Laser radar and signal acquisition control method thereof, and electronic device

Abstract

This invention discloses a lidar and its signal acquisition and control method and electronic device. The signal acquisition and control method includes: determining the current application scenario of the lidar; determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario, the signal acquisition parameters including at least two of the following: the time resolution of the time-distribution control (TDC), the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period; configuring at least two of the following operating parameters of the sensing chip: the time resolution of the TDC, the number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among multiple sensing pixels, and the storage mapping of the memory; controlling the activated sensing pixels to sense light signals from corresponding field-of-view partitions in the field of view, controlling the TDC to detect the arrival time of the light signals, and counting the light signals in the corresponding storage units according to the arrival time of the light signals and the storage mapping of the memory. Implementing the technical solution of this invention achieves a balance between ranging performance and system resources.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of lidar, and more particularly to a lidar and its signal acquisition and control method and electronic equipment. Background Technology

[0002] dToF (direct Time-of-Flight) is a technique for calculating distance by measuring the time it takes for a laser pulse to travel from its emission point to its reflection from the target object. dToF technology offers advantages such as high accuracy, long range, and simple computation, and is therefore widely used in fields such as SLAM and autonomous driving.

[0003] After the transmitting module emits a sequence of sensing light pulses into a preset field of view, the sensing chip in the receiving module can sense the light signal reflected back by the target object. The specific sensing process is as follows: A SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode), an important dToF lidar sensor, features high sensitivity and high integration. Upon receiving photons reflected back from an object, it triggers an avalanche effect. A TDC (Time-to-Digital Converter) converts these avalanche events occurring at different times into digital signals. Subsequently, the avalanche count values ​​at different times are stored in the corresponding memory cells (corresponding to the time bins of the histogram) in a memory (e.g., Static Random Access Memory, SRAM). The data from multiple measurements are statistically plotted into a histogram, where the horizontal axis represents the time bins and the vertical axis represents the avalanche count values. Finally, by performing peak-finding processing on the histogram, the distance information of the target object can be calculated.

[0004] The storage capacity Q of the memory can be calculated using the following formula: Q = N × L, where Q is the storage capacity; N is the number of histograms to be output in the same time period, i.e., the number of sensing pixels that are activated within the same time period; L is the length of a histogram, i.e., the number of time bins in the histogram, and the length of a histogram can be determined using the following formula: L = D ÷ R, where D is the ranging range of a histogram, and R is the minimum resolvable time of the TDC (i.e., the width of a time bin), which is related to the time resolution of the TDC. The higher the time resolution, the smaller the minimum resolvable time; conversely, the lower the time resolution, the larger the minimum resolvable time. In other words, the storage capacity Q of the memory is: Q = N × D ÷ R. For LiDAR systems, the time resolution of the TDC plays a crucial role in ranging resolution and accuracy. The higher the time resolution of the TDC, the more accurate the time measurement, and the higher the ranging resolution and accuracy. However, the higher the temporal resolution of the time-division multiplexing (TDC), the more time bins are needed for the same time range; that is, the longer the histogram becomes, and the larger the corresponding memory storage space. When designing a lidar system, due to limited memory storage resources, it is impossible to balance ranging performance and system resources. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a lidar and its signal acquisition and control method and electronic equipment, which address the aforementioned technical problem of the inability to balance ranging performance and system resources in the prior art.

[0006] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is: constructing a signal acquisition and control method for a lidar, wherein the lidar includes a sensing chip configured to sense light signals from the field of view, and includes a memory, multiple sensing pixels, and multiple TDCs; the signal acquisition and control method includes: Step S10: Determine the current application scenario of the lidar; Step S20: Based on the current application scenario, determine the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario. The signal acquisition parameters include at least two of the following: the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space in the memory depends on the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space is less than a preset storage space threshold. Step S30: Configure at least two of the following operating parameters of the sensing chip according to the determined signal acquisition parameters: the time resolution of the TDC, the number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels, and the storage mapping of the memory. The storage mapping includes dividing the memory into multiple partitions corresponding to the plurality of sensing pixels activated in the same time period, and dividing each partition into corresponding storage units according to the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram. The number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels and the number of partitions of the memory are equal to the number of histograms output in the same time period. Step S40: Control the activated sensing pixels among the plurality of sensing pixels to sense the light signal from the corresponding field of view partition in the field of view, control the TDC to detect the arrival time of the light signal with the configured time resolution, and count the light signal in the corresponding storage unit according to the arrival time of the light signal and the storage mapping of the memory.

[0007] Optionally, after step S40, the method further includes: The current application scenario of the lidar is updated in real time, and the signal acquisition parameters and the corresponding configuration of the sensing chip are dynamically adjusted according to the updated current application scenario.

[0008] Optionally, after step S40, the method further includes: For each partition of the histogram storage space in the memory, a histogram is generated based on the counts in each storage cell of the partition, wherein each time bin of the histogram corresponds to a storage cell; For each histogram, the counts of each time bin in the histogram are analyzed to determine the flight time of the light signal reflected back by the target object in the field of view.

[0009] Optionally, in step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: Based on the current application scenario, select the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario from a pre-set configuration table, wherein the configuration table includes signal acquisition parameters corresponding to multiple application scenarios respectively.

[0010] Optionally, in step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: When the number of histograms output in the same time period remains unchanged, adjust the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the ranging range corresponding to the histogram remains unchanged, adjust the number of histograms output in the same time period and the time resolution of the TDC according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the time resolution of the TDC remains unchanged, the number of histograms output in the same time period and the ranging range corresponding to the histograms are adjusted according to the determined current application scenario; or, Based on the current application scenario, the number of histograms output in the same time period, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the time resolution of the TDC are adjusted simultaneously.

[0011] Optionally, in step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: If the ranging requirement value corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset distance threshold, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the required sensing accuracy for the current application scenario is greater than the preset accuracy threshold, the time resolution of the TDC can be improved by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and / or by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the pixel resolution requirement corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset resolution threshold, the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram.

[0012] Optionally, the lidar is mounted on a mobile terminal device, and in step S10, determining the current application scenario of the lidar further includes: The current application scenario of the lidar is determined by acquiring the motion information of the terminal device.

[0013] Optionally, it further includes: If the acquired motion information is that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is less than or equal to a preset first angle threshold, and the travel speed is higher than a preset first speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a high-speed driving scenario. Moreover, in the high-speed driving scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is reduced and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased. If the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is greater than a preset first angle threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a turning scenario; if the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset backward direction is less than a preset second angle threshold, and the travel speed is lower than a preset second speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a reversing scenario. Moreover, in the turning scenario or the reversing scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is increased and the ranging range of the histogram is reduced.

[0014] The present invention also constructs a lidar, including a control module, a transmitting module, and a receiving module. The transmitting module is configured to transmit a sequence of sensing light pulses to a preset field of view. The receiving module is configured to sense light signals from the field of view. The receiving module includes a sensing chip, and the sensing chip includes a memory, multiple sensing pixels, and multiple TDCs. The control module is configured to execute a computer program to implement the steps of the signal acquisition control method described above.

[0015] The present invention also constructs an electronic device including the lidar described above.

[0016] The technical solution of this invention first determines the current application scenario, and then flexibly adjusts the working parameters in the sensing chip according to the current application scenario: the time resolution of TDC, the number of multiple sensing pixels activated in the same time period, and the storage mapping of the memory, so as to meet the requirements of different ranging performance under different application scenarios and achieve a balance between ranging performance and system resources. Attached Figure Description

[0017] To more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort. In the drawings: Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a signal acquisition and control method for a lidar according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2A This is a schematic histogram of an embodiment of the present invention in a specific application scenario; Figure 2B This is a histogram diagram of another application scenario in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2C This is a histogram diagram of another application scenario in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3A is a histogram diagram of another embodiment of the present invention in a specific application scenario; Figure 3B is a histogram diagram of another embodiment of the present invention in another application scenario; Figure 4 This is a logic structure diagram of a lidar in one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 This is a logic structure diagram of the receiving module in one embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0018] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a signal acquisition and control method for a lidar according to an embodiment of the present invention. Firstly, it should be noted that the lidar of this embodiment includes a sensing chip configured to sense light signals from the field of view, and includes a memory (e.g., SRAM), multiple sensing pixels, and multiple time-determining devices (TDCs). The sensing pixels are used to sense reflected photons. Each sensing pixel includes, for example, a SPAD tube, and is used to trigger an avalanche effect upon receiving a reflected photon. The TDCs are used to detect the arrival time of the light signals sensed by the sensing pixels, for example, by detecting the occurrence time of the avalanche effect. At least a portion of the memory is a histogram storage space, where each storage unit corresponds to a corresponding time bin of a histogram and is used to store the count value of the arrival time of the light signals in the corresponding time bin of the histogram.

[0020] like Figure 1 As shown, the signal acquisition and control method of this embodiment includes the following steps: Step S10: Determine the current application scenario of the lidar; Step S20: Based on the current application scenario, determine the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario. The signal acquisition parameters include at least two of the following: the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space in the memory depends on the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space is less than a preset storage space threshold. Step S30: Configure at least two of the following operating parameters of the sensing chip according to the determined signal acquisition parameters: the time resolution of the TDC, the number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels, and the storage mapping of the memory. The storage mapping includes dividing the memory into multiple partitions corresponding to the plurality of sensing pixels activated in the same time period, and dividing each partition into corresponding storage units according to the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram. The number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels and the number of partitions of the memory are equal to the number of histograms output in the same time period. Step S40: Control the activated sensing pixels among the plurality of sensing pixels to sense the light signal from the corresponding field of view partition in the field of view, control the TDC to detect the arrival time of the light signal with the configured time resolution, and count the light signal in the corresponding storage unit according to the arrival time of the light signal and the storage mapping of the memory.

[0021] In the technical solution of this embodiment, when the storage space resources of the memory are limited, the working parameters in the sensing chip can be flexibly adjusted according to the current application scenario: the time resolution of TDC, the number of multiple sensing pixels activated in the same time period, and the storage mapping of the memory, so as to meet the requirements of different ranging performance under different application scenarios and achieve a balance between ranging performance and system resources.

[0022] Furthermore, in an optional embodiment, after step S40, the method further includes: The current application scenario of the lidar is updated in real time, and the signal acquisition parameters and the corresponding configuration of the sensing chip are dynamically adjusted according to the updated current application scenario.

[0023] In this embodiment, the same lidar can correspond to different application scenarios at different times, and when the actual application scenario changes, the current application scenario can be updated in real time, and the signal acquisition parameters and the corresponding configuration of the sensing chip can be dynamically adjusted according to the updated current application scenario. Therefore, the adaptability of lidar under different application scenarios is improved.

[0024] Furthermore, in an optional embodiment, after step S40, the method further includes: For each partition of the histogram storage space in the memory, a histogram is generated based on the counts in each storage cell of the partition, wherein each time bin of the histogram corresponds to a storage cell; For each histogram, the counts of each time bin in the histogram are analyzed to determine the flight time of the light signal reflected back by the target object in the field of view.

[0025] In this embodiment, when configuring the memory's storage mapping, the histogram storage space in the memory is divided into multiple partitions, and each partition corresponds to a histogram. At the same time, each partition is also divided into multiple storage units, and each storage unit corresponds to a time bin of the histogram. Therefore, after the optical signal sensing and counting are completed, a histogram can be generated based on the counts of each storage unit in each partition. Then, by analyzing the counts of each time bin in each histogram, the flight time of the optical signal reflected back by the target object in the corresponding field of view partition can be determined. For example, the arrival time corresponding to the time bin with the highest count is selected as the flight time of the optical signal.

[0026] Further, in an optional embodiment, step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario, further includes: Based on the current application scenario, select the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario from a pre-set configuration table, wherein the configuration table includes signal acquisition parameters corresponding to multiple application scenarios respectively.

[0027] In this embodiment, by pre-setting a configuration table and directly selecting signal acquisition parameters from the table based on the current application scenario during actual application, this method of determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario can determine the signal acquisition parameters more quickly than the method of determining them through real-time analysis and calculation. This reduces system power consumption, improves response speed, and reduces parameter determination errors. Furthermore, centrally managing signal acquisition parameters for multiple application scenarios through a configuration table makes it easier to modify, add, or delete parameters, thus facilitating system maintenance and upgrades.

[0028] Further, in an optional embodiment, in step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: When the number of histograms output in the same time period remains unchanged, adjust the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the ranging range corresponding to the histogram remains unchanged, adjust the number of histograms output in the same time period and the time resolution of the TDC according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the time resolution of the TDC remains unchanged, the number of histograms output in the same time period and the ranging range corresponding to the histograms are adjusted according to the determined current application scenario; or, Based on the current application scenario, the number of histograms output in the same time period, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the time resolution of the TDC are adjusted simultaneously.

[0029] In this embodiment, for the following three parameters: the number of histograms output in the same time period, the time resolution of TDC, and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, any two of these parameters can be adjusted in conjunction, or all three parameters can be adjusted simultaneously, thereby achieving flexibility in the resource allocation of histogram storage space in the memory.

[0030] Further, in an optional embodiment, in step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: If the ranging requirement value corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset distance threshold, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the required sensing accuracy for the current application scenario is greater than the preset accuracy threshold, the time resolution of the TDC can be improved by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and / or by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the pixel resolution requirement corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset resolution threshold, that is, the number of sensing pixels required to work at the same time is greater than the first set value, and the time to complete one frame of sensing is less than the second set value, then the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram.

[0031] In this embodiment, different application scenarios correspond to different ranging requirements, sensing accuracy requirements, and pixel resolution requirements. In practical applications, it can be determined whether the ranging requirement, sensing accuracy requirement, and pixel resolution requirement corresponding to the current application scenario are greater than the corresponding distance threshold, accuracy threshold, and resolution threshold, respectively. If they are greater than the corresponding thresholds, the corresponding adjustment mode is selected, thereby achieving optimal allocation of dynamic performance of the LiDAR in the case of limited histogram storage space in the memory.

[0032] Furthermore, in an optional embodiment, the lidar is mounted on a mobile terminal device, such as a vehicle, and in step S10, determining the current application scenario of the lidar further includes: determining the current application scenario of the lidar by acquiring motion information of the terminal device, wherein the motion information includes, for example, motion speed and motion direction. In this embodiment, using the motion information of the terminal device as the basis for determining the current application scenario can improve the accuracy and timeliness of the determination of the current application scenario.

[0033] Furthermore, in an optional embodiment, the signal acquisition control method further includes: If the acquired motion information is that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is less than or equal to a preset first angle threshold, and the travel speed is higher than a preset first speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a high-speed driving scenario. Moreover, in the high-speed driving scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is reduced and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased. If the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is greater than a preset first angle threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a turning scenario; if the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset backward direction is less than a preset second angle threshold, and the travel speed is lower than a preset second speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a reversing scenario. Moreover, in the turning scenario or the reversing scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is increased and the ranging range of the histogram is reduced.

[0034] In this embodiment, the motion information includes the direction of travel and the speed of travel. By analyzing and judging the motion information, it can be determined whether the current application scenario is a high-speed driving scenario, a turning scenario, or a reversing scenario.

[0035] In high-speed driving scenarios, since a longer ranging distance is prioritized to cover a wider field of view, the temporal resolution of the time-distribution control (TDC) can be appropriately reduced to increase the ranging range corresponding to the histogram. In one example, such as... Figure 2A , 2B As shown, before determining the high-speed driving scenario, the time resolution of TDC is a standard value, and the corresponding minimum resolvable time is R1. After determining the high-speed driving scenario, the time resolution of TDC is adjusted to a smaller value, and the corresponding minimum resolvable time is R2, and R2>R1. Therefore, the ranging range D corresponding to the histogram can be increased (D=L×R) while keeping the number of histograms that need to be output in the same time period unchanged (both are N).

[0036] In a turning scenario or a reverse driving scenario, due to the need for fine operations, it is necessary to improve the ranging accuracy to ensure the safety and accuracy of operations. Therefore, the detection distance can be shortened to improve the time resolution of the TDC. In one example, as Figure 2A 、 2C shown, before determining the turning scenario or the reverse driving scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is a standard value, and the corresponding minimum resolvable time is R1; after determining the turning scenario or the reverse driving scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is adjusted to a larger value, and the corresponding minimum resolvable time is R3, and R3 < R1. Therefore, when the number of histograms to be output in the same period remains unchanged (both are N), the detection distance can be shortened, that is, the ranging range D corresponding to the histogram is reduced (D = L × R).

[0037] Although the above embodiments are adjusted on the premise that the number of histograms to be output in the same period remains unchanged (the length of one histogram also remains unchanged), it should be understood that in some other embodiments, the number of histograms output in the same period and the length of one histogram can also be dynamically adjusted according to the current application scenario. For example, if the current application scenario requires both long-distance measurement and high time resolution of the TDC, in this way, the time bins in a single histogram become finer and the length of the histogram is longer. At this time, the number of time bins in a single histogram will increase sharply. For this situation, the number of sensing pixels working synchronously can be reduced, and the storage space of the histogram originally used for two sensing pixels is merged for one sensing pixel, which is equivalent to the time bins of the original two histograms being combined into one histogram. As Figure 3A 、 3B shown, before determining the current application scenario, the number of histograms is N1; the minimum resolvable time corresponding to the time resolution of the TDC is R4; the length of one histogram is L1, and the corresponding ranging range D1 = L1 × R4. After determining the current application scenario, the number of histograms is adjusted to N2, and N2 < N1; the minimum resolvable time corresponding to the adjusted time resolution of the TDC is R5, and R5 < R4; the length of one histogram is L2, and L2 > L1; the ranging range D2 corresponding to the histogram is D2 = L2 × R5, and D2 > D1.

[0038] Figure 4 FIG. is a logical structure diagram of a lidar in an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the lidar includes a transmitting module 10, a receiving module 20, and a control module 30. Among them, the transmitting module 10 is configured to emit a sequence of sensing light pulses to a preset field of view; the receiving module 20 is configured to sense the optical signal from the field of view; the control module 30 is configured to implement the steps of the signal acquisition control method as described in any one of the above through executing a computer program.

[0039] Combined with Figure 5The receiving module 20 includes an optical receiving device 21 and a sensing chip 22. The sensing chip 22 includes multiple sensing pixels 221, ..., 221-n, multiple time-division blocks (TDCs) 222-1, ..., 222-n, and a memory 223. The histogram storage space in the memory 223 is divided into multiple partitions 2231, ..., 223-n, where n is a natural number greater than 2. The multiple sensing pixels 221-1, ..., 221-n form a pixel array. The optical receiving device 21 receives optical signals; each sensing pixel includes a SPAD device, which can generate an avalanche signal when the optical signal arrives; each TDC is configured to detect the arrival time of the optical signal sensed by the corresponding sensing pixel; each partition of the memory 223 includes multiple storage units that correspond one-to-one with the time bins of the histogram.

[0040] Furthermore, in an optional embodiment, at least a portion of the control module 30 is disposed in the transmitting module 10; and / or, at least a portion of the control module 30 is disposed in the receiving module 20. Moreover, at least a portion of the control module 30 may be disposed within the sensing chip 22, or at least a portion of the control module 30 may be disposed outside the sensing chip 22.

[0041] The present invention also constructs an electronic device, such as an automobile, which includes the lidar described above.

[0042] It should be noted that the information interaction and execution process between the above modules / units / devices are based on the same concept as the signal acquisition and control method embodiment of this application. For details on their specific functions and technical effects, please refer to the method embodiment section, which will not be repeated here.

[0043] Those skilled in the art will clearly understand that, for the sake of convenience and brevity, the above-described division of functional units and modules is merely an example. In practical applications, the above functions can be assigned to different functional units and modules as needed, that is, the internal structure of the device can be divided into different functional units or modules to complete all or part of the functions described above. The functional units and modules in the embodiments 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. Furthermore, the specific names of the functional units and modules are only for easy differentiation and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of this application. The specific working process of the units and modules in the above system can be referred to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, and will not be repeated here.

[0044] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention. Various modifications and variations can be made to the present invention by those skilled in the art. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc., made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A signal acquisition control method of a laser radar, the laser radar comprising a sensing chip configured to sense optical signals from a field of view, and comprising a memory, a plurality of sensing pixels, and a plurality of TDCs, characterized in that, The signal acquisition and control method includes: Step S10: Determine the current application scenario of the lidar; Step S20: Based on the current application scenario, determine the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario. The signal acquisition parameters include at least two of the following: the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space in the memory depends on the time resolution of the TDC, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the number of histograms output in the same time period. The histogram storage space is less than a preset storage space threshold. Step S30: Configure at least two of the following operating parameters of the sensing chip according to the determined signal acquisition parameters: the time resolution of the TDC, the number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels, and the storage mapping of the memory. The storage mapping includes dividing the memory into multiple partitions corresponding to the plurality of sensing pixels activated in the same time period, and dividing each partition into corresponding storage units according to the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram. The number of sensing pixels activated in the same time period among the plurality of sensing pixels and the number of partitions of the memory are equal to the number of histograms output in the same time period. Step S40: Control the activated sensing pixels among the plurality of sensing pixels to sense the light signal from the corresponding field of view partition in the field of view, control the TDC to detect the arrival time of the light signal with the configured time resolution, and count the light signal in the corresponding storage unit according to the arrival time of the light signal and the storage mapping of the memory.

2. The signal acquisition control method according to claim 1, characterized by, Following step S40, the method further includes: The current application scenario of the lidar is updated in real time, and the signal acquisition parameters and the corresponding configuration of the sensing chip are dynamically adjusted according to the updated current application scenario.

3. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, Following step S40, the method further includes: For each partition of the histogram storage space in the memory, a histogram is generated based on the counts in each storage cell of the partition, wherein each time bin of the histogram corresponds to a storage cell; For each histogram, the counts of each time bin in the histogram are analyzed to determine the flight time of the light signal reflected back by the target object in the field of view.

4. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: Based on the current application scenario, select the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario from a pre-set configuration table, wherein the configuration table includes signal acquisition parameters corresponding to multiple application scenarios respectively.

5. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, In step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: When the number of histograms output in the same time period remains unchanged, adjust the time resolution of the TDC and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the ranging range corresponding to the histogram remains unchanged, adjust the number of histograms output in the same time period and the time resolution of the TDC according to the determined current application scenario; or, When the time resolution of the TDC remains unchanged, the number of histograms output in the same time period and the ranging range corresponding to the histograms are adjusted according to the determined current application scenario; or, Based on the current application scenario, the number of histograms output in the same time period, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and the time resolution of the TDC are adjusted simultaneously.

6. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 2, characterized in that, In step S20, determining the signal acquisition parameters corresponding to the current application scenario based on the current application scenario further includes: If the ranging requirement value corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset distance threshold, the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the required sensing accuracy for the current application scenario is greater than the preset accuracy threshold, the time resolution of the TDC can be improved by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram, and / or by reducing the number of histograms output in the same time period. If the pixel resolution requirement corresponding to the current application scenario is greater than the preset resolution threshold, the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the time resolution of the TDC, and / or the number of histograms output in the same time period is increased by reducing the ranging range corresponding to the histogram.

7. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lidar is installed on a portable terminal device. In step S10, determining the current application scenario of the lidar further includes: The current application scenario of the lidar is determined by acquiring the motion information of the terminal device.

8. The signal acquisition and control method according to claim 7, characterized in that, Further includes: If the acquired motion information is that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is less than or equal to a preset first angle threshold, and the travel speed is higher than a preset first speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a high-speed driving scenario. Moreover, in the high-speed driving scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is reduced and the ranging range corresponding to the histogram is increased. If the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset forward direction is greater than a preset first angle threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a turning scenario; if the acquired motion information shows that the deviation angle between the current direction of travel and the preset backward direction is less than a preset second angle threshold, and the travel speed is lower than a preset second speed threshold, then the current application scenario of the lidar is confirmed to be a reversing scenario. Moreover, in the turning scenario or the reversing scenario, the time resolution of the TDC is increased and the ranging range of the histogram is reduced.

9. A lidar, comprising a control module, a transmitting module, and a receiving module, wherein the transmitting module is configured to transmit a sequence of sensing light pulses toward a preset field of view, and the receiving module is configured to sense light signals from the field of view, characterized in that, The receiving module includes a sensing chip, and the sensing chip includes a memory, multiple sensing pixels, and multiple TDCs. The control module is configured to execute a computer program to implement the steps of the signal acquisition control method as described in any one of claims 1-8.

10. An electronic device, characterized in that, Including the lidar as described in claim 9.

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