Foveated Imaging in a Lidar System
First Claim
1. A method for foveated imaging in lidar systems, the method comprising:
- obtaining a model for foveated imaging in a lidar system operating in a vehicle, the model indicating, for each of a plurality of road conditions or maneuvers, one or more respective regions of interest within a field of regard of the lidar system in which the lidar system is to obtain data at higher quantity and/or quality relative to other regions within the field of regard;
emitting light pulses by a light source in the lidar system at a certain pulse rate;
scanning, by a scanner in the lidar system, the field of regard of the lidar system, in accordance with a certain scan pattern at a certain scan speed, including directing the light pulses toward different points within the field of regard;
determining at least one of a road condition or an upcoming maneuver of the vehicle;
applying the road condition or the upcoming maneuver to the model to identify a region of interest within the field of regard; and
modifying at least one operational parameter of the lidar system to obtain data at higher quantity and/or quality within the identified region of interest, relative to other regions within the field of regard.
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Accused Products
Abstract
To identify the most important areas in front of a vehicle for avoiding collisions, a lidar system obtains a foveated imaging model. The foveated imaging model is generated by detecting the direction at which drivers'"'"' are facing at various points in time for several scenarios based on road conditions or upcoming maneuvers. The lidar system identifies an upcoming maneuver for the vehicle or a road condition and applies the identified maneuver or road condition to the foveated imaging model to identify a region of a field of regard at which to increase the resolution. The lidar system then increases the resolution at the identified region by increasing the pulse rate for transmitting light pulses within the identified region, filtering pixels outside of the identified region, or in any other suitable manner.
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Citations
22 Claims
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1. A method for foveated imaging in lidar systems, the method comprising:
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obtaining a model for foveated imaging in a lidar system operating in a vehicle, the model indicating, for each of a plurality of road conditions or maneuvers, one or more respective regions of interest within a field of regard of the lidar system in which the lidar system is to obtain data at higher quantity and/or quality relative to other regions within the field of regard; emitting light pulses by a light source in the lidar system at a certain pulse rate; scanning, by a scanner in the lidar system, the field of regard of the lidar system, in accordance with a certain scan pattern at a certain scan speed, including directing the light pulses toward different points within the field of regard; determining at least one of a road condition or an upcoming maneuver of the vehicle; applying the road condition or the upcoming maneuver to the model to identify a region of interest within the field of regard; and modifying at least one operational parameter of the lidar system to obtain data at higher quantity and/or quality within the identified region of interest, relative to other regions within the field of regard. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A lidar system comprising:
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a light source configured to emit light pulses at a certain pulse rate; a scanner configured to scan a field of regard of the lidar system in accordance with a certain scan pattern at a certain scan speed; one or more controllers configured to; obtain a model for foveated imaging in the lidar system operating within a vehicle, the model indicating, for each of a plurality of road conditions or maneuvers, one or more respective regions of interest within a field of regard of the lidar system in which the lidar system is to increase optical resolution, determine at least one of a road condition or an upcoming maneuver of the vehicle, apply the road condition or the upcoming maneuver to the model to identify a region of interest within the field of regard, and transmit a control signal to the light source to increase the pulse rate for one or more of the light pulses that are directed within the identified region of interest; and a detector configured to detect light from some of the light pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate respective pixels in a point cloud. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. An autonomous vehicle comprising:
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one or more components configured to maneuver the autonomous vehicle; a lidar system configured to detect objects within a threshold distance of the autonomous vehicle, the lidar system including; a light source configured to emit light pulses at a certain pulse rate, a scanner configured to scan a field of regard of the lidar system according to a certain scan pattern and at a certain scan speed, and a detector configured to detect light from some of the light pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate respective pixels in a point cloud; and a vehicle controller configured to; provide control signals to the one or more components to maneuver the autonomous vehicle in accordance with data from the lidar system, obtain a model for foveated imaging in the lidar system, the model indicating, for each of a plurality of road conditions or maneuvers, one or more respective regions of interest within a field of regard of the lidar system, determine at least one of a road condition or an upcoming maneuver, and cause the lidar system to obtain data at higher quantity and/or quality within the one or more identified region of interest, relative to other regions within the field of regard. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22)
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Specification