A lidar, control method, and related devices

Abstract

This application discloses a lidar, a control method, and related equipment, relating to the field of mobile robot control. The lidar includes: a laser emitting component disposed on a rotating body of the lidar, the laser emitting component being used to emit coded laser light, the coded laser light being used for ranging and communication; a photosensitive component disposed on the rotating body, the photosensitive component being used to receive reflected laser light to obtain ranging information, the reflected laser light being the laser light reflected from the coded laser light onto the measured object and then onto the lidar; and an optoelectronic component disposed on the substrate of the lidar, the optoelectronic component being used to receive the coded laser light to obtain communication information.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification relates to the field of mobile robot control technology, and more specifically, this disclosure relates to a lidar, control method and related equipment. Background Technology

[0002] LiDAR technology for mobile robots (such as unmanned vehicles, drones, underwater robots, warehouse robots, and sweeping robots) achieves omnidirectional ranging through a rotating vertical cavity surface laser and a photosensitive receiver, thereby enabling the robot to map and locate itself.

[0003] In related technologies, the failure of either the LED or the PD will result in the complete loss of communication functionality. This makes the overall failure rate of lidar relatively high, unsuitable for applications requiring high reliability. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a lidar system, control method, and related equipment to at least address some of the aforementioned problems. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure aims to address at least one of the technical problems existing in the prior art or related technologies.

[0005] In view of this, firstly, this disclosure proposes a control method, comprising:

[0006] A laser emitting assembly is disposed on the rotating body of the lidar and is used to emit coded laser for ranging and communication.

[0007] A photosensitive component is disposed on the rotating body. The photosensitive component is used to receive reflected laser light to obtain ranging information. The reflected laser light is the laser light reflected from the coded laser light onto the object being measured and then onto the lidar.

[0008] An optoelectronic component is disposed on the substrate of the lidar and is used to receive the coded laser to obtain communication information.

[0009] In one feasible implementation, the laser emitting component includes a first bidirectional photodiode and a first microcontroller unit;

[0010] The aforementioned photosensitive component includes the aforementioned first bidirectional photodiode and the aforementioned first microcontroller unit;

[0011] The aforementioned optoelectronic components include a second bidirectional photodiode and a second microcontroller unit.

[0012] In one feasible implementation, it further includes:

[0013] A beam splitter assembly is disposed on the rotating body. The beam splitter assembly is used to split the coded laser beam into a first beam and a second beam. The first beam is used for ranging, and the second beam is used for communication.

[0014] The optoelectronic component includes a photodiode.

[0015] In one feasible implementation, the beam inlet of the beam splitter is correspondingly disposed to the laser reflection component, the angle between the first beam outlet of the beam splitter and the ranging direction is less than a preset threshold, and the angle between the second beam outlet of the beam splitter and the photodiode is less than the preset threshold.

[0016] In one feasible implementation, the optoelectronic component includes a plurality of photodiodes disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the substrate.

[0017] Secondly, this disclosure also proposes a control method for the lidar described in any one of the first aspects, comprising:

[0018] Control the laser emitting component to emit coded laser light;

[0019] Ranging information is obtained based on the reflected laser and the coded laser received by the photosensitive component;

[0020] The coded laser received by the optoelectronic component is decoded to obtain communication information.

[0021] In one feasible implementation, the laser encoding is a square wave signal, and the duty cycle of the square wave signal is greater than a preset threshold.

[0022] In one feasible implementation, the coded laser of the Nth frame includes ranging information of the NMth frame, where N is greater than M.

[0023] In one feasible implementation, when the laser encoding is a first frame encoding, the first frame encoding is either all-zero encoding or all-one encoding; and / or,

[0024] When the laser encoding is the last frame encoding, the photosensitive component is controlled to turn off.

[0025] In one feasible implementation, the control of the laser emitting assembly to emit coded laser light includes:

[0026] Generate the ranging information encoding for the NMth frame based on the ranging information of the NMth frame;

[0027] The switching state of the transmitting component is controlled according to the ranging information of the NMth frame to transmit the encoded laser of the Nth frame.

[0028] In one feasible implementation, where the optoelectronic component includes a plurality of photodiodes...

[0029] The step of decoding the coded laser light received by the optoelectronic component to obtain communication information includes:

[0030] Obtain the laser code received by each photodiode;

[0031] The laser codes received by each photodiode are superimposed to obtain superimposed laser codes;

[0032] The superimposed laser code is decoded to obtain the communication information.

[0033] In one feasible implementation, the step of superimposing the laser codes received by each photodiode to obtain superimposed laser codes includes:

[0034] The laser code received by each photodiode is aligned according to a preset time delay to obtain the aligned code;

[0035] All the aligned codes are superimposed to obtain the superimposed laser code.

[0036] Thirdly, this disclosure also proposes an electronic device comprising: a memory, a processor, and a computer program stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the processor executes the computer program stored in the memory to implement the steps of the control method as described in any of the second aspects above.

[0037] Fourthly, this disclosure also proposes a mobile robot, including electronic equipment as described in the third aspect and lidar as described in the first aspect.

[0038] In summary, the lidar proposed in this disclosure simplifies the optical path and receiving system by employing a beam-splitting component and a single photodiode design. The beam-splitting component ensures independent and non-interfering ranging and communication beams. Using only a single photodiode reduces hardware complexity on the substrate side. This simplified design reduces the probability of hardware failure and improves system reliability. The flexible and adjustable beam-splitting ratio of the beam-splitting component ensures the performance of both ranging and communication functions.

[0039] The lidar disclosed herein, along with other advantages, objectives, and features of this disclosure, will be partly apparent from the following description and partly understood by those skilled in the art through study and practice of this disclosure. Attached Figure Description

[0040] Various other advantages and benefits will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the following detailed description of preferred embodiments. The accompanying drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit this specification. Furthermore, the same reference numerals denote the same parts throughout the drawings. In the drawings:

[0041] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the first type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0042] Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of the second type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0043] Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of the third type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0044] Figure 4 This disclosure provides a schematic diagram of a lidar ranging principle including a bidirectional photodiode.

[0045] Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of the fourth type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0046] Figure 6 This is a structural schematic diagram of the fifth type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0047] Figure 7 This is a structural schematic diagram of the sixth type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0048] Figure 8 This is a structural schematic diagram of the seventh type of lidar provided in this disclosure;

[0049] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of a lidar ranging principle using multiple photodiodes provided in this disclosure;

[0050] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram of another lidar ranging principle using multiple photodiodes provided in this disclosure;

[0051] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of a control method provided in this disclosure;

[0052] Figure 12 This is a schematic diagram of the principle of an coded laser provided in this disclosure;

[0053] Figure 13 This is a flowchart illustrating another control method provided in this disclosure;

[0054] Figure 14 This is a flowchart illustrating yet another control method provided in this disclosure.

[0055] Figure 15 This is a structural schematic diagram of an electronic device provided in this disclosure;

[0056] Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of a mobile robot structure provided in this disclosure;

[0057] Figures 1 to 3 , Figures 5 to 8 The correspondence between the figure labels and figure titles in the accompanying drawings is as follows:

[0058] 10. LiDAR, 101. Rotating body, 102. Substrate, 1011. Laser emitting assembly, 1012. Photosensitive assembly, 1013. Beam splitter assembly, 1014. First bidirectional photodiode, 1015. First microcontroller unit, 1021. Optoelectronic assembly, 1022. Photodiode, 1023. First photodiode, 1024. Second photodiode, 1025. Second bidirectional photodiode, 1026. Second microcontroller unit, 300. Electronic device, 310. Memory, 311. Computer program, 320. Processor, 400. Mobile robot. Detailed Implementation

[0059] The terms "first," "second," "third," "fourth," etc. (if present) in the specification, claims, and accompanying drawings of this disclosure are used to distinguish similar objects and are not necessarily used to describe a specific order or sequence. It should be understood that such data can be interchanged where appropriate so that the embodiments described herein can be implemented in a sequence other than that illustrated or described herein. Furthermore, the terms "comprising" and "having," and any variations thereof, are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion; for example, a process, method, system, product, or apparatus that comprises a series of steps or units is not necessarily limited to those steps or units explicitly listed, but may include other steps or units not explicitly listed or inherent to such processes, methods, products, or apparatus. The technical solutions of this disclosure will now be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this disclosure, and not all of them.

[0060] In related technologies, because of the rotating body in lidar, the signal receiver is located on the rotating body. A communication scheme needs to be designed to transmit the rotating body data to the substrate, which then communicates with the central processing unit to complete the data path connection. Currently, lidar technologies widely use unidirectional or bidirectional communication schemes with infrared light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and photodiodes (PDs). Both unidirectional and bidirectional schemes require additional independent LED and PD components, increasing hardware complexity and system design difficulty. Especially in bidirectional communication schemes, hardware requirements are even higher, significantly increasing manufacturing costs.

[0061] In related technologies, the failure of either the LED or the PD will result in the complete loss of communication functionality. This makes the overall failure rate of lidar relatively high, unsuitable for applications requiring high reliability. Therefore, it is necessary to propose a lidar system, control method, and related equipment to at least address some of the aforementioned problems.

[0062] Please see Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the first type of lidar 10 provided in this disclosure, which may specifically include:

[0063] A laser emitting component 1011 is disposed on the rotating body 101 of the lidar 10. The laser emitting component 1011 is used to emit coded laser for ranging and communication.

[0064] A photosensitive component 1012 is disposed on the rotating body 101. The photosensitive component 1012 is used to receive reflected laser light to obtain ranging information. The reflected laser light is the laser light reflected from the coded laser light onto the object being measured and then onto the lidar 10.

[0065] The optoelectronic component 1021 is disposed on the substrate 102 of the lidar 10 and is used to receive the coded laser to obtain communication information.

[0066] For example, a laser emitting component 1011 is disposed on the rotating body 101 of the lidar 10. The rotating body 101 can rotate around the substrate 102 under the drive of a motor to achieve circumferential ranging and communication. The laser emitting component 1011 is a laser emitting module (such as a VCSEL) with encoding control function, used to emit coded laser. The coded laser emitted by the laser emitting component 1011 of this disclosure has a dual purpose: firstly, the coded laser is directed towards the object being measured, and distance calculation is achieved by receiving the reflected light; secondly, after encoding, the laser carries communication data and is directly transmitted to the optoelectronic component 1021 on the substrate 102. It should be noted that the encoding method must ensure the stability of the average energy of the laser emission (e.g., using a fixed duty cycle encoding scheme) to avoid affecting the ranging accuracy.

[0067] The photosensitive component 1012 is also mounted on the rotating body 101 of the lidar 10, working in conjunction with the laser emitting component 1011. The photosensitive component 1012 (CMOS sensor) receives reflected laser light from the object being measured and extracts ranging information from it. The coded laser light reflects off the surface of the object and returns to the rotating body 101. The photosensitive component 1012 converts the reflected signal into an electronic signal and transmits it to the microcontroller (MCU2) on the rotating body 101 for ranging calculation. It should be noted that the sensitivity and response time of the photosensitive component 1012 must be sufficiently high to ensure frequency synchronization with the coded laser light and avoid information loss.

[0068] An optoelectronic component 1021 is mounted on the substrate 102 of the lidar 10. The optoelectronic component 1021 (such as a photodiode 1022) is used to directly receive the coded laser emitted by the rotating body 101 to extract communication information. The coded laser emitted by the rotating body 101 is guided by an optical beam splitter or directly directed onto the substrate 102. The optoelectronic component 1021 converts the received coded optical signal into an electrical signal and transmits it to the microcontroller (MCU1) on the substrate 102 for decoding and extraction of communication data. It should be noted that the optoelectronic component 1021 must have high signal reception efficiency to ensure accurate reception of the laser signal even when the rotating body 101 is rotating at high speed.

[0069] The lidar disclosed herein integrates ranging and communication functions onto a single laser emitting component, eliminating the need for additional dedicated communication devices. This reduces hardware complexity and saves on components. The simplified lidar structure lowers the failure rate, and optimized coding ensures the stability of ranging and communication. The lidar disclosed herein efficiently achieves synchronous communication and ranging between the lidar's rotating body and the base plate, while simultaneously improving overall performance and reducing costs.

[0070] In one feasible implementation, the laser emitting component includes a first bidirectional photodiode 1014 and a first microcontroller unit 1015;

[0071] The aforementioned photosensitive component includes the aforementioned first bidirectional photodiode and the aforementioned first microcontroller unit 1015;

[0072] The aforementioned optoelectronic component includes a second bidirectional photodiode 1025 and a second microcontroller unit 1026.

[0073] For example, such as Figures 2-4 As shown, Figure 2 This is a structural schematic diagram of the second type of lidar provided in this disclosure; Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of the third type of lidar provided in this disclosure; Figure 4 This disclosure provides a schematic diagram of a lidar ranging principle including a bidirectional photodiode.

[0074] The laser emitting assembly includes a first bidirectional photodiode 1014 and a first microcontroller unit 1015. The first bidirectional photodiode 1014 is a photodiode that can both emit laser light and receive reflected light during the operation of the lidar. The first microcontroller unit 1015 is a small control circuit used to control the coordinated operation of laser emission, reception, and other related functions.

[0075] The photosensitive component includes a first bidirectional photodiode 1014 and a first microcontroller unit 1015; that is, the photosensitive component also employs the first bidirectional photodiode 1014 and the first microcontroller unit 1015. The photosensitive component receives reflected laser light through the first bidirectional photodiode 1014, thereby acquiring ranging information. The first bidirectional photodiode 1014 can be used to both receive reflected light and emit laser light.

[0076] The optoelectronic component includes a second bidirectional photodiode 1025 and a second microcontroller unit 1026. The second bidirectional photodiode 1025 is similar to the first bidirectional photodiode 1014, but its function may focus on communication, receiving coded laser signals used for communication. The second microcontroller unit 1026 is similar to the first microcontroller unit 1015, responsible for controlling the operation of the optoelectronic component, involving the processing and decoding of communication signals.

[0077] The first bidirectional photodiode and the second bidirectional diode can be mounted on a centrally aligned rotating axis to enable time-division multiplexing of uplink and downlink data in communication.

[0078] The first microcontroller unit 1015 includes a first input module 10151 and a first output module 10152. The second microcontroller unit 1026 includes a second input module 10261 and a second output module 10262. This embodiment provides a method where each branch can be created on the driving circuit of a pair of photodiodes that transmit and receive light. Because bidirectional photodiodes and VCSELs can both emit and receive light, the photodiodes can simultaneously perform both emission and reception functions by simultaneously connecting to the input and output modules of the microcontroller unit, thus achieving bidirectional communication. The advantage of bidirectional communication is that the operating mode and timing of the laser or CMOS can be modified during the operation of the lidar, thereby achieving application optimization in different scenarios.

[0079] In some examples, it also includes:

[0080] Beam splitter 1013 is disposed on the rotating body 101. The beam splitter 1013 is used to split the coded laser beam into a first beam and a second beam. The first beam is used for ranging and the second beam is used for communication.

[0081] The optoelectronic component 1021 includes a photodiode 1022.

[0082] For example, such as Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, Figure 5 This is a structural schematic diagram of the fourth type of lidar provided in this disclosure; Figure 6 This is a structural schematic diagram of the fifth type of lidar provided in this disclosure. A beam splitter 1013 is disposed on the rotating body 101, splitting the coded laser into two parts for ranging and communication, respectively. Simultaneously, a photodiode 1022 is used as a receiving component on the substrate 102 side.

[0083] The beam splitter 1013 is disposed within the rotating body 101, located on the optical path after the laser emitting assembly 1011 (VCSEL). The rotating body 101 splits the coded laser generated by the laser emitting assembly 1011 into two beams: a first beam and a second beam. The first beam is a ranging beam, directed towards the surface of the object being measured for distance measurement. The second beam is a communication beam, guided through the optical path to a photodiode 1022 on the substrate 102 for communication.

[0084] The beam splitter assembly 1013 includes, but is not limited to, a prism, a semi-transparent mirror, and a beam splitter. The prism has a fixed beam splitting ratio, such as 50% for ranging and 50% for communication. The semi-transparent mirror transmits part of the beam for ranging and reflects the other part for communication. The beam splitter can adjust the beam splitting ratio as needed to ensure a balance between the energy requirements of ranging and communication.

[0085] By splitting the optical path into two paths using the beam splitter 1013, the independence of the ranging and communication beams can be achieved, reducing optical path interference. This improves the utilization efficiency of the laser, enabling both ranging and communication needs to be met.

[0086] The optoelectronic component 1021 can be a single photodiode 1022. The optoelectronic component 1021 is disposed on the substrate 102 and is used to receive the second beam generated by the beam splitter 1013. The photodiode 1022 receives the laser signal and converts it into an electrical signal, which is then transmitted to the microcontroller on the substrate 102 for decoding.

[0087] like Figure 6 As shown, the lidar 10 may further include a motor, belt, power supply coil, code disk, drive circuit 1, drive circuit 2, MCU1, and MCU2. The laser emitting component 1011 can be a VCSEL, the photosensitive component can be a CMOS, and a data interface. The laser emitting component 1011 (VCSEL) generates coded laser light, which is split into two beams by the beam splitter 1013. The first beam is directed towards the object being measured for distance measurement. The second beam is guided through an optical path to the substrate 102 for communication. The first beam is reflected back to the rotating body 101, received by the photosensitive component 1012 (CMOS), and used to generate distance measurement data. The distance measurement data is encoded by the microcontroller (MCU2) of the rotating body 101 and modulated into the coded laser light emitted in the next round. The second beam is directly directed towards the photoelectric component 1021 on the substrate 102. The photodiode 1022 receives the laser signal, and the microcontroller (MCU1) on the substrate 102 decodes the signal and extracts the communication data.

[0088] It should be noted that the beam splitting ratio of the beam splitter 1013 can be adjusted according to the actual needs of ranging and communication. For example, 80% of the laser energy can be allocated to the ranging beam to ensure sufficient ranging accuracy, while 20% of the laser energy can be allocated to the communication beam to meet the transmission requirements of communication signals.

[0089] The lidar 10 disclosed herein simplifies the optical path and receiving system by employing a beam splitter 1013 and a single photodiode 1022. The beam splitter 1013 enables independent and non-interfering ranging and communication beams. Using only a single photodiode 1022 reduces the hardware complexity on the substrate 102 side. This simplified design reduces the probability of hardware failure and improves system reliability. The flexible and adjustable beam splitting ratio of the beam splitter 1013 ensures the performance of both ranging and communication functions.

[0090] In some examples, the beam inlet of the beam splitter 1013 is correspondingly arranged with the laser reflection component, the angle between the first beam outlet of the beam splitter 1013 and the ranging direction is less than a preset threshold, and the angle between the second beam outlet of the beam splitter 1013 and the photodiode is less than the preset threshold.

[0091] For example, the beam inlet of the beam splitter 1013 is configured to correspond to the laser reflection component, ensuring that the laser beam generated by the laser emitting component 1011 can enter the beam splitter 1013 efficiently, reducing light energy loss and maximizing the laser energy received by the beam splitter 1013.

[0092] The beam splitter assembly 1013 is designed with two beam exit ends for outputting the first and second beams after beam splitting. The angle between the first beam exit end (ranging beam) and the ranging direction is less than a preset threshold, ensuring that the beam can be accurately directed to the object being measured. The angle between the second beam exit end (communication beam) and the receiving direction of the photodiode 1022 is less than a preset threshold, ensuring that the beam can efficiently enter the photodiode 1022. The preset threshold is the maximum allowable angular deviation in the design, which can be set within a few degrees (e.g., less than 3° or 5°) to ensure high accuracy of the beam transmission path.

[0093] In some examples, the optoelectronic component 1021 includes a plurality of photodiodes 1022 disposed on the outer circumferential surface of the substrate 102.

[0094] For example, such as Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the optoelectronic component 1021 includes a plurality of photodiodes 1022, such as a first photodiode 1023 and a second photodiode 1024, which are arranged on the circumferential surface outside the substrate 102. The plurality of photodiodes 1022 can be uniformly distributed around the substrate 102 to ensure that the laser emitted by the rotating body 101 at any angle can be received by at least one photodiode 1022.

[0095] The lidar 10 disclosed in this embodiment emits coded laser light, a portion of which is directed towards the object being measured and reflected back to the photosensitive component 1012 of the rotating body 101 to complete the ranging function. The other portion is directed directly towards a plurality of photodiodes 1022 arranged around the substrate 102 for communication. Each photodiode 1022 can independently receive the coded laser light emitted from the rotating body 101 and convert it into an electrical signal. The output signals of all photodiodes 1022 are combined together via a combiner or circuit and transmitted to a microcontroller (MCU1) on the substrate 102. The MCU1 decodes the combined signal and extracts the communication data.

[0096] like Figure 9 and Figure 10As shown, photodiodes 1022 are arranged on the circumferential surface outside the substrate 102, forming a ring-shaped receiving area. This allows for adaptation to changes in the laser emission angle during the high-speed rotation of the rotating body 101. It ensures that regardless of the angle of the rotating body 101, at least one photodiode 1022 will always receive the laser signal. Four photodiodes 1022 can be used to ensure coverage of any laser emission direction. For high-speed rotation or high-precision applications, the number of photodiodes 1022 can be increased to improve reception coverage and signal redundancy. The output signals of each photodiode 1022 can be combined using a combiner to form a unified electrical signal input to the MCU1. The combiner design avoids signal conflicts caused by multiple photodiodes 1022 simultaneously receiving laser signals.

[0097] The lidar 10 proposed in this disclosure eliminates the need for beam splitters, simplifying the optical system and reducing system complexity and manufacturing costs. The redundant design of multiple photodiodes 1022 enhances the system's fault tolerance; even if some photodiodes 1022 fail due to malfunction or obstruction, the others can still receive signals. The circumferentially distributed photodiodes 1022 ensure that laser emission from the rotating body 101 at any angle can be received without strict alignment of the optical path.

[0098] Secondly, this disclosure also proposes a control method for the lidar described in any one of the first aspects, comprising:

[0099] S210, Control the laser emitting assembly to emit coded laser;

[0100] For example, a laser emitting assembly is controlled to emit coded laser light on a rotating body. The coded laser light contains ranging and communication information, and the laser beam is used to illuminate the object under test and optoelectronic components on the substrate.

[0101] The encoding of the laser beam can employ a fixed duty cycle (e.g., 92.3%), ensuring consistent laser energy regardless of whether 0 or 1 is emitted, thus guaranteeing stable ranging accuracy. The timing of laser emission is synchronized with the angular velocity of the rotating body, ensuring uniform distribution of the laser beam during rotation. By controlling the laser beam through encoding, it simultaneously possesses ranging and communication functions.

[0102] S220. Obtain ranging information based on the reflected laser and the coded laser received by the photosensitive component;

[0103] For example, a photosensitive component (such as a CMOS sensor) is mounted on a rotating body to receive laser light reflected from the object being measured. The reflected laser light carries distance information about the target object. The photosensitive component sensor converts the received reflected laser signal into an electrical signal. This electrical signal is then transmitted to a microcontroller on the rotating body for distance calculation.

[0104] The waveform characteristics of the coded laser are used for comparative analysis with the reflected laser, further improving the accuracy of ranging. Ranging methods can include Time-of-Flight (ToF) or phase difference methods.

[0105] S230. Decode the coded laser received by the optoelectronic component to obtain communication information.

[0106] For example, an optoelectronic component (such as a photodiode PD) is mounted on a substrate to directly receive coded laser light emitted by a rotating body. The coded laser light carries data from the rotating body, such as ranging results or other communication information. The photodiode converts the received laser signal into an electrical signal; if the optoelectronic component comprises multiple photodiodes, their output signals can be combined into a single signal using a combiner. A microcontroller on the substrate can decode the electrical signal to extract the communication information. The communication information may include ranging results and system status information, among other things.

[0107] In some examples, the laser encoding is a square wave signal with a duty cycle greater than a preset threshold.

[0108] For example, the laser signal emitted by the laser emitting component is encoded as a square wave. A square wave signal is a periodically switching laser signal characterized by alternating "high" (emitting light) and "low" (off) states. A preset threshold defines the minimum requirements for laser signal stability in the system. The duty cycle threshold of the lidar can be set to 90% or higher to ensure that the average laser power is high enough to avoid affecting ranging accuracy.

[0109] Specifically, the following methods can be adopted: Figure 12 The encoding scheme shown has a VCSEL duty cycle of 24 / 26 = 92.3%, regardless of whether 0 or 1 is transmitted. The energy transmitted by the VCSEL will not fluctuate due to different code types of data, and the duty cycle should be designed to be relatively large (close to 1) so that the transmitted energy will not be significantly reduced due to the switching of the VCSEL, thus affecting the ranging range.

[0110] This disclosure achieves efficient fusion of ranging and communication by encoding laser light into a square wave signal and designing a duty cycle greater than a preset threshold (e.g., 90%). This method ensures high performance and high reliability of lidar in complex application scenarios, representing an innovative solution that balances stability and functionality.

[0111] In some examples, the coded laser of the Nth frame includes ranging information of the NMth frame, where N is greater than M.

[0112] For example, lidar typically operates on a frame-by-frame basis, with each frame representing a complete laser emission, reflection, reception, and data processing process. The Nth frame refers to the current lidar operating cycle, while the NMth frame refers to the operating cycle of the previous M frames.

[0113] In real-time ranging and communication, a certain time delay may exist due to the complexity of encoding, decoding, and data transmission. This disclosure addresses the performance bottleneck in real-time data transmission by including ranging information from the previous or even earlier frame (the NMth frame) in the encoded laser data of the current frame (the Nth frame). This improves the system's fault tolerance, ensuring that ranging data is not lost due to single-frame errors. It also reduces the real-time data processing speed requirements of the lidar and improves system stability.

[0114] Specifically, such as Figure 13 As shown, after the photosensitive component receives a signal, a certain delay time needs to be set to wait for the photosensitive component to transmit and encode the signal. This disclosure proposes that an alternative timing sequence can be set as follows: Figure 14 As shown, after the photosensitive component receives one frame of data, it skips that frame and transmits the data from the first frame during the transmission of the third frame, and so on, transmitting the data from the previous two frames in subsequent transmissions. Alternatively, it can transmit all-zero or all-one codes as the first frame encoding in the first two frames of operation. The duration of one frame can be set to t = 60 / v (v is the motor speed, unit: revolutions per minute), and it must satisfy t > delay time. If t <= delay time, it can be designed so that the photosensitive component receives the data but delays it by N frames before transmitting the data, as long as N × t > delay time.

[0115] In the NMth frame, the laser emitting component (such as a VCSEL) emits coded laser light, and the photosensitive component (such as a CMOS sensor) receives the reflected laser light, completing the ranging and generating ranging data. The ranging data of the NMth frame is encoded and stored in a microcontroller (MCU2) on the rotating body. At the beginning of the Nth frame, MCU2 embeds the ranging data of the NMth frame into the coded laser signal of the current frame (the Nth frame). The coded laser light of the Nth frame carries the ranging information of the NMth frame. The optoelectronic component (such as a photodiode PD) on the substrate receives the coded laser light of the Nth frame and decodes it through the microcontroller (MCU1) on the substrate side to extract the ranging data of the NMth frame.

[0116] In some examples, where the laser encoding is the first frame encoding, the first frame encoding is either all-zero encoding or all-one encoding; and / or,

[0117] When the laser encoding is the last frame encoding, the photosensitive component is controlled to turn off.

[0118] For example, the initial frame is the first set of laser signals emitted when the lidar starts up. In the initial startup phase, the system has not yet acquired ranging data, therefore a special encoding rule needs to be set for the initial frame. The laser encoding of the initial frame can be set to all 0s or all 1s. All 0s encoding means the laser signal remains off throughout the entire frame period; all 1s encoding means the laser signal remains on throughout the entire frame period. All 0s or all 1s encoding provides a simple signal pattern for calibrating the optical path and detecting the operating status of hardware (such as the laser emitting component and the photoelectric receiving component). Initial frame encoding facilitates the receiver (the photoelectric component on the substrate) to quickly acquire the laser signal and establish communication synchronization with the rotating body. The simple mode of all 0s or all 1s encoding avoids complex decoding processing, allowing the system to enter the working state more quickly.

[0119] The last frame is the final set of laser signals emitted by the lidar after completing all ranging tasks. During the system shutdown process, ranging and communication functions are no longer needed. The laser encoding of the last frame can be set to a special identifier (such as all-zero encoding) to notify the receiver that this is the last frame of data. This encoding mode makes it easier for the receiver to distinguish between normal working frames and shutdown frames, completing the data termination process. During the laser encoding of the last frame, the system controls the photosensitive components (such as CMOS sensors) to turn off, ceasing the reception of reflected laser signals. After the photosensitive components are turned off, invalid reflected signals are no longer processed, reducing system power consumption.

[0120] In some examples, the control of the laser emitting assembly to emit coded laser light includes:

[0121] Generate the ranging information encoding for the NMth frame based on the ranging information of the NMth frame;

[0122] The switching state of the transmitting component is controlled according to the ranging information of the NMth frame to transmit the encoded laser of the Nth frame.

[0123] For example, in the NM frame, the lidar completes the ranging of the target object using either the time-of-flight method or the phase difference method, generating a specific ranging result. The ranging result is stored as a digital signal, typically represented in binary format, such as 101101. Based on the binary ranging data, the ranging information is mapped to the switching state of the laser emitting component. A binary "1" can be set to correspond to the laser emitting component being on (emitting light), and a binary "0" to correspond to the laser emitting component being off (not emitting light). The operating state of the laser emitting component is controlled by a microcontroller on the rotating body. When the coded bit is "1", the microcontroller sends a high-level signal to the emitting component, and the laser is in the "emitting" state. When the coded bit is "0", the microcontroller sends a low-level signal to the emitting component, and the laser is in the "off" state. The switching speed of the laser emitting component needs to be fast enough to support high-frequency encoding. For example, a communication rate of 1 Mbps requires 1 million switching operations per second. The emitted laser signal is in square wave form, directly corresponding to the coded data.

[0124] In some examples, where the optoelectronic component includes multiple photodiodes,

[0125] The step of decoding the coded laser light received by the optoelectronic component to obtain communication information includes:

[0126] Obtain the laser code received by each photodiode;

[0127] The laser codes received by each photodiode are superimposed to obtain superimposed laser codes;

[0128] The superimposed laser code is decoded to obtain the communication information.

[0129] For example, in the case where the optoelectronic component includes multiple photodiodes, the multiple photodiodes are uniformly arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the lidar substrate. Regardless of the angle of rotation, at least one or more photodiodes are able to receive the coded laser emitted by the laser emitting component. Each photodiode operates independently, receiving the coded laser signal and converting the optical signal into a corresponding electrical signal. The conversion result is the laser-coded electrical signal received by each photodiode.

[0130] Multiple photodiodes may receive signals with varying strengths or integrity due to differences in laser emission angle, signal path, or external interference. By superimposing the received signals from all photodiodes, signal quality can be improved and data reliability enhanced. The output signal of each photodiode is input to the signal superimposed unit in the form of voltage or current. The superposition operation generates a composite laser-coded signal S. 叠加 Used for subsequent decoding operations. Combined laser-encoded signal S 叠加The data is restored to binary communication data using a decoding algorithm.

[0131] This embodiment improves the reliability and decoding accuracy of communication information transmission in LiDAR by using signal reception and superposition processing of multiple photodiodes. This design not only enhances the system's fault tolerance but also significantly optimizes its anti-interference performance, making it suitable for LiDAR applications with high signal quality requirements.

[0132] In some examples, the process of superimposing the laser codes received by each photodiode to obtain superimposed laser codes includes:

[0133] The laser code received by each photodiode is aligned according to a preset time delay to obtain the aligned code;

[0134] All the aligned codes are superimposed to obtain the superimposed laser code.

[0135] For example, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, a laser beam is emitted from a rotating body to photodiodes at different positions around the substrate. Due to the different path lengths, the laser signals received by each photodiode exhibit time delays. The different angles at which the laser beam reaches the photodiodes may also affect the amplitude and phase of the photodiode's response signal.

[0136] Based on the positional distribution of photodiodes on the substrate and the rotation speed of the lidar, the time delay of the laser signal received by each photodiode is pre-calculated. A delay correction circuit or algorithm is used to time-adjust the received signal of each photodiode. The laser-encoded signal received by each photodiode is adjusted in the time dimension to align with the signals of other diodes. For example, a photodiode with an earlier signal delays its signal to synchronize with other signals. The aligned signals from multiple photodiodes are then weighted and superimposed; the resulting signal is stronger and has consistent timing, facilitating subsequent decoding.

[0137] The control method proposed in this disclosure effectively solves the problems of signal asynchrony and noise interference by performing time delay alignment and weighted superposition on the signals received by multiple photodiodes. This solution not only improves the communication decoding efficiency of the lidar but also enhances the reliability and adaptability of the system, making it suitable for various high-precision lidar application scenarios.

[0138] like Figure 15As shown, this disclosure also provides an electronic device 300, including a memory 310, a processor 320, and a computer program 311 stored in the memory 310 and executable on the processor. When the processor 320 executes the computer program 311, it implements the steps of any of the above-described methods for controlling a mobile robot.

[0139] Since the electronic device described in this embodiment is a device used to implement a mobile robot in this disclosure, those skilled in the art can understand the specific implementation method and various variations of the electronic device in this embodiment based on the method described in this disclosure. Therefore, how the electronic device implements the method in this disclosure will not be described in detail here. Any device used by those skilled in the art to implement the method in this disclosure is within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0140] In practice, when the computer program 311 is executed by the processor, it can implement any of the embodiments corresponding to the first aspect.

[0141] like Figure 16 As shown, this disclosure also provides a mobile robot 400, including as follows: Figure 15 The electronic device 300 shown.

[0142] It should be noted that the descriptions of each embodiment in the above embodiments have different focuses. For parts that are not described in detail in a certain embodiment, please refer to the relevant descriptions in other embodiments.

[0143] Those skilled in the art will understand that embodiments of this disclosure can be provided as methods, systems, or computer program products. Therefore, this disclosure can take the form of a completely hardware embodiment, a completely software embodiment, or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects. Furthermore, this disclosure can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-readable storage media (including, but not limited to, disk storage, CD-ROM, optical storage, etc.) containing computer-readable program code.

[0144] This disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (systems), and computer program products according to this disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, embedded computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, generate instructions for implementing the flowchart illustrations. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1A device that provides the functions specified in one or more boxes.

[0145] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means, which are implemented in a process Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The function specified in one or more boxes.

[0146] These computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing equipment to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable equipment to produce a computer-implemented process, thereby providing instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable equipment for implementing the process. Figure 1 One or more processes and / or boxes Figure 1 The steps of the function specified in one or more boxes.

[0147] This disclosure also provides a computer program product including computer software instructions that, when executed on a processing device, cause the processing device to perform a process of an intelligent drinking water service method.

[0148] A computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When these computer program instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, they produce, in whole or in part, the processes or functions described herein. The computer may be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable device. The computer instructions may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another. For example, computer instructions may be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another via wired (e.g., coaxial cable, fiber optic, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (e.g., infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) means. The computer-readable storage medium may be any available medium that a computer can store or a data storage device such as a server or data center that integrates one or more available media. The available media may be magnetic media (e.g., floppy disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes), optical media (e.g., DVDs), or semiconductor media (e.g., solid-state drives (SSDs)).

[0149] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the specific working processes of the systems, devices, and units described above can be referred to the corresponding processes in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0150] In the several embodiments provided in this disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed devices, apparatuses, and methods can be implemented in other ways. For example, the apparatus embodiments described above are merely illustrative; for instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces, or the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0151] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0152] Furthermore, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit. The integrated unit can be implemented in hardware or as a software functional unit.

[0153] If the integrated unit is implemented as a software functional unit and sold or used as an independent product, it can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. Based on this understanding, the technical solution of this disclosure, in essence, or the part that contributes to the prior art, or all or part of the technical solution, can be embodied in the form of a software product. This computer software product is stored in a storage medium and includes several instructions to cause a computer device (which may be a personal computer, server, or network device, etc.) to execute all or part of the steps of the methods of the various embodiments of this disclosure. The aforementioned storage medium includes various media capable of storing program code, such as USB flash drives, portable hard drives, read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), magnetic disks, or optical disks.

[0154] In this disclosure, the terms "first," "second," and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance; the term "multiple" refers to two or more unless otherwise expressly defined. The terms "install," "connect," "link," and "fix" should be interpreted broadly. For example, "connect" can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; "link" can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in this disclosure according to the specific circumstances.

[0155] In the description of this specification, the terms "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "specific embodiment," etc., refer to a specific feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment or example, which is included in at least one embodiment or example of this disclosure. In this specification, the illustrative expressions of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0156] The above are merely preferred embodiments of this disclosure and are not intended to limit this disclosure. Various modifications and variations can be made to this disclosure by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A lidar, comprising: The laser radar comprises: a laser emission assembly arranged on a rotating body of the laser radar, the laser emission assembly being configured to emit coded laser light for ranging and communication; a light sensing assembly arranged on the rotating body, the light sensing assembly being configured to receive reflected laser light for obtaining ranging information, the reflected laser light being the coded laser light reflected on an object to be measured to the laser radar; a photoelectric assembly arranged on a substrate of the laser radar, the photoelectric assembly being configured to receive the coded laser light for obtaining communication information.

2. The laser radar of claim 1, wherein: the laser emission assembly comprises a first bidirectional photodiode and a first micro control unit; the light sensing assembly comprises the first bidirectional photodiode and the first micro control unit; the photoelectric assembly comprises a second bidirectional photodiode and a second micro control unit.

3. The lidar of claim 1, wherein, Further comprising: a beam splitting assembly arranged on the rotating body, the beam splitting assembly being configured to split the coded laser light into a first light beam for ranging and a second light beam for communication; the photoelectric assembly comprises one photodiode.

4. The lidar of claim 3, wherein, The beam entrance end of the beam splitting assembly is arranged corresponding to the laser reflection assembly, the first light beam exit end of the beam splitting assembly has an included angle with the ranging direction less than a preset threshold, and the second light beam exit end of the beam splitting assembly has an included angle with the photodiode less than the preset threshold.

5. The lidar of claim 1, wherein, The photoelectric assembly comprises a plurality of photodiodes arranged on the outer circumferential surface of the substrate.

6. A control method for the lidar according to any one of claims 1-5, characterized in that The control method comprises: controlling the laser emission assembly to emit coded laser light; obtaining ranging information according to the reflected laser light and the coded laser light received by the light sensing assembly; performing decoding operation on the coded laser light received by the photoelectric assembly to obtain communication information.

7. The control method of claim 6, wherein: the laser code is a square wave signal, and a duty cycle of the square wave signal is greater than a preset threshold.

8. The control method of claim 6, wherein: the Nth frame of coded laser light comprises ranging information of the N-Mth frame, where N is greater than M.

9. The control method of claim 6, wherein: in a case where the laser code is a first frame of code, the first frame of code is a full 0 code or a full 1 code; and / or in a case where the laser code is a last frame of code, the light sensing assembly is controlled to be turned off.

10. The control method according to claim 8, characterized by, The control method of controlling the laser emission assembly to emit coded laser light comprises: generating ranging information code of the N-Mth frame according to the ranging information of the N-Mth frame; controlling the switch of the emission assembly to be on or off according to the ranging information code of the N-Mth frame, so as to emit the Nth frame of coded laser light.

11. The control method according to claim 6, characterized by, In a case where the photoelectric assembly comprises a plurality of photodiodes, the decoding operation on the coded laser light received by the photoelectric assembly to obtain communication information comprises: obtaining the laser code received by each photodiode; superimposing the laser code received by each photodiode to obtain superimposed laser code. The superimposed laser code is decoded to obtain the communication information.

12. The control method according to claim 11, characterized by, The step of superimposing the laser codes received by each photodiode to obtain superimposed laser codes includes: The laser code received by each photodiode is aligned according to a preset time delay to obtain the aligned code; All the aligned codes are superimposed to obtain the superimposed laser code.

13. An electronic device comprising: A memory and a processor, characterized in that the processor, when executing a computer program stored in the memory, implements the steps of the control method as described in any one of claims 6-12.

14. A mobile robot, characterized by Includes the electronic device as described in claim 13, and the lidar as described in any one of claims 1-5.

Images