LiDAR systems and methods

A method for detecting objects in a surrounding environment of an autonomous vehicle, the method executable by a controller which is communicatively coupled to a radiation source and a scanner of a LIDAR system, the method comprising:

• causing the radiation source to emit output beams along an internal emission pathway of the LIDAR system;
• causing the scanner to direct the output beams onto a field of view (FOV) within the surrounding environment, the scanner comprising:
• a scanning face having a plurality of reflective zones with respective reflective surfaces, the plurality of reflective zones comprising at least:
• a first zone having a first reflective surface for receiving at least a portion of the output beams and transmitting as a first spread beam along a first spread axis to define a first region of interest (ROI) within the FOV, and
• a second zone having second reflective surface for receiving at least a portion of the output beams and transmitting as a second spread beam along a second spread axis to define a second ROI within the FOV, the first spread axis being different than the second spread axis;
• and
• wherein the directing the output beams onto the FOV comprises causing the scanner to selectively oscillate about different axes of oscillation in order to cause selective contact of the output beams with different reflective zones of the plurality of reflective zones to emit different output beams as a desired region of interest.