An aspect of the disclosure is related to an apparatus consisting of a first chip including a first waveguide and a second chip including a second waveguide. The apparatus further includes a medium to couple the first waveguide with the second waveguide. The first plane of the first chip is arranged to be perpendicular to a second plane of the second chip to enable a polarization rotation.
G02B 6/126 - Light guidesStructural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind using polarisation effects
G02B 6/12 - Light guidesStructural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings of the optical waveguide type of the integrated circuit kind
2.
DETECTION OF AN OBSCURANT ON AN ENVIRONMENT SURFACE BY A LIDAR SYSTEM
In various embodiments, a system for detecting an obscurant on an environment surface includes a light source; a scanner; a receiver that detects scattered reflection returns, some of which may be below a detection threshold; and a processor. The processor determines whether the portion below the threshold corresponds to an obscurant on an environment surface, including by: receiving a new point cloud including a group of points corresponding to the environment surface, clustering at least a portion of the group of points to form a projected shape, and clustering into a candidate cluster at least a portion of the portion below the threshold that belong to projected locations within the shape. The obscurant candidate cluster is compared with a previously determined cluster to determine whether a detected change conforms to a detected physical movement of the system. If so, the obscurant candidate cluster is an obscurant on the environment surface.
In various embodiments, a process for classifying absorbing targets by a lidar system includes emitting output beams comprising pulses of light for a region in a field of regard, and detecting received pulses of light associated with at least a portion of the emitted pulses of light for the region. The process includes determining a metric associated with the detected received pulses of light, providing at least a portion of the metric to a trained machine learning model to determine a machine learning output, and classifying a light absorbing blockage associated with the region based on the machine learning output.
In various embodiments, a process includes emitting an output beam through a window, scanning the beam across a field of regard, and detecting pulses of light corresponding to scattered reflection returns of a first part of the emitted pulses. Scattered reflection returns of a second part of the emitted pulses are below a detection threshold. The process includes determining whether at least a portion of the second part of the emitted pulses of light corresponds to a blockage on the window including by clustering projected locations on the window for the second part of the emitted pulses of light, determining an edge of a shape encompassing the cluster(s), and analyzing signal properties of the received pulse(s) of light corresponding to one or more of the first part of the emitted pulses of light that are associated with projected locations within a threshold distance from the edge of the shape.
A point cloud generated at least in part using a lidar sensor is received. A geometric mesh based on the point cloud is determined. A seed geometric face formed in the geometric mesh is selected based on one or more seed selection criteria. Starting from the seed geometric face, neighboring geometric faces of the geometric mesh that meet one or more relative neighbor selection criteria are iteratively selected into a region group, and an operable region indicated by the region group is detected.
A direction of motion associated with a lidar device is detected to fall within a threshold. In response to the detection that the direction of the motion is within the threshold, a directional vector associated with an orientation of the lidar device is determined. Based on a difference between the direction of the motion and the directional vector, one or more correction values for the lidar device is determined.
A system comprises a light source, a radar transmitter, a light receiver, a radar receiver, and a processor. The light source is configured to emit a light pulse. The radar transmitter is configured to transmit a radar signal, wherein an emission direction of the light pulse of the light source and a transmission direction of the radar signal of the radar transmitter are at least in part synchronized. The light receiver is configured to detect a reflected light pulse, the radar receiver is configured to detect a reflected radar signal, and the processor is configured to determine a dimensional representation of an environment based at least in part on the detected reflected light pulse and the detected reflected radar signal.
In the present application, a lidar system is disclosed. The system comprises a light source configured to emit an output beam comprising a plurality of light pulses through a window. The system comprises a receiver configured to detect a reference signal, the reference signal corresponding to one of the plurality of light pulses reflected from the window. The receiver is configured to detect a received signal, the received signal comprising a signal portion corresponding to one of the plurality of light pulses scattered by a target located at a distance. The system comprises a processor configured to determine the distance to the target using the received signal, including by being configured to subtract the reference signal from the received signal.
A system comprises a light source, a scanner, an optical limiter, and a receiver sensor. The light source is configured to emit an output beam comprising pulses of light. The scanner is configured to scan the output beam across a field of regard of the system. The optical limiter is configured to non-linearly affect a received light based on an intensity of the received light. The receiver sensor is configured to detect at least a portion of the received light exiting the optical limiter, the detected light comprising at least a portion of one of the emitted pulses of light scattered by an object located a distance from the system.
A system comprises a seed laser diode, a semiconductor optical amplifier, and a driver. The seed laser diode is configured to produce a seed optical signal. The semiconductor optical amplifier is configured to, based on an injected amplifier current pulse, amplify the seed optical signal to produce an emitted optical signal. The driver is configured to provide to the seed laser diode or the semiconductor optical amplifier, a profiled compensation current associated with the injected amplifier current pulse to at least in part control a frequency chirp of the emitted optical signal.
H01S 5/062 - Arrangements for controlling the laser output parameters, e.g. by operating on the active medium by varying the potential of the electrodes
H01S 5/50 - Amplifier structures not provided for in groups
In one embodiment, a sensor includes a window, a light source that can emit an optical signal toward the window, a receiver to detect an optical signal reflected off a target and received through the window, and a controller to determine a characteristic of the target. The emitted optical signal is capable of being used to reduce an obscurant on the window by absorption, as well as to scatter off of targets located in the environment of the sensor to obtain information about that environment.
A scanner is configured to scan the emitted light through a window. A first detector is positioned to receive at least a portion of the emitted light scattered by a downrange target. A second detector is positioned to receive at least a portion of the emitted light scattered by a window obscurant. A third detector is positioned to receive at least a portion of the emitted light scattered by a close obscurant located within a distance range that is between a minimum detection distance associated with the first detector and a maximum detection distance associated with the second detector. A processor is configured to determine whether an obscurant located closer to the window than the minimum detection distance associated with the first detector is detected based on one or more signal properties of the second detector and one or more signal properties of the third detector.
A lidar system is disclosed. The system comprises a light source configured to emit light pulses. The system comprises a scanner configured to scan the emitted light pulses across an internal reference target internal to the system. The system comprises a detector configured to detect light that is at least a portion of light scattered by the internal reference target from at least a portion of the emitted light pulses. The system comprises a processor configured to selectively gather detected optical property values of the detected light corresponding to a selective portion of the emitted light pulses scanned across the internal reference target and use the selectively gathered detected optical property values to determine one or more calibration values.
A system comprises a light source, a receiver, and a processor. The light source is configured to generate an emitted pulse of light. The receiver is configured to detect at least a portion of the emitted pulse of light scattered by an external target and provide a plurality of different measurement signals for the detected emitted pulse of light. The processor is configured to analyze the plurality of different measurement signals to identify the plurality of different measurement signals as corresponding to the same external target and combine the identified plurality of different measurement signals to determine a measurement for the external target.
A lidar system includes one or more light sources configured to generate a first beam of light and a second beam of light, a scanner configured to scan the first and second beams of light across a field of regard of the lidar system, and a receiver configured to detect the first beam of light and the second beam of light scattered by one or more remote targets. The scanner includes a rotatable polygon mirror that includes multiple reflective surfaces angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the polygon mirror, the reflective surfaces configured to reflect the first and second beams of light to produce a series of scan lines as the polygon mirror rotates. The scanner also includes a pivotable scan mirror configured to (i) reflect the first and second beams of light and (ii) pivot to distribute the scan lines across the field of regard.
G02B 7/182 - Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for prismsMountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for mirrors for mirrors
H01L 25/16 - Assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid-state devices the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subclasses of , , , , or , e.g. forming hybrid circuits
An active metasurface that provides low-loss and high-bandwidth modulation control of light includes a number of cells arranged on a substrate. A controller dynamically alters a voltage differential supplied to the electrodes of each of the cells is adapted to alter refractive index of each of the high-index dielectric blocks in order to controllably steer light exiting the cell.
G02B 6/122 - Basic optical elements, e.g. light-guiding paths
G02B 27/00 - Optical systems or apparatus not provided for by any of the groups ,
G02F 1/29 - Devices or arrangements for the control of the intensity, colour, phase, polarisation or direction of light arriving from an independent light source, e.g. switching, gating or modulatingNon-linear optics for the control of the position or the direction of light beams, i.e. deflection
G02F 1/313 - Digital deflection devices in an optical waveguide structure
17.
SEMICONDUCTOR OPTICAL AMPLIFIER LASER DIODE SYSTEM
A system includes a laser diode configured to produce seed light, a capacitor configured to charge from a voltage source, a transistor configured to control current flowing through a semiconductor optical amplifier via a controlled discharge of the capacitor, the semiconductor optical amplifier configured to amplify at least a temporal portion of the seed light in response to the current flowing through the semiconductor optical amplifier to emit an output pulse of light, and a receiver configured to detect at least a portion of the output pulse of light scattered by a target object located at a distance from the system.
A lidar system includes one or more light sources configured to generate a first beam of light and a second beam of light, a scanner configured to scan the first and second beams of light across a field of regard of the lidar system, and a receiver configured to detect the first beam of light and the second beam of light scattered by one or more remote targets. The scanner includes a rotatable polygon mirror that includes multiple reflective surfaces angularly offset from one another along a periphery of the polygon mirror, the reflective surfaces configured to reflect the first and second beams of light to produce a series of scan lines as the polygon mirror rotates. The scanner also includes a pivotable scan mirror configured to (i) reflect the first and second beams of light and (ii) pivot to distribute the scan lines across the field of regard.
G02B 26/08 - Optical devices or arrangements for the control of light using movable or deformable optical elements for controlling the direction of light
G01S 7/481 - Constructional features, e.g. arrangements of optical elements
G01S 17/08 - Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only
G01S 17/42 - Simultaneous measurement of distance and other coordinates
G01S 17/931 - Lidar systems, specially adapted for specific applications for anti-collision purposes of land vehicles
G02B 7/182 - Mountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for prismsMountings, adjusting means, or light-tight connections, for optical elements for mirrors for mirrors
H01L 25/16 - Assemblies consisting of a plurality of individual semiconductor or other solid-state devices the devices being of types provided for in two or more different subclasses of , , , , or , e.g. forming hybrid circuits
A receiver of a lidar system configured to receive one or more scattered light pulses from a target in a field of regard of the lidar system. The receiver includes a detector that emits an electric signal representative of the received light pulse in response to detecting the received light pulse. The receiver further includes one or more analog circuits configured to receive the electric signal from the detector, sample one or more voltages of the electric signal, and determine the energy of the received light pulse based at least on the one or more sampled voltages. The lidar system may further calculate a reflectivity and/or other characteristics of the target based at least on the energy of the received light pulse.
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
Lidar apparatus; Lidar, optical, proximity and hyperspectral sensors; Downloadable computer software for use in navigating vehicles; Downloadable computer software for use in operating autonomous vehicles; Downloadable computer software for creating highly realistic virtual simulation environments for use in navigating vehicles; Downloadable computer software for creating highly realistic virtual simulation environments for use with autonomous vehicles; Computer hardware, lidar, optical, proximity and hyperspectral sensors and downloadable computer software for vision and perception for use in navigating vehicles; Computer hardware, lidar, optical, proximity and hyperspectral sensors and downloadable computer software for vision and perception for use with autonomous vehicles
A multispectral lidar system includes a laser configured to emit a pulse of light including a first wavelength, scanner configured to direct the emitted pulse of light in accordance with a scan pattern, a receiver including a first detector and a second detector, and a controller. The first detector is configured to detect the emitted pulse of light scattered by a remote target, and the second detector is configured to detect light scattered or emitted by the remote target and including a second wavelength. The scanner provides, at any point in time, a fixed spatial relationship between the fields of view over which the light with the first wavelength and the second wavelength is received. A controller can determine a distance to the remote target and use this distance to modify a measurement of the property of the remote target based on the light detected by the second detector.
09 - Scientific and electric apparatus and instruments
Goods & Services
Optical and proximity sensors; Sensor systems comprised of optical and proximity sensors for scanning terrain, objects, persons, and atmospheric components; Computer hardware systems for laser scanning or 3D scanning for customization by users; Software for use in operating optical and proximity sensor systems and hardware; Software for creating topographical maps and high-resolution digital elevation maps; Motor vehicle collision avoidance system, namely, an electronic alert system that detects and reacts to road conditions and other motor vehicles, comprised primarily of distance and optical sensors, distance measuring, warning and speed measuring apparatus
The systems and methods described herein include a device that can scan the surrounding environment and construct a 3D image, map, or representation of the surrounding environment using, for example, invisible light projected into the environment. In some implementations, the device can also project into the surrounding environment one or more visible radiation pattern patterns (e.g., a virtual object, text, graphics, images, symbols, color patterns, etc.) that are based at least in part on the 3D map of the surrounding environment.
The systems and methods described herein include a device that can scan the surrounding environment and construct a 3D image, map, or representation of the surrounding environment using, for example, invisible light projected into the environment. In some implementations, the device can also project into the surrounding environment one or more visible radiation pattern patterns (e.g., a virtual object, text, graphics, images, symbols, color patterns, etc.) that are based at least in part on the 3D map of the surrounding environment.
