Laser range finder with enhanced utilization of a remote located mirror
First Claim
1. A laser range finder with a field of view comprising:
- a. electronic circuitry configured to obtain a location estimate for a remote mirror located in the field of view, and to generate a set of laser steering parameters based on the location estimate; and
b. a steerable laser assembly, coupled to at least some of the electronic circuitry and configured to;
use the set of laser steering parameters to generate a set of laser pulses having an average spatial density in the field of view;
the set of laser pulses comprising a first subset that is positioned in the field of view to overlap at least a portion of the remote mirror; and
wherein the first subset of the set of laser pulses has a greater spatial density than the average spatial density of the set of laser pulses in the field of view.
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Abstract
A LIDAR can encounter a remotely located mirror as it moves through a local environment (e.g. a convex roadside mirror). The remote mirror can occupy a small portion of the LIDAR field of view but offer a wealth of reflection data regarding a larger indirect field of view (e.g. around a corner). In one embodiment a LIDAR can learn the location of the remote mirror and then can dynamically increase the density of laser ranging measurements in an associated mirror region of the field of view. The LIDAR can track the mirror region as it moves in the local environment with an increased density of outgoing laser pulses and thereby interrogate the remote mirror for reflection data from a wide indirect field of view.
81 Citations
30 Claims
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1. A laser range finder with a field of view comprising:
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a. electronic circuitry configured to obtain a location estimate for a remote mirror located in the field of view, and to generate a set of laser steering parameters based on the location estimate; and b. a steerable laser assembly, coupled to at least some of the electronic circuitry and configured to; use the set of laser steering parameters to generate a set of laser pulses having an average spatial density in the field of view;
the set of laser pulses comprising a first subset that is positioned in the field of view to overlap at least a portion of the remote mirror; and
wherein the first subset of the set of laser pulses has a greater spatial density than the average spatial density of the set of laser pulses in the field of view. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method comprising:
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a. obtaining at electronic circuitry a location estimate for a remote mirror, wherein the remote mirror occupies a mirror region of a field of view of a steerable laser assembly; b. generating with the electronic circuitry a set of laser steering parameters based at least in part on the location estimate for the remote mirror; c. dynamically steering with the steerable laser assembly at least one laser beam, according to the set of laser steering parameters, and thereby generating a set of laser pulses with an average spatial density in the field of view, and wherein a first subset of the set of laser pulses have a greater spatial density in the mirror region of the field of view than the average spatial density of the set of laser pulses in the field of view. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24)
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25. A laser range finder comprising:
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a. a steerable laser assembly with a field of view; and b. electronic circuitry that identifies a first region of the field of view that includes at least some of a remote mirror; and wherein the electronic circuitry provides laser steering parameters that instruct the steerable laser assembly to dynamically steer one or more laser beams to thereby generate a set of laser pulses, with an average laser pulse density in the field of view; wherein at least some of the laser steering parameters cause the steerable laser assembly to generate the set of laser pulses with a greater laser pulse density in the first region of the field of view than the average laser pulse density in the field of view. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification