A control method, a lidar, and a terminal device

Abstract

A control method, a lidar, and a terminal device, which are used to improve the flexibility of detection in the sensing field. The method includes: a control device controls a receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object (501), and controls a detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal by using a first pixel configuration. In the first pixel configuration, different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, or the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods (502). In this way, the detector can convert the echo signals received in different regions or at different time periods into distinguishable electrical signals according to different pixel configurations, so that the pixel density in the generated point cloud data can also be flexibly adjusted according to the actual pixel configuration method, effectively improving the flexibility of detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of sensing technologies, especially the field of lidar detection, and provides a control method, a lidar, and a terminal device. Background Art

[0002] A lidar (light detection and ranging) is an optical measurement device. Its working principle is to emit a laser signal to an object, receive the echo signal reflected by the object, and then compare the echo signal with the laser signal to obtain relevant parameters such as the distance and speed of the object. A lidar can accurately scan the surrounding objects to form a high-definition image, which helps to quickly identify and make decisions about the surrounding objects. Currently, it has been widely used in occasions such as intelligent vehicles, intelligent transportation, urban 3D mapping, and atmospheric environment monitoring.

[0003] However, at present, the detection method of the lidar is usually set based on the hardware configuration of the lidar. When the hardware configuration of the lidar is better, the pixel density on the detected image is larger; when the hardware configuration of the lidar is worse, the pixel density on the detected image is smaller. This current detection method cannot well meet the needs of users and is not conducive to improving the flexibility of detection.

[0004] In view of this, this application provides a control method to improve the flexibility of detection. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This application provides a control method, a lidar, and a terminal device to improve the flexibility of detection.

[0006] In a first aspect, the present application provides a control method, which is applicable to a control device, and the method includes: the control device controls the receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by a target object, and controls the detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal using a first pixel configuration. Specifically, the first echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the first detection signal. In the first pixel configuration, different regions of the detector have different pixel configurations, and / or the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods. With the control method, the detector is configured by software to use different pixel configurations in different regions and / or different time periods, so that after receiving the echo signal, the detector can also convert the echo signals received in different regions and / or different time periods into different electrical signals according to different pixel configurations, thereby making the pixel density (i.e., the number of pixels per unit area on the image corresponding to the point cloud data) in the point cloud data generated based on the different electrical signals also flexibly adjusted according to the actual pixel configuration mode, effectively improving the flexibility of detection. Further, this method can be implemented by configuring the pixel configuration of the detector by software, so that the detection process can also reduce the dependence of the hardware configuration of the laser radar, and further improve the flexibility of detection.

[0007] It should be noted here that the first echo signal may include reflection signals corresponding to all detection signals, or may only include reflection signals corresponding to part of the detection signals, or may also include some environmental noise signals, without specific limitation.

[0008] In a possible design, the first echo signal can be presented as a line light spot to implement a line scanning and line collection scanning method.

[0009] In a possible design, the first echo signal can be presented as a dislocated light spot, which is a light spot dislocated along the horizontal direction and / or vertical direction of the detector. The detector is a device composed of multiple rows and columns of pixels, the horizontal direction of the detector refers to the direction defined by a row of pixels, and the vertical direction of the detector refers to the direction defined by a column of pixels. When the laser radar scans the object in the horizontal direction, the dislocated light spot refers to a light spot in which at least two parts of the light spot are dislocated along the horizontal direction of the detector. When the laser radar scans the object in the vertical direction, the dislocated light spot refers to a light spot in which at least two parts of the light spot are dislocated along the vertical direction of the detector. When the laser radar scans the object in the inclined direction, the dislocated light spot refers to a light spot in which at least two parts of the light spot are dislocated along the direction corresponding to the inclined direction on the detector, that is, they are dislocated along both the horizontal and vertical directions of the detector. By using a dislocated light spot, the area where the pixels used to generate adjacent pixels on the detector are located can be dislocated to reduce the crosstalk between the areas where the pixels of adjacent pixels are located, improve the isolation between the areas where the pixels of adjacent pixels are located, and thus improve the quality of the point cloud.

[0010] In a possible design, different regions of the detector can be different sub-regions in the region where the first echo signal on the detector is focused, and the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configurations corresponding to different regions can be different. Among them, the total number of pixels used to generate pixels on the detector is fixed. When the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configurations corresponding to different regions is different, the number of pixels that the fixed number of pixels can generate in different regions is also different. As a result, the pixel densities of these two regions on the presented point cloud data are different, and the angular resolution of the region with a higher pixel density is also higher. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can encrypt pixels in a specific region on the finally presented point cloud data to flexibly improve the angular resolution of the specific region.

[0011] In a possible design, different regions in the detector can refer to the regions corresponding to the central field of view region and the non-central field of view region of the lidar. Among them, the central field of view region is the region within a preset angle range in front of the lidar. In this design, by making the central field of view region and the non-central field of view region correspond to different pixel configurations, the pixel densities of the central field of view region and the non-central field of view region on the point cloud data can be made different, thereby flexibly adjusting the angular resolutions of the central field of view region and the non-central field of view region detected by the lidar.

[0012] In a possible design, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view region can be less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view region. Among them, the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel refers to the number of pixels used to generate one pixel. The total number of pixels used to generate pixels on the detector is fixed. When the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is larger, the fixed number of pixels can generate fewer pixel points, resulting in a lower pixel density on the point cloud data. When the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is smaller, the fixed number of pixels can generate more pixel points, resulting in a higher pixel density on the point cloud data. In this way, by making the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view region less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view region, the central field of view region on the finally presented point cloud data can have a higher pixel density than the non-central field of view region, and thus the central field of view region can have a higher angular resolution than the non-central field of view region, while maintaining the necessary detection accuracy of the central field of view region and saving unnecessary power consumption of the lidar.

[0013] In a possible design, different regions of the detector can be the region where the target object appears in the detector and the region other than the region where the target object appears. Before the control device controls the detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal using the first pixel configuration, it further includes: controlling the detector to convert the second echo signal into an electrical signal using the second pixel configuration, where the second echo signal includes the reflection signal corresponding to the second detection signal. Among them, for the region where the target object appears in the detector, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration, while for the region other than the region where the target object appears on the detector, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is equal to the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration. In this way, the region corresponding to the target object in the finally presented point cloud data can have a higher angular resolution than the region corresponding to the non-target object, which helps to save unnecessary power consumption of the lidar while ensuring that the target object can be accurately detected.

[0014] In a possible design, different time periods include a first time period and a second time period. The first time period corresponds to pixel configuration one, and the second time period corresponds to pixel configuration two. The number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration one and pixel configuration two is the same, and the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two are staggered along the horizontal direction and / or the vertical direction of the detector, and the staggered distance is less than the distance of the pixels corresponding to one pixel. Among them, when the first echo signal appears as a horizontal line spot on the detector, the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be staggered along the horizontal direction of the detector. When the first echo signal appears as a vertical line spot on the detector, the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be staggered along the vertical direction of the detector. When the first echo signal appears as an inclined line spot on the detector, the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the region formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be staggered along the inclined direction of the detector, that is, staggered along both the horizontal direction and the inclined direction. In this way, there can also be a dislocation relationship between the pixel points generated by pixel configuration one and pixel configuration two. This kind of dislocation can make the pixel points generated by one pixel configuration be inserted between any two adjacent pixel points generated by the other pixel configuration to increase the number of pixel points included in the point cloud data. It can be seen that even if the lidar cannot further improve the angular resolution based on the hardware configuration, the overall angular resolution of the lidar can be further improved by software-configuring the dislocated pixels.

[0015] In a possible design, different time periods include a first time period and a second time period. The first time period corresponds to pixel configuration one, and the second time period corresponds to pixel configuration two. The pixels in working state in pixel configuration one and pixel configuration two are the same, and the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration one is more than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration two. In this way, the pixel density in the point cloud data generated based on pixel configuration two can be higher than that in the point cloud data generated based on pixel configuration two, so as to flexibly improve the angular resolution of detection in the required time period.

[0016] In a possible design, different time periods can correspond to any of the following time periods: the time periods corresponding to different first echo signals returned from the same area of the detected target object, or the time periods corresponding to the first echo signals returned from different areas of the detected target object, or the time periods corresponding to the first echo signals returned from detecting the entire target object multiple times. In this way, the pixel configuration can also be flexibly adjusted at an appropriate time according to actual needs, and the applicable scenarios of the control method can be increased.

[0017] In a possible design, the control device can also receive an upgrade instruction, which includes a third pixel configuration. The control device controls the detector to convert the third echo signal into an electrical signal using the third pixel configuration. The third echo signal includes the reflected signal corresponding to the third detection signal. In this way, the pixel configuration of the detector is updated by software upgrade, that is, it is easy to implement without improving the hardware of the lidar, and it can also match the pixel configuration requirements of users for different scenarios as much as possible, which helps to improve the flexibility of lidar detection.

[0018] In a possible design, the upgrade instruction can be sent by a host computer, or the pixel configuration can be updated by over-the-air (OTA) to realize unified management and control of lidar pixel configuration upgrade.

[0019] In a second aspect, the present application provides a control device, including at least one processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to provide data or code instructions for at least one processor, and at least one processor is used to implement the method according to any one of the first aspects above through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0020] In a third aspect, the present application provides a chip, including a processor and an interface. The processor is used to read instructions through the interface to execute the method according to any one of the first aspects above.

[0021] In a fourth aspect, the present application provides a lidar, including a control device, a receiving optical system, and a detector. The control device is used to execute the control method according to any one of the first aspects above, the receiving optical system is used to receive echo signals, and the detector is used to convert the echo signals into electrical signals.

[0022] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a transmitter and a transmitting optical system. The transmitter is configured to transmit a detection signal according to the control of the control device, and the transmitting optical system is configured to transmit the detection signal.

[0023] In a possible design, the detector may include a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector array.

[0024] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a scanning mechanism, which includes one or more of a multi-faceted rotating mirror, a galvanometer mirror, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) scanning mirror, and a prism.

[0025] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a processing module, which is configured to process the electrical signal to obtain point cloud data.

[0026] In a possible design, the processing module may further determine the target features according to the point cloud data.

[0027] In a possible design, the control device and the processing module are integrated in a system on chip (SOC).

[0028] In a fifth aspect, the present application provides a terminal device, including the lidar according to any one of the above fourth aspects. Exemplarily, some examples of terminal devices include but are not limited to: smart home devices (such as televisions, floor cleaning robots, smart table lamps, audio systems, smart lighting systems, electrical control systems, home background music, home theater systems, intercom systems, video surveillance, etc.), intelligent transportation devices (such as cars, ships, drones, trains, trucks, etc.), intelligent manufacturing devices (such as robots, industrial equipment, intelligent logistics, intelligent factories, etc.), intelligent terminals (mobile phones, computers, tablets, handheld computers, desktop computers, headphones, speakers, wearable devices, in-vehicle devices, virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, etc.).

[0029] In a sixth aspect, the present application provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is run, the method according to any one of the above first aspects is executed.

[0030] In a seventh aspect, the present application provides a computer program product, which realizes the method according to any one of the above first aspects when running on a processor.

[0031] For the beneficial effects of the second to seventh aspects described above, please refer specifically to the technical effects achievable by the corresponding designs in the first aspect above, and they will not be repeated here. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Figure 1 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0033] Figure 2 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of the internal architecture of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0034] Figure 3 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of the pixel configuration of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0035] Figure 4 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of the field of view partition of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0036] Figure 5 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of the flowchart of a control method provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 6 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of a pixel configuration method of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0038] Figure 7 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of another pixel configuration method of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] Figure 8 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of yet another pixel configuration method of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] Figure 9 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of an adjustment period of pixel configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] Figure 10 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of still another pixel configuration method of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] Figure 11 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of still another pixel configuration method of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0043] The control method disclosed in this application can be applied to terminal devices with detection capabilities, especially terminal devices with laser detection capabilities. Among them, the terminal device can be an intelligent device with laser detection capabilities, including but not limited to: smart home devices, such as TVs, floor cleaning robots, smart table lamps, audio systems, intelligent lighting systems, electrical control systems, home background music, home theater systems, intercom systems, video surveillance, etc.; intelligent transportation devices, such as cars, ships, drones, trains, trucks, lorries, etc.; intelligent manufacturing devices, such as robots, industrial equipment, intelligent logistics, intelligent factories, etc. Or, the terminal device can also be a computer device with laser detection capabilities, such as a desktop computer, a personal computer, a server, etc. It should also be understood that the terminal device can also be a portable electronic device with laser detection capabilities, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a handheld computer, headphones, speakers, wearable devices (such as smart watches), in-vehicle devices, virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, etc. Examples of portable electronic devices include but are not limited to portable electronic devices running or other operating systems. The above-mentioned portable electronic device can also be a laptop computer (Laptop) with a touch-sensitive surface (such as a touch panel), etc.

[0044] In a specific application scenario, the control method can be applied to lidar. Figure 1 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of an application scenario of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application. In this example, the lidar 100 is installed on a vehicle, so it is also called an in-vehicle lidar. In addition to the in-vehicle lidar, the lidar also includes a marine lidar installed on a ship, and an airborne lidar installed on a machine, etc. In a possible example, as Figure 1 shown, the lidar 100 can be specifically installed at the front of the vehicle. During the driving process of the vehicle, the lidar 100 can emit laser signals. After the laser signals irradiate an object in front of the vehicle, they will be reflected by the object, and the reflected echo signals can be received by the lidar 100. Then, the lidar 100 can detect obstacle information in front of the vehicle based on the echo signals, such as the size and distance of the obstacles, etc., so as to use the obstacle information to implement the driving function of the vehicle, such as including but not limited to autonomous driving or assisted driving, etc.

[0045] It should be noted that the above-mentioned lidar 100 can be one of a mechanical lidar, a liquid lidar, a pure solid-state lidar, or a hybrid solid-state lidar (also called a semi-solid-state lidar), or it can also be other types of lidars. The embodiments of the present application do not make specific limitations on this.

[0046] Further exemplarily, Figure 2The following figure shows a schematic diagram of the internal architecture of a lidar provided by an embodiment of the present application, as Figure 2 shown. In this example, the lidar 100 may include a control device 110, a transmitting module 120, a scanning mechanism 130, a receiving module 140, and a processing module 150. Among them, the transmitting module 120 includes a laser 121 and a transmitting optical system 122, and the receiving module 140 includes a receiving optical system 141 and a detector 142. In the lidar 100, the control device 110 may have the ability to control signals and may be connected to other components in the lidar 100 through a controller area network (CAN) bus or other means, such as including but not limited to the transmitting module 120, the scanning mechanism 130, the receiving module 140, and the processing module 150. The laser 121 is a device capable of emitting laser light, and its type may be any one of semiconductor lasers, gas lasers, fiber lasers, solid-state lasers, dye lasers, diode lasers, or excimer lasers. The transmitting optical system 122 and the receiving optical system 141 refer to systems composed of optical elements, and the optical elements include but are not limited to: lenses, filters, polarizers, mirrors, beam splitters, prisms, window sheets, and diffuser sheets, etc. The scanning mechanism 130 may include one or more of a polygon mirror, a galvanometer mirror, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) scanning mirror, and a prism. The detector 142 may include but is not limited to an avalanche photo diode (APD), a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD), a positive intrinsic-negative (PIN) photodiode, and a silicon photo multiplier (SiPM), etc. The processing module 150 may have the ability to process signals and may be connected to the detector 142 through a CAN bus or other means.

[0047] It should be noted that the above control device 110 and processing module 150 can be implemented integrated in one device or separately in multiple devices. Exemplarily, they can be implemented integrated in one device, which can specifically be an integrated circuit chip. For example, it can be a general-purpose processor, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a system on chip (SoC), a network processor (NP), a digital signal processing circuit (DSP), a micro controller unit (MCU), a programmable logic device (PLD), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, and other integrated chips. Among them, the device can include a central processor unit (CPU), a neural-network processing unit (NPU), and a graphics processing unit (GPU), and can also include an application processor (AP), a modem processor, an image signal processor (ISP), a video codec, a digital signal processor (DSP), and / or a baseband processor, etc., without specific limitation.

[0048] In implementation, the control device 110 can control the laser 121 to emit a detection signal (such as pulsed laser), control the transmitting optical system 122 to transmit the detection signal from the laser 121, and can also control the scanning mechanism 130 to scan and traverse the detection area using the detection signal. It should be noted that the scanning mechanism 130 is not an essential component, and the traversal function that the scanning mechanism 130 can achieve can essentially also be realized through the array design inside the transmitting module 120 and the receiving module 130 and the control device of the array. Further, after the detection signal scans an object in the detection area, it will be reflected by the object. The reflected echo signal is received by the receiving optical system 141 under the control of the control device 110 and transmitted to the detector 142. Then, the detector 142 converts the optical echo signal into an electrical signal and sends it to the processing module 150. The processing module 150 analyzes the electrical signal under the control of the control device 110 to generate point cloud data, which can be used to obtain target information such as the distance, azimuth, height, speed, attitude, and even shape of the object, and can also be used subsequently in combination with other sensor information of the vehicle to plan the autonomous driving or assisted driving of the vehicle.

[0049] In an alternative implementation, the transmitting optical system 122 and the receiving optical system 141 can scan an object in a line-scanning and line-receiving scanning mode. For example, continuing to refer to Figure 2 as shown, the detection signal emitted by the laser 121 is transmitted through the transmitting optical system 122 and is shown as a line-shaped light spot on the YOX plane. After being adjusted by the scanning mechanism 130, this line-shaped light spot scans a linear region corresponding to a vertical field of view FOV1 on the object each time (i.e., Figure 2 the hatched area on the object as shown). Moreover, the control device 110 can control the laser 121 to repeatedly emit multiple detection signals in the form of pulsed laser to detect the same linear region on the object. The number of detection signals can be exemplarily set to a value between 10 and 500. After scanning a linear region with multiple detection signals, the scanning mechanism 130 will control the multiple detection signals subsequently emitted by the transmitting optical system 122 to move along the positive direction of the X axis shown in the figure to the next linear region until the entire region corresponding to the horizontal field of view FOV2 is scanned, and it is determined that the detection area has been traversed. Correspondingly, the line-shaped light spot emitted by the transmitting optical system 122 is still a line-shaped light spot after being reflected by the object. This line-shaped light spot is transmitted back to the receiving optical system 141 by the scanning mechanism 130, is transmitted and focused on the photosensitive surface of the detector 142 in the receiving optical system 141. The detector 142 converts the signal received by the photosensitive surface into an electrical signal and sends it to the processing module 150. Then, after the processing module 150 generates the point cloud data corresponding to each linear region, the point cloud data of each linear region is combined to generate a frame of image.

[0050] It should be understood thatFigure 2 The spot after being adjusted by the scanning mechanism 130 shown in the figure is a line spot parallel to the Y-axis, which is just one possible design. The embodiments of the present application do not specifically limit the form of the spot presentation. For example, in some other designs, the line spot after being adjusted by the scanning mechanism 130 can also be parallel to the X-axis, and each time it is used to scan a linear region corresponding to a horizontal field of view angle FOV2 on the object, and move along the positive or negative direction of the Y-axis shown in the figure until the entire region corresponding to the vertical field of view angle FOV1 is scanned. Or, in some other designs, the line spot after being adjusted by the scanning mechanism 130 can also be an inclined line spot that forms a certain angle with both the X-axis and the Y-axis, and can move along the positive or negative direction of the X-axis shown in the figure, the positive or negative direction of the Y-axis, or other directions on the XOY plane until the entire region corresponding to the vertical field of view angle FOV1 and the entire horizontal field of view angle FOV2 is scanned. Or, in some other designs, some optical lenses can also be arranged at special positions of the emission optical system 122, so that the pulsed laser emitted by the laser 121 is transformed into a misaligned spot (please refer to the following embodiments for the presentation form, and no specific introduction is made here) or other special-shaped spots after the action of these optical lenses to adapt to more detection scenarios.

[0051] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be introduced in detail with reference to specific drawings. Before introducing the specific embodiments, some terms used in the following will be introduced by way of example.

[0052] (1) Pixel and pixel configuration of the detector.

[0053] In the embodiments of the present application, the detector can be an array structure composed of multiple rows and multiple columns of pixels. A pixel refers to the smallest unit in the detector that can receive echo signals. The direction defined by a row of pixels is called the horizontal direction of the detector, and the direction defined by a column of pixels is called the vertical direction of the detector. During the use of the detector, the state of each pixel can be a working state or a non-working state. When the pixel is in the working state, the pixel can convert the received echo signal into an electrical signal, and when the pixel is in the non-working state, regardless of whether there is an echo signal on the pixel, the pixel will not convert the echo signal into an electrical signal. Usually, the echo signal that a single pixel can receive is limited. The method of generating pixel points based on the echo signal received by a single pixel will result in a relatively poor signal-to-noise ratio. Therefore, in actual operation, the detector usually generates pixel points in the form of a combination of multiple rows and multiple columns of pixels. That is, the detector combines multiple echo signals received by multiple rows and multiple columns of pixels into one electrical signal and sends it to the processing module, and the processing module generates a pixel point in the point cloud data.

[0054] Further, the pixel configuration of the detector may include which pixels in the detector are in the working state, and for the pixels in the working state, what combination of rows and columns of pixels the detector will use to generate pixel points. For example, Figure 3 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of the pixel configuration of a detector provided by an embodiment of the present application. In this example, the detector is an array structure composed of 549 rows and 7 columns of pixels. Each square in the array structure corresponds to a pixel, and the control device controls 3×547 pixels located in the illustrated long strip area to be in the working state, and controls other pixels located outside the illustrated rectangular frame to be in the non-working state. Then:

[0055] Figure 3 What is shown in (A) is a schematic diagram of pixel point generation corresponding to the 3×3 pixel configuration of the detector. As Figure 3 shown in (A), in the 3×3 pixel configuration, every 3×3 pixels in the detector will correspond to a pixel point. That is to say, the detector will combine the echo signals received by every 9 pixels in 3 rows and 3 columns to synthesize an electrical signal and send it to the processing module, and then generate a pixel point in the point cloud data through the processing module. In this case, the processing module will generate 192 pixel points for each illustrated linear area in the detector;

[0056] Figure 3 What is shown in (B) is a schematic diagram of pixel point generation corresponding to the 3×6 pixel configuration of the detector. As Figure 3 shown in (B), in the 3×6 pixel configuration, every 3×6 pixels in the detector will correspond to a pixel point. That is to say, the detector will combine the echo signals received by every 3×6 pixels to synthesize an electrical signal and send it to the processing module, and then generate a pixel point in the point cloud data through the processing module. In this case, the processing module will generate 96 pixel points for each illustrated linear area in the detector.

[0057] (2) Different pixel configurations.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, since the pixel configuration of the detector includes which pixels in the detector are in the working state, and for the pixels in the working state, what combination of rows and columns of pixels the detector will use to generate pixel points, therefore, when the detector adopts different pixel configurations, it may mean that: the pixels in the detector that are in the working state are different, and / or, for the pixels in the working state, the combination of pixels used by the detector to generate pixel points is different. For the specific implementation of this part of the content, please refer to the following embodiments and no detailed introduction will be made here.

[0059] (3) The number of pixels corresponding to one pixel.

[0060] In the embodiments of the present application, the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel refers to: according to the pixel configuration of the detector, the total number of multi-row and multi-column pixels that generate one pixel point. For example, when using a 3×3 pixel configuration, one pixel point is generated by the echo signals received by a total of 9 pixels in 3 rows and 3 columns. Therefore, it is considered that the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is 9. When using a 3×6 pixel configuration, one pixel point is generated by the echo signals received by a total of 18 pixels in 6 rows and 3 columns. Therefore, it is considered that the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is 18.

[0061] In some other examples, the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel may also refer to: according to the pixel configuration of the detector, the number of multi-row pixels among the multi-row and multi-column pixels that generate one pixel point. For example, when using a 3×3 pixel configuration, it can also be considered that the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is 3. When using a 3×6 pixel configuration, it can be considered that the number of pixels corresponding to one pixel is 6.

[0062] (4) The pixel distance corresponding to one pixel.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, the pixel distance corresponding to one pixel refers to: according to the pixel configuration of the detector, the height of the multi-row pixels (also referred to as the total side length of the multi-row pixels) among the multi-row and multi-column pixels that generate one pixel point. For example, assuming the height of one pixel is 1 um, then when using a 3×3 pixel configuration, the pixel distance corresponding to one pixel is the height of 3 rows of pixels, that is, 3 um. When using a 3×6 pixel configuration, the pixel distance corresponding to one pixel is the height of 6 rows of pixels, that is, 6 um.

[0064] (5) The pixel area corresponding to one pixel.

[0065] In the embodiments of the present application, the pixel area corresponding to one pixel refers to: according to the pixel configuration of the detector, the area formed by the multi-row and multi-column pixels that generate one pixel point. For example, when using a 3×3 pixel configuration, the pixel area corresponding to one pixel is the area formed by a total of 9 pixels in 3 rows and 3 columns, such as Figure 3 each square area shown in (A) below. When using a 3×6 pixel configuration, the pixel area corresponding to one pixel is the area formed by a total of 18 pixels in 6 rows and 3 columns, such as Figure 3 each rectangular area shown in (B) below.

[0066] (6) Different regions of the detector.

[0067] In the embodiments of the present application, during the entire detection process, the scanning mechanism will focus the echo signal on the same set of pixels of the detector each time. For example, when using Figure 2 the vertical line spot shown below to scan an object, the echo signal will be focused on Figure 3 (A) below orFigure 3 On the pixels within the strip-shaped area shown in (B), and the strip-shaped area can be pre-configured according to the internal components of the lidar. For ease of understanding, in the following embodiments of the present application, the area formed by the pixels to which the echo signals on the detector are focused is referred to as the focusing area of the detector. Based on this, different areas of the detector may refer to different sub-areas within the focusing area of the detector. For example, in one example, Figure 3 in (A) or Figure 3 the upper half and the lower half of the strip-shaped area shown in (B) belong to different areas of the detector.

[0068] (7) Different time periods.

[0069] In the embodiments of the present application, for each detection area on the target object (such as Figure 2 a line-shaped area shown), the control device can control the laser in the emission module to emit multiple detection signals in the form of pulsed lasers. For example, assuming that the number of detection signals is 6, and the scanning device scans the target object horizontally along the Figure 2 direction shown at a speed of 1° / ms, and the horizontal field of view angle of the lidar is 20°, then in the first detection, the control device can control the laser to repeatedly emit 6 laser detection signals within 1 ms to detect a line-shaped area within the leftmost 1° range of the entire field of view of the lidar. In the second detection, the control device then controls the laser to repeatedly emit another 6 laser detection signals within 1 ms to detect the next line-shaped area within the range from 1° to 2° on the left side of the entire field of view of the lidar. After performing such detections 20 times, the control device determines that the scanning mechanism has completed a complete scan, and then can control the processing module to generate a frame of image based on the point cloud data obtained from these 20 detections. After that, the above process is repeated to generate the next frame of image.

[0070] Based on the above content, in the embodiments of the present application, different time periods can be any two different time periods during the entire detection process of the lidar. Exemplarily, it can refer to the time periods in any of the following situations:

[0071] Situation 1: Different time periods refer to the time periods corresponding to different echo signals returned from the same area on the detected object. For example, assuming that 6 detection signals are used to detect the same area of the object, then 6 echo signals will correspondingly be received on the focusing area of the detector for this area. Any two or any two parts of these 6 echo signals being focused onto the focusing area of the detector are different time periods. For example, the time period when the first 3 echo signals are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the first time period, and the time period when the last 3 echo signals are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the second time period. The first time period and the second time period are different time periods;

[0072] Case 2: Different time periods refer to the time periods corresponding to the echo signals returned from different regions of the detected object. For example, assume that 6 detection signals are used to detect the same region of the object. Then, for each region on the focusing area of the detector, 6 corresponding echo signals will be received. The time periods during which the respective 6 echo signals received for different regions are focused onto the focusing area of the detector are different time periods. For example, the time period during which the 6 echo signals received for detecting a certain region are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the first time period, and the time period during which the 6 echo signals received for detecting another region are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the second time period. The first time period and the second time period are different time periods;

[0073] Case 3: Different time periods refer to the time periods corresponding to the echo signals returned from detecting the entire object at different times. For example, assume that 120 detection signals are used to detect the entire object each time (such as using 6 detection signals to detect one region each time, and detecting 20 regions of the object within the entire field of view). Then, for each detection on the focusing area of the detector, 120 corresponding echo signals will be received, and the 120 echo signals received each time are subsequently used to generate one frame of image. In this case, the time period during which the 120 echo signals received for detecting the entire object at a certain time are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the first time period, and the time period during which the 120 echo signals received for detecting the entire object at another time are focused onto the focusing area of the detector is the second time period. The first time period and the second time period are different time periods.

[0074] It should be understood that different time periods can also be configured by those skilled in the art according to actual needs. For example, it can also be that the time period corresponding to a part of the echo signals returned from a certain region on the detected object is used as the first time period, and the time periods corresponding to the other echo signals returned from this region on the detected object and the echo signals returned from other regions of the detected object are used as the second time period. There are many other possible situations for different time periods, which are not listed one by one in the embodiments of this application.

[0075] (8) The field of view area of the lidar.

[0076] Traditional lidars set the same pixel configuration for the entire area on the detector. However, in the embodiments of this application, it is considered that users may be more concerned about the central area and relatively less concerned about the non-central area during the use of lidars (for example, in the application scenario of vehicle-mounted lidars, users are more inclined to focus on the road area directly in front of the lidar, rather than being particularly concerned about the sky, the road surface, or even the other lanes on the left and right. For example, even if there is a plastic bag on the road surface, or a bird in the sky, or a vehicle in the left reverse lane, it does not have much impact on the vehicle in the current lane, and the vehicle does not need to decelerate and avoid). Therefore, based on the degree of importance users attach to different areas, the embodiments of this application also partition the field of view area of the lidar. For example, Figure 4 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the field of view partition of a lidar provided by the embodiments of this application, where Figure 4 (A) shows a schematic diagram of the partition of the vertical field of view of the lidar, Figure 4 (B) shows a schematic diagram of the partition of the horizontal field of view of the lidar. As Figure 4 shown in (A) and Figure 4 (B), the vertical field of view of the lidar can be divided into a central field of view area, an upper field of view area above the central field of view area, and a lower field of view area below the central field of view area. The horizontal field of view can be divided into a central field of view area, a left-side field of view area to the left of the central field of view area, and a right-side field of view area to the right of the central field of view area. Among them, the central field of view area is predefined by those skilled in the art according to the needs of users. Specifically, it can refer to the area within a preset angle range in front of the lidar. For example, in one example, by analyzing the area concerned by users in the application scenario of vehicle-mounted lidars, the preset angle range can be defined as the range within an angle value where the front, top, bottom, left, and right of the vehicle-mounted lidar are all between 30° and 40°.

[0077] At present, for the multiple detection signals emitted by the emission module to each area of an object, the control device will control the detector to adopt the same pixel configuration. For example, in the manner shown in Figure 3 (A), a 3×3 pixel configuration is adopted for all pixels within the entire focusing area, or in the manner shown in Figure 3 (B), a 3×6 pixel configuration is adopted for all pixels within the entire focusing area. However, in some cases, users' attention degrees to different field of view areas of the lidar are not the same. For example, they are more concerned about Figure 4the central field of view area shown in the figure and can relatively not care about the non - central field of view area. That is to say, it is hoped that the lidar has a higher angular resolution for the central field of view area, while the angular resolution of the upper and lower field of view areas and the left and right field of view areas can be relatively lower. However, the control device in the prior art sets the same pixel configuration for all field of view areas. As a result, whether it is the central field of view area or other field of view areas, they will all have the same angular resolution. If the set angular resolution is too low, it will affect the detection accuracy of the central field of view area. If the set angular resolution is too high, it will increase the power consumption of the lidar. It can be seen that the control method in the prior art cannot meet the actual needs of users, which is not conducive to improving the flexibility of detection and cannot reduce the power consumption of the lidar while ensuring the necessary detection accuracy. In addition, after the hardware configuration of the lidar is fixed, the angular resolution of the lidar is also fixed. For example, according to the control method in the prior art, the lidar can only generate point cloud data in the 3×3 pixel combination mode shown in (A) of Figure 3 and there is no way to further improve the angular resolution of the lidar. However, in some cases, users hope to obtain a higher angular resolution. At this time, the control method in the prior art is no longer applicable.

[0078] In view of this, the present application provides a control method for adjusting the pixel configuration of the detector in a software - adjusted manner according to actual needs, so as to flexibly improve the angular resolution of the lidar for certain areas or further improve the angular resolution of the lidar, while ensuring the necessary detection accuracy and minimizing the power consumption of the lidar as much as possible.

[0079] It should be noted that the control method in the present application can be applied to the above - mentioned lidar, and can also be applied to other devices, devices or chips other than the above - mentioned lidar. For example, it can be applied to other intelligent terminals with detection functions other than the above - mentioned lidar, or to components set in other intelligent terminals. The components include but are not limited to controllers, chips or other sensors such as cameras, as well as other components. Or, the control method in the present application can be applied to the above - mentioned driving scenario, and can also be applied to other imaging systems other than the above - mentioned driving scenario, such as a building 3D modeling system, a terrain mapping system or a rendezvous and docking system, etc. Moreover, with the evolution of the system architecture and the emergence of new scenarios, the control method provided by the present application is equally applicable to similar technical problems, and the present application does not make specific limitations on this.

[0080] Next, based on Figure 2 the lidar shown in the figure, the specific implementation of the control method in the present application will be introduced in combination with specific embodiments. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all embodiments.

[0081] It should be noted that the terms "system" and "network" in the embodiments of the present application can be used interchangeably. "Plurality" means two or more. "And / or" describes the association relationship of associated objects, indicating that three relationships can exist. For example, A and / or B can represent: A exists alone, A and B exist simultaneously, and B exists alone, where A and B can be singular or plural. "One or more of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single item or plural items. For example, one or more of a, b, or c can represent: a, b, c, a - b, a - c, b - c, or a - b - c, where a, b, and c can be single or multiple.

[0082] In addition, unless otherwise specified, the ordinal numbers such as "first" and "second" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application are used to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the priority or importance of multiple objects. For example, the first pixel configuration, the second pixel configuration, and the third pixel configuration are only used to distinguish different pixel configurations, rather than indicating differences in the priority or importance of these pixel configurations, etc.

[0083] Figure 5 Exemplarily shown is a schematic flowchart of a control method provided by the embodiments of the present application, as Figure 5 shown, the method includes:

[0084] Step 501, the control device controls the receiving optical system to receive the first echo signal reflected by the target object.

[0085] In the above step 503, the first echo signal may include the reflection signal corresponding to the first detection signal. Among them, the first echo signal may include the reflection signals corresponding to all detection signals, or may only include the reflection signals corresponding to some detection signals, or may further include some environmental noise signals. For example, during the process of lidar detecting the entire field of view, the first echo signal may include the reflection signals corresponding to all detection signals for detecting the entire field of view, or may include the reflection signals corresponding to all detection signals for detecting a region of the target object, or may include the reflection signals corresponding to some detection signals for detecting a region of the target object, or may further include noise signals generated by the reflection or refraction of the reflection signal by the components in the lidar, or may further include other environmental noise signals, etc., which are not specifically limited.

[0086] Exemplarily, the first echo signal may be presented as a light spot of any shape. For example, in one example, the first echo signal may be presented as a linear light spot, such as Figure 2In another example, the first echo signal may be presented as a dislocated light spot, which refers to a light spot that is dislocated along the horizontal direction and / or vertical direction of the detector. The dislocated light spot contains at least two sub-light spots. When the laser radar scans the target object along the horizontal direction, at least two sub-light spots are dislocated by a certain distance along the horizontal direction of the detector, as shown below Figure 6 As shown in (B), when the laser radar scans the target object along the vertical direction, at least two sub-spots are staggered by a certain distance along the vertical direction of the detector, and when the laser radar scans the target object along the inclined direction, at least two sub-spots are staggered by a certain distance along the direction corresponding to the inclined direction on the detector, that is, they are staggered along both the horizontal direction of the detector and the vertical direction of the detector. In another example, the first echo signal can be presented as other forms of spots, such as trapezoidal spots, circular spots, or irregular spots, etc., which are not specifically limited in this application.

[0087] Step 502: The control device controls the detector to adopt a first pixel configuration to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal, wherein in the first pixel configuration, different areas of the detector have different pixel configurations, and / or the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods.

[0088] In an optional implementation, the first pixel configuration can be written into the software version program of the laser radar, which is pre-configured in the laser radar before the laser radar leaves the factory. When the user needs to update to other pixel configurations, the user can provide the demand to the R&D personnel on the laser radar side. After the R&D personnel write a new software version program, the user upgrades the software version of the laser radar. For example, in one example, the user can send an upgrade instruction to the host computer, and after the host computer receives the upgrade instruction, it sends the new software version program to the control device in the laser radar. Or, in another example, the pixel configuration can also be updated by OTA, for example, the user can dynamically request a new software version program through his mobile phone or other client, and install it on the laser radar after obtaining the new software version program, or the laser radar itself can also have communication capabilities, such as SMS sending and receiving capabilities, and the user can directly control the laser radar to dynamically request a new software version program, etc. Among them, the new software version program can include an upgraded third pixel configuration, and after the control device parses the new software version program to obtain the third pixel configuration, the control detector uses the third pixel configuration to convert the third echo signal into an electrical signal. Specifically, the third echo signal can include a reflection signal corresponding to the third detection signal. For example, in one possible application scenario, the third echo signal may refer to all or part of the echo signals received by the detector within a certain specific time period, so that the laser radar can use another pixel configuration to process the echo signals within the specific time period. Among them, the specific time period may be carried in the upgrade instruction and sent to the control device synchronously, or it may be a pre-agreed or configured time period, for example, it may be a time period within 5 milliseconds of receiving the upgrade instruction, or it may be a time period corresponding to a certain area of the target object being detected, or it may be all the echo signals received by the detector within the time period from receiving the upgrade instruction containing the third pixel configuration until receiving the next upgrade instruction, etc., without specific limitation. For another example, in another possible scenario, the third echo signal may also refer to all or part of the echo signals except the first echo signal among all the echo signals received by the detector in this detection, so that the laser radar can use different pixel configurations to process different echo signals in one detection. It should be understood that there are many possible application scenarios, and the embodiments of the present application are not listed one by one here. In this embodiment, the pixel configuration of the detector is updated in the form of software, which means that there is no need to improve the hardware of the lidar. This is easy to implement and can match the user's pixel configuration requirements for different scenes as much as possible, which helps to improve the flexibility of lidar detection.

[0089] In the embodiments of the present application, since the detector adopts different pixel configurations in different regions and / or at different time periods, after the detector receives the first echo signal, it can convert the first echo signals received in different regions or at different time periods into distinguishable electrical signals according to different pixel configurations, and then send them to the processing module. In this way, after the processing module generates point cloud data based on the distinguishable electrical signals, the pixel density in the point cloud data (i.e., the number of pixel points per unit area on the image corresponding to the point cloud data) can also be flexibly adjusted according to the actual pixel configuration method. Further, the above method can be implemented by software-configuring the pixel configuration of the detector, so it can also reduce the dependence of the detection process on the hardware configuration of the lidar and further improve the flexibility of detection.

[0090] The following will be separately introduced from two aspects: the detector has different pixel configurations in different regions and the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods.

[0091] The detector has different pixel configurations in different regions

[0092] Exemplarily, the control device can control the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel point in the pixel configurations corresponding to different regions of the detector to be different. In this way, since the total number of pixels used to generate pixels on the detector is fixed, when the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configurations corresponding to different regions is different, the number of pixels that the fixed number of pixels can generate in different regions is also different, and thus the pixel density in the point cloud data generated based on the first echo signals received in different regions is different. And in the same size range, there will be more pixel points in the region with a larger pixel density. Therefore, the angular resolution of the region with a larger pixel density is also higher. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can encrypt pixels in a specific region on the finally presented point cloud data to improve the angular resolution of the specific region and effectively improve the flexibility of detection.

[0093] The following introduces several possible applications in this pixel configuration method:

[0094] In a possible application scenario, different regions of the detector may refer to the region corresponding to the central field of view region (such as the central field of view region shown Figure 4 in) within the focused region of the detector and the non-central field of view region (including but not limited to such as Figure 4The area corresponding to the upper field of view area, the lower field of view area, the left field of view area or the right field of view area shown in the figure, etc.) can be further configured as an example so that the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel point in the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view area is less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel point in the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view area, so that the central field of view area has a higher pixel density than the non-central field of view area in the point cloud data finally presented, thereby making the central field of view area have a higher angular resolution than the non-central field of view area, while maintaining the necessary detection accuracy of the central field of view area, saving unnecessary power consumption of the laser radar.

[0095] For example, Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a pixel configuration of a detector provided in an embodiment of the present application is exemplarily shown, wherein: Figure 6 (A) shows the pixel configuration of the detector when the first echo signal appears as a line spot. Figure 6 (B) shows the pixel configuration of the detector when the first echo signal is presented as a misaligned light spot, wherein the misaligned light spot can be realized by arranging an optical collimator in the emission optical system. Figure 6 Middle (A) and Figure 6 As shown in (B), assuming that the presentation directions of the line spot and the offset spot are both vertical, then for the area a corresponding to the central field of view area in the focusing area of the detector, the control device can control the detector to adopt a 3×3 pixel configuration, that is, the detector in area a will synthesize an electrical signal based on the first echo signals on 9 pixels in every 3 rows and 3 columns and send it to the processing module, so that the processing module generates a pixel point based on the first echo signals on 9 pixels in every 3 rows and 3 columns. Correspondingly, for the upper field of view area b1 located above the central field of view area and the lower field of view area b2 located below the central field of view area in the focusing area of the detector, the control device can control the detector to adopt a 3×6 pixel configuration, that is, the detector in areas b1 and b2 will synthesize an electrical signal based on the first echo signals on 18 pixels in every 6 rows and 3 columns and send it to the processing module, so that the processing module generates a pixel point based on the first echo signals on 18 pixels in every 6 rows and 3 columns. It can be seen that in the final point cloud data presentation, the pixels in the central field of view area will be twice as dense as those in the non-central field of view area, that is, the angular resolution corresponding to the central field of view area will be twice as accurate as that of the non-central field of view area. Moreover, compared with the line spot, the use of the staggered spot can also reduce the crosstalk between the pixel areas of adjacent pixels by staggering the pixel areas of adjacent pixels on the detector, improve the isolation between the pixel areas of adjacent pixels, and thus improve the point cloud quality.

[0096] It should be noted that when applying the control solution in the embodiments of the present application to the above application scenarios, the demand information of most users in this field for the laser radar's attention area can be collected first. According to this demand information, the central field of view area and the non-central field of view area can be defined. Then, different pixel configurations can be set for the defined central field of view area and non-central field of view area according to the above solution. Furthermore, after writing the software version according to the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view area and the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view area, it can be encapsulated in the laser radar for factory shipment. In addition, the product manual of the laser radar can correspondingly include information such as the definition of the central field of view area, the definition of the non-central field of view area, the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view area, the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view area, the pixel density corresponding to the central field of view area in the point cloud data, and the pixel density corresponding to the non-central field of view area in the point cloud data. In this way, before using the laser radar, users can also understand the relevant information about the application of the laser radar by reading the product manual of the laser radar.

[0097] In addition, the above application scenario only takes the point cloud in the encrypted central field of view area as an example for introduction. In actual operation, the control device can also set different pixel configurations as shown above for any two different sub-regions within the focusing area of the detector according to actual needs. For example Figure 7 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another pixel configuration method of the detector provided by the embodiments of the present application. In this example, the control device can be as Figure 7 shown in (A) to set a 3×3 pixel configuration for the upper and lower regions within the focusing area of the detector and a 3×6 pixel configuration for the central region within the focusing area of the detector to encrypt the upper field of view area and the lower field of view area. It can also be as Figure 7 shown in (B) to set a 3×3 pixel configuration for the upper half region of the focusing area of the detector and a 3×6 pixel configuration for the lower half region of the focusing area of the detector to encrypt the upper half field of view area. It can also be as Figure 7 shown in (C) to set a 3×3 pixel configuration for any several small regions within the focusing area of the detector and a 3×6 pixel configuration for other regions, etc., to encrypt any several regions, etc. There are many possible situations, and the present application will not list them one by one.

[0098] In another possible application scenario, different regions of the detector may refer to the region where the target object appears within the focusing region of the detector and the region other than the region where the target object appears. Further exemplarily, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region where the target object appears on the detector may be configured to be less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region other than the region where the target object appears. Wherein, the target object may be an object that the user is more concerned about. For example, when crossing an intersection, the user is more concerned about the location of pedestrians or motor vehicles in the intersection to avoid hitting pedestrians or motor vehicles during the process of crossing the intersection. At this time, the target object can be set as pedestrians or motor vehicles. In implementation, before controlling the detector to adopt the first pixel configuration, the control device may first control the detector to adopt the second pixel configuration to convert the second echo signal into an electrical signal. Wherein, the second echo signal includes the reflection signal corresponding to the second detection signal. Specifically, it may include the reflection signals corresponding to the detection signals emitted in at least two scans before receiving the first echo signal. After that, after the processing module processes the electrical signal to generate the point cloud data corresponding to at least two frames of images, analyze the motion law of the target object according to the position of the target object on the point cloud data corresponding to at least two frames of images, and then predict the position where the target object will appear in the next scan according to the motion law, and control the detector to adopt the first pixel configuration to convert the first echo signal returned by the next scan into an electrical signal. Wherein, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region where the target object appears on the detector in the first pixel configuration is less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region where the target object appears on the detector in the second pixel configuration, while the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region other than the region where the target object appears on the detector in the first pixel configuration may be equal to the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the region other than the region where the target object appears on the detector in the second pixel configuration. In this way, the region corresponding to the target object on the finally presented point cloud data has a higher pixel density than the region corresponding to the non-target object, and thus the region corresponding to the target object has a higher angular resolution than the region where the non-target object is located, saving unnecessary power consumption of the lidar while ensuring that the target object can be accurately detected.

[0099] For example, Figure 8 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another pixel configuration method of the detector provided by the embodiment of the present application, as Figure 8As shown, when detecting the entire object for the Kth time and the (K + 1)th time (K is a positive integer), the control device controls the detector to perform detection using a 3×6 pixel configuration (i.e., the second pixel configuration). Thus, after generating the corresponding Kth frame image and (K + 1)th frame image, the control device predicts the position L3 of the pedestrian in the (K + 2)th frame image generated by the (K + 2)th scan based on the position L1 of the pedestrian in the Kth frame image generated by the Kth scan and the position L2 of the pedestrian in the (K + 1)th frame image generated by the (K + 1)th scan. Then, for the area d corresponding to the position L3 on the detector, a 3×3 pixel configuration is adopted, while for other areas except the area d, a 3×6 pixel configuration (i.e., the first pixel configuration) is still used. In this way, in the area d, the detector will synthesize one electrical signal from the first echo signals of 9 pixels in every 3 rows and 3 columns and send it to the processing module, so that the processing module can generate one pixel corresponding to the 9 pixels in these 3 rows and 3 columns. In other areas except the area d, one electrical signal will be synthesized from the first echo signals of 18 pixels in every 6 rows and 3 columns and sent to the processing module, so that the processing module can generate one pixel corresponding to the 18 pixels in these 6 rows and 3 columns. It can be seen that in the final point cloud presentation, the pixels in the area corresponding to the target object will be twice as dense as those in other areas. That is to say, the angular resolution accuracy of the area corresponding to the target object will be twice as high as that of other areas.

[0100] In the above pixel configuration method, by controlling the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration of a certain area of the detector to be less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration of another area, the pixel density in the point cloud data generated for this area can be made greater than the pixel density in the point cloud data generated based on the other area. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can encrypt the pixels in a specific area of the finally presented point cloud data, which can not only improve the angular resolution of the specific area but also save unnecessary power consumption.

[0101] The detector has different pixel configurations at different times

[0102] Exemplarily, the control device controls the detector to adopt different pixel configuration methods at different times, which can be to configure one pixel configuration method within a certain period and switch to another pixel configuration method when another period comes. For example, Figure 9 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of the adjustment period of a pixel configuration provided by an embodiment of the present application, as Figure 9As shown, it is assumed that the control device controls the transmitting optical system to transmit 6 detection signals each time to detect the same area of the object, and traverses the entire field of view angle to detect N areas (N is a positive integer). Then, the focusing area of the detector will correspondingly receive 6 first echo signals for each area, and 6N first echo signals for the entire object: In one example, according to Case 1 in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), the control device can control the detector to use one pixel configuration to collect any one or more of the 6 first echo signals received for each area, and control the detector to use another pixel configuration to collect one or more other first echo signals among the 6 first echo signals received for that area. For example, at the moment T1 shown in Figure 9 a pixel configuration is set, and at Figure 9 the moment T2 shown, it is switched to another pixel configuration; in another example, according to Case 2 in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), the control device can control the detector to use one pixel configuration to collect the 6 first echo signals received for a certain area, and control the detector to use another pixel configuration to collect the 6 first echo signals received for another area. For example, at the moment T1 shown in Figure 9 a pixel configuration is set, and at Figure 9 the moment T3 shown, it is switched to another pixel configuration; in yet another example, according to Case 3 in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), the control device can control the detector to use one pixel configuration to collect the 6N first echo signals received when detecting the entire object once, and control the detector to use another pixel configuration to collect the 6N first echo signals received when detecting the entire object another time. For example, at the moment T1 shown in Figure 9 a pixel configuration is set, and at Figure 9 the moment T4 shown, it is switched to another pixel configuration, so as to adopt one pixel configuration throughout the process of generating the I-th frame of image and another pixel configuration throughout the process of generating the (I + 1)-th frame of image, where I is a positive integer.

[0103] Further exemplarily, the control device can control the focusing area of the detector to adopt different pixel configurations at different time periods. The different pixel configurations can be such that the pixels in the working state are not completely the same, or the detector adopts different pixel combination methods at different time periods (that is, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel point in different pixel configurations is different). The following will respectively elaborate on these two different pixel configuration methods.

[0104] Controlling different pixels to be in the working state at different time periods

[0105] In the embodiments of the present application, the control device can control the detector to adopt the same pixel combination mode in different time periods. However, the pixels in the focused area of the detector in different time periods that are in the working state are not completely the same. This "not completely the same" can mean completely different, or it can mean partially the same and partially different, or it can also mean completely different, without specific limitation. For example, in one example, there are a first time period and a second time period among different time periods. The control device adopts pixel configuration one for the focused area of the detector in the first time period, and adopts pixel configuration two for the focused area of the detector in the second time period. The number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration one and pixel configuration two is the same. However, the pixel area where the pixels in the working state are located in pixel configuration one and the pixel area where the pixels in the working state are located in pixel configuration two are offset along the horizontal direction and / or the vertical direction of the detector, and the offset distance is less than the pixel distance corresponding to one pixel. Among them, when the first echo signal appears as a horizontal line spot on the detector, the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be offset along the horizontal direction of the detector. When the first echo signal appears as a vertical line spot on the detector, the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be offset along the vertical direction of the detector. When the first echo signal appears as an inclined line spot on the detector, the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration one and the area formed by the pixels in the working state in pixel configuration two can be offset along the inclined direction of the detector, that is, both along the horizontal direction and along the inclined direction. In this way, there can also be a dislocation relationship between the pixel points generated according to pixel configuration one and the pixel points generated according to pixel configuration two. This kind of dislocation enables the pixel points generated by one pixel configuration to be inserted between any two adjacent pixel points generated by the other pixel configuration, so as to effectively improve the overall angular resolution of this area.

[0106] For example, assume that the first echo signal appears as a vertical line spot, and the detector adopts a 6×6 pixel configuration. Then Figure 10 Exemplarily shows a schematic diagram of another pixel configuration method of the detector provided by the embodiments of the present application. Among them, Figure 10 (A) shows the presentation form of pixel configuration one adopted by the detector in the first time period. Figure 10What is shown in (B) is the presentation form of pixel configuration two adopted by the detector in the second period. Taking Case 1 in the above-mentioned term explanation (7) as an example, assume that the first period refers to the period corresponding to the first 3 of the 6 first echo signals returned from detecting the same area of the object, and the second period refers to the period corresponding to the last 3 of the 6 first echo signals. Then, for the vertical line region on the detector where these 6 first echo signals are focused, the control device controls the pixels in frame 1 to be in the working state in the first period according to the manner shown in Figure 10 (A), and controls the pixels in frame 2 to be in the working state in the second period according to the manner shown in Figure 10 (B). In this way, Figure 10 the pixels in frame 2 shown in (B) are displaced by a pixel distance corresponding to half a pixel (i.e., the height of 3 pixels) in the vertical direction of the detector compared to the pixels in frame 1 shown in Figure 10 (A). In this way, the control device controls the processing module to generate 12 pixel points respectively for the first 3 first echo signals received by the pixels in frame 1 and the last 3 first echo signals received by the pixels in frame 2. And the 12 pixel points generated corresponding to frame 2 are just inserted between any two adjacent pixel points generated corresponding to frame 1. In this way, the final point cloud data generated by the lidar detecting this object area will contain 24 pixel points, thereby doubling the vertical angular resolution of the point cloud data generated by detecting this area.

[0107] It should be noted that the above scenario is only introduced by taking different pixel configurations for two periods as an example. In actual operation, different pixel configurations can also be adopted for three or more periods, and there are at least two displacement relationships between these three or more pixel configurations as introduced above. For example, assume that 6 first echo signals are received for the same vertical line region, then the control device can configure the detector with the manner shown in Figure 10Pixel configuration 1 shown in (A) configures pixel configuration 3 for the detector during the period of receiving the middle 2 first echo signals. And the area where the pixels in pixel configuration 3 are in the working state is misaligned by the pixel distance corresponding to 1 / 3 of a pixel along the vertical direction of the detector compared to the area where the pixels in pixel configuration 1 are in the working state (for example, when using a 6×6 pixel configuration, it is misaligned by 2 pixel heights). And during the period of receiving the last 2 first echo signals, pixel configuration 4 is configured for the detector. And the area where the pixels in pixel configuration 4 are in the working state is further misaligned by the pixel distance corresponding to 1 / 3 of a pixel along the vertical direction of the detector compared to the area where the pixels in pixel configuration 3 are in the working state. In this way, not only can each pixel point be comprehensively generated by combining the detection results of 2 first echo signals, effectively improving the accuracy of each pixel point on the point cloud, but also through two misalignments, the pixel points generated based on the middle 2 first echo signals can be inserted at the 1 / 3 position between any two pixel points generated based on the first 2 first echo signals, and the pixel points generated based on the last 2 first echo signals can be inserted at the 2 / 3 position between any two pixel points generated based on the first 2 first echo signals. That is to say, the pixel density can be increased by 2 times, and further the vertical angular resolution of the point cloud data generated by detecting this object area can be increased by 2 times.

[0108] It can be seen from this that by adopting the above misaligned pixel configuration method, even if the hardware configuration of the lidar is fixed and the angular resolution of the lidar cannot be further improved by relying on the hardware, the angular resolution of the lidar can be further improved by configuring the pixels in the working state on the detector to have a misalignment relationship at different times through software. For example, when the hardware configuration of the lidar results in a maximum of only using a 3×3 pixel configuration method to generate the point cloud, it means that the lidar can generate at most 12 pixel points as shown in Figure 10 the figure. And according to the above misaligned pixel configuration method, more pixel points can be further inserted into the point cloud data by the method of misaligned insertion of pixel points, so that the lidar can be further improved in its angular resolution without being limited by the hardware.

[0109] It should be understood that the above Figure 10Only taking the case where the first echo signal presents as a vertical line spot as an example to introduce how to improve the vertical angular resolution of a certain area, this pixel setting method can also be applied to the scenario where the first echo signal presents as a non-vertical line spot. For example, when the first echo signal presents as a horizontal line spot, this pixel configuration method can improve the horizontal angular resolution of a certain area by staggering the area formed by the active pixels along the horizontal direction of the detector. When the first echo signal presents as an inclined line spot, the above pixel configuration method staggers the area formed by the active pixels along the horizontal and vertical directions of the detector, which can not only improve the vertical angular resolution of a certain area, but also improve the horizontal angular resolution of this area. The relevant implementation methods refer to the above Figure 10 , and will not be repeated here one by one.

[0110] In addition, the above only takes the different time periods shown in Case 1 of the above term explanation (7) as examples to introduce possible examples of the staggered pixel configuration. In other examples, the staggered pixel configuration can also be configured for the different time periods in Case 2 or Case 3 of the above term explanation (7) in the same way. For example, when configuring the staggered pixel configuration for the different time periods of the first echo signals received by detecting different areas in Case 2 of the above term explanation (7), it can make the pixel points between different image areas in the finally generated image have a staggered relationship. When configuring the staggered pixel configuration for the different time periods of the first echo signals received by detecting the whole object in different times in Case 3 of the above term explanation (7), it can make the pixel points on the finally generated different images have a staggered relationship. The specific implementation process refers to the above content, and the embodiments of this application will not be repeated here one by one.

[0111] Adopting different pixel combination methods at different time periods

[0112] In the embodiments of this application, the control device can control all the pixels in the focused area of the detector to be in the working state, but the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configurations used in different time periods is different. For example, in one example, there are a first time period and a second time period in different time periods. The control device adopts pixel configuration one for the focused area of the detector in the first time period, and adopts pixel configuration two for the focused area of the detector in the second time period. The active pixels in pixel configuration one are the same as the active pixels in pixel configuration two, but the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration one is more than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration two. In this way, the number of pixel points in the point cloud data generated according to pixel configuration two will also be more than the number of pixel points in the point cloud data generated according to pixel configuration one. In this way, the angular resolution of the detected object can be improved in the required time period according to actual needs.

[0113] For example, assuming that the first echo signal presents as a vertical line spot, thenFigure 11 Exemplarily shown is a schematic diagram of another pixel configuration method of the detector provided by the embodiments of the present application. Among them, Figure 11 Figure (A) shows the presentation form of pixel configuration one adopted by the detector in the first period. Figure 11 Figure (B) shows the presentation form of pixel configuration two adopted by the detector in the second period:

[0114] According to the first situation in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), assuming that the first period refers to the period corresponding to the first 3 echo signals among the 6 first echo signals returned by detecting the same area of the object, and the second period refers to the period corresponding to the last 3 first echo signals among the 6 first echo signals, then for the vertical line region on the detector where these 6 first echo signals are focused, the control device adopts a 3×3 pixel combination method in the first period according to Figure 11 the manner shown in Figure (A), and adopts a 3×6 pixel combination method in the second period according to Figure 11 the manner shown in Figure (B). In this way, the control device controls the processing module to generate 12 pixel points for the first 3 first echo signals and 6 pixel points for the last 3 first echo signals, and the 6 pixel points generated by the last 3 first echo signals are exactly inserted between any two pixel points generated by the first 3 first echo signals. Furthermore, a total of 18 pixel points are generated for this region. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can also further improve the angular resolution of the point cloud data generated by detecting a certain region without being limited by the hardware;

[0115] According to the second situation in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), assuming that the first period refers to the period corresponding to the 6 first echo signals returned by detecting a certain area of the object, and the second period refers to the period corresponding to the 6 first echo signals returned by detecting another area of the object, then for the vertical line region on the detector where these 12 first echo signals are focused, the control device adopts a 3×3 pixel combination method in the first period according to Figure 11 the manner shown in Figure (A), and adopts a 3×6 pixel combination method in the second period according to Figure 11 the manner shown in Figure (B). In this way, the control device controls the processing module to include 12 pixel points in the point cloud data generated for a certain area and 6 pixel points in the point cloud data generated for another area. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can improve the angular resolution of detecting a specific area of the object;

[0116] According to Case 3 in the above-mentioned term explanation (7), assuming that the first time period refers to the time period corresponding to 6N first echo signals returned by detecting the entire object once, and the second time period refers to the time period corresponding to 6N first echo signals returned by detecting the entire object another time, then for the vertical line region focused by these 12N first echo signals on the detector, the control device adopts a 3×3 pixel combination method in the first time period in the manner shown in Figure 11 as shown in (A), and adopts a 3×6 pixel combination method in the second time period in the manner shown in Figure 11 as shown in (B). In this way, the control device controls the processing module to evenly include 12N pixel points in the image generated by one detection, and evenly include 6N pixel points in the image generated by another detection. It can be seen that this pixel configuration method can improve the angular resolution of detecting the entire object once.

[0117] It can be seen from this that by adopting the above pixel configuration method, the lidar can also switch the pixel configuration at a certain time period according to actual needs to flexibly adapt to more scenarios, and can also flexibly improve the angular resolution. For example, it can enable the lidar to further improve its angular resolution without being limited by hardware, or it can enable the lidar to have a higher angular resolution when detecting a certain area of the object, or it can also enable the lidar to have a higher angular resolution when detecting the object once.

[0118] It should be noted that the various pixel configurations shown above can also be combined. For example, while configuring different pixel configurations for different time periods, in the pixel configuration configured for a certain time period, different pixel configurations can be further performed on different sub-regions within the focused area of the detector. Or, while configuring different pixel configurations for different time periods, on the one hand, the pixels in operation in the two time periods can be configured differently, and on the other hand, different pixel combination methods can be configured for the two time periods, etc. There are many possible combination methods, and the embodiments of the present application will not list them one by one.

[0119] It should be understood that the control method provided by the present application can also be extended to any information system with a demand for angular resolution. It should be understood that all technical solutions that use the control scheme provided by the present application to improve the angular resolution are within the protection scope of the present application, and the present application will not list them one by one.

[0120] According to the control scheme provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a control device, including at least one processor and an interface circuit. The interface circuit is used to provide data or code instructions for at least one processor, and at least one processor is used to implement the method executed by the above control device through logic circuits or by executing code instructions.

[0121] According to the control solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a lidar, including a control device, a receiving optical system, and a detector. The control device is configured to execute the control method performed by any one of the control devices in the above embodiments. The receiving optical system is configured to receive echo signals, and the detector is configured to convert the echo signals into electrical signals.

[0122] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a transmitter and a transmitting optical system. The transmitter is configured to transmit detection signals according to the control of the control device, and the transmitting optical system is configured to transmit the detection signals.

[0123] In a possible design, the detector includes a SPAD detector array.

[0124] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a scanning mechanism, which includes one or more of a multi-faceted rotating mirror, a galvanometer mirror, a MEMS scanning mirror, and a prism.

[0125] In a possible design, the lidar may further include a processing module, which is configured to process the electrical signals to obtain point cloud data.

[0126] In a possible design, the processing module may further determine target features according to the point cloud data.

[0127] In a possible design, the control device and the processing module may be integrated in a system-on-chip (SOC).

[0128] According to the control solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a terminal device, including the lidar described above. Among them, some examples of terminal devices include but are not limited to: smart home devices (such as televisions, floor cleaning robots, smart table lamps, audio systems, smart lighting systems, electrical control systems, home background music, home theater systems, intercom systems, video surveillance, etc.), intelligent transportation devices (such as cars, ships, drones, trains, trucks, etc.), intelligent manufacturing devices (such as robots, industrial equipment, intelligent logistics, intelligent factories, etc.), and intelligent terminals (mobile phones, computers, tablets, handheld computers, desktop computers, headphones, speakers, wearable devices, in-vehicle devices, virtual reality devices, augmented reality devices, etc.).

[0129] According to the control solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, which stores a computer program. When the computer program is run, it executes the method performed by the control device in the above content.

[0130] According to the control solution provided by the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a computer program product. When the computer program product runs on a processor, it implements the method performed by the control device in the above content.

[0131] As used in this specification, the terms "component", "module", "system", etc. are used to refer to computer-related entities, hardware, firmware, combinations of hardware and software, software, or software in execution. For example, a component can be, but is not limited to, a process running on a processor, a processor, an object, an executable, an execution thread, a program, and / or a computer. By way of illustration, both an application running on a computing device and the computing device can be components. One or more components can reside in a process and / or an execution thread, and a component can be located on one computer and / or distributed between two or more computers. In addition, these components can execute from various computer-readable media on which various data structures are stored. A component can communicate, for example, by signals according to one or more data packets (e.g., data from two components interacting with another component in a local system, a distributed system, and / or a network, e.g., the Internet interacting with other systems via signals) through local and / or remote processes.

[0132] Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks and steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in electronic hardware, or in a combination of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functions are implemented in hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints of the technical solution. Skilled artisans may implement the described functions in different ways for each particular application, but such implementation should not be considered to exceed the scope of this application.

[0133] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can refer to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be elaborated herein.

[0134] In several embodiments provided in this application, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical functional division, and there can be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components can be combined or integrated into another system, or some features can be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the couplings, direct couplings, or communication connections shown or discussed among each other can be through some interfaces. The indirect couplings or communication connections of devices or units can be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0135] The unit described as a separation component may or may not be physically separated. The component displayed as a unit may or may not be a physical unit, that is, it may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected according to actual needs to achieve the purpose of the solution of this embodiment.

[0136] In addition, each functional unit in various embodiments of the present application can be integrated into a processing unit, or each unit can exist physically alone, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0137] If the above functions are implemented in the form of software functional units 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 the present application, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or part of this 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 enable a computer device (which can be a personal computer, a server, or a network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods described in various embodiments of the present application. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media such as USB flash drives, mobile hard disks, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical discs that can store program codes.

[0138] The above is only the specific implementation manner of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed by the present application, and all of them should be covered by the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claimed rights.

Claims

1. A control method, characterized in that, include: Controlling the receiving optical system to receive a first echo signal reflected by the target object; Controlling the detector to use a first pixel configuration to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal; Wherein, in the first pixel configuration, different areas of the detector have different pixel configurations, and the different areas of the detector include an area of the detector where the target object is presented and an area other than the area where the target object is presented; Before controlling the detector to convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal using the first pixel configuration, the method further includes: Controlling the detector to adopt a second pixel configuration to convert the second echo signal into an electrical signal; Among them, for the area in the detector where the target object is presented, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is less than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration, and for the area other than the area in the detector where the target object is presented, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the first pixel configuration is equal to the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the second pixel configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The first echo signal appears as a line light spot or a dislocated light spot, and the dislocated light spot is a light spot dislocated along the horizontal direction and / or vertical direction of the detector.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The different areas of the detector include an area corresponding to a central field of view area of the laser radar in the detector and an area corresponding to a non-central field of view area, wherein the central field of view area is an area within a preset angle range in front of the laser radar.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein The number of picture elements corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the central field of view area is less than the number of picture elements corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration corresponding to the non-central field of view area.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein, In the first pixel configuration, the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods; The different time periods include a first time period and a second time period, the first time period corresponds to pixel configuration one, the second time period corresponds to pixel configuration two, the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in the pixel configuration one and the pixel configuration two is the same, and the area constituted by the pixels in the working state in the pixel configuration one and the area constituted by the pixels in the working state in the pixel configuration two are staggered along the horizontal direction and / or vertical direction of the detector, and the staggered distance is less than the pixel distance corresponding to one pixel.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein In the first pixel configuration, the detector has different pixel configurations at different time periods; The different time periods include a first time period and a second time period, the first time period corresponds to pixel configuration one, the second time period corresponds to pixel configuration two, the pixels in working state in pixel configuration one and pixel configuration two are the same, and the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration one is greater than the number of pixels corresponding to each pixel in pixel configuration two.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that The different regions of the detector include: different sub-regions in the region on the detector where the first echo signal is focused; or The different time periods are any of the following time periods: Detecting time periods corresponding to different first echo signals returned from the same area of the target object; Detecting the time periods corresponding to the first echo signals returned by different regions of the target object; Or, The time periods corresponding to the first echo signals returned by detecting the entire target object in different times.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that The method further includes: Receiving an upgrade instruction, where the upgrade instruction includes a third pixel configuration; Controlling the detector to convert the third echo signal into an electrical signal by using the third pixel configuration.

9. A lidar, characterized in that, Including a control device, a receiving optical system, and a detector: The control device is configured to execute the control method according to any one of claims 1 to 8; The receiving optical system is configured to receive echo signals; The detector is configured to convert the echo signals into electrical signals.

10. The lidar according to claim 9, characterized in that, Further including a transmitter and a transmitting optical system; The transmitter is configured to transmit a detection signal under the control of the control device; The transmitting optical system is configured to transmit the detection signal.

11. The lidar according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, The detector includes a single photon avalanche diode (SPAD) detector array.

12. The lidar according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, The lidar further includes a scanning mechanism, and the scanning mechanism includes one or more of a multi-faceted rotating mirror, a galvanometer mirror, a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) scanning mirror, and a prism.

13. The lidar according to claim 9 or 10, characterized in that, Further including a processing module, where the processing module is configured to process the electrical signals to obtain point cloud data.

14. The lidar according to claim 13, characterized in that, The processing module is further configured to determine target features according to the point cloud data.

15. The lidar according to claim 13, characterized in that, The control device and the processing module are integrated in a system on chip (SOC).

16. A terminal device, characterized in that, Including the lidar according to any one of claims 9 to 15.

17. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores a computer program, and when the computer program is run, it executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

18. A computer program product, characterized in that, When the computer program product runs on a processor, it implements the method according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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