Embodiments describe a solid state electronic scanning LIDAR system that includes a scanning focal plane transmitting element and a scanning focal plane receiving element whose operations are synchronized so that the firing sequence of an emitter array in the transmitting element corresponds to a capturing sequence of a photosensor array in the receiving element. During operation, the emitter array can sequentially fire one or more light emitters into a scene and the reflected light can be received by a corresponding set of one or more photosensors through an aperture layer positioned in front of the photosensors. Each light emitter can correspond with an aperture in the aperture layer, and each aperture can correspond to a photosensor in the receiving element such that each light emitter corresponds with a specific photosensor in the receiving element.
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
G06V 20/58 - Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestriansRecognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
H01L 25/16 - Assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid-state devices the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subclasses of , , , , or , e.g. forming hybrid circuits
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/40 - Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups
An extendable table includes at least one leg that primarily extends in a vertical direction so as to define a vertical axis and a frame that is supported by the at least one leg. The extendable table also includes a first leaf slidably supported by the frame, a second leaf slidably supported by the frame, and a third leaf supported by the frame and selectively disposed between the first leaf and the second leaf. The extendable table also includes a lift assembly that includes a lifting arm that contacts the third leaf and a roller assembly that includes a guide plate that selectively receives the lifting arm of the lift assembly. The lift assembly and the roller assembly cooperate to move the third leaf between an undeployed position and a deployed position based upon movement of at least one of the first leaf and the second leaf.
An optical measurement system may improve the accuracy with which it estimates distances to surrounding objects by upgrading various aspects of its data path. Spatial resolution may be increased by subdividing histogram buckets or integration registers based on spatial location. Saturation at any point in the data path can be detected and used to stop counting photons in individual pixels, which can then be normalized after a measurement is over. Multiple peaks can be detected using recursive or iterative techniques to identify a largest remaining peak at each stage. Instead of iterating through the histogram memory multiple times, a threshold can be pre-calculated based on an estimated ambient noise level, and peaks can be detected in a single pass.
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
42 - Scientific, technological and industrial services, research and design
Goods & Services
Lidar apparatus; 3D imaging sensors; optical and proximity
sensors; sensor systems comprised of lidar apparatus, vision
sensors, and camera; computer hardware and downloadable
software for operating lidar apparatus, proximity and camera
sensor systems; systems and sensing systems that detect and
classify objects on the road, comprised primarily of
distance, optical, and proximity sensors, lidar apparatus,
distance measuring, warning, and control apparatus, and 3D
depth sensors; downloadable computer software for use in
obtaining, displaying, analyzing and visualizing digital map
data and information; downloadable computer software for use
in controlling a lidar apparatus. Software as a service (SAAS) services, namely, hosting
software for use by others for use in obtaining, displaying,
analyzing and visualizing digital map data and information;
platform as a service (PAAS) featuring a computer software
platform for use in obtaining, displaying, analyzing and
visualizing digital map data and information.
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A light ranging system including a shaft having a longitudinal axis; a light ranging device configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the light ranging device including a light source configured to transmit light pulses to objects in a surrounding environment, and detector circuitry configured to detect reflected portions of the light pulses that are reflected from the objects in the surrounding environment and to compute ranging data based on the reflected portion of the light pulses; a base subsystem that does not rotate about the shaft; and an optical communications subsystem configured to provide an optical communications channel between the base subsystem and the light ranging device, the optical communications subsystem including one or more turret optical communication components connected to the detector circuitry and one or more base optical communication components connected to the base subsystem.
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
B60L 3/00 - Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposesMonitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
G05D 1/249 - Arrangements for determining position or orientation using signals provided by artificial sources external to the vehicle, e.g. navigation beacons from positioning sensors located off-board the vehicle, e.g. from cameras
An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lens tubes that collimate collected photons, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.
G02B 30/27 - Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images by providing first and second parallax images to an observer’s left and right eyes of the autostereoscopic type involving lenticular arrays
8.
SUBFRAMES AND PHASE SHIFTING FOR LIDAR ACQUISITION
Systems, methods, and apparatus that can spread peak power dissipation (such as emitter power) in a lidar system over an increased range of time. Spreading the emitter power over time can provide several advantages. Dispersing the power supply noise and current spikes can reduce the load or stress on power supply components such as power transistors, decoupling capacitors, and others. Power supply noise and voltage drops can be reduced by allowing power supply decoupling capacitors time to recover between bursts of pulses. This can allow the use of lower-power transistors, smaller capacitors, and other changes that can conserve resources. Component heating, for example in the emitter array, can be reduced by providing time between bursts of pulses for device cooling. Lidar system performance can be improved since power supplies, bias lines, device temperatures, and other parameters have time to recover between the multiple smaller bursts of pulses, or subframes, as compared to a longer, single burst of pulses. Examples can utilize multiple subframes instead of a single frame. Using multiple subframes instead of a single frame can provide further advantages. Since histogram data can be moved out of the pixel circuits for each subframe, a reduced amount of memory can be needed in each pixel, thereby simplifying pixel circuitry. Further, by phase shifting subframe histogram data before combining, timing resolution of the combined histogram data can be increased. The linear regression, linear interpolation, or other method used to align the subframe data can provide a relative radial velocity between the lidar system and an object being imaged by the pixel.
A lounge chair assembly includes a lounge chair and a cover. The lounge chair includes a frame having longitudinal frame members, lateral frame members extended between the longitudinal frame members, and legs connected to the frame members. A main seat and a backrest are supported by the frame. The main seat and the backrest together define a supporting outer surface of the lounge chair. The cover protects the supporting outer surface. The cover includes a body and at least one flap extended outwardly from the body. The body is made of a weather-resistant material having a perimeter sized and shaped substantially similar to an outer perimeter of the outer surface. The at least one end flap is configured for releasable engagement to the lounge chair for holding the cover to the lounge chair.
Techniques (e.g., methods, systems, devices) for receiving, from the lidar device, a measurement of the inertial measurement sensor. The techniques further including determining, using the measurement, at least one angle of a pitch angle or a roll angle of the lidar device. The techniques further including fixing the at least one angle of the lidar device in a graphical user interface that displays a location of the lidar device and providing one or more control elements in the graphical user interface that enable a user to specify one or more other degrees of freedom of the lidar device.
A solid-state optical system comprising: a sensor array having a field of view; an emitter array comprising a plurality of emitter units mounted on a surface of a common substrate and arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein each emitter unit in the plurality of emitter units is spaced apart from its adjacent emitter units by a first distance and emits pulses of light having a predetermined beam divergence; an optical element comprising a plurality of lenses corresponding in number to the plurality of emitter units and arranged in a two-dimensional array in which adjacent optical elements in the two-dimensional array are spaced apart from each other by the first distance, wherein the optical element is positioned adjacent to the emitter array such that each lens in the plurality of lenses is spaced apart from and receives the pulses of light emitted from a corresponding one of the emitter units in the plurality of emitter units and is configured to reduce the angle of divergence of the pulses of light emitted by its corresponding emitter unit; and a diffuser disposed adjacent to the optical element and configured to spread light received from the optical element across the entire field of view of the sensor array.
Systems, methods, and apparatus that can save power and provide improved lidar images. An example can save power by limiting received photon accumulation to a range of bins corresponding to a range of distances where a position of an object has been predetermined. By not accumulating or binning photon data over an entire range, the amount of data stored each laser cycle can be reduced, and other power saving measures can be realized. By limiting a range over which photon data is accumulated, the resolution of each bin can be increased, thereby improving a resulting lidar image. The position of an object can be predetermined using a stereo camera that can be coupled to, or included as part of, a lidar system. The stereo camera can acquire a pair of images offset by a spacing, and from the pair of images can generate stereo depth estimates. The depth estimates can be mapped to corresponding lidar pixels. The depth estimates can be converted to time intervals, which can be provided to the lidar system. The lidar system can use this to narrow the range over which photon data is collected for one or more pixels.
An optical system comprising: a sensor array having a field of view; an emitter array comprising a plurality of emitter units mounted on a surface of a common substrate and arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein each emitter unit in the plurality of emitter units is spaced apart from its adjacent emitter units by a first pitch and emits pulses of light having a predetermined beam divergence; and a fly's eye element spaced apart from the emitter array and configured to spread light received from each emitter unit in the plurality of emitter units element across the entire field of view of the sensor array, the fly's eye element comprising a first and second arrays of lenslets spaced apart from each other, wherein individual lenslets in the first and second arrays of lenslets are spaced apart from each other in at least one dimension by a second pitch that is different than the first pitch, and wherein each individual lenslets in the first array of lenslets is aligned with a corresponding lenslet in the second arrays of lenslets.
An optical system comprising: a sensor array having a field of view; an emitter array comprising a plurality of emitter units mounted on a surface of a common substrate and arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein each emitter unit in the plurality of emitter units is spaced apart from its adjacent emitter units by a first pitch and emits pulses of light having a predetermined beam divergence; and a fly's eye element spaced apart from the emitter array and configured to spread light received from each emitter unit in the plurality of emitter units element across the entire field of view of the sensor array, the fly's eye element comprising a first and second arrays of lenslets spaced apart from each other, wherein individual lenslets in the first and second arrays of lenslets are spaced apart from each other in at least one dimension by a second pitch that is different than the first pitch, and wherein each individual lenslets in the first array of lenslets is aligned with a corresponding lenslet in the second arrays of lenslets.
A radio-frequency (RF) data link can be provided between a stationary base component and a rotating component that rotates about an axis defined by a shaft that has a waveguide core (e.g., a hollow core). The rotating component can include a data source such as one or more sensors. An RF transmitter unit can be disposed in the rotating component and can have a first antenna oriented to transmit into one end of the waveguide core of the shaft. The base component can include an RF receiver unit that can have a second antenna located at the other end of the shaft and oriented to receive RF signals through the waveguide core of the shaft. The waveguide core of the shaft can provide a waveguide for RF data transmissions (e.g., in the millimeter-wave band) between the first antenna and the second antenna.
G01S 17/10 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
G01L 3/10 - Rotary-transmission dynamometers wherein the torque-transmitting element comprises a torsionally-flexible shaft involving electric or magnetic means for indicating
H04B 7/26 - Radio transmission systems, i.e. using radiation field for communication between two or more posts at least one of which is mobile
16.
RF DATA LINK FOR A DEVICE WITH A ROTATING COMPONENT
A radio-frequency (RF) data link can be provided between a stationary base component and a rotating component that rotates about an axis defined by a shaft that has a waveguide core (e.g., a hollow core). The rotating component can include a data source such as one or more sensors. An RF transmitter unit can be disposed in the rotating component and can have a first antenna oriented to transmit into one end of the waveguide core of the shaft. The base component can include an RF receiver unit that can have a second antenna located at the other end of the shaft and oriented to receive RE signals through the waveguide core of the shaft. The waveguide core of the shaft can provide a waveguide for RF data transmissions (e.g., in the millimeter-wave band) between the first antenna and the second antenna.
A chaise lounge includes a frame, a first sling anchor, a second sling anchor, a sling and a threaded fastener. The frame includes at least two side members. The first sling anchor connects with a first side member and is movable with respect to the frame. The second sling anchor connects with a second side member. The second side member is disposed on an opposite side of the frame from the first side member. The sling is secured to the first sling anchor and the second sling anchor and spans between the first side member and the second side member. The threaded fastener engages the first sling anchor and the first side member. Rotation of the threaded fastener with respect to at least one of the first sling anchor and the first side member results in movement of the first sling anchor with respect to the first side member, which results in movement of the sling with respect to the first side member.
A chaise lounge includes a frame, a first sling anchor, a second sling anchor, a sling and a threaded fastener. The frame includes at least two side members. The first sling anchor connects with a first side member and is movable with respect to the frame. The second sling anchor connects with a second side member. The second side member is disposed on an opposite side of the frame from the first side member. The sling is secured to the first sling anchor and the second sling anchor and spans between the first side member and the second side member. The threaded fastener engages the first sling anchor and the first side member. Rotation of the threaded fastener with respect to at least one of the first sling anchor and the first side member results in movement of the first sling anchor with respect to the first side member, which results in movement of the sling with respect to the first side member.
Embodiments describe a solid state electronic scanning LIDAR system that includes a scanning focal plane transmitting element and a scanning focal plane receiving element whose operations are synchronized so that the firing sequence of an emitter array in the transmitting element corresponds to a capturing sequence of a photosensor array in the receiving element. During operation, the emitter array can sequentially fire one or more light emitters into a scene and the reflected light can be received by a corresponding set of one or more photosensors through an aperture layer positioned in front of the photosensors. Each light emitter can correspond with an aperture in the aperture layer, and each aperture can correspond to a photosensor in the receiving element such that each light emitter corresponds with a specific photosensor in the receiving element.
G06V 20/58 - Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestriansRecognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
H01L 25/16 - Assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid-state devices the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subclasses of , , , , or , e.g. forming hybrid circuits
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/40 - Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A light ranging system can include a laser device and an imaging device having photosensors. The laser device illuminates a scene with laser pulse radiation that reflects off of objects in the scene. The reflections can vary greatly depending on the reflecting surface shape and reflectivity. The signal measured by photosensors can be filtered with a number of matched filter designed according to profiles of different reflected signals. A best matched filter can be identified, and hence information about the reflecting surface and accurate ranging information can be obtained. The laser pulse radiation can be emitted in coded pulses by allowing weights to different detection intervals. Other enhancements include staggering laser pulses and changing an operational status of photodetectors of a pixel sensor, as well as efficient signal processing using a sensor chip that includes processing circuits and photosensors.
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
A chaise chair includes a frame, a main seat attached to the frame, a backrest pivotally attached to the frame, and a mount connected with and selectively movable with respect to the frame. The backrest is pivotal between a lowered position and a raised position. A locking mechanism is associated with the mount and is operable between a locked state in which the mount is precluded from movement with respect to the frame and an unlocked state in which the mount is movable with respect to the frame. A linkage connects with the mount and the backrest and is configured such that movement of the mount with respect to the frame results in pivotal movement of the backrest with respect to the frame. A release mechanism is operatively associated with the locking mechanism so as to change the locking mechanism from the locked state to the unlocked state.
A47C 1/024 - Reclining or easy chairs having independently-adjustable supporting parts the parts, being the back-rest, or the back-rest and seat unit, having adjustable inclination
A61G 13/08 - Adjustable operating tablesControls therefor the table being divided into different adjustable sections
A47C 1/03 - Reclining or easy chairs having independently-adjustable supporting parts the parts being arm-rests
A47C 1/032 - Reclining or easy chairs having coupled adjustable supporting parts the parts being movably-coupled seat and back-rest
A47C 17/16 - Sofas, couches, settees, or the like, with movable partsChair beds changeable to beds by tilting or pivoting the back-rest
A63B 21/055 - Exercising apparatus for developing or strengthening the muscles or joints of the body by working against a counterforce, with or without measuring devices using resilient force-resisters extension element type
A47C 1/028 - Reclining or easy chairs having independently-adjustable supporting parts for changing a straight chair into an easy chair
23.
Optical system for collecting distance information within a field
An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lens tubes that collimate collected photons, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.
G02B 30/27 - Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images by providing first and second parallax images to an observer’s left and right eyes of the autostereoscopic type involving lenticular arrays
24.
TABLE OR OUTDOOR ITEM COVER AND COVER-SECURING SYSTEM
A cover for covering an outdoor item includes a weather-resistant main body, at least one flap secured to the main body and a magnetic fastener secured to the at least one flap. The weather-resistant main body includes a main body perimeter and is sized and shaped substantially similar to at least a portion of the outdoor item to be covered. The at least one flap extends from the main body perimeter. The at least one flap is flexible and sized to selectively fold over another portion of the outdoor item to be covered when the main body is covering a covered portion of the outdoor item. The magnetic fastener selectively engages with a fastener provided on the outdoor item, and engagement of the magnetic fastener with the associated fastener holds the main body to the outdoor item.
An electronically scanning emitter array that includes a two-dimensional array of light emitters arranged in k emitter banks. Each of the k emitter banks can include a subset of the light emitters in the two-dimensional array and can be independently operable to emit light from its subset of emitters. The electronically scanning emitter array can further include first and second capacitor banks coupled to provide energy to the two-dimensional array of light emitters and emitter array driving circuitry coupled to the first and second capacitor banks and to the k emitter banks. Each of the first and second capacitor banks can include at least one capacitor. The emitter array driving circuitry can include a first high-side switch coupled between the first capacitor bank and a voltage source, a second high-side switch coupled between the second capacitor bank and the voltage source, and k/2 low-side switches coupled between the k emitter banks and ground; and the emitter driving circuitry can be configured to fire one emitter bank in the k emitter banks at a time according to a firing sequence until each of the k emitter banks are fired.
A stereoscopic imager system, comprising: a sensor array comprising a first plurality of photosensors and a second plurality of photosensors spaced apart from the first plurality of photosensors by a gap, the first plurality of photosensors and the second plurality of photosensors being configured to detect ambient light in a scene; a moving component coupled to the sensor array and operable to move the sensor array between a first position and a second position within a full rotational image capturing cycle; and a system controller coupled to the sensor array and the moving component. The system controller can be configured to: move a field of view of a sensor array by instructing the moving component to capture a first image of an object in the scene with the first plurality of photosensors from a first perspective at the first position, and to capture a second image of the scene of the object in the scene with the second plurality of photosensors from a second perspective at the second position; and calculate, based on the first image and the second image, a distance to the object using an optical baseline defined by the gap.
H04N 13/25 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using two or more image sensors with different characteristics other than in their location or field of view, e.g. having different resolutions or colour pickup characteristicsImage signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using image signals from one sensor to control the characteristics of another sensor
G01S 17/10 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
G01S 17/86 - Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
G01S 17/894 - 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
H04N 13/00 - Stereoscopic video systemsMulti-view video systemsDetails thereof
H04N 13/243 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using three or more 2D image sensors
H04N 13/254 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras in combination with electromagnetic radiation sources for illuminating objects
An optical measurement system may improve the accuracy with which it estimates distances to surrounding objects by upgrading various aspects of its data path. Spatial resolution may be increased by subdividing histogram buckets or integration registers based on spatial location. Saturation at any point in the data path can be detected and used to stop counting photons in individual pixels, which can then be normalized after a measurement is over. Multiple peaks can be detected using recursive or iterative techniques to identify a largest remaining peak at each stage. Instead of iterating through the histogram memory multiple times, a threshold can be pre-calculated based on an estimated ambient noise level, and peaks can be detected in a single pass.
Embodiments describe in-pixel sensor fault detection system that includes plurality of photodetectors to generate signals when a photon is detected, and the number of photons detected for each photosensor is accumulated through a first data path to obtain a first number of total triggered photodetectors of the corresponding photosensor through a first data path and stored in a memory. The memory stores photon counts in time bins based on photon arrival times to form a histogram representation. The number of photons detected for each photosensor is accumulated through a second data path to obtain a second number of total triggered photodetectors of each corresponding photosensor in an integration register. The first number of total triggered photodetectors is compared against the second number of total triggered photodetectors. When the comparison returns an inconsistency, the system flags the corresponding photosensor for further possible actions.
Circuits, methods, and apparatus that can provide lidar systems having an increased dynamic range. One example can provide a lidar system having emitter elements to emit optical signals and sensor elements to detect incident photons. The emitter elements can emit a first optical signal having a series of pulses at a first power level and a second optical signal having a series of pulses at a second power level. Following first pulses, the sensor elements can determine a number of photons detected during a first number of time bins that begin with an initial time bin and extend to a first time bin. Following the second pulses, the sensor elements can determine a number of photons detected during a second number of time bins beginning with the initial time bin and extending to a second time bin. The second power level can differ from the first power level and the second number can differ from the first number.
A lidar system may include a programmable configuration memory, configured to receive configuration values for controlling histogramming operations performed by the lidar system. The lidar system may also include an array controller, configured or programmed or set to read the configuration values and send control signals according to the configuration values in the programmable configuration memory. The lidar system may also include a sensor array, where the sensor array includes a plurality of pixels. Each pixel in the plurality of pixels may include a photosensor, summation circuitry, and a memory device. Each of the plurality of pixels may be configured to generate histogram data by collecting photon counts during a plurality of time bins for each of a plurality of laser cycles.
G01S 17/894 - 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
G01S 17/14 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves wherein a voltage or current pulse is initiated and terminated in accordance with the pulse transmission and echo reception respectively, e.g. using counters
G01S 7/4863 - Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
G01S 7/4865 - Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak
Circuits, methods, and apparatus that can provide lidar systems having an increased dynamic range. One example can provide a lidar system having emitter elements to emit optical signals and sensor elements to detect incident photons. The emitter elements can emit a first optical signal having a series of pulses at a first power level and a second optical signal having a series of pulses at a second power level. Following first pulses, the sensor elements can determine a number of photons detected during a first number of time bins that begin with an initial time bin and extend to a first time bin. Following the second pulses, the sensor elements can determine a number of photons detected during a second number of time bins beginning with the initial time bin and extending to a second time bin. The second power level can differ from the first power level and the second number can differ from the first number.
G01S 7/4865 - Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
G02B 27/18 - Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups , for optical projection, e.g. combination of mirror and condenser and objective
G02B 27/09 - Beam shaping, e.g. changing the cross-sectioned area, not otherwise provided for
32.
OPTICAL SYSTEM FOR FULL FRAME FLASH SOLID-STATE LIDAR SYSTEM
A solid-state optical system comprising: a sensor array having a field of view; an emitter array arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein each emitter unit is spaced apart from its adjacent emitter units by a first distance and emits pulses of light having a predetermined beam divergence; an optical element comprising a plurality of lenses corresponding in number to the emitter units and arranged in a two-dimensional array, wherein the optical element is positioned adjacent to the emitter array such that each lens is spaced apart from and receives the pulses of light emitted from a corresponding emitter unit and is configured to reduce the angle of divergence of the pulses of light emitted by its corresponding emitter unit; and a diffuser disposed adjacent to the optical element and configured to spread light received from the optical element across the entire field of view of the sensor array.
Techniques described herein provide memory redundancy. For example, the memory block for each pixel can be partitioned into multiple memory bins, and the number of memory bins can be larger than the number of time bins. Once a faulty memory cell is identified, an address associated with the memory bin that has the faulty memory cell can be skipped by an address generator. As such, the faulty memory cell is not used to store time-of-fight (ToF) information.
Circuits, methods, and apparatus that can reduce clock induced current and voltage transients and emissions in lidar pixel arrays. A pixel array can include an array of pixels, where at any given time, different pixels in the pixel array perform different tasks and are clocked by clock signals having different phases or delays relative to each other. This temporal dispersion of tasks and clock signals can spread clock induced current and voltage transients and emissions throughout a clock cycle, thereby reducing their maximum amplitude.
Embodiments describe in-pixel sensor fault detection system that includes plurality of photodetectors to generate signals when a photon is detected, and the number of photons detected for each photosensor is accumulated through a first data path to obtain a first number of total triggered photodetectors of the corresponding photosensor through a first data path and stored in a memory. The memory stores photon counts in time bins based on photon arrival times to form a histogram representation. The number of photons detected for each photosensor is accumulated through a second data path to obtain a second number of total triggered photodetectors of each corresponding photosensor in an integration register. The first number of total triggered photodetectors is compared against the second number of total triggered photodetectors. When the comparison returns an inconsistency, the system flags the corresponding photosensor for further possible actions.
A lidar system may include a programmable configuration memory, configured to receive configuration values for controlling histogramming operations performed by the lidar system. The lidar system may also include an array controller, configured or programmed or set to read the configuration values and send control signals according to the configuration values in the programmable configuration memory. The lidar system may also include a sensor array, where the sensor array includes a plurality of pixels. Each pixel in the plurality of pixels may include a photosensor, summation circuitry, and a memory device. Each of the plurality of pixels may be configured to generate histogram data by collecting photon counts during a plurality of time bins for each of a plurality of laser cycles.
G01S 17/04 - Systems determining the presence of a target
G01S 17/88 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications
G01S 17/10 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
G06T 7/44 - Analysis of texture based on statistical description of texture using image operators, e.g. filters, edge density metrics or local histograms
Systems and methods are provided for processing lidar data. The lidar data can be obtained in a particular manner that allows reconstruction of rectilinear images for which image processing can be applied from image to image. For instance, kernel-based image processing techniques can be used. Such processing techniques can use neighboring lidar and/or associated color pixels to adjust various values associated with the lidar signals. Such image processing of lidar and color pixels can be performed by dedicated circuitry, which may be on a same integrated circuit. Further, lidar pixels can be correlated to each other. For instance, classification techniques can identify lidar and/or associated color pixels as corresponding to the same object. The classification can be performed by an artificial intelligence (AI) coprocessor. Image processing techniques and classification techniques can be combined into a single system.
An optical measurement system may improve the accuracy with which it estimates distances to surrounding objects by upgrading various aspects of its data path. Spatial resolution may be increased by subdividing histogram buckets or integration registers based on spatial location. Saturation at any point in the data path can be detected and used to stop counting photons in individual pixels, which can then be normalized after a measurement is over. Multiple peaks can be detected using recursive or iterative techniques to identify a largest remaining peak at each stage. Instead of iterating through the histogram memory multiple times, a threshold can be pre-calculated based on an estimated ambient noise level, and peaks can be detected in a single pass.
Optical systems and methods for collecting distance information are disclosed. An example optical system includes a first transmitting optic, a plurality of illumination sources, a pixel array comprising at least a first column of pixels and a second column of pixels, each pixel in the first column of pixels being offset from an adjacent pixel in the first column of pixels by a first pixel pitch, the second column of pixels being horizontally offset from the first column of pixels by the first pixel pitch, the second column of pixels being vertically offset from the first column of pixels by a first vertical pitch; and a set of input channels interposed between the first transmitting optic and the pixel array.
A coaxial lidar system includes one or more emitter channels and one or more sensor channels that share an optical module. A diffractive waveguide can be used to redirect received light from the shared optical module to the sensor channels.
A coaxial lidar system includes one or more emitter channels and one or more sensor channels that share an optical module. A diffractive waveguide can be used to redirect received light from the shared optical module to the sensor channels.
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
Methods are provided for using a light ranging system. A computing system receives, from light ranging devices, ranging data including distance vectors to environmental surfaces. A distance vector can correspond to a pixel of a three-dimensional image stream. The system can identify a pose of a virtual camera relative to the light ranging devices. The light ranging devices are separated from the pose by first vectors that are used to translate some of the distance vectors using the first vectors. The system may determine colors associated with the translated distance vectors and display pixels of the three-dimensional image stream using the colors at pixel positions specified by the translated distance vectors. The system may use one or more models with the ranging data to provide semantic labels that describe a region that has been, or is likely to be, in a collision.
Systems and methods are provided for processing lidar data. The lidar data can be obtained in a particular manner that allows reconstruction of rectilinear images for which image processing can be applied from image to image. For instance, kernel-based image processing techniques can be used. Such processing techniques can use neighboring lidar and/or associated color pixels to adjust various values associated with the lidar signals. Such image processing of lidar and color pixels can be performed by dedicated circuitry, which may be on a same integrated circuit. Further, lidar pixels can be correlated to each other. For instance, classification techniques can identify lidar and/or associated color pixels as corresponding to the same object. The classification can be performed by an artificial intelligence (AI) coprocessor. Image processing techniques and classification techniques can be combined into a single system.
A light ranging system including a shaft having a longitudinal axis; a light ranging device configured to rotate about the longitudinal axis of the shaft, the light ranging device including a light source configured to transmit light pulses to objects in a surrounding environment, and detector circuitry configured to detect reflected portions of the light pulses that are reflected from the objects in the surrounding environment and to compute ranging data based on the reflected portion of the light pulses; a base subsystem that does not rotate about the shaft; and an optical communications subsystem configured to provide an optical communications channel between the base subsystem and the light ranging device, the optical communications subsystem including one or more turret optical communication components connected to the detector circuitry and one or more base optical communication components connected to the base subsystem.
G01S 7/48 - Details of systems according to groups , , of systems according to group
B60L 3/00 - Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposesMonitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
An optical system for performing distance measurements comprising: a bulk transmitter optic having a focal plane; an illumination source comprising a plurality of light emitters aligned to project discrete beams of light through the bulk transmitter optic into a field ahead of the optical system; and a micro-optic channel array disposed between the illumination source and the bulk transmitter optic, the micro-optic channel array defining a plurality of micro-optic channels, each micro-optic channel including a micro-optic lens spaced apart from a light emitter in the plurality of light emitters with the micro-optic lens positioned to receive a light cone from the light emitter and configured to generate a reduced-size spot image of the emitter at a location that is displaced from the emitter and that coincides with the focal plane of the bulk transmitter optic
H04B 10/69 - Electrical arrangements in the receiver
H04B 10/80 - Optical aspects relating to the use of optical transmission for specific applications, not provided for in groups , e.g. optical power feeding or optical transmission through water
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
47.
Optical system for collecting distance information within a field
An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lens tubes that collimate collected photons, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.
G02B 30/27 - Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images by providing first and second parallax images to an observer’s left and right eyes of the autostereoscopic type involving lenticular arrays
A light ranging system can include a laser device and an imaging device having photosensors. The laser device illuminates a scene with laser pulse radiation that reflects off of objects in the scene. The reflections can vary greatly depending on the reflecting surface shape and reflectivity. The signal measured by photosensors can be filtered with a number of matched filter designed according to profiles of different reflected signals. A best matched filter can be identified, and hence information about the reflecting surface and accurate ranging information can be obtained. The laser pulse radiation can be emitted in coded pulses by allowing weights to different detection intervals. Other enhancements include staggering laser pulses and changing an operational status of photodetectors of a pixel sensor, as well as efficient signal processing using a sensor chip that includes processing circuits and photosensors.
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
Embodiments describe an electronically scanning optical system including an emitter array configured to emit light into a field, a time of flight (TOF) sensor array configured to detect emitted light reflected back from the field, an image sensor array configured to detect ambient light in the field, where a field of view of the emitter array corresponds to a field of view of the TOF sensor array and at least a subset of a field of view of the image sensor array. The optical system further including an emitter controller configured to activate a subset of the plurality of light emitters at a time, a TOF sensor controller configured to synchronize the readout of individual TOF photosensors concurrently with the firing of corresponding light emitters, and an image sensor controller configured to capture an image that is representative of the field during the emission cycle.
G01S 7/4863 - Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
G01S 17/42 - Simultaneous measurement of distance and other coordinates
G01S 17/86 - Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
H03K 3/42 - Generators characterised by the type of circuit or by the means used for producing pulses by the use, as active elements, of opto-electronic devices, i.e. light-emitting and photoelectric devices electrically- or optically-coupled
H04N 25/44 - Extracting pixel data from image sensors by controlling scanning circuits, e.g. by modifying the number of pixels sampled or to be sampled by partially reading an SSIS array
50.
Optical system for collecting distance information within a field
Optical systems and methods for collecting distance information are disclosed. An example optical system includes a first transmitting optic, a plurality of illumination sources, a pixel array comprising at least a first column of pixels and a second column of pixels, each pixel in the first column of pixels being offset from an adjacent pixel in the first column of pixels by a first pixel pitch, the second column of pixels being horizontally offset from the first column of pixels by the first pixel pitch, the second column of pixels being vertically offset from the first column of pixels by a first vertical pitch; and a set of input channels interposed between the first transmitting optic and the pixel array.
An optical measurement system may include a light source and corresponding photosensor configured to emit and detect photons reflected from objects in a surrounding environment for optical measurements. An initial peak can be identified as resulting from reflections off a housing of the optical measurement system. This peak can be removed or used to calibrate measurement calculations of the system. Peaks resulting from reflections off surrounding objects can be processed using on-chip filters to identify potential peaks, and the unfiltered data can be passed to an off-chip processor for distance calculations and other measurements. A spatial filtering technique may be used to combine values from histograms for spatially adjacent pixels in a pixel array. This combination can be used to increase the confidence for distance measurements.
An optical measurement system may include a plurality of light sources and a plurality of photosensors, where the photosensors are configured to receive photons from the light sources that are reflected off objects in the surrounding environment. Photons may be stored in memory blocks corresponding to the photosensors to form histograms of the receive photons. A select circuit may be used to share memory blocks between photosensors, such that a plurality of photosensors may write to a single memory block, or a single photosensor may write to a plurality of memory blocks. Sampling clock cycles for the photosensors may be adjusted relative to the clock cycles for the memory blocks based on the select circuit output.
G01S 17/93 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for anti-collision purposes
G01S 17/36 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of continuous waves, whether amplitude-, frequency-, or phase-modulated, or unmodulated with phase comparison between the received signal and the contemporaneously transmitted signal
G01S 17/42 - Simultaneous measurement of distance and other coordinates
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
G06F 13/16 - Handling requests for interconnection or transfer for access to memory bus
55.
PROCESSING TIME-SERIES MEASUREMENTS FOR LIDAR ACCURACY
An optical measurement system may include a light source and corresponding photosensor configured to emit and detect photons reflected from objects in a surrounding environment for optical measurements. An initial peak can be identified as resulting from reflections off a housing of the optical measurement system. This peak can be removed or used to calibrate measurement calculations of the system. Peaks resulting from reflections off surrounding objects can be processed using on-chip filters to identify potential peaks, and the unfiltered data can be passed to an off-chip processor for distance calculations and other measurements. A spatial filtering technique may be used to combine values from histograms for spatially adjacent pixels in a pixel array. This combination can be used to increase the confidence for distance measurements.
A Time of Flight (ToF) system includes an emitter array comprising one or more emitters configured to emit optical signals, a detector array comprising a plurality of detectors that are configured to output respective detection signals responsive to the optical signals that are reflected from a target, and a control circuit. The control circuit is configured to: control the emitter array to emit a first optical signal; and provide a plurality of activation signals to a subset of the plurality of detectors responsive to the first optical signal to activate respective ones of the detectors of the subset for a first duration to generate detection signals associated with the first optical signal. Respective ones of the plurality of activation signals are offset from one another by respective time offsets.
A LIDAR system having light emitters and light detectors can apply per-shot jitter to create variation in the interval between successive emitter pulses. Operation of the detectors can be synchronized with operation of the emitters so that a consistent time of flight measurement corresponds to a consistent distance. Application of per-shot jitter can reduce the effect of crosstalk from other sources of pulsed light and can also reduce range aliasing effects.
A laser array includes a plurality of laser diodes arranged and electrically connected to one another on a surface of a non-native substrate. Respective laser diodes of the plurality of laser diodes have different orientations relative to one another on the surface of the non-native substrate. The respective laser diodes are configured to provide coherent light emission in different directions, and the laser array is configured to emit an incoherent output beam comprising the coherent light emission from the respective laser diodes. The output beam may include incoherent light having a non-uniform intensity distribution over a field of view of the laser array. Related devices and fabrication methods are also discussed.
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/30 - Structure or shape of the active regionMaterials used for the active region
H01S 5/062 - Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
H01L 31/167 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof structurally associated with, e.g. formed in or on a common substrate with, one or more electric light sources, e.g. electroluminescent light sources, and electrically or optically coupled thereto the semiconductor device sensitive to radiation being controlled by the light source or sources the light sources and the devices sensitive to radiation all being semiconductor devices characterised by at least one potential or surface barrier
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
A LIDAR system can automatically determine, based on analysis of data collected from the sensor channels during operation, whether fog is present. If fog is present, the LIDAR system can operate in a fog mode, and if fog is not present, the LIDAR system can operate in a clear-air mode. The two modes can differ from each other with respect to the emitter signals and/or the signal processing applied to the sensor data.
A stereoscopic imager system, comprising: a sensor array comprising a first plurality of photosensors and a second plurality of photosensors spaced apart from the first plurality of photosensors by a gap, the first plurality of photosensors and the second plurality of photosensors being configured to detect ambient light in a scene; a moving component coupled to the sensor array and operable to move the sensor array between a first position and a second position within a full rotational image capturing cycle; and a system controller coupled to the sensor array and the moving component. The system controller can be configured to: move a field of view of a sensor array by instructing the moving component to capture a first image of an object in the scene with the first plurality of photosensors from a first perspective at the first position, and to capture a second image of the scene of the object in the scene with the second plurality of photosensors from a second perspective at the second position; and calculate, based on the first image and the second image, a distance to the object using an optical baseline defined by the gap.
G01S 17/89 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
G06T 7/55 - Depth or shape recovery from multiple images
H04N 13/239 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using two 2D image sensors having a relative position equal to or related to the interocular distance
G08B 13/194 - Actuation by interference with heat, light, or radiation of shorter wavelengthActuation by intruding sources of heat, light, or radiation of shorter wavelength using passive radiation detection systems using image scanning and comparing systems
A light ranging system can include a laser device and an imaging device having photosensors. The laser device illuminates a scene with laser pulse radiation that reflects off of objects in the scene. The reflections can vary greatly depending on the reflecting surface shape and reflectivity. The signal measured by photosensors can be filtered with a number of matched filter designed according to profiles of different reflected signals. A best matched filter can be identified, and hence information about the reflecting surface and accurate ranging information can be obtained. The laser pulse radiation can be emitted in coded pulses by allowing weights to different detection intervals. Other enhancements include staggering laser pulses and changing an operational status of photodetectors of a pixel sensor, as well as efficient signal processing using a sensor chip that includes processing circuits and photosensors.
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
A stereoscopic imager system, comprising: a sensor array comprising a first plurality of photosensors and a second plurality of photosensors spaced apart from the first plurality of photosensors by a gap, the first plurality of photosensors and the second plurality of photosensors being configured to detect ambient light in a scene; a moving component coupled to the sensor array and operable to move the sensor array between a first position and a second position within a full rotational image capturing cycle; and a system controller coupled to the sensor array and the moving component. The system controller can be configured to: move a field of view of a sensor array by instructing the moving component to capture a first image of an object in the scene with the first plurality of photosensors from a first perspective at the first position, and to capture a second image of the scene of the object in the scene with the second plurality of photosensors from a second perspective at the second position; and calculate, based on the first image and the second image, a distance to the object using an optical baseline defined by the gap.
H04N 13/25 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using two or more image sensors with different characteristics other than in their location or field of view, e.g. having different resolutions or colour pickup characteristicsImage signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using image signals from one sensor to control the characteristics of another sensor
G01S 17/894 - 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
G01S 17/86 - Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
G01S 17/10 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
H04N 13/243 - Image signal generators using stereoscopic image cameras using three or more 2D image sensors
A LIDAR system can automatically determine, based on analysis of data collected from the sensor channels during operation, whether fog is present. If fog is present, the LIDAR system can operate in a fog mode, and if fog is not present, the LIDAR system can operate in a “clear-air” mode. The two modes can differ from each other with respect to the emitter signals and/or the signal processing applied to the sensor data.
Embodiments describe a solid state electronic scanning LIDAR system that includes a scanning focal plane transmitting element and a scanning focal plane receiving element whose operations are synchronized so that the firing sequence of an emitter array in the transmitting element corresponds to a capturing sequence of a photosensor array in the receiving element. During operation, the emitter array can sequentially fire one or more light emitters into a scene and the reflected light can be received by a corresponding set of one or more photosensors through an aperture layer positioned in front of the photosensors. Each light emitter can correspond with an aperture in the aperture layer, and each aperture can correspond to a photosensor in the receiving element such that each light emitter corresponds with a specific photosensor in the receiving element.
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
G01S 17/10 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
G01S 7/4863 - Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
B81B 5/00 - Devices comprising elements which are movable in relation to each other, e.g. comprising slidable or rotatable elements
G01S 17/931 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for anti-collision purposes of land vehicles
G06V 20/58 - Recognition of moving objects or obstacles, e.g. vehicles or pedestriansRecognition of traffic objects, e.g. traffic signs, traffic lights or roads
H01L 31/02 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof - Details
G01S 17/88 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
H01L 25/16 - Assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid-state devices the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subclasses of , , , , or , e.g. forming hybrid circuits
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/40 - Arrangement of two or more semiconductor lasers, not provided for in groups
65.
Optical system for collecting distance information within a field
An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lenses that collimate photons passed by an aperture, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.
G02B 30/27 - Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images by providing first and second parallax images to an observer’s left and right eyes of the autostereoscopic type involving lenticular arrays
A light ranging system including a shaft; a first circuit board assembly that includes a stator assembly comprising a plurality of stator elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the first circuit board assembly; a second circuit board assembly rotationally coupled to the shaft, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly such that the plurality of rotor elements are aligned with and spaced apart from the plurality of stator elements; a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies and configured to provide a drive signal to the plurality of stator elements, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly about the shaft; and a light ranging device mechanically coupled to the second circuit board assembly such that the light ranging device rotates with the second circuit board assembly.
H05K 1/14 - Structural association of two or more printed circuits
H05K 1/18 - Printed circuits structurally associated with non-printed electric components
H05K 5/00 - Casings, cabinets or drawers for electric apparatus
B60L 3/00 - Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposesMonitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
H02J 50/10 - Circuit arrangements or systems for wireless supply or distribution of electric power using inductive coupling
G05D 1/02 - Control of position or course in two dimensions
H02K 11/00 - Structural association of dynamo-electric machines with electric components or with devices for shielding, monitoring or protection
67.
Rotating compact light ranging system comprising a stator driver circuit imparting an electromagnetic force on a rotor assembly
A light ranging system including a shaft; a first circuit board assembly that includes a stator assembly comprising a plurality of stator elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the first circuit board assembly; a second circuit board assembly rotationally coupled to the shaft, wherein the second circuit board assembly includes a rotor assembly comprising a plurality of rotor elements arranged about the shaft on a surface of the second circuit board assembly such that the plurality of rotor elements are aligned with and spaced apart from the plurality of stator elements; a stator driver circuit disposed on either the second or the first circuit board assemblies and configured to provide a drive signal to the plurality of stator elements, thereby imparting an electromagnetic force on the plurality of rotor elements to drive a rotation of the second circuit board assembly about the shaft; and a light ranging device mechanically coupled to the second circuit board assembly such that the light ranging device rotates with the second circuit board assembly.
B60L 3/00 - Electric devices on electrically-propelled vehicles for safety purposesMonitoring operating variables, e.g. speed, deceleration or energy consumption
H02J 7/02 - Circuit arrangements for charging or depolarising batteries or for supplying loads from batteries for charging batteries from AC mains by converters
G01S 7/4863 - Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
An optical system for collecting distance information within a field is provided. The optical system may include lenses for collecting photons from a field and may include lenses for distributing photons to a field. The optical system may include lenses that collimate photons passed by an aperture, optical filters that reject normally incident light outside of the operating wavelength, and pixels that detect incident photons. The optical system may further include illumination sources that output photons at an operating wavelength.
G02B 30/27 - Optical systems or apparatus for producing three-dimensional [3D] effects, e.g. stereoscopic images by providing first and second parallax images to an observer’s left and right eyes of the autostereoscopic type involving lenticular arrays
A Time of Flight (ToF) system, includes one or more optical elements configured to emit optical signals at two or more measurement frequencies and at least one disambiguation frequency, a detector array comprising a plurality of detectors that are configured to output respective detection signals responsive to light provided thereto, and a circuit configured to control the detector array to obtain a first subset of the detection signals at a first plurality of phase offsets corresponding to the two or more measurement frequencies and to obtain a second subset of the detection signals at a second plurality of phase offsets corresponding to the at least one disambiguation frequency, wherein the second plurality comprises fewer phase offsets than the first plurality.
A flash LIDAR apparatus includes emitter units configured to emit optical signals over a field of view, and detector pixels configured to output detection signals responsive to light representing the optical signals incident thereon. The detection signals correspond to respective phase offsets relative to a frequency of the optical signals. A circuit is configured to determine component measurements corresponding to the respective phase offsets from the detection signals, and calculate a distance of a target from which the light was reflected based on the detection signals. The distance is corrected for motion of the target based on subsets of the component measurements.
A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) detector circuit includes a memory device comprising a first memory and a second memory, and at least one control circuit. The at least one control circuit is configured to execute first memory storage operations to store data indicated by detection signals received from one or more photodetector elements in the first memory during a first portion of a time between pulses of an emitter signal output from a LIDAR emitter element, and to execute second memory storage operations to include the data, which was stored in the first memory, in the second memory during a second portion of the time between the pulses of the emitter signal. Related devices and methods of operation are also discussed.
A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) apparatus includes an optical emission source configured to emit an optical signal having a wavelength that varies based on a temperature of the optical emission source and/or an optical filter element that is configured to receive a reflection of the optical signal, the optical filter element having a passband that varies based on a temperature of the optical filter element; a thermal controller that is configured to generate a thermal control signal responsive to a temperature measurement related to the optical emission source or the optical filter element; and a temperature control element that is configured to adjust a temperature of the optical emission source or the optical filter element responsive to the thermal control signal.
G02F 1/01 - Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulatingNon-linear optics for the control of the intensity, phase, polarisation or colour
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
73.
PROCESSING TIME-SERIES MEASUREMENTS FOR LIDAR ACCURACY
An optical measurement system may include a light source and corresponding photosensor configured to emit and detect photons reflected from objects in a surrounding environment for optical measurements. An initial peak can be identified as resulting from reflections off a housing of the optical measurement system. This peak can be removed or used to calibrate measurement calculations of the system. Peaks resulting from reflections off surrounding objects can be processed using on-chip filters to identify potential peaks, and the unfiltered data can be passed to an off-chip processor for distance calculations and other measurements. A spatial filtering technique may be used to combine values from histograms for spatially adjacent pixels in a pixel array. This combination can be used to increase the confidence for distance measurements.
An optical measurement system may include a plurality of light sources and a plurality of photosensors, where the photosensors are configured to receive photons from the light sources that are reflected off objects in the surrounding environment. Photons may be stored in memory blocks corresponding to the photosensors to form histograms of the receive photons. A select circuit may be used to share memory blocks between photosensors, such that a plurality of photosensors may write to a single memory block, or a single photosensor may write to a plurality of memory blocks. Sampling clock cycles for the photosensors may be adjusted relative to the clock cycles for the memory blocks based on the select circuit output.
H02K 3/04 - Windings characterised by the conductor shape, form or construction, e.g. with bar conductors
G06F 3/06 - Digital input from, or digital output to, record carriers
G11C 29/02 - Detection or location of defective auxiliary circuits, e.g. defective refresh counters
G06F 13/28 - Handling requests for interconnection or transfer for access to input/output bus using burst mode transfer, e.g. direct memory access, cycle steal
G01S 17/00 - Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
Systems and methods are provided for processing lidar data. The lidar data can be obtained in a particular manner that allows reconstruction of rectilinear images for which image processing can be applied from image to image. For instance, kernel-based image processing techniques can be used. Such processing techniques can use neighboring lidar and/or associated color pixels to adjust various values associated with the lidar signals. Such image processing of lidar and color pixels can be performed by dedicated circuitry, which may be on a same integrated circuit. Further, lidar pixels can be correlated to each other. For instance, classification techniques can identify lidar and/or associated color pixels as corresponding to the same object. The classification can be performed by an artificial intelligence (AI) coprocessor. Image processing techniques and classification techniques can be combined into a single system.
Methods and systems can augment 360 degree panoramic LIDAR results (e.g., from a spinning LIDAR system) with color obtained from color cameras. A color-pixel-lookup table can specify the correspondence between LIDAR pixels (depth/ranging pixels) and color pixels, which may be done at different viewing object distances. The operation of the color cameras can be triggered by the angular positions of the LIDAR system. For example, a color image of a particular camera can be captured when the LIDAR system is at a particular angular position, which can be predetermined based on properties of the cameras (e.g., shutter speed). Alternatively or in addition, a common internal clock can be used to assign timestamps to LIDAR and color pixels as they are captured. The corresponding color pixel(s), e.g., as determined using a color-pixel-lookup table, with the closest timestamp can be used for colorization.
An optical measurement system may improve the accuracy with which it estimates distances to surrounding objects by upgrading various aspects of its data path. Spatial resolution may be increased by subdividing histogram buckets or integration registers based on spatial location. Saturation at any point in the data path can be detected and used to stop counting photons in individual pixels, which can then be normalized after a measurement is over. Multiple peaks can be detected using recursive or iterative techniques to identify a largest remaining peak at each stage. Instead of iterating through the histogram memory multiple times, a threshold can be pre-calculated based on an estimated ambient noise level, and peaks can be detected in a single pass.
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
78.
SYNCHRONIZED IMAGE CAPTURING FOR ELECTRONIC SCANNING LIDAR SYSTEMS
Embodiments describe an electronically scanning optical system including an emitter array configured to emit light into a field, a time of flight (TOF) sensor array configured to detect emitted light reflected back from the field, an image sensor array configured to detect ambient light in the field, where a field of view of the emitter array corresponds to a field of view of the TOF sensor array and at least a subset of a field of view of the image sensor array. The optical system further including an emitter controller configured to activate a subset of the plurality of light emitters at a time, a TOF sensor controller configured to synchronize the readout of individual TOF photosensors concurrently with the firing of corresponding light emitters, and an image sensor controller configured to capture an image that is presentative of the field during the emission cycle.
A LIDAR system having light emitters and light detectors can apply per-shot jitter to create variation in the interval between successive emitter pulses. Operation of the detectors can be synchronized with operation of the emitters so that a consistent time of flight measurement corresponds to a consistent distance. Application of per-shot jitter can reduce the effect of crosstalk from other sources of pulsed light and can also reduce range aliasing effects.
An optical measurement system includes a photosensor that includes one or more photosensitive elements. Each of the photosensitive elements may generate signals when a photon is detected, and the number of photons detected for each photosensor may be accumulated in an integration register. The integration register may accumulate photon counts independent of a parallel data path that stores photon counts in time bins based on photon arrival times to form a histogram representation. The total photon count in the integration register can be used to estimate ambient background light and properly set signal thresholds for detecting reflected light signals represented in the histogram.
G01S 17/88 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications
H03K 3/027 - Generators characterised by the type of circuit or by the means used for producing pulses by the use of logic circuits, with internal or external positive feedback
Methods are provided for using a light ranging system of a vehicle. A computing system receives, from light ranging devices, ranging data including distance vectors to environmental surfaces. A distance vector can correspond to a pixel of a three-dimensional image stream. The system can identify a pose of a virtual camera relative to the light ranging devices. The light ranging devices are separated from the pose by first vectors that are used to translate some of the distance vectors using the first vectors. The system may determine colors associated with the translated distance vectors and display pixels of the three-dimensional image stream using the colors at pixel positions specified by the translated distance vectors. The system may use one or more vehicle models with the ranging data to provide semantic labels that describe a region that has been, or is likely to be, in a collision.
Methods are provided for using a light ranging system of a vehicle. A computing system receives, from light ranging devices, ranging data including distance vectors to environmental surfaces. A distance vector can correspond to a pixel of a three-dimensional image stream. The system can identify a pose of a virtual camera relative to the light ranging devices. The light ranging devices are separated from the pose by first vectors that are used to translate some of the distance vectors using the first vectors. The system may determine colors associated with the translated distance vectors and display pixels of the three-dimensional image stream using the colors at pixel positions specified by the translated distance vectors. The system may use one or more vehicle models with the ranging data to provide semantic labels that describe a region that has been, or is likely to be, in a collision.
A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) detector circuit includes a plurality of detector pixels, where each or a respective detector pixel of the detector pixels includes a plurality of detector elements. At least one control circuit is configured to provide one or more detector control signals that selectively activate one or more of the detector elements of the respective detector pixel to define a first active detection area including a first subset of the detector elements for a first image acquisition, and a second active detection area including a second subset of the detector elements for a second image acquisition. Related devices and methods of operation are also discussed.
A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) system includes one or more emitter elements configured to emit optical signals responsive to respective emitter control signals, one or more detector elements configured to detect incident photons for respective strobe windows of operation between pulses of the optical signals and at respective delays that differ with respect to the pulses, and at least one control circuit. The at least one control circuit is configured to generate the respective emitter control signals to differently operate the one or more emitter elements based on the respective strobe windows of operation of the one or more detector elements.
A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) measurement circuit includes an array of single photon detectors configured to detect photons responsive to emission of an optical signal from an emitter, and a pixel processing circuit that is configured to calculate an estimated time of arrival of photons incident on the array of single photon detectors by utilizing a plurality of coarse histogram bins. Respective ones of the plurality of coarse histogram bins are associated with a duration that is greater than one-sixteenth of a pulse width of the optical signal.
An electronically scanning emitter array that includes a two-dimensional array of light emitters arranged in k emitter banks. Each of the k emitter banks can include a subset of the light emitters in the two-dimensional array and can be independently operable to emit light from its subset of emitters. The electronically scanning emitter array can further include first and second capacitor banks coupled to provide energy to the two-dimensional array of light emitters and emitter array driving circuitry coupled to the first and second capacitor banks and to the k emitter banks. Each of the first and second capacitor banks can include at least one capacitor. The emitter array driving circuitry can include a first high-side switch coupled between the first capacitor bank and a voltage source, a second high-side switch coupled between the second capacitor bank and the voltage source, and k/2 low-side switches coupled between the k emitter banks and ground; and the emitter driving circuitry can be configured to fire one emitter bank in the k emitter banks at a time according to a firing sequence until each of the k emitter banks are fired.
A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) measurement circuit includes a control circuit configured to receive respective detection signals output from one or more single-photon detectors in response to a plurality of photons incident thereon. The control circuit includes a photon counter circuit including a digital counter circuit and an analog counter circuit, the digital counter circuit being responsive to an output of the analog counter circuit or the analog counter circuit being responsive to an output of the digital counter circuit to count detection of respective photons of the plurality of photons based on the respective detection signals, and a time integration circuit configured to output a time integration signal representative of respective times of arrival indicated by the respective detection signals. The control circuit is configured to calculate an estimated time of arrival of the plurality of photons based on a ratio of the time integration signal and the count of the detection of the respective photons of the plurality of photons.
A laser array includes a plurality of laser diodes arranged and electrically connected to one another on a surface of a non-native substrate. Respective laser diodes of the plurality of laser diodes have different orientations relative to one another on the surface of the non-native substrate. The respective laser diodes are configured to provide coherent light emission in different directions, and the laser array is configured to emit an incoherent output beam comprising the coherent light emission from the respective laser diodes. The output beam may include incoherent light having a non-uniform intensity distribution over a field of view of the laser array. Related devices and fabrication methods are also discussed.
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/30 - Structure or shape of the active regionMaterials used for the active region
H01S 5/062 - Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
H01L 31/167 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof structurally associated with, e.g. formed in or on a common substrate with, one or more electric light sources, e.g. electroluminescent light sources, and electrically or optically coupled thereto the semiconductor device sensitive to radiation being controlled by the light source or sources the light sources and the devices sensitive to radiation all being semiconductor devices characterised by at least one potential or surface barrier
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
A laser diode includes a semiconductor structure of a lower Bragg reflector layer, an active region, and an upper Bragg reflector layer. The upper Bragg reflector layer includes a lasing aperture having an optical axis oriented perpendicular to a surface of the active region. The active region includes a first material, and the lower Bragg reflector layer includes a second material, where respective lattice structures of the first and second materials are independent of one another. Related laser arrays and methods of fabrication are also discussed.
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/30 - Structure or shape of the active regionMaterials used for the active region
H01L 31/167 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof structurally associated with, e.g. formed in or on a common substrate with, one or more electric light sources, e.g. electroluminescent light sources, and electrically or optically coupled thereto the semiconductor device sensitive to radiation being controlled by the light source or sources the light sources and the devices sensitive to radiation all being semiconductor devices characterised by at least one potential or surface barrier
F21V 5/04 - Refractors for light sources of lens shape
H01S 5/062 - Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
A Light Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) measurement circuit includes a processor circuit that is configured to receive detection signals output from a plurality of detector elements in response to a plurality of photons incident thereon during a detection window, identify detection events based on the detection signals, and calculating an estimated time of arrival of the plurality of photons based on a sum of respective numbers of the detection events that have been identified at respective time intervals of the detection window. The processor circuit may include at least one accumulator circuit that is configured to output the sum of the respective numbers of the detection events that have been identified at the respective time intervals based on a counter signal that is incremented responsive to each of the detection events, and a clock signal corresponding to the respective time intervals.
G01S 7/4865 - Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak
G01S 17/89 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
H01L 31/02 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof - Details
G04F 10/00 - Apparatus for measuring unknown time intervals by electric means
92.
Methods and systems for spatially distributed strobing comprising a control circuit to provide a strobe signal to activate a first subset of the detector pixels of a detector array while leaving a second subset of the detector pixels inactive
A Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) apparatus includes an emitter array comprising a plurality of emitter units configured to emit optical signals responsive to respective emitter control signals, a detector array comprising a plurality of detector pixels configured to be activated and deactivated for respective strobe windows between pulses of the optical signals; and a control circuit configured to provide a strobe signal to activate a first subset of the detector pixels while leaving a second subset of the detector pixels inactive.
A photodetector device includes a semiconductor material layer and at least one photodiode in the semiconductor material layer. The at least one photodiode is configured to be biased beyond a breakdown voltage thereof to generate respective electrical signals responsive to detection of incident photons. The respective electrical signals are independent of an optical power of the incident photons. A textured region is coupled to the semiconductor material layer and includes optical structures positioned to interact with the incident photons in the detection thereof by the at least one photodiode. Two or more photodiodes may define a pixel of the photodetector device, and the optical structures may be configured to direct the incident photons to any of the two or more photodiodes of the pixel.
G01S 17/08 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only
H01L 31/107 - Devices sensitive to infrared, visible or ultraviolet radiation characterised by only one potential barrier or surface barrier the potential barrier working in avalanche mode, e.g. avalanche photodiode
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A laser array includes a plurality of laser emitters arranged in a plurality of rows and a plurality of columns on a substrate that is non-native to the plurality of laser emitters, and a plurality of driver transistors on the substrate adjacent one or more of the laser diodes. A subset of the plurality of laser emitters includes a string of laser emitters that are connected such that an anode of at least one laser emitter of the subset is connected to a cathode of an adjacent laser emitter of the subset. A driver transistor of the plurality of driver transistors is configured to control a current flowing through the string.
G01S 17/89 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for mapping or imaging
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
H01S 5/30 - Structure or shape of the active regionMaterials used for the active region
H01S 5/062 - Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
H01L 31/167 - SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS - Details thereof structurally associated with, e.g. formed in or on a common substrate with, one or more electric light sources, e.g. electroluminescent light sources, and electrically or optically coupled thereto the semiconductor device sensitive to radiation being controlled by the light source or sources the light sources and the devices sensitive to radiation all being semiconductor devices characterised by at least one potential or surface barrier
H01L 31/18 - Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment of these devices or of parts thereof
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.
A Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) apparatus includes one or more optical elements configured to direct incident light in one or more directions, and a detector array including a plurality of detector pixels configured to output detection signals responsive to light provided thereto by the one or more optical elements. The light includes scattered light that is redirected relative to the one or more directions. A circuit is configured to receive the detection signals and generate corrected image data based on the detection signals and an expected spread function for the light. Related devices and methods of operation are also discussed.
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
G01S 7/4863 - Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
G01S 7/4915 - Time delay measurement, e.g. operational details for pixel componentsPhase measurement
H01S 5/183 - Surface-emitting [SE] lasers, e.g. having both horizontal and vertical cavities having only vertical cavities, e.g. vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers [VCSEL]
G01S 17/88 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications
