Wide-angle 3D structured light device

Abstract

This application discloses a wide-angle 3D structured light device, including a wide-angle camera; at least two laser emitting units for emitting speckle laser beams; the wide-angle camera and the laser emitting units are arranged side by side, with the laser emitting units located on both sides of the wide-angle camera; the axes of each laser emitting unit are inclined away from the axis of the wide-angle camera, and a portion of the field of view of each laser emitting unit coincides; and, beyond a predetermined distance from the wide-angle camera, the sum of the field of view ranges of the laser emitting units covers the field of view of the wide-angle camera. This solution, by having two or more laser emitting units with axes inclined away from the axis of the wide-angle camera, and the sum of the field of view ranges of the multiple laser emitting units covering the field of view of the wide-angle camera, results in a large field of view for the wide-angle 3D structured light device and increases the light spot density.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention generally relates to the field of 3D technology, and specifically to a wide-angle 3D structured light device. Background Technology

[0002] With the widespread adoption of mobile and smart interactive devices, 2D (Dimensional) positioning, which only provides positional information in the X and Y directions, can no longer meet the needs of industry development. 3D technology, on the other hand, can provide not only positional information in the X and Y directions but also depth information, reducing misjudgments that occur with 2D recognition. Therefore, 3D technology is now widely used in applications such as robotic vacuum cleaners, facial recognition payment systems, smart door locks, motion-sensing games, security monitoring, and obstacle avoidance for intelligent robots.

[0003] Currently, the main 3D technologies in the industry include binocular, TOF, and structured light, while structured light 3D technology is widely used due to its advantages such as high precision, low cost, and low power consumption.

[0004] With the development of the times, in order to obtain more accurate depth effects, some industrial applications have also begun to use 3D technology, such as projectors and high-precision welding. However, traditional structured light modules mainly consist of a laser emitting module and an infrared receiving module. Due to their small field of view and low spot density, they cannot be widely used in some special industrial sectors. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the above-mentioned defects or deficiencies in the existing technology, it is desirable to provide a wide-angle 3D structured light device to solve the problem that existing structured light modules cannot be widely applied to some special industrial sectors due to their small field of view and low spot density.

[0006] This invention provides a wide-angle 3D structured light device, comprising:

[0007] Wide-angle camera;

[0008] At least two laser emitting units are used to emit speckle laser beams;

[0009] The wide-angle camera and the laser emitting unit are arranged side by side, and the laser emitting unit is arranged on both sides of the wide-angle camera;

[0010] The axes of each laser emitting unit are tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera, and portions of the field of view of each laser emitting unit coincide; and,

[0011] Beyond a predetermined distance from the wide-angle camera, the sum of the field of view ranges of each of the laser emitting units covers the field of view of the wide-angle camera.

[0012] As an implementation method, within the range where the field of view overlaps, the light spots emitted by different laser emitting units do not overlap.

[0013] One possible implementation includes two laser emitting units, which are positioned on either side of the wide-angle camera and are located on the same straight line as the wide-angle camera.

[0014] As an implementation method, the axes of each laser emitting unit are tilted at equal angles in a direction away from the axis of the wide-angle camera.

[0015] As an implementation method, the midpoint of the laser emission surface of each laser emitting unit is located on the same plane as the laser incident surface of the wide-angle camera.

[0016] In one possible manner, the predetermined distance satisfies the following relationship:

[0017]

[0018] Wherein, D is the predetermined distance, BL is the distance between the center of the laser emitting surface and the center of the laser incident surface, θ1 is the field of view of the laser emitting unit, and θ2 is the angle at which the axis of the laser emitting unit is tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera.

[0019] As an alternative implementation, the laser emitting unit is a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser.

[0020] The above-mentioned solution provided in this application has a large field of view because it has two or more laser emitting units whose axes are tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera, and the sum of the field of view ranges of the multiple laser emitting units covers the field of view of the wide-angle camera; in addition, since some of the field of view of the multiple laser emitting units overlap, the spot density is increased at the overlapping position. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Other features, objects, and advantages of this application will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the wide-angle 3D structured light device provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a pattern showing the light spots where the fields of view of the two laser emitting units partially overlap. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The present application will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and not intended to limit it. Furthermore, it should be noted that, for ease of description, only the parts relevant to the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings.

[0025] It should be noted that, unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be combined with each other. This application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, the wide-angle 3D structured light device provided in this embodiment of the invention includes:

[0027] Wide-angle camera 2;

[0028] At least two laser emitting units 1 are used to emit speckle laser beams; for example, but not limited to, the speckle laser beams here can be infrared / near-infrared lasers with wavelengths of 850 nm and 940 nm.

[0029] The wide-angle camera 2 and the laser emitting unit 1 are arranged side by side, and the laser emitting unit 1 is arranged on both sides of the wide-angle camera 2;

[0030] The axes of each laser emitting unit 1 are tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2, that is, the laser emitting unit 1 is tilted away from the wide-angle camera 2, in order to increase the total field of view formed by the multiple laser emitters, and the field of view of each laser emitting unit 1 partially overlaps, so that depth information can be collected within the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2. At the same time, the number of light spots within the field of view is increased, which is beneficial to increasing the light spot density; and,

[0031] Beyond a predetermined distance from the wide-angle camera 2, i.e., beyond the lens of the wide-angle camera 2, the sum of the field of view ranges of each laser emitting unit 1 covers the field of view angle θ3 of the wide-angle camera 2. This predetermined distance can be considered the minimum measurement (operating) range of the wide-angle 3D structured light device. At locations greater than this predetermined range, depth information can be acquired within the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2. This predetermined distance can be determined based on actual conditions.

[0032] For example, when the distance BL between the center of the laser emitting surface 3 and the center of the laser incident surface 4 is 25cm, the field of view of the laser emitting unit 1 is 80°, the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2 is 120°, and the axis of the laser emitting unit 1 is tilted at an angle of 20° away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2, the predetermined distance is 70cm. At this time, the field of view formed by multiple laser emitting units 1 can cover the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2, and depth information can be collected in the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2 outside the range of 70cm.

[0033] When the distance BL between the center of the laser emitting surface 3 and the center of the laser incident surface 4 is 10cm, the field of view of the laser emitting unit 1 is 80°, the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2 is 120°, and the axis of the laser emitting unit 1 is tilted at an angle of 20° away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2, the predetermined distance is 28cm. At this time, the field of view formed by multiple laser emitting units 1 can cover the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2, and depth information can be collected in the field of view range of the wide-angle camera 2 that is outside the range of 28cm.

[0034] The above-mentioned solution provided in this application has a large field of view because it has two or more laser emitting units 1 whose axes are tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2, and the sum of the field of view ranges of the multiple laser emitting units 1 covers the field of view of the wide-angle camera 2; in addition, since some of the field of view of the multiple laser emitting units 1 overlap, the spot density is increased at the overlapping position.

[0035] As a possible approach, in order to further improve the spot density, the spots emitted by different laser emitting units 1 do not overlap within the range of overlapping field angles.

[0036] like Figure 2 As shown, a spot pattern is illustrated where the fields of view of two laser emitting units 1 partially overlap. The two laser emitting units 1 emit speckle laser beams, forming their respective spot patterns 5 and 6 within their respective fields of view. The central position is the area C where the fields of view overlap. Within this area C, since the spots of the emitted speckle laser beams from different laser emitting units 1 do not overlap, the spot density within this area C is twice that of other positions. By increasing the spot density, the accuracy and precision of depth measurement can be improved.

[0037] One possible implementation includes two laser emitting units 1, which are positioned on either side of the wide-angle camera 2, and the two laser emitting units 1 and the wide-angle camera 2 are located on the same straight line. Of course, in other examples, other numbers of laser emitting units 1 can be set, such as three, four, etc. When more than two laser emitting units 1 are set, the multiple laser emitting units 1 can be evenly arranged along the circumference of the wide-angle camera 2.

[0038] As an implementation method, in order to reduce the amount of subsequent depth information calculation, the axes of each laser emitting unit 1 are tilted at an angle θ2 away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2.

[0039] As an implementation method, the midpoint of the laser emission surface 3 of each laser emitting unit 1 is located on the same plane as the laser incident surface 4 of the wide-angle camera 2.

[0040] In one possible manner, the predetermined distance satisfies the following relationship:

[0041]

[0042] Wherein, D is the predetermined distance, BL is the distance between the center of the laser emitting surface 3 and the center of the laser incident surface 4, θ1 is the field of view angle of the laser emitting unit 1, and θ2 is the angle at which the axis of the laser emitting unit 1 is tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera 2.

[0043] As an alternative implementation, the laser emitting unit 1 is a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL).

[0044] It should be understood that the terms "center," "longitudinal," "lateral," "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," "right," "vertical," "horizontal," "top," "bottom," "inner," and "outer," etc., used above to indicate orientation or positional relationships are based on the orientation or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of indicated technical features. Thus, a feature defined with "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0045] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of this application and an explanation of the technical principles employed. Those skilled in the art should understand that the scope of the invention involved in this application is not limited to technical solutions formed by specific combinations of the above-described technical features, but should also cover other technical solutions formed by arbitrary combinations of the above-described technical features or their equivalents without departing from the inventive concept. For example, technical solutions formed by substituting the above features with (but not limited to) technical features with similar functions disclosed in this application.

Claims

1. A wide-angle 3D structured light device, characterized in that, include: Wide-angle camera; At least two laser emitting units are used to emit speckle laser beams, wherein the speckle laser beams are infrared or near-infrared lasers; The wide-angle camera and the laser emitting unit are arranged side by side, and the laser emitting unit is arranged on both sides of the wide-angle camera; The axes of each laser emitting unit are tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera, and a portion of the field of view of each laser emitting unit coincides. as well as, Beyond a predetermined distance from the wide-angle camera, the sum of the field of view ranges of each of the laser emitting units covers the field of view of the wide-angle camera; within the range where the field of view angles overlap, the light spots emitted by different laser emitting units do not overlap; The midpoint of the laser emission surface of each laser emitting unit is located on the same plane as the laser incident surface of the wide-angle camera; the predetermined distance satisfies the following relationship: ； Wherein, D is the predetermined distance, BL is the distance between the center of the laser emitting surface and the center of the laser incident surface, θ1 is the field of view of the laser emitting unit, and θ2 is the angle at which the axis of the laser emitting unit is tilted away from the axis of the wide-angle camera.

2. The wide-angle 3D structured light device according to claim 1, characterized in that, It includes two laser emitting units, which are placed on both sides of the wide-angle camera and are located on the same straight line as the wide-angle camera.

3. The wide-angle 3D structured light device according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The axes of each laser emitting unit are tilted at equal angles in a direction away from the axis of the wide-angle camera.

4. The wide-angle 3D structured light device according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The laser emitting unit is a vertical cavity surface-emitting laser.

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