Scanning method and device of laser radar, storage medium, laser radar and vehicle

Abstract

The application provides a scanning method and device of a laser radar, a storage medium, the laser radar and a vehicle, and relates to the field of laser radars. The laser radar comprises first laser and second laser. The laser radar acquires a first scanning position of the first laser and a second scanning position of the second laser. If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, the superposition energy of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping area is reduced. Since the superposition energy is lower than the upper limit of the energy that can be tolerated by the eyes, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0, the first laser and the second laser can simultaneously scan the overlapping area to avoid the appearance of a scanning blind area, and the harm caused by the laser to the eyes is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to lidar, and more specifically, to a lidar scanning method, apparatus, storage medium, lidar, and vehicle. Background Technology

[0002] LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is currently widely used in various autonomous vehicles. It is an active detection system that detects the position, speed, and distance of targets by actively emitting laser beams. The higher the power of the laser emitted by a LiDAR, the farther the detection range; however, higher emission power also causes greater damage to the human eye. Therefore, the emission power of LiDAR is limited.

[0003] To improve laser scanning efficiency, lidar systems often employ multiple laser emission sources. During radar scanning, these sources simultaneously scan different areas. However, overlapping areas can occur at the edges of their respective scanning regions. This overlap creates an energy superposition effect, resulting in higher laser energy in these overlapping areas compared to the non-overlapping areas, potentially exceeding the tolerance of the human eye. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To overcome at least one deficiency in the prior art, this application provides a scanning method, apparatus, storage medium, lidar, and vehicle for lidar, specifically including:

[0005] In a first aspect, this application provides a scanning method for a lidar, the lidar comprising a first laser and a second laser, the method comprising:

[0006] Obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser;

[0007] If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, the superimposed energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area is reduced so that the superimposed energy is lower than the upper limit of energy that the eye can withstand, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0.

[0008] Secondly, this application provides a scanning device for a lidar, the lidar including a first laser and a second laser, the device comprising:

[0009] The scanning position module is used to obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser;

[0010] An energy adjustment module is used to reduce the superimposed energy of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping area if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, so that the superimposed energy is lower than the upper limit of energy that the eye can withstand, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0.

[0011] Thirdly, this application provides a storage medium storing a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the laser radar scanning method.

[0012] Fourthly, this application provides a lidar, which includes a processor, a memory, and a laser module. The memory stores a computer program, and when the program is executed by the processor, the lidar implements a scanning method.

[0013] Fifthly, this application provides a vehicle that includes the lidar.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0015] The lidar scanning method, apparatus, storage medium, lidar, and vehicle provided in this application include a lidar comprising a first laser and a second laser. The lidar acquires the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser. If the first and second scanning positions are located in an overlapping area, the superimposed energy when the first and second lasers scan the overlapping area is reduced. Since the superimposed energy is below the upper limit of energy that the eye can tolerate, and the laser power of each of the first and second lasers is greater than 0, the first and second lasers simultaneously scan the overlapping area to avoid blind spots while reducing the damage to the human eye caused by the laser. Attached Figure Description

[0016] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the accompanying drawings used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. It should be understood that the following drawings only show some embodiments of this application and should not be regarded as a limitation of the scope. For those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the principle of the lidar provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0018] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the overlapping area provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0019] Figure 3A schematic diagram of the scanning blind zone provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the method flow provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the combined effect of a lidar and an image acquisition device provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the virtual device provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a lidar provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0024] Icons: 10-LiDAR; 101-First laser; 102-Second laser; 103-Third laser; 104-Fourth laser; 105-Scanner; 106-Overlapping area; 107-Scanning blind zone; 20-Image acquisition device; 301-Scanning position module; 302-Energy adjustment module; 401-Memory; 402-Processor; 403-Communication unit; 404-System bus; 405-Laser module. Detailed Implementation

[0025] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the embodiments of this application clearer, the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this application, and not all embodiments. The components of the embodiments of this application described and shown in the accompanying drawings can generally be arranged and designed in various different configurations.

[0026] Therefore, the following detailed description of the embodiments of this application provided in the accompanying drawings is not intended to limit the scope of the claimed application, but merely to illustrate selected embodiments of the application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of this application without inventive effort are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0027] It should be noted that similar labels and letters in the following figures indicate similar items. Therefore, once an item is defined in one figure, it does not need to be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

[0028] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "first," "second," "third," etc., are used only for distinguishing descriptions and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or apparatus. Without further limitations, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or apparatus that includes said element.

[0029] Based on the above statements, and considering that this embodiment involves a multi-source lidar, to make this solution easier to understand, the working principle of a multi-source lidar will now be described by way of example. Figure 1 The lidar 10 shown in the figure includes a laser module comprising four laser sources: a first laser 101, a second laser 102, a third laser 103, and a fourth laser 104. During operation, the four laser sources, while stationary, emit laser beams towards a scanner 105, which then reflects the laser beams to a distant target.

[0030] See also Figure 1 The first scanning angle θ1 is the scanning angle formed by the reflection of the first laser 101 after passing through the scanner 105; the second scanning angle θ2 is the scanning angle formed by the reflection of the second laser 102 after passing through the scanner 105; the third scanning angle θ3 is the scanning angle formed by the reflection of the third laser 103 after passing through the scanner 105; and the fourth scanning angle θ4 is the scanning angle formed by the reflection of the fourth laser 104 after passing through the scanner 105. The lidar 10 controls the scanner 105 to rotate back and forth within these scanning angles, thereby enabling each laser source to form its own scanning area.

[0031] like Figure 2 As shown in the schematic diagram, the four lasers correspond to four scanning areas. An overlapping area 106 is created at the edge between adjacent scanning areas. This overlapping area produces an energy superposition effect, causing the laser energy in this area to be higher than in the non-overlapping areas, potentially exceeding the tolerance range of the human eye. Therefore, a single-laser scanning mechanism and a pre-scanning mechanism were proposed during the research and development process.

[0032] Continue with Figure 1 Taking the first laser 101 and the second laser 102 as examples, Figure 3As shown, in the single-laser scanning mechanism, the first laser 101 stops emitting its laser beam when its scanning position is close to the overlapping area 106 with the second laser 102, and only the second laser 102 scans this overlapping area 106. However, the scanning positions of the first laser 101 or the second laser 102 at the edge are not vertically aligned. If the first laser 101 stops emitting its laser beam when it approaches the overlapping area 106, a scanning blind zone 107 will be left in the overlapping area 106 that cannot be scanned. Therefore, the single-laser scanning mechanism has the problem of insufficient scanning.

[0033] In the pre-scanning mechanism, the power of the laser beam emitted in the next cycle is adjusted based on the detection echo at the current moment to ensure the laser beam meets human eye safety requirements. That is, a lower-power detection laser beam is emitted first to detect whether there are people or objects nearby, thus determining whether to emit the detection laser at normal power in the next cycle. However, in the pre-scanning mechanism, because there is a certain time interval between the two laser beams, and the position of a moving target may change during this interval, there is a risk of missing detection of moving targets.

[0034] It should be noted that the defects in the solutions in the prior art are all the results of the inventors’ practice and careful research. Therefore, the discovery process of the above problems and the solutions proposed by the embodiments of this application in the following text should be the inventors’ contributions to this application in the process of invention and creation, and should not be understood as technical content known to those skilled in the art.

[0035] In view of this, to at least solve some of the above-mentioned technical problems, this embodiment provides a scanning method for a lidar. In this method, the lidar includes a first laser and a second laser. The lidar acquires the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser. If the first and second scanning positions are located in an overlapping area, the superimposed energy when the first and second lasers scan the overlapping area is reduced. Since the superimposed energy is below the upper limit of energy that the eye can tolerate, and the laser power of each of the first and second lasers is greater than 0, the first and second lasers simultaneously scan the overlapping area to avoid scanning blind spots while reducing the damage to the human eye caused by the laser. It is worth noting that the first and second lasers here refer to any two laser sources with an overlapping area.

[0036] To make the solution provided in this embodiment clearer, the following is combined with... Figure 4Each step of the method is described in detail. However, it should be understood that the operations in the flowchart may not be implemented in sequence, and steps without logical contextual relationships may be reversed in order or implemented simultaneously. Furthermore, those skilled in the art, guided by the content of this application, may add one or more other operations to the flowchart, or remove one or more operations from the flowchart. Figure 4 As shown, the method includes:

[0037] S101, obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser.

[0038] It should be understood that the LiDAR also includes a scanner for controlling the scanning direction of the first and second lasers. The current scanning positions of the first and second lasers are related to the rotation angle of the scanner. Therefore, for any target laser among the first and second lasers, the LiDAR acquires the rotation angle of the scanner; based on the rotation angle, it determines the current first or second scanning position of the target laser. When the scanner's rotation angle approaches a preset target angle, it means that the scanning positions of the first and second lasers are about to enter the overlapping area between them. This target angle varies depending on the LiDAR model and is an inherent parameter of each LiDAR.

[0039] S102, if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in the overlapping area, then reduce the superposition energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area.

[0040] In this embodiment, the superimposed energy is below the upper limit of energy that the eye can tolerate, and the laser power of both the first and second lasers is greater than 0. To reduce the superimposed energy between the first and second lasers in the overlapping region, the following two methods are employed:

[0041] S102-1, Obtain the temperature of the lidar.

[0042] S102-2, If the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, reduce the scanning power when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area.

[0043] It should be understood that during the operation of a lidar system, the scanner needs to rotate at high speed, and each laser beam needs to be emitted at a high frequency. Therefore, lidar generates a significant amount of heat during operation. When this heat accumulates to a certain level, the lidar's temperature will exceed the temperature threshold, interfering with its normal operation. Therefore, when the lidar's temperature exceeds the temperature threshold, it is advisable to prioritize reducing the scanning power of the first and second lasers when scanning the overlapping area. This reduces the superimposed energy while ensuring the lidar's normal operation.

[0044] It should also be understood that the expression for calculating laser emission energy is:

[0045] P = P peak ft;

[0046] In the formula, P peak Let represent the peak power of the emitted laser, t represent the pulse width of the emitted laser, and f represent the repetition frequency of the emitted laser, i.e., the number of laser pulses emitted regularly per unit time. Therefore, with a constant single-pulse energy, a lower repetition frequency results in a lower average power; conversely, a higher repetition frequency results in a higher average power. In other words, the expression for the single-pulse laser emission energy P is:

[0047] P = P peak t.

[0048] The power P of the single-pulse emitted laser received by the lidar r for:

[0049]

[0050] In the formula, P t η represents the power of a single-pulse emitted laser. t η represents the emission efficiency of a laser. r The laser receiver efficiency is represented by τ, atmospheric transmittance by ρ, and the reflectivity of the target object by A. s A represents the area of ​​the scanner, and A represents the illuminated area of ​​the target object. r θ represents the receiving area of ​​the lidar lens, θ represents the divergence angle of the laser emission half-field, and R represents the working distance.

[0051] By P r As can be seen from the expression, reducing the laser repetition rate or peak power in the overlapping region can reduce the optical energy in that region. Furthermore, laser ranging is only related to the single-pulse emission energy of the lidar; therefore, reducing the repetition rate will not affect the ranging range.

[0052] Based on the analysis of the above expressions, in one embodiment provided in this example, the lidar can reduce the repetition frequency when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area.

[0053] For example, when the repetition frequency of the first or second laser is f, the laser energy reaches the upper limit CP that the human eye can tolerate. Therefore, when the first and second lasers scan to the overlapping area, the repetition frequency of the two is adjusted to 0.5f. At this time, the maximum laser energy of the two lasers after superposition is CP, which does not exceed the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate.

[0054] In another embodiment provided, the lidar can also reduce the peak power when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area.

[0055] For example, when the peak power of the first laser or the second laser is P, the laser energy reaches the upper limit CP that the human eye can tolerate. Therefore, when the first laser and the second laser scan to the overlapping area, the peak power of both is adjusted to 0.5P. At this time, the maximum laser energy after the two lasers are superimposed is CP, which does not exceed the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate.

[0056] In another embodiment provided, the lidar can also reduce the pulse width of the first laser and the pulse width of the second laser when they scan the overlapping area.

[0057] For example, when the pulse width of the first or second laser is t, the laser energy reaches the upper limit CP that the human eye can tolerate. Therefore, when the first and second lasers scan to the overlapping area, the pulse widths of both are adjusted to 0.5t. At this time, the maximum laser energy after the two lasers are superimposed is CP, which does not exceed the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate.

[0058] In another embodiment provided, the lidar may further reduce at least two of the repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power when the first laser scans the overlapping region; and reduce at least two of the repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power when the second laser scans the overlapping region.

[0059] For example, assume that the upper limit of CP that the human eye can tolerate is:

[0060] CP = tf

[0061] In the formula, t represents the pulse width, and f represents the repetition rate. For either the first or second laser, adjusting at least two of the adjustment coefficients among the repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power will reduce the laser energy to half, i.e.:

[0062] 0.5CP = (at) * (bf) * (c)

[0063] In the formula, 'a' represents the pulse width adjustment coefficient, 'b' represents the repetition rate adjustment coefficient, and 'c' represents the scanner scanning frequency F adjustment coefficient. The values ​​of these three coefficients can be adjusted appropriately as needed, as long as their product is 0.5. Thus, the maximum laser energy after the two lasers are superimposed is CP, which does not exceed the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate. The numerical values ​​in the above calculation expression are merely examples provided for ease of understanding; the actual values ​​of the solution can be adaptively adjusted without departing from the inventive concept of this embodiment.

[0064] The above embodiments illustrate how reducing the scanning power of the first and second lasers during operation can reduce laser damage to the human eye. In addition, step S102 further includes:

[0065] S102-3, If the temperature is less than or equal to the temperature threshold, reduce the scanning frequency of the scanner when scanning the overlapping area.

[0066] For example, for the first laser or the second laser, assuming that the laser energy reaches the upper limit CP that the human eye can tolerate when the scanner's rotation frequency is F, when the first laser and the second laser scan to the overlapping area, the scanner's rotation frequency is adjusted to 0.5F. At this time, the maximum laser energy of the two lasers superimposed within the effective working time is CP, which does not exceed the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate.

[0067] It's worth noting that if the temperature of the lidar is less than or equal to the temperature threshold, reducing the scanning frequency when scanning the overlapping area can be prioritized. This method increases the scanning speed of the first and second lasers over the overlapping area without reducing their scanning power, thus enabling the detection of farther distances. Simultaneously, because the scanning speed of the first and second lasers over the overlapping area is increased, even if an energy superposition effect occurs, its short duration means that the average laser energy over the effective duration is insufficient to cause harm to the human eye.

[0068] In addition, it is worth noting that the above method of reducing superposition energy based on the temperature of the lidar is only an example provided in this embodiment. In actual implementation of this solution, one or more methods can be selected to reduce superposition energy as needed.

[0069] The above embodiments described how to reduce the superposition energy when the first and second lasers scan the overlapping area to protect the human eye; however, this sacrifices the detection performance of the lidar in the overlapping area to some extent. Therefore, this embodiment provides more precise control over the timing of reducing the superposition energy when the first and second lasers scan the overlapping area.

[0070] In an optional implementation, if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes human objects, then the superposition energy of the first laser and the second laser in the overlapping area is reduced.

[0071] In this embodiment, the superposition energy between the first and second lasers in the overlapping area is not reduced immediately upon scanning the overlapping area. Instead, the superposition energy is reduced only after the presence of a person in the overlapping area is confirmed through the image of the overlapping area. It should be understood that using a low-power laser from a lidar system to scan the overlapping area for people is prone to missed detections. Therefore, as... Figure 5 As shown, an image acquisition device 20 can be used to assist the lidar in detection. In a specific embodiment, the lidar controls the image acquisition device 20 to acquire images within the lidar's detection range during lidar operation and to identify the images; if the identification result shows that there are people or objects in the overlapping area, the superposition energy when scanning the overlapping area is reduced.

[0072] Of course, in other embodiments, the lidar can also be communicatively connected to the image acquisition device 20. During lidar operation, the image acquisition device 20 identifies the image of the lidar's overlapping area and sends the identification result to the lidar. The lidar receives the identification result from the image acquisition device 20 regarding the presence of human objects in the scanned overlapping area. If the identification result indicates the presence of human objects in the overlapping area, the lidar reduces the superposition energy when scanning that area.

[0073] The study also found that reducing the superposition energy when scanning the overlapping area aims to reduce the damage of the laser beam to the human eye. However, for damage to the eye to occur, the person or object must be facing the direction of the lidar. Therefore, even if a person or object is present in the overlapping area, if the person or object is not facing the lidar, there is no need to reduce the superposition energy when scanning the overlapping area.

[0074] Therefore, in the optional implementation provided by this embodiment, if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes a person, then the lidar acquires the orientation of the person; if the orientation is towards the lidar, then the superposition energy of the first laser and the second laser in the overlapping area is reduced.

[0075] In an optional implementation, the LiDAR can acquire an image of the overlapping area and input it into a face recognition model to obtain the face recognition result of the image. If the face recognition result indicates that there is a person's face in the image, it means that the person is facing the LiDAR. Therefore, when scanning the overlapping area, the LiDAR needs to reduce the superposition energy in that area.

[0076] In other alternative implementations, for distant individuals, the overlapping area image may not clearly show the individual's face. Therefore, the LiDAR can also input the overlapping area image into a pose recognition model to obtain the pose recognition result of the individual. If the pose recognition result indicates that the individual is facing the LiDAR, the LiDAR needs to reduce the superposition energy in that area when scanning the overlapping area.

[0077] In other optional implementations, for distant individuals, the lidar can sequentially emit multiple detection laser beams, obtaining multiple detection distances for the individual based on the detection echoes of these beams. If, after eliminating interference from the lidar's motion state, the multiple detection distances decrease sequentially over time, it indicates that the individual is moving towards the lidar. Therefore, when scanning overlapping areas, the lidar needs to reduce the superposition energy in those areas. It's worth noting that the energy of the multiple detection beams emitted by the lidar is below the energy limit that the human eye can tolerate. Furthermore, the interference from the lidar's motion state refers to the error introduced into the detection distance when the lidar is mounted on a vehicle and moves with it. Therefore, when determining whether an individual is moving towards the lidar, this interference needs to be eliminated.

[0078] Thus, by implementing the above-described method of determining the orientation of the personnel being detected, the number of times energy limiting is applied during scanning of overlapping areas can be reduced, thereby reducing the number of times the detection effect of overlapping areas is sacrificed.

[0079] In this embodiment, considering the energy consumption and lifespan of the lidar, when scanning non-overlapping areas, the energy of each laser beam is not always close to the upper limit that the human eye can tolerate, but varies with the lidar's movement. In an optional embodiment, the lidar acquires its moving speed; based on the moving speed, it determines the effective detection distance; and based on the effective detection distance, it determines the scanning power of the first and second lasers. The effective detection distance is positively correlated with the moving speed.

[0080] Regarding the above implementation methods, it should be understood that when a vehicle equipped with LiDAR moves too fast, sufficient reaction time needs to be allowed for the driver or autonomous driving system for safety reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the effective detection range of the LiDAR. Similarly, if the vehicle is moving slowly, the effective detection range can be reduced accordingly. In specific implementations, multiple speed ranges can be configured, each corresponding to a different detection range. This allows the LiDAR to determine the matching target speed range based on the current speed, and the detection range corresponding to the target speed range is taken as the current effective detection range. Of course, in other implementations, a mapping function between the moving speed and the effective detection range can be fitted based on preset conditions, and the effective detection range of the LiDAR at the current moving speed can be obtained through this mapping function.

[0081] Further research revealed that limiting the scanning power solely based on the LiDAR's moving speed could cause the LiDAR-equipped vehicle to emit a high-energy laser beam when passing through areas with a large number of people at high speeds, potentially harming their eyes. Therefore, this LiDAR system acquires the number of people within the detection area and determines the scanning power of the first and second lasers based on this number and the effective detection distance. The scanning power is inversely correlated with the number of people and positively correlated with the effective detection distance.

[0082] In a specific implementation, the lidar can acquire images within its scanning area, identify people in the images, and determine the number of people in the images. Then, the scanning power P of each laser is determined according to the following expression:

[0083]

[0084] In the formula, v represents the moving speed of the lidar, v r This represents the reference movement speed; m represents the number of people. r P represents the number of reference personnel. r This represents the reference scan power. It's important to note that the adjustment range of the scan power P cannot exceed the power range constrained by the upper and lower limits of the scan power.

[0085] The above embodiments described a scanning method for lidar. Following the same inventive concept, this embodiment also provides a lidar scanning device, which includes at least one software functional module that can be stored in a memory or embedded in the lidar. The processor in the lidar executes the executable module stored in the memory. Examples include the software functional modules and computer programs included in the device. Please refer to... Figure 6 Functionally, the device may include:

[0086] The scanning position module 301 is used to obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser.

[0087] The energy adjustment module 302 is used to reduce the superimposed energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in the overlapping area, so that the superimposed energy is lower than the upper limit of energy that the eye can withstand, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0.

[0088] In this embodiment, the scanning position module 301 is used to implement Figure 4 In step S101, the energy adjustment module 302 is used to implement... Figure 4 Step S102 in the above. In addition, it is worth noting that since it has the same inventive concept as the scanning method of lidar, the scanning position module 301 and the energy adjustment module 302 described above can also be used to implement other steps or sub-steps of the method.

[0089] In an optional embodiment, the lidar further includes a scanner for controlling the scanning directions of the first and second lasers, and the energy adjustment module 302 is further used for:

[0090] Obtain the temperature of the lidar;

[0091] If the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, the scanning power of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping area is reduced.

[0092] If the temperature is less than or equal to the temperature threshold, the scanning frequency of the scanner when scanning the overlapping area is reduced.

[0093] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0094] Reduce the repetition frequency when the first and second lasers scan the overlapping area.

[0095] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0096] Reduce the peak power of the first and second lasers when scanning the overlapping area.

[0097] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0098] Reduce the pulse width of the first laser and the pulse width of the second laser when they scan the overlapping area.

[0099] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0100] Reduce at least two of the repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power in the overlapping region of the first laser scan;

[0101] Reduce at least two of the following when the second laser scan overlaps: repetition rate, pulse width, and peak power.

[0102] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0103] If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes human objects, then the superposition energy of the first laser and the second laser in the overlapping area is reduced.

[0104] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0105] If the first scan position and the second scan position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes a person object, then the orientation of the person object is obtained;

[0106] If the orientation is towards the lidar, the superposition energy of the first and second lasers in the overlapping area is reduced.

[0107] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0108] Obtain images of the overlapping regions;

[0109] Based on the image, determine the orientation of the person or object.

[0110] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0111] Input the image into the face recognition model to obtain the face recognition result of the image;

[0112] If the face recognition result indicates that the image contains the frontal face of a person, then the person is determined to be facing the LiDAR.

[0113] In an optional embodiment, the lidar further includes a scanner, and the scanning position module 301 is further used for:

[0114] For any target laser between the first laser and the second laser, obtain the rotation angle of the scanner;

[0115] Based on the rotation angle, determine the current first or second scanning position of the target laser.

[0116] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0117] Obtain the moving speed of the lidar;

[0118] Determine the effective detection range based on the movement speed;

[0119] The scanning power of the first laser and the second laser is determined based on the effective detection distance.

[0120] In an optional implementation, the energy adjustment module 302 is further configured to:

[0121] Obtain the number of people within the detection area;

[0122] The scanning power of the first and second lasers is determined based on the number of people and the effective detection distance.

[0123] In addition, the functional modules in the various embodiments of this application can be integrated together to form an independent part, or each module can exist independently, or two or more modules can be integrated to form an independent part.

[0124] It should also be understood that if the above embodiments are implemented as software functional modules and sold or used as independent products, they can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this application.

[0125] Therefore, this embodiment also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program. When the computer program is executed by a processor, it implements the LiDAR scanning method provided in this embodiment. The computer-readable storage medium can be any medium capable of storing program code, such as a USB flash drive, a portable hard drive, a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disk.

[0126] Please refer to Figure 7 This embodiment provides a schematic diagram of the hardware structure of a lidar. The lidar may include a processor 402, a memory 401, and a laser module 405. The memory 401 stores a computer program, and the processor reads and executes the computer program corresponding to the above-described embodiments in the memory 401 to implement the scanning method of the lidar provided in this embodiment.

[0127] See also Figure 7 The lidar may also include a communication unit 403. The memory 401, processor 402 and communication unit 403 are electrically connected to each other directly or indirectly through a system bus 404 to realize data transmission or interaction.

[0128] The memory 401 can be an information recording device based on any electronic, magnetic, optical, or other physical principles, used to record execution instructions, data, etc. In some embodiments, the memory 401 can be, but is not limited to, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, memory drive, etc.

[0129] In some embodiments, the volatile memory may be random access memory (RAM); in some embodiments, the non-volatile memory may be read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, etc.; in some embodiments, the storage drive may be a disk drive, solid-state drive, any type of storage disk (such as optical disc, DVD, etc.), or similar storage media, or a combination thereof.

[0130] The communication unit 403 is used to send and receive data. In some embodiments, the communication unit includes a network communication unit that communicates via a network, which may include a wired network, a wireless network, a fiber optic network, a telecommunications network, an intranet, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a metropolitan area network (MAN), a public switched telephone network (PSTN), a Bluetooth network, a ZigBee network, or a near field communication (NFC) network, or any combination thereof. In some embodiments, the network may include one or more network access points. For example, the network may include wired or wireless network access points, such as base stations and / or network switching nodes, through which one or more components of the service request processing system can connect to the network to exchange data and / or information.

[0131] In some embodiments, the communication unit includes a peripheral interface that couples various input / output devices to the processor 402 and the memory 401. In some embodiments, the peripheral interface and the processor 402 can be implemented in a single chip. In other instances, they can be implemented by separate chips. It communicates with the image acquisition device and the vehicle control device to acquire images acquired by the image acquisition device or the processing results of the images, and to send the detected point cloud data to the vehicle control device.

[0132] The processor 402 may be an integrated circuit chip with signal processing capabilities, and the processor may include one or more processing cores (e.g., a single-core processor or a multi-core processor). By way of example only, the processor described above may include a Central Processing Unit (CPU), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an Application-Specific Instruction-set Processor (ASIP), a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), a Physics Processing Unit (PPU), a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD), a controller, a microcontroller unit, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) computer, or a microprocessor, or any combination thereof.

[0133] This embodiment also provides a vehicle that includes the lidar described in the above embodiments. The vehicle can be, but is not limited to, a manned vehicle or an unmanned vehicle.

[0134] It should be understood that the apparatus and methods disclosed in the above embodiments can also be implemented in other ways. The apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the flowcharts and block diagrams in the accompanying drawings show the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus, methods, and computer program products according to various embodiments of this application. In this regard, each block in a flowchart or block diagram may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which contains one or more executable instructions for implementing a specified logical function. It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions marked in the blocks may occur in a different order than those marked in the drawings. For example, two consecutive blocks may actually be executed substantially in parallel, and they may sometimes be executed in reverse order, depending on the functions involved. It should also be noted that each block in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowcharts, can be implemented using a dedicated hardware-based system that performs the specified function or action, or using a combination of dedicated hardware and computer instructions.

[0135] The above are merely various embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this application should be included within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A scanning method for a lidar, characterized in that, The lidar includes a first laser and a second laser, and further includes a scanner for controlling the scanning direction of the first laser and the second laser. The method includes: Obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser; If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping region, then reducing the superimposed energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping region includes: Obtain the temperature of the lidar; If the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, then the peak power of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping region is reduced, and / or the pulse width of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping region is reduced. If the temperature is less than or equal to the temperature threshold, the scanning frequency of the scanner when scanning the overlapping area is reduced so that the superimposed energy is lower than the upper limit of energy that the eye can withstand, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0.

2. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping region, reducing the superposition energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping region further includes: If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes human objects, then the superposition energy of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping area is reduced.

3. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 2, characterized in that, If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping region, and the image in the overlapping region includes human objects, then reducing the superposition energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping region includes: If the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping area, and the image in the overlapping area includes a person, then the orientation of the person is obtained; If the orientation is towards the lidar, then the superposition energy when the first laser and the second laser scan the overlapping area is reduced.

4. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 3, characterized in that, The process of obtaining the orientation of the person object includes: Obtain an image of the overlapping region; Based on the image, the orientation of the person is obtained.

5. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 4, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the orientation of the person based on the image includes: The image is input into a face recognition model to obtain the face recognition result of the image; If the face recognition result indicates that the image includes the frontal face of a person, then it is determined that the person is facing the LiDAR.

6. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of obtaining the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser includes: For any target laser between the first laser and the second laser, obtain the rotation angle of the scanner; Based on the rotation angle, determine the current first scanning position or the second scanning position of the target laser.

7. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the moving speed of the lidar; The effective detection range is determined based on the moving speed; Based on the effective detection distance, the scanning power of the first laser and the second laser is determined.

8. The scanning method of the lidar according to claim 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Obtain the number of people within the detection area; Determining the scanning power of the first laser and the second laser based on the effective detection distance includes: The scanning power of the first laser and the second laser is determined based on the number of people and the effective detection distance.

9. A scanning device for a lidar, characterized in that, The lidar includes a first laser and a second laser, and further includes a scanner for controlling the scanning direction of the first laser and the second laser. The device includes: The scanning position module is used to obtain the current first scanning position of the first laser and the current second scanning position of the second laser; An energy adjustment module is used to reduce the superimposed energy of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping region if the first scanning position and the second scanning position are located in an overlapping region, including: Obtain the temperature of the lidar; If the temperature is greater than the temperature threshold, then the peak power of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping region is reduced, and / or the pulse width of the first laser and the second laser when scanning the overlapping region is reduced. If the temperature is less than or equal to the temperature threshold, the scanning frequency of the scanner when scanning the overlapping area is reduced so that the superimposed energy is lower than the upper limit of energy that the eye can withstand, and the laser power of the first laser and the second laser is greater than 0.

10. A storage medium, characterized in that, The storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the scanning method of the lidar according to any one of claims 1-8.

11. A lidar, characterized in that, The lidar includes a processor, a memory, and a laser module. The memory stores a computer program, and when the computer program is executed by the processor, it implements the scanning method of the lidar according to any one of claims 1-8.

12. A vehicle, characterized in that, The vehicle includes the lidar as described in claim 11.

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