Lidar sensing arrangements
AssigneeSantec Corporation
InventorsChangho CHONG, Masayuki OKANO
Life of this patent
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Abstract
System and methods for Light Detecting and Ranging (LIDAR) are disclosed. The LIDAR system includes a light source that is configured project a beam at various wavelengths toward a wavelength dispersive element. The wavelength dispersive element is configured to receive the beam and direct at least a portion of the beam into a field of view (FOV) at an angle dependent on frequency. The system also includes a detector that is positioned to receive portions of the beam reflected from an object within the FOV and a processor that is configured to control the light source and determine a velocity of the object.
Claims20
A light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) system, the system comprising:
- a light source configured to generate a beam having discrete frequencies at different times;
- a wavelength dispersive element positioned to receive at least a portion of the beam and configured to sweep the beam over a range of angles in a field of view (FOV), wherein each discrete frequency of the beam corresponds to a different angle in the FOV;
- a detector positioned to receive portions of the beam that are reflected from an object within the FOV and configured to generate an object signal based on the received portions of the beam;
- and
- a processor communicably coupled to the detector, the processor configured to:
- cause the beam to sweep from a first frequency at a first time to a second frequency over a ramp up time period;
- cause the beam to sweep from the second frequency back to the first frequency over a ramp down time period;
- and
- determine a velocity of the object based on characteristics of the beam.
A system, comprising:
- a light source configured to generate a beam having discrete frequencies at different times;
- a wavelength dispersive element positioned to receive at least a portion of the beam and configured to sweep the beam over a range of angles in a field of view (FOV), wherein each discrete frequency of the beam corresponds to a different angle in the FOV;
- a detector positioned to receive portions of the beam that are reflected from an object within the FOV and configured to generate an object signal based on the received portions of the beam;
- and
- a processor communicably coupled to the detector configured to:
- cause the beam to sweep from a first frequency at a first time to a second frequency over a time period;
- and
- determine a velocity of the object based on the portions of the beam received by the detector.
A method of determining a velocity of an object within a field of view (FOV) of a sensing system, the method comprising:
- controlling, via a processor, a light source to project a beam that is swept from a first frequency to a last frequency starting at a first time over a first time period;
- projecting the beam toward a wavelength dispersive element;
- directing the beam into a FOV at angles depending on frequency;
- directing portions of the beam reflected from an object in the FOV to a detector;
- generating an object signal based on received portions of the beam from the object in the FOV;
- and
- determining, via the processor, a velocity of the object based on the object signal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.