AEye, Inc.

A lidar system comprises (1) a lidar transmitter that switches from a baseline scan pattern to a pulse burst mode in response to a detection of a target in a field of view for the lidar transmitter, wherein the lidar transmitter transmits a pulse burst toward the target when in the pulse burst mode, and (2) a lidar receiver that refines an angle to the target based on returns from the pulse burst.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to terrain mapping, and more particularly to a method and system for maintaining a normalized view of a terrain during an airborne data collection process. Embodiments include an intelligent sensing methodology that, on a near-real time basis, continually monitors the geometry and instantaneous height of the immediate region (voxel) under collection by an airborne sensor, thus maintaining complete, continual situational awareness of the topography under investigation. In this manner, swath asymmetries and occlusions resulting from pronounced elevation peaks can be fully assessed, quantified, and remedied at the terminus of and/or during each scan. In some embodiments, this is done by adjusting the platform's collection system scan parameters (e.g. by adjusting a scan angle for the affected direction) on a scan-by-scan basis to eliminate such asymmetries and occlusions from each collection swath.

Light detection and ranging (lidar) technology is capable of using light to measure the distance to objects in a field of view. A lidar system typically comprises a lidar transmitter, a lidar receiver, and a clock. The lidar transmitter transmits light into the field of view, and the light is reflected back to the lidar receiver after striking objects in the field of view. Techniques are described herein for encoding channel information into light transmissions so that the lidar receiver can use the encoded channel information to reduce the out-of-channel noise in channel-specific photodetection signals.

The present disclosure relates to calibration of actively illuminated low fill-factor sensor devices and object detection, including capturing one or more returns in a first scan direction, assigning first timestamps corresponding to one or more of the returns in the first scan direction, identifying one or more peaks corresponding to intensity of one or more of the returns, correlating peak timestamps with one or more time intervals, the peak timestamps being associated with the peaks, generating a scan timing interval based on the peak timestamps, and calibrating one or more input devices or output devices based on the scan timing interval.

Techniques for resolving a range to an object using histograms are disclosed. A frame collection time for a depth-image frame is divided into a plurality of different collection subframes, where each collection subframe encompasses a plurality of light pulse cycles. Counts of accumulated photon detections by a pixel during the different collection subframes are allocated to histogram bins using different bin maps for the collection subframes. Each bin map defines a different mapping of time to bins for the light pulse cycles within its applicable collection subframe, and each mapping defines a bin width for its bins so that its bin map covers a maximum detection range for the depth-image frame. A range to an object in the pixel's field of view (within the maximum detection range) can be resolved according to a combination of peak bin positions in the histogram data with respect to the different collection subframes.

The present disclosure relates to calibration of actively illuminated low fill-factor sensor devices and object detection, including capturing one or more returns in a first scan direction, assigning first timestamps corresponding to one or more of the returns in the first scan direction, identifying one or more peaks corresponding to intensity of one or more of the returns, correlating peak timestamps with one or more time intervals, the peak timestamps being associated with the peaks, generating a scan timing interval based on the peak timestamps, and calibrating one or more input devices or output devices based on the scan timing interval.

Disclosed herein are examples of ladar systems and methods where data about a plurality of ladar returns from prior ladar pulse shots gets stored in a spatial index that associates ladar return data with corresponding locations in a coordinate space to which the ladar return data pertain. This spatial index can then be accessed by a processor to retrieve ladar return data for locations in the coordinate space that are near a range point to be targeted by the ladar system with a new ladar pulse shot. This nearby prior ladar return data can then be analyzed by the ladar system to help define a parameter value for use by the ladar system with respect to the new ladar pulse shot. Examples of such adaptively controlled parameter values can include shot energy, receiver parameters, shot selection, camera settings, and others.

A ladar system capable of operating in a ladar mode and an optical communication mode is disclosed. When operating in the ladar mode, a ladar transmitter and ladar receiver cooperate to transmit ladar pulses that are used for ranging to targets in a field of view. When operating in an optical communication mode, ladar pulses are used to transmit data messages to locations in the field of view that are determined to have devices that are capable of receiving the optically communicated data messages.

Systems and methods can employ an emitter with adaptive active illumination in combination with a receiver that images a field of view illuminated by the emitter. An example active illumination camera system may comprise a light source that generates light output for sequentially illuminating a scene, a scanner that scannably steers the light output to targeted regions in the scene, a photodetector array comprising a photodetector array having a plurality of photodetector pixels that sense incident light from the scene and generate signals representative of the sensed incident light via integration of photo-generated charge for the pixels over time, and a circuit that generates image frames of the scene based on the generated signals, identifies regions of interest in the scene, and dynamically controls the light source and the scanner so that the steered light output exhibits a pattern that targets the identified regions with an increase in light energy

Disclosed herein is a compact beam scanner assembly that includes an ellipsoidal reimaging mirror.