VARIABLE FLUX ALLOCATION WITHIN A LIDAR FOV TO IMPROVE DETECTION IN A REGION

• US 20180113200A1
• Filed: 12/21/2017
• Published: 04/26/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/20/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Innoviz Technologies, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Innoviz Technologies, Ltd.
• Inventors: Steinberg, Amit, Berman, Pavel, Elooz, David, Zohar, Guy, Kremer, Hanoch, Vlaiko, Julian, Osiroff, Nir, Keilaf, Omer David, Buskila, Oren, Rosenzweig, Oren, Eshel, Ronen
• Granted Patent: US 10,191,156 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0023 the element being a sensor, e.g. distance sensor, camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/26 the devices being primarily intended to indicate the vehicle, or parts thereof, or to give signals, to other traffic
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/04 Systems determining the presence of a target
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/10 using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves determination of distance by phase measurements G01S17/32
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/42 Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates indirect measurement G01S17/46
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/89 for mapping or imaging
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/93 for anti-collision purposes
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4808 Evaluating distance, position or velocity data
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4812 transmitted and received beams following a coaxial path
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4814 of transmitters alone
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4815 using multiple transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4817 relating to scanning
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/484 Transmitters
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/486 Receivers
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4861 Circuits for detection, sampling, integration or read-out
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4863 Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4868 Controlling received signal intensity or exposure of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4876 by removing unwanted signals G01S7/495 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4918 Controlling received signal intensity, gain or exposure of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/497 : Means for monitoring or calibrating
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4972 : Alignment of sensor
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/0858 : the reflecting means being moved or deformed by piezoelectric means
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 26/10 : Scanning systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/024 : in combination with a laser lasers per se H01S
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/04 : using optical or ultrasonic detectors
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 1/166 : for active traffic, e.g. moving vehicles, pedestrians, bikes

Abstract

A LIDAR system is provided. The LIDAR system comprises at least one processor configured to: control at least one light source in a manner enabling light intensity to vary over a scan of a field of view using light from the at least one light source; control at least one light deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source; obtain an identification of at least one distinct region of interest in the field of view; and increase light allocation to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that following a first scanning cycle, light intensity in at least one subsequent second scanning cycle at locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest is higher than light intensity in the first scanning cycle at the locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest.

Claims

1-70. -70. (canceled)

71. A LIDAR system, comprising:

at least one processor configured to;

control at least one light source in a manner enabling light intensity to vary over a scan of a field of view using light from the at least one light source;

control at least one light deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view;

obtain an identification of at least one distinct region of interest in the field of view; and

increase light allocation to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that following a first scanning cycle, light intensity in at least one subsequent second scanning cycle at locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest is higher than light intensity in the first scanning cycle at the locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest.

72. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the processor is configured to modify illumination resolution to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that spatial resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle is higher than spatial resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the first scanning cycle.

73. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the processor is configured to modify illumination resolution to the at least one distinct region of interest or the at least one region of non-interest relative to other regions, such that spatial resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle is lower than spatial resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the first scanning cycle.

74. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the processor is configured to modify illumination timing to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that temporal resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle is higher than temporal resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest in the first scanning cycle.

75. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the processor is configured to modify illumination timing to the at least one distinct region of interest or the at least one region of non-interest relative to other regions, such that temporal resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest or the at least one region of non-interest in the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle is lower than temporal resolution of a 3D representation of the at least one distinct region of interest or the at least one region of non-interest in the first scanning cycle.

76. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the at least one light deflector in order to scan the field of view, and wherein a single scanning cycle of the field of view includes moving the at least one light deflector such that during the scanning cycle the at least one light deflector is instantaneously located in a plurality of positions.

77. The LIDAR system of claim 76, wherein at least one processor is configured to coordinate the at least one light deflector and the at least one light source such that when the at least one light deflector is located at a particular instantaneous position, a light beam is deflected by the at least one light deflector from the at least one light source towards the field of view and reflections from an object in the field of view are deflected by the at least one light deflector toward at least one sensor.

78. The LIDAR system of claim 76, wherein the obtained identification of the at least one distinct region of interest includes an indication of specific light deflector positions associated with the at least one distinct region of interest.

79. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the obtained identification of the at least one distinct region of interest is based on a current driving mode of a vehicle in which the LIDAR system is deployed.

80. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the obtained identification of the at least one distinct region of interest is based on an object detected in the at least one distinct region of interest.

81. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to determine the identification of the at least one distinct region of interest based on information received from at least one sensor configured to detect reflections of light associated with the first scanning cycle.

82. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to obtain the identification of the at least one distinct region of interest from at least one of a GPS, a vehicle navigation system, a radar, a LIDAR, and a camera.

83. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to adjust light allocation such that in a single scanning cycle more light is projected towards the at least one distinct region of interest than to the other regions of the field of view.

84. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allocate less light in the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle to a plurality of regions identified as non-regions of interest relative to an amount of light projected towards the plurality of regions in the first scanning cycle.

85. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle includes a plurality of subsequent second scanning cycles, and an aggregate light intensity in an area of the at least one distinct region of interest over a plurality of second scanning cycles is greater than an aggregate light intensity in other non-regions of interest over the plurality of second scanning cycles.

86. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to cap accumulated light in the at least one distinct region of interest within eye safety thresholds.

87. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one distinct region of interest includes a plurality of regions of interest, and the at least one processor is further configured to rank the plurality of regions of interest and allocate light based on the ranking.

88. The LIDAR system of claim 87, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to allocate the most light to a highest ranking region of interest and to allocate less light to lower ranking regions of interest.

89. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one light deflector includes a pivotable MEMS mirror.

90. The LIDAR system of claim 71, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to use reflections associated with a scan of the at least one distinct region of interest to determine an existence of a first object in the at least one distinct region of interest at a first distance greater than a second distance at which a second object in a non-region of interest was not detected.

91. A method for detecting objects in a region of interest using a LIDAR system, the method comprising:

controlling at least one light source in a manner enabling light intensity to vary over a scan of a field of view using light from the at least one light source;

controlling at least one light deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view;

receiving an identification of at least one distinct region of interest in the field of view; and

increasing light allocation to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that following a first scanning cycle, light intensity in at least one subsequent second scanning cycle at locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest is higher than light intensity in the first scanning cycle at the locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest.

92. The method of claim 91, further comprising:

receiving the identification of the at least one distinct region of interest from at least one sensor configured to detect reflections of light associated with the first scanning cycle.

93. The method of claim 91, wherein the at least one subsequent second scanning cycle includes a plurality of subsequent second scanning cycles, and an aggregate light intensity in an area of the at least one distinct region of interest over a plurality of second scanning cycles is greater than an aggregate light intensity in other non-regions of interest over the plurality of second scanning cycles.

94. The method of claim 91, further comprising:

adjusting light allocation such that in a single scanning cycle more light is projected towards the at least one distinct region of interest relative to the other regions.

95. The method of claim 91, wherein the at least one distinct region of interest includes a plurality of regions of interest, the method further comprising:

ranking the plurality of regions of interest; and

allocating light based on the ranking, wherein an amount of light allocated to a highest ranking region of interest is greater than an amount of light allocated to lower ranking regions of interest.

96. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for detecting objects in a region of interest using a LIDAR system, the method comprising:

controlling at least one light source in a manner enabling light intensity to vary over a scan of a field of view using light from the at least one light source;

controlling at least one light deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view;

receiving an identification of at least one distinct region of interest in the field of view; and

increasing light allocation to the at least one distinct region of interest relative to other regions, such that following a first scanning cycle, light intensity in at least one subsequent second scanning cycle at locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest is higher than light intensity in the first scanning cycle at the locations associated with the at least one distinct region of interest.

97-390. -390. (canceled)