Adjustable beam pattern for lidar sensor
First Claim
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1. A LIDAR sensor for an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
- a set of mirrors;
a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors; and
one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback from the AV, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers;
wherein the AV feedback indicates a speed of the AV, wherein the one or more mirror actuators reconfigure the beam pattern by modifying a vertical angular spacing of the outputted laser beams, and wherein the one or more mirror actuators dynamically increase the vertical angular spacing as the AV decreases speed, and dynamically decrease the vertical angular spacing as the AV increases speed.
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Abstract
A LIDAR sensor for an autonomous vehicle (AV) can include a set of mirrors and a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors. The LIDAR sensor can further include one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback from the AV, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers.
147 Citations
19 Claims
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1. A LIDAR sensor for an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
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a set of mirrors; a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors; and one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback from the AV, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers; wherein the AV feedback indicates a speed of the AV, wherein the one or more mirror actuators reconfigure the beam pattern by modifying a vertical angular spacing of the outputted laser beams, and wherein the one or more mirror actuators dynamically increase the vertical angular spacing as the AV decreases speed, and dynamically decrease the vertical angular spacing as the AV increases speed. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An autonomous vehicle (AV) comprising:
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acceleration, braking, and steering systems; a LIDAR sensor generating sensor data indicating a surrounding environment of the AV, the LIDAR sensor comprising; a set of mirrors; a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors; and one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers; and a control system to (i) process the sensor data generated by the LIDAR sensor to autonomously operate the acceleration, braking, and steering systems of the AV; wherein the AV feedback indicates a speed of the AV, wherein the one or more mirror actuators reconfigure the beam pattern by modifying a vertical angular spacing of the outputted laser beams, and wherein the one or more mirror actuators dynamically increase the vertical angular spacing as the AV decreases speed, and dynamically decrease the vertical angular spacing as the AV increases speed. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A LIDAR sensor for an autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
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a set of mirrors; a set of lasers outputting laser beams via the set of mirrors; one or more mirror actuators to adjust the set of mirrors, in response to AV feedback from the AV, to reconfigure a beam pattern of the outputted lasers; and a rotational motor that adjusts a rotational rate of the set of mirrors in response to the AV feedback; wherein the AV feedback indicates a speed of the AV, and wherein the rotational motor adjusts the rotational rate based on the speed of the AV. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
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Specification