AUTOMOTIVE AUXILIARY LADAR SENSOR

• US 20140350836A1
• Filed: 05/24/2013
• Published: 11/27/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 05/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Continental Autonomous Mobility US LLC (Continental AG)
• Original Assignee: Advanced Scientific Concepts, Inc.
• Inventors: Stettner, Roger, Gilliland, Patrick, Duerner, Andrew
• Granted Patent: US 9,069,080 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 701/301
• CPC Class Codes: B60Q 1/0023 the element being a sensor, e.g. distance sensor, camera
• CPC Class Codes: B60T 7/22 initiated by contact of vehicle, e.g. bumper, with an external object, e.g. another vehicle , or by means of contactless obstacle detectors mounted on the vehicle
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 2420/408 Radar; Laser, e.g. lidar
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 30/08 Active safety systems predicting or avoiding probable or impending collision or attempting to minimise its consequences
• CPC Class Codes: B62D 15/0265 Automatic obstacle avoidance by steering
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/86 Combinations of lidar systems with systems other than lidar, radar or sonar, e.g. with direction finders
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/894 3D imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a 2D array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 17/931 of land vehicles
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/481 Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4813 Housing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/4818 using optical fibres
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 7/489 Gain of receiver varied automatically during pulse-recurrence period

Abstract

A vehicle and ladar sensor assembly system is proposed which makes use of forward mounted long range ladar sensors and short range ladar sensors mounted in auxiliary lamps to identify obstacles and to identify potential collisions with the vehicle. A low cost assembly is developed which can be easily mounted within a body panel cutout of a vehicle, and which connects to the vehicle electrical and computer systems through the vehicle wiring harness. The vehicle has a digital processor which interprets 3D data received from the ladar sensor assembly, and which is in control of the vehicle subsystems for steering, braking, acceleration, and suspension. The digital processor onboard the vehicle makes use of the 3D data and the vehicle control subsystems to avoid collisions and steer a best path.

Claims

1. A ladar sensor assembly and vehicle comprising:

a vehicle having a cutout in a body panel, said cutout being at the periphery of said vehicle and having a shape adapted to receive a mating retention feature on a ladar sensor assembly, said vehicle further having a first digital processor, a wiring harness and a first connector attached at a terminus of said wiring harness,

and said ladar sensor assembly mounted to said vehicle and comprising;

an envelope enclosing a ladar sensor,

said envelope having at least one transparent section,

said envelope also having at least one retention feature,

a second connector adapted to mate with the first connector of said wiring harness,

receiving optics,

a laser transmitter with a modulated laser light output and a diffusing optic for illuminating a scene in a field of view of said ladar sensor,

a two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors positioned at a focal plane of said receiving optics, each of said light sensitive detectors with an output producing an electrical response signal from a reflected portion of said modulated laser light output,

a readout integrated circuit with a plurality of unit cell electrical circuits, each of said unit cell electrical circuits having an input connected to one of said light sensitive detector outputs, each unit cell electrical circuit having an electrical response signal demodulator and a range measuring circuit connected to an output of said electrical response signal demodulator, said range measuring circuit further connected to a reference signal providing a zero range reference for the said range measuring circuit,

a detector bias circuit connected to at least one voltage distribution grid of said array of light sensitive detectors,

a second digital processor connected to receive an output from the range measuring circuit,

and a temperature stabilized frequency reference connected through the digital processor to provide clocking signals.

2. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said wiring harness has at least one optical waveguide.

3. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said first connector has electrical contacts.

4. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said first connector has at least one optical mating surface.

5. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said envelope is molded from a transparent plastic.

6. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said retention features are comprised of beams with tapered ramps which deflect upon engagement with a body panel cutout of a vehicle and then spring back towards an original position to retain the ladar sensor assembly thereto when fully inserted into said panel.

7. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said laser transmitter comprises a vertical cavity surface emitting laser formed in a semiconducting gain medium with at least one element selected from the set of indium, gallium, arsenic, phosphorus.

8. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said modulated laser light output is modulated with a waveform selected from the set of a single Gaussian pulse profile, multiple Gaussian profile pulses, a single flat-topped pulse profile, multiple flat-topped pulses, a pulsed sinewave, and a chirped sinewave pulse.

9. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said laser transmitter comprises an optically pumped solid state laser formed in a gain medium selected from the set of yttrium aluminum garnet, erbium doped glass, neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet, and erbium doped yttrium aluminum garnet.

10. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors is mounted directly to said readout integrated circuit.

11. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said ladar sensor assembly comprises a plurality of electrical components mounted to a common circuit substrate within said envelope.

12. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said ladar sensor is integrated into an auxiliary lamp assembly selected from the set of a turn signal, taillight, parking light, mirror assembly, and brake light.

13. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said vehicle further has at least one two dimensional imaging camera sighted to have a field of view overlapping said field of view of said ladar sensor, and said vehicle further having a digital processor capable of merging the data from said ladar sensor assembly with data from said at least one two dimensional imaging camera.

14. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said laser transmitter is enclosed by a hermetic cover.

15. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors is enclosed by a hermetic cover.

16. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said digital processor determines the geometry of a surface by analyzing the shape of a reflected light pulse.

17. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said laser transmitter is an array of semiconductor lasers modulated by a current controlled by at least one transistor.

18. The ladar sensor assembly and vehicle of claim 1 wherein said first digital processor and said second digital processor are combined into a single digital processor.

19. A vehicle and collision avoidance system comprising:

a vehicle having at least one ladar sensor assembly mounted thereto, said vehicle having a cutout in a body panel, said cutout being at the periphery of said vehicle and having a shape adapted to receive a mating retention feature on said at least one ladar sensor assembly, and said vehicle further having a first digital processor and a wiring harness, a first connector attached at a terminus of said wiring harness, said first connector adapted to mate with a connector of said at least one ladar sensor assembly, and said vehicle first digital processor receiving three dimensional data from said at least one ladar sensor assembly and a control system which controls the path and velocity of said vehicle, said first digital processor applying controls through said control system to conduct said vehicle along a preferred path;

and said at least one ladar sensor assembly comprising

a receiving lens,

a laser transmitter, said laser transmitter with a modulated laser light output and a diffusing optic for illuminating a scene in a field of view of said at least one ladar sensor assembly,

a two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors positioned at a focal plane of said receiving lens, each of said light sensitive detectors with an output producing an electrical response signal from a reflected portion of said modulated laser light output,

a readout integrated circuit with a plurality of unit cell electrical circuits, each of said unit cell electrical circuits having an input connected to one of said light sensitive detector outputs, each said unit cell electrical circuit having an electrical response signal demodulator and a range measuring circuit connected to an output of said electrical response signal demodulator, said range measuring circuit further connected to a reference signal providing a zero range reference for the said range measuring circuit,

and a detector bias circuit connected to at least one voltage distribution grid of said array of light sensitive detectors;

a second digital processor connected to receive data outputs from the range measuring circuits and to conduct operations on said data outputs, and to provide processed digital outputs to said first digital processor,

and a temperature stabilized frequency reference connected to the second digital processor.

20. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said laser transmitter comprises a semiconductor laser formed in a semiconducting gain medium with at least one element selected from the set of indium, gallium, arsenic, phosphorus.

21. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said modulated laser light output is modulated with a waveform selected from the set of a single Gaussian pulse profile, multiple Gaussian profile pulses, a single flat-topped pulse profile, multiple flat-topped pulses, a pulsed sinewave, and a chirped sinewave pulse.

22. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said laser transmitter comprises an optically pumped solid state laser formed in a gain medium selected from the set of yttrium aluminum garnet, erbium doped glass, neodymium doped yttrium aluminum garnet, and erbium doped yttrium aluminum garnet.

23. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors is mounted directly to said readout integrated circuit.

24. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said control system controls a vehicle system selected from the set of steering, braking, and suspension.

25. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said two dimensional array of light sensitive detectors is formed in a semiconducting film having an element selected from the set of silicon, indium, gallium, arsenic, phosphorus, aluminum, boron, antimony, magnesium, germanium, and nitrogen.

26. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said ladar sensor assembly is integral with an auxiliary lamp assembly selected from the set of a turn signal, taillight, parking light, and brake light.

27. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said electrical response signal demodulator comprises:

an input amplifier with an output connected to a trigger circuit;

a series of analog sampling gates, each sampling gate with an associated analog memory cell, and each of said sampling gates connected to an output of said input amplifier,

a sample clock controlling the timing of each of said sampling gates,

a selector for selecting each of said sampling gates in sequence,

a counter for counting the number of samples,

an output amplifier with an input connected to each of said analog memory cells,

an output control for selecting a sequence of said analog memory cell contents to be output through said output amplifier,

and wherein an input of an analog to digital converter is connected to said output amplifier, an output of said analog to digital converter is connected to an input of a digital processor and said analog to digital converter produces a sequence of digitized analog samples of said electrical response signal, and said digital processor is programmed to demodulate said electrical response signal by operating on the sequence of digitized analog samples using a digital processing algorithm.

28. The apparatus of claim 19 wherein said electrical response signal demodulator comprises:

an input amplifier with an output connected to a first input of a phase comparator, said phase comparator having a phase reference signal connected to a second input, and an output of said phase comparator connected to the input of an integrator, said integrator having an integrator output with an output voltage indicative of the difference in phase between said first input and said second input of said phase comparator.

29. The vehicle and collision avoidance system of claim 19 wherein said vehicle further has at least one two dimensional imaging camera sighted to have a field of view overlapping said field of view of said ladar sensor assembly, and said vehicle further having a digital processor capable of merging the data from said ladar sensor assembly with data from said at least one two dimensional imaging camera.