Ladar receiver with advanced optics
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- a ladar transmitter comprising a plurality of scanable mirrors, the ladar transmitter configured to (1) for each of a plurality of frames, select a subset of range points within a frame per frame, (2) selectively scan the scanable mirrors to target the selected range points for each frame, and (3) transmit a plurality of ladar pulses toward the targeted range points via the scanned mirrors; and
a ladar receiver comprising;
a lens;
a light sensor; and
a light collector positioned between the lens and the light sensor;
wherein the lens is configured to receive light, the received light including a plurality of ladar pulses reflected from the targeted range points;
wherein the light collector is configured to collect light from the lens onto the light sensor; and
wherein the light sensor is configured to sense the light collected by the light collector and generate a signal indicative of the sensed light.
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Abstract
Disclosed herein are various embodiment of an adaptive ladar receiver and associated method whereby the active pixels in a photodetector array used for reception of ladar pulse returns can be adaptively controlled based at least in part on where the ladar pulses were targeted. Additional embodiments disclose improved imaging optics for use by the receiver and further adaptive control techniques for selecting which pixels of the photodetector array are used for sensing incident light.
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Citations
41 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a ladar transmitter comprising a plurality of scanable mirrors, the ladar transmitter configured to (1) for each of a plurality of frames, select a subset of range points within a frame per frame, (2) selectively scan the scanable mirrors to target the selected range points for each frame, and (3) transmit a plurality of ladar pulses toward the targeted range points via the scanned mirrors; and a ladar receiver comprising; a lens; a light sensor; and a light collector positioned between the lens and the light sensor; wherein the lens is configured to receive light, the received light including a plurality of ladar pulses reflected from the targeted range points; wherein the light collector is configured to collect light from the lens onto the light sensor; and wherein the light sensor is configured to sense the light collected by the light collector and generate a signal indicative of the sensed light. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method comprising:
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for each of a plurality of frames, selecting a subset of range points within a frame per frame; selectively scanning a plurality of mirrors to target the selected range points for each frame; transmitting a plurality of ladar pulses toward the targeted range points via the scanning mirrors, whereupon the ladar pulses are reflected from the range points; receiving light that includes the reflected ladar pulses via a lens; collecting, by a light collector, light from the lens onto a light sensor; and sensing, by the light sensor, the collected light and generating a signal indicative of the sensed light. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A system comprising:
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a ladar transmitter comprising a plurality of scanable mirrors, the ladar transmitter configured to (1) for each of a plurality of frames, select a subset of range points within a frame per frame, (2) selectively scan the scanable mirrors to target the selected range points for each frame, and (3) transmit a plurality of ladar pulses toward the targeted range points via the scanned mirrors; and a ladar receiver comprising; a lens; and a light sensor; wherein the lens is configured to pass light directly to the light sensor, the passed light including a plurality of ladar pulses reflected from the targeted range points; and wherein the light sensor is configured to sense the light from the lens and generate a signal indicative of the sensed light. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33)
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34. A method comprising:
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for each of a plurality of frames, selecting a subset of range points within a frame per frame; selectively scanning a plurality of mirrors to target the selected range points for each frame; transmitting a plurality of ladar pulses toward the targeted range points via the scanning mirrors, whereupon the ladar pulses are reflected from the range points; receiving, by a lens, light that includes the reflected ladar pulses; passing, by the lens, the received light directly to a light sensor; and sensing, by the light sensor, the passed light and generating a signal indicative of the sensed light. - View Dependent Claims (35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41)
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Specification