2400 (from distributors such as Acroname); at its debut, its list price was less than half that of the ever-popular SICK LMS 200-290 series of laser rangefinders!
The Hokuyo UTM-30LX is a newer laser rangefinder from Hokuyo, with improved capabilities compared to its little brother, the Hokuyo URG-04LX (which was very popular among indoor robots). Though it costs almost twice as much at $5600 (from distributors such as Acroname),
it has greatly enhanced capabilities. For example, the UTM has an
increased scan range of 30 meters, with a 40 Hz scan rate over 270°
range and 0.25° angular resolution. These improved specs come at the
cost of more power (8.4 Watts at 12VDC) and slightly larger form factor
(6.0 x 6.0 x 8.5 cm). It also performs better with absorptive surfaces
(black wall trimmings are no longer problematic), and it is capable of
returning intensity values in addition to range. It seems that this
laser rangefinder is a direct competitor to the SICK LMS 100, which has similar specifications and cost.