Search All Patents in Automobile Vision: LIDAR
Patent US10520592
Issued 2019-12-31
Light Detection And Ranging (lidar) Device With An Off-axis Receiver
In one example, a LIDAR device includes a light sources that emits light and a transmit lens that directs the emitted light to illuminate a region of an environment with a field-of-view defined by the transmit lens. The LIDAR device also includes a receive lens that focuses at least a portion of incoming light propagating from the illuminated region of the environment along a predefined optical path. The LIDAR device also includes an array of light detectors positioned along the predefined optical path. The LIDAR device also includes an offset light detector positioned outside the predefined optical path. The LIDAR device also includes a controller that determines whether collected sensor data from the array of light detectors includes data associated with another light source different than the light source of the device based on output from the offset light detector.
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- 1. A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device comprising:
a light source that emits light; a transmit lens that directs the emitted light to define a field-of-view (FOV) of the LIDAR device, wherein the emitted light illuminates a region of an environment within the FOV defined by the transmit lens; a receive lens that receives light from the environment, wherein the receive lens focuses light propagating toward the LIDAR device from the illuminated region of the environment along a predefined optical path; an array of light detectors positioned along the predefined optical path to intercept and detect the light propagating toward the LIDAR device from the illuminated region of the environment focused by the receive lens along the predefined optical path; an offset light detector positioned outside the predefined optical path to intercept and detect light propagating toward the LIDAR device from a region of the environment other than the illuminated region; and a controller that: (i) collects sensor data obtained using the array of light detectors, and (ii) based on at least output from the offset light detector, determines whether the collected sensor data includes sensor data associated with another light source different than the light source of the LIDAR device.
- 12. A method comprising:
emitting light via a light source of a LIDAR device; directing, via a transmit lens, the emitted light to define a field-of-view (FOV) of the LIDAR device, wherein the emitted light illuminates a region of an environment within the FOV defined by the transmit lens; focusing, via a receive lens, light propagating toward the LIDAR device from the illuminated region of the environment along a predefined optical path; detecting, at an array of light detectors positioned along the predefined optical path, the light propagating toward the LIDAR device from the illuminated region of the environment focused by the receive lens along the predefined optical path; detecting, at an offset light detector positioned outside the predefined optical path, light propagating toward the LIDAR device from a region of the environment other than the illuminated region; collecting sensor data obtained using the array of light detectors; and based on at least the detected light at the offset light detector, determining whether the collected sensor data includes sensor data associated with another light source different than the light source of the LIDAR device.
- 17. A system comprising:
a LIDAR transmitter that comprises: (i) a light source that emits light, and (ii) a transmit lens that directs the emitted light to define a field-of-view (FOV) of the LIDAR transmitter, wherein the emitted light illuminates a region of an environment within the FOV defined by the transmit lens; a LIDAR receiver that comprises: (i) a receive lens that receives light from the environment, wherein the receive lens focuses light propagating toward the LIDAR receiver from the illuminated portion of the environment along a predefined optical path, (ii) an array of light detectors positioned along the predefined optical path to intercept and detect the light propagating toward the LIDAR receiver from the illuminated portion of the environment focused by the receive lens along the predefined optical path, and (iii) an offset light detector positioned outside the predefined optical path to intercept and detect light propagating toward the LIDAR receiver from a region of the environment other than the illuminated region; one or more processors; and data storage storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising: collecting sensor data obtained using the array of light detectors; and based on at least output from the offset light detector, determining whether the collected sensor data includes sensor data associated with another light source different than the light source of the LIDAR transmitter.
