Communication circuit, laser radar and carrier

Abstract

A communication circuit, a lidar, and a vehicle are disclosed. The communication circuit is used for communication between the laser radar and a control platform of a carrier, and comprises a controller and a processor which are connected through a first type interface; the first interface circuit is connected with the processor through a second-type interface; a connector configured to connect the first interface circuit and the control platform; wherein the processor comprises a data processing circuit and a protocol processing circuit, the data processing circuit is configured to process the echo data into point cloud data, and the protocol processing circuit is configured to perform media access control layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet; the first interface circuit is configured to obtain a first data packet through a second type of interface and perform physical layer processing on the first data packet to obtain a second data packet; and the connector is configured to send the second data packet to the control platform. According to the communication circuit, the cost of the laser radar can be reduced, and the communication efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to the field of optical detection technology, and in particular to communication circuits, laser radars, and vehicles. Background Art

[0002] Optical detection technology uses light as a medium to detect objects. Compared with ordinary light sources, lasers have the characteristics of monochromaticity and good directionality. Using lasers as a medium to detect objects has been widely used. For example, laser detection and ranging (LiDAR) uses lasers as a medium to detect objects and has been used in intelligent driving, drones, robot recognition, geographic mapping, or environmental monitoring.

[0003] In some application scenarios, LiDAR has high requirements for communication efficiency. For example, when LiDAR is used in the field of intelligent driving, the communication efficiency of LiDAR is related to whether the vehicle can receive the perception data of LiDAR in time, so as to make decisions and control in time using the perception data to improve driving safety. In addition, the cost reduction of LiDAR is a concern for the promotion of LiDAR application. Utility Model Content

[0004] The embodiments of the present disclosure provide a communication circuit, a laser radar and a vehicle to reduce the cost of the laser radar while improving communication efficiency.

[0005] In a first aspect, a communication circuit is provided for communication between a laser radar and a control platform of a vehicle, wherein the communication circuit comprises: a controller and a processor, connected via a first type of interface; a first interface circuit, connected to the processor via a second type of interface; a connector, configured to connect the first interface circuit and the control platform; wherein the processor comprises: a data processing circuit and a protocol processing circuit, the data processing circuit is configured to process the echo data into point cloud data, the protocol processing circuit is configured to perform media access control layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet; the first interface circuit is configured to obtain the first data packet via the second type of interface, and perform physical layer processing on the first data packet to obtain a second data packet; the connector is configured to send the second data packet to the control platform.

[0006] Through the design of the above communication circuit, after obtaining the point cloud data, the processor can process the point cloud data locally at the media access control layer, encapsulate the data packet of the media access control layer (i.e., the first data packet), instead of forwarding it to the controller for encapsulation; and directly connect the processor and the first interface circuit, so that the processor transmits the encapsulated data packet directly to the first interface circuit without forwarding it through the controller. Through this architecture design, the forwarding delay can be saved, the processing efficiency of the point cloud data can be improved, and the transmission efficiency of the point cloud data can be improved. In addition, the processor processes the perception data, so the computing power is relatively strong. When the encapsulation function of the media access control layer is integrated into the processor, the performance requirements of the processor will not be greatly affected, and the cost will not be increased too much. However, designing the encapsulation function of the media access control layer in the controller will have higher performance requirements for the controller, and the overall cost of the laser radar will be greatly increased. The above communication circuit is adopted in the embodiment of the present disclosure, which can reduce the performance requirements of the controller and even save the interface design of the controller. For example, when the laser radar transmits point cloud data to the control platform of the vehicle via Ethernet, the above communication circuit can save the design of the Ethernet interface on the controller, further reducing the cost of the controller. The above communication circuit can reduce the cost of LiDAR as a whole and improve the transmission efficiency of LiDAR point cloud data.

[0007] Optionally, the communication circuit further includes: a second interface circuit connected between the controller and the connector, and connected to the controller via a third type interface.

[0008] Optionally, the second type of interface includes an Ethernet interface, and the third type of interface includes a controller area network interface.

[0009] Optionally, the laser radar includes a first transmitting path and a second transmitting path, the first transmitting path includes a path from the processor to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the first transmitting path is configured to send point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform; the second transmitting path includes a path from the controller to the second interface circuit and a path from the second interface circuit to the connector, and the second transmitting path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform.

[0010] Optionally, the laser radar also includes a first receiving path, the first receiving path includes a path from the connector to the second interface circuit and a path from the second interface circuit to the controller, and the first receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

[0011] Optionally, the data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

[0012] Optionally, the laser radar also includes a second receiving path, the second receiving path includes a path from the connector to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the controller, and the second receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

[0013] Optionally, the data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface, and the data interface between the controller and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

[0014] Optionally, the laser radar also includes a third transmitting path; the third transmitting path includes a path from the controller to the processor, a path from the processor to the first interface circuit, and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the third transmitting path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform.

[0015] Optionally, the first interface circuit is also connected to the controller through a second type of interface; the laser radar includes a first transmitting path, a second transmitting path, and a receiving path; the first transmitting path includes a path from the processor to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the first transmitting path is configured to send point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform; the second transmitting path includes a path from the controller to the processor, a path from the processor to the first interface circuit, and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the second transmitting path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform; the receiving path includes a path from the connector to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the controller, and the receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

[0016] Optionally, the data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface, and the data interface between the controller and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

[0017] In a second aspect, a laser radar is provided, comprising: a laser configured to emit laser; a detector configured to receive the echo of the laser and convert the echo into an electrical signal; a preprocessing circuit connected to the detector and configured to convert the electrical signal into echo data; and a communication circuit as provided in the first aspect above, connected to the preprocessing circuit.

[0018] In a third aspect, a vehicle is provided, comprising: a laser radar and a control platform, wherein the laser radar comprises a communication circuit as provided in the first aspect above, for communicating with the control platform. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the following will provide an exemplary introduction to the drawings used in the description of the embodiments. The drawings described below are only embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative work. The drawings are used to provide a further understanding of the present disclosure and constitute a part of the specification. Together with the embodiments of the present disclosure, they are used to explain the present disclosure and do not constitute a limitation to the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 1 An example diagram of an application scenario of a laser radar provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0021] Figure 2 A diagram showing an example structure of a laser radar provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 A structural example diagram of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 4 A structural example diagram of another communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0024] Figure 5 A structural example diagram of yet another communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0025] Figure 6 A structural example diagram of yet another communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0026] Figure 7 A structural example diagram of yet another communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the specific implementation methods of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present disclosure. For ordinary technicians in this field, other accompanying drawings and other embodiments can be obtained based on these accompanying drawings without creative work. Adjustments and improvements made without departing from the concept of the present disclosure all belong to the protection scope of the present disclosure.

[0028] In order to simplify the drawings, each of the drawings schematically shows only the parts related to the corresponding embodiments, and they do not represent the actual structure of the product. In addition, in order to simplify the drawings and facilitate understanding, only some structures or components are schematically depicted, and there may be more or fewer similar structures or components in reality.

[0029] LiDAR uses laser as a medium to detect objects and can be applied to fields such as intelligent driving, drones, robot identification, geographic mapping, or environmental monitoring. Intelligent driving can also be called autonomous driving or assisted driving, including any level of autonomous driving, such as any level of autonomous driving from L1 to L5. In applications, LiDAR can be installed on a vehicle to provide the vehicle with perception data, such as point cloud data, so that the vehicle can use the perception data to perform analysis, decision-making, or control functions. Vehicles include, for example, vehicles, ships, aircraft (such as flying vehicles or drones), robots (such as industrial robots or household robots), or surveying and mapping equipment.

[0030] Figure 1 FIG. 1 shows an example diagram of an application scenario of a laser radar provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 1 As shown, the vehicle includes, for example, a vehicle 200, and the laser radar 100 is installed on the vehicle 200. As the vehicle 200 travels, the laser radar 100 can detect objects around the vehicle 200, obtain perception data, and provide it to the control platform on the vehicle 200, so that the control platform can make decisions or regulations based on the perception data.

[0031] Figure 1 The laser radar 100 is installed on the front side of the roof, but it is only an example. The dotted box in the figure also shows several other possible installation positions. For example, the installation position of the laser radar 100 on the vehicle 200 includes but is not limited to: the top of the vehicle (for example, the front side of the roof, the rear side or other roof positions), near the headlights, hidden in the headlights, both sides of the body, the front bumper, the grille, above the front windshield, above the rear window glass, the side fenders, the front wheel eyebrows, the front cover, the trunk cover, the bottom of the trunk, or the position in the cabin that can be detected externally through the front windshield, etc. The vehicle 200 can be installed with one or more laser radars 100. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the number and position of the laser radar installed on the vehicle.

[0032] Laser radars may include mechanical laser radars, semi-solid laser radars, or solid-state laser radars. Semi-solid laser radars may include micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) laser radars, rotating mirror laser radars, swinging mirror laser radars, or prism laser radars, etc. Solid-state laser radars may include optical phase array (OPA) laser radars, or flash laser radars, etc. When a vehicle is equipped with multiple laser radars, the types of laser radars may be the same or different.

[0033] Figure 2 A structure example diagram of a laser radar provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2, the laser radar 100 includes a laser emitting system 110, a laser receiving system 120, and a control and processing system 130. Optionally, the laser radar 100 also includes a scanning system 140, for example, a mechanical laser radar or a semi-solid laser radar may also include a scanning system 140. The scanning system 140 may include a rotating platform, a rotating mirror, a swinging mirror, a galvanometer or other devices that can make the laser emit to different directions in the environment.

[0034] The laser emission system 110 is used to emit laser. When the laser encounters an object, it is reflected by the surface of the object, and the reflected light reflected back to the laser radar 100 is called an echo. The laser receiving system 120 receives the echo and converts the echo into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is processed by the preprocessing circuit to obtain echo data, and the echo data is provided to the control and processing system 130. The control and processing system 130 processes the echo data to obtain perception data, such as point cloud data. The control and processing system 130 sends the perception data to the control platform 210, and the control platform 210 uses the perception data to implement analysis, decision-making, or control functions.

[0035] The laser emission system 110 mainly includes a driving circuit, a laser, and an emission optical element. The laser emits laser light under the drive of the driving circuit, and the laser light is emitted through the emission optical element. The laser includes, for example, a semiconductor laser, a fiber laser, or other types of lasers. The semiconductor laser includes, for example, a laser emission circuit, a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), an edge emitting laser (EEL), a distributed feedback laser (DFB), or a similar device. The above is only an example, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of laser.

[0036] The laser receiving system 120 mainly includes a receiving optical element and a detector. The receiving optical element collects the echo after being reflected by the object and collects it on the photosensitive surface of the detector; the detector converts the optical signal into an electrical signal using the photoelectric effect. The detector includes, for example: a photodetection circuit, a PIN photodiode (PINPD), an avalanche photodiode (APD), a single photon avalanchediode (SPAD), a silicon photomultiplier (SiPM), or a similar device. The above is only an example, and the embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the type of detector.

[0037] The transmitting optical element is on the transmitting path of the laser, and is used to shape the laser emitted by the laser and adjust the output path of the laser. The receiving optical element is on the receiving path of the laser, and is used to collect the echo reflected by the object and converge the echo to the photosensitive surface of the detector. The transmitting optical element and the receiving optical element can be independent of each other, partially multiplexed, or fully multiplexed. By way of example, the transmitting optical element includes one or more optical elements such as a transmitting lens, a homogenizer, and a beam splitter. By way of example, the receiving optical element includes one or more optical elements such as a receiving lens and a filter.

[0038] Preprocessing can also be called analog front-end processing, for example, including one or more of amplification, filtering, digitization and other processing. Preprocessing circuit can also be called analog front-end circuit, for example, including one or more of amplification circuit, filtering circuit and digitization circuit. Amplification circuit, for example, includes an amplifier, which can amplify the electrical signal converted by the detector; it can improve the signal-to-noise ratio. Filtering circuit, for example, includes a filter, which is used to filter out noise or interference. Digital circuit, for example, includes one or more of analog to digital converter (ADC) or time to digital converter (TDC). For example, ADC converts analog electrical signal into digital signal reflecting the waveform of echo by periodically sampling the output signal of detector, and obtains echo data. For another example, the electrical signal converted by the detector can be converted (for example, converted and amplified into voltage, and compared with reference voltage to generate threshold signal) and provided to TDC. TDC performs timing based on the received electrical signal to measure the arrival time of echo and obtain echo data. Echo data can include data reflecting echo time and / or echo intensity.

[0039] The control and processing system 130 is used to process the echo data to obtain the sensing data. The control and processing system 130 is also used to send a control signal to the driving circuit to control the driving circuit to drive the laser to emit light and realize the emission of the laser. When the laser radar 100 includes a scanning system 140, the control and processing system 130 is also used to control the scanning system 140. In some embodiments, the control and processing system 130 may include one or more processors. The processor includes, for example, but is not limited to: an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a hardware circuit implemented by a programmable logic device (PLD), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a microprocessor unit (MPU), or a digital signal processor (DSP), a central processing unit (CPU), etc. The hardware circuit implemented by the PLD includes, for example, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), etc. When the control and processing system 130 includes multiple processors, the types of processors may be the same or different, for example, the control and processing system 130 includes an MCU and an FPGA; or, the control and processing system 130 includes an MCU, an FPGA, and a CPU; or, the control and processing system 130 includes a CPU and an FPGA, etc. When the control and processing system 130 includes multiple processors, these processors may be separately provided, or partially integrated together, or may be fully integrated together, for example, the control and processing system 130 may be implemented in the form of a system on chip (SOC) or an ASIC.

[0040] The control platform 210 is used to implement specific functions of the vehicle and may include one or more processors. Taking the vehicle as an example, the control platform 210 can be used to implement intelligent driving functions. The control platform 210 includes, for example, but is not limited to: a domain control unit (DCU), an electronic control unit (ECU), a vehicle central computer (VCC), a zonal / zone ECU (or, a zone control unit, ZCU), or a vehicle control unit (VCU), etc. The domain control unit includes, for example, a vehicle domain controller (VDC), a cockpit domain controller (CDC), or an intelligent driving domain controller (domain controller for advanced driving assistance system / autonomous driving), etc.

[0041] The control and processing system 130 and the control platform 210 can communicate via wired or wireless means. Wired communication means include, but are not limited to, controller area network (CAN) bus, local interconnect network (LIN) bus, Flex Ray bus, media oriented systems transport (MOST) bus, low voltage differential signaling (LVDS) bus, time triggered protocol / class C (TTP / C) bus, or Ethernet bus. Wireless communication means include, but are not limited to, wireless sensor networks (e.g., Bluetooth, Starflash, or ZigBee), wireless local area networks (e.g., WLAN, or WiFi), short-range point-to-point communications, cellular networks (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, or 6G), near field communication technology (NFC), etc.

[0042] The communication between the laser radar 100 and the control platform 210 may include communication in a first direction and communication in a second direction. The communication in the first direction is the transmission of data by the laser radar 100 to the control platform 210, for example, including the transmission of perception data and non-perception data. Perception data includes, for example, point cloud data, and non-perception data refers to data other than point cloud data transmitted by the laser radar 100 to the control platform 210, which can be called additional information. During the use of the laser radar, in addition to transmitting point cloud data, the laser radar may also transmit some additional information to support the status reporting, maintenance, time synchronization, security authentication, or update functions of the laser radar. For example, the additional information may include one or more of the laser radar's log, fault information, synchronization signaling, authentication message, or update response message. The embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the specific content of the additional information, and different contents may be present in different communication processes.

[0043] The second direction of communication is the transmission of data from the control platform 210 to the laser radar 100. The disclosed embodiment does not limit the specific content of the data transmitted by the control platform 210 to the laser radar 100. For example, the control platform 210 can transmit control signals to the laser radar to control the behavior of the laser radar 100, such as startup, shutdown, restart, or self-test; for another example, the control platform 210 can transmit an update package to the laser radar 100 for software or firmware updates of the laser radar; for another example, the control platform 210 can transmit configuration parameters to the laser radar 100 for configuring or reconfiguring the parameters of the laser radar 100; and so on.

[0044] In one implementation, the control and processing system of the laser radar uses different processors to handle different tasks. For example, the first processor processes the echo data to obtain point cloud data; the point cloud data is first packaged to obtain a point cloud data packet, and the point cloud data packet is forwarded to the second processor. The second processor performs a second package on the point cloud data packet and sends it to the control platform. The first processor is mainly used for processing echo data, and has high requirements for processing speed; the second processor is mainly used for controlling the laser radar, and can also be called a controller; for example, the first processor may include FPGA, ASIC, and the second processor may include MCU, ASIC. The point cloud data generated by the first processor is forwarded through the second processor, which increases the transmission delay of the point cloud data and also increases the performance requirements for the second processor.

[0045] The disclosed embodiments provide some solutions, such as communication circuits, laser radars, and vehicles, which can reduce the transmission delay of point cloud data and are of great significance for scenarios with high real-time requirements, such as intelligent driving, smart city management, or industrial control systems. In addition, these solutions can reduce the dependence of the point cloud data transmission process on the second processor (or controller), reduce the performance requirements for the second processor (or controller), and save the overall cost of the laser radar.

[0046] The following is a description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0047] Figure 3 FIG. 1 shows a structural example diagram of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 3 The communication circuit 300 is located inside the laser radar 100 and is used for the laser radar 100 to communicate with the control platform 210 of the vehicle. Figure 3 , the communication circuit 300 includes a controller 310, a processor 320, a first interface circuit 330 and a connector 340. The controller 310 is configured to control the operation of the laser radar 100. For example, the controller 310 can control the laser of the laser radar 100 to emit laser or stop emitting laser; for another example, the controller 310 can control the detector of the laser radar 100 to be in a state of responding to light signals or in a state of not responding to light signals; for another example, the controller 310 can control the movement of the scanning system of the laser radar 100; for another example, the controller 310 can control the operation of detection devices such as the angle detector or temperature detector of the laser radar 100; for another example, the controller 310 can also control the laser radar 100 to perform safety detection. The processor 320 is configured to receive echo data during the operation of the laser radar 100, process the echo data into point cloud data, and perform media access control (MAC) layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet D1. The first interface circuit 330 is connected to the processor 320 and is configured to obtain a first data packet D1 and perform physical layer (PHY) processing on the first data packet D1 to obtain a second data packet D2. The connector 340 is connected to the first interface circuit 330 and is configured to send the second data packet D2 to the control platform 210. By way of example, the controller 310 and the processor 320 may be part of the control and processing system 130.

[0048] Through the design of the above communication circuit, after obtaining the point cloud data, the processor can process the point cloud data at the media access control layer locally and encapsulate the data packet (i.e., the first data packet) at the media access control layer, instead of forwarding it to the controller for encapsulation; and the processor is directly connected to the first interface circuit, and the processor transmits the encapsulated data packet directly to the first interface circuit without forwarding it through the controller. From the above structure, it can be seen that the controller in the communication circuit does not directly participate in the processing and transmission of point cloud data.

[0049] It can be seen that the embodiment of the present disclosure provides a communication circuit, including a processor, which is configured to receive echo data during the operation of a laser radar, and process the echo data into point cloud data, and perform media access control layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet; a first interface circuit, connected to the processor, configured to obtain the first data packet, and perform physical layer processing on the first data packet to obtain a second data packet; a connector, connected to the first interface circuit, configured to send the second data packet to a control platform.

[0050] Through the design of the communication circuit, the forwarding delay can be saved, the processing efficiency of the point cloud data can be improved, and then the transmission efficiency of the point cloud data can be improved. In addition, the processor processes the perception data and has strong computing power. When the encapsulation function of the media access control layer is integrated into the processor, the performance requirements of the processor will not be greatly affected, and the cost will not be increased too much. However, if the encapsulation function of the media access control layer is designed in the controller, the performance requirements of the controller are relatively high, and the overall cost of the laser radar will be greatly increased. The above communication circuit is adopted in the embodiment of the present disclosure, which can reduce the performance requirements of the controller and even save the interface design of the controller. For example, when the laser radar transmits point cloud data to the control platform of the vehicle via Ethernet, the above communication circuit can save the design of the Ethernet interface on the controller, further reducing the cost of the controller. The above communication circuit can reduce the cost of the laser radar as a whole and improve the transmission efficiency of the laser radar point cloud data.

[0051] Figure 4 FIG. 2 shows another exemplary structure of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 4, the controller 310 and the processor 320 can be connected through a first type of interface (indicated by a box containing "1" in the figure), and the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 can be connected through a second type of interface (indicated by a box containing "2" in the figure). The type of the first type of interface is related to the bus protocol between the controller 310 and the processor 320. For example, the first type of interface may include, but is not limited to: a serial peripheral interface (SPI), an inter integrated circuit (I2C / IIC) bus interface, a universal asynchronous receiver / transmitter (UART) interface, etc. The second type of interface is related to the communication protocol for the transmission of laser radar point cloud data. For example, the second type of interface can refer to the above description of the wired or wireless communication protocol between the control and processing system 130 and the control platform 210, for example, it may include an Ethernet bus protocol.

[0052] Please continue to refer to Figure 4 , the processor 320 may include a data processing circuit 321 and a protocol processing circuit 322. The data processing circuit 321 is configured to process the echo data into point cloud data, and the protocol processing circuit 322 is configured to perform media access control layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet D1. The first interface circuit 330 can obtain the first data packet D1 through the second type interface, and perform physical layer processing on the first data packet D1 to obtain a second data packet D2. The communication protocol for transmitting the point cloud data matches the second type interface. The connector 440 receives the second data packet D2 from the first interface circuit 330 and sends the second data packet D2 to the control platform 210.

[0053] The media access control layer is located above the physical layer, for example, it is part of the data link layer, and the data link layer may also include a logical link control (LLC) layer. The processor 320 or the protocol processing circuit 322 may implement all processing of the data link layer, or implement part of the processing of the data link layer, for example, implement all functions of the logical link control layer and the media access control layer, or implement the functions of the media access control layer; the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited thereto.

[0054] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the controller 310 may include, for example, an MCU, a CPU, or an MPU; the processor 320 may include, for example, an FPGA, a DSP, or an ASIC, or the processor 320 may integrate multiple processing circuits, such as an integrated FPGA and a DSP. The first interface circuit 330 may include, for example, an Ethernet physical layer chip. The connector 340 may be a single type of connector or a hybrid connector, and the hybrid connector may support multiple port designs, such as a connector integrating different types of bus port designs, for example, a hybrid connector integrating Ethernet and CAN port designs. Optionally, a power connection may also be integrated.

[0055] The above communication circuit can enable the laser radar as a whole to achieve more efficient point cloud data transmission at a lower cost in the first direction of communication. In the second direction, the amount of data transmitted by the control platform to the laser radar is much smaller than the amount of data in the first direction. The interface design in the second direction can set a second interface circuit to transmit data in the second direction to the controller; or, an interface in the second direction can be designed between the controller and the first interface circuit to transmit data in the second direction to the controller. Additional information of the laser radar can be forwarded by the controller to the processor and forwarded using the interface between the processor and the first interface circuit; or, it can be sent through the second interface circuit.

[0056] Several implementation examples are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0057] Figure 5 FIG. 2 shows another exemplary structure of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 5 The communication circuit 300 further includes: a second interface circuit 350, connected between the controller 310 and the connector 340. In a first direction, the second interface circuit 350 is configured to receive additional information of the laser radar from the controller 310, and send the additional information to the control platform 210 through the connector 340. In a second direction, the second interface circuit 350 is configured to receive data from the control platform 210 from the connector 340, and send the data to the controller 310.

[0058] The processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 may be connected via a second type interface (indicated by a box containing "2" in the figure). The second interface circuit 350 is connected to the controller 310 via a third type interface (indicated by a box containing "3" in the figure). In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the second interface circuit 350 may include, for example, a control area network transceiver (CAN transceiver). The second type interface includes, for example, an Ethernet interface. The third type interface includes, for example, a controller area network interface, illustratively, a CAN interface or a CAN FD interface, etc.

[0059] Point cloud data has relatively high requirements for timeliness and a relatively large amount of data. Using a high-bandwidth Ethernet interface for transmission can improve the transmission efficiency of point cloud data. The additional information of the lidar has lower requirements for timeliness than point cloud data, and the amount of data is relatively small. The use of a controller area network interface can meet the transmission requirements of the additional information. The data in the second direction has lower requirements for timeliness than point cloud data, and the amount of data is relatively small. The use of a controller area network interface can also meet the transmission requirements of the data in the second direction. Designing a second interface circuit 350 and selecting an interface implementation different from the first interface circuit 330 can reduce the interface design requirements for the controller 310 and further reduce the cost of the controller 310.

[0060] Please continue to refer to Figure 5Exemplarily, the Ethernet interface between the first interface circuit 330 and the processor 320 includes, for example, a media independent interface (MII). MII includes, for example, but is not limited to, MII, reduced media independent interface (RMII), serial media independent interface (SMII), serial synchronous media independent interface (SSMII), source synchronous serial media independent interface (SSSMII), Gigabit media independent interface (GMII), reduced gigabit media independent interface (RGMII), serial gigabit media independent interface (SGMII), ten bit interface (TBI), reduced ten bit interface (RTBI), 10Gigabit MMI (XGMII), 10Gigabit attachment unit interface (XAUI), or 40Gigabit attachment unit interface (XLAUI). The Ethernet interface between the first interface circuit 330 and the processor 320 also includes a serial management interface (SMI), which can also be called an MII management interface (MII management interface), which is applied between the media access control layer and the physical layer of the Ethernet and is used for the circuit where the media access control layer is located to implement operations and management of the circuit where the physical layer is located by reading and writing registers.

[0061] The controller 310 and the processor 320 can read and control the register through the first type interface. Figure 5 , for example, the first type of interface includes SPI. SPI supports full-duplex communication, and data can be transmitted in two directions: the controller 310 can receive status information from the processor 320 while sending control commands, thereby achieving more real-time and efficient control. The controller 310 can also send a synchronization signal, such as a pulse per second (PPS) signal, to the processor 320 through the SPI to achieve time synchronization between the controller 310 and the processor 320.

[0062] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 For example, the second interface circuit 350 and the connector 340 can communicate via a high-voltage CAN (CAN high) bus and a low-voltage CAN (CAN low) bus. The two buses implement differential signal transmission, which improves the anti-interference and reliability of data transmission. The first interface circuit 330 and the connector 340 can transmit point cloud data via a media dependent interface (MDI).

[0063] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the laser radar 100 includes a first transmission path and a second transmission path. The first transmission path includes a path from the processor 320 to the first interface circuit 330 and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the connector 340, and the first transmission path is configured to send the point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform 210. The second transmission path includes a path from the controller 310 to the second interface circuit 350 and a path from the second interface circuit 350 to the connector 340, and the second transmission path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform 210.

[0064] For communication in the first direction, the laser radar can transmit different types of data through different paths. For example, the point cloud data of the laser radar can be transmitted through the first transmission path, and the additional information of the laser radar can be transmitted through the second transmission path. In this way, the flexibility of the laser radar in transmitting data to the outside is further increased.

[0065] The point cloud data of the LiDAR is used to provide perception data to the vehicle, so that the vehicle can use the perception data to understand the surrounding environmental information in real time. For intelligent driving scenarios, the environment around the vehicle changes very quickly, and the real-time requirements are high. The processor 320 can have a large computing power to realize the processing of echo data to generate point cloud data as soon as possible. The interface designed for point cloud data transmission at the processor 320 allows the transmission of point cloud data without forwarding through the controller 310, further increasing the real-time performance of the point cloud data. In addition, relative to the performance of the processor 320, the interface design will not bring too much additional computing power requirements to the processor 320, which can save the cost of the LiDAR as a whole.

[0066] The additional information of the laser radar can refer to the description of the above embodiment. Compared with the point cloud data, the amount of additional information is relatively small and the timeliness requirement is also lower. The introduction of the second transmission path can make the number of point clouds independent of the transmission of additional information, reduce the delay of point cloud data due to waiting for the transmission of additional information, and further increase the real-time nature of point cloud data.

[0067] In addition, the design of the above transmission path can also facilitate the vehicle's control platform to distinguish and process the received data. For example, for the data from the first transmission path, the control platform can mark these data as high priority so that they are processed first; mark the data from the second transmission path as low priority to reduce the impact of additional information on the processing time of point cloud data.

[0068] In addition, in the above transmission path design, the controller 310 can be implemented using a circuit that does not support a high-bandwidth Ethernet interface, which reduces the performance requirements of the controller 310 for data transmission and reduces the overall cost of the lidar.

[0069] Please continue to refer to Figure 5 In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the laser radar further includes a first receiving path, the first receiving path includes a path from the connector 340 to the second interface circuit 350 and a path from the second interface circuit 350 to the controller 310, and the first receiving path is configured to receive data in the second direction, that is, data from the control platform, which can refer to the description of the above embodiments. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the number of interfaces between the first interface circuit 330 and the processor 320 can also be saved. For example, the data interface (e.g. Figure 5 The RMII shown in the figure is designed as a unidirectional interface, for example, only including an interface in the first direction; in this way, the overall cost of the laser radar can be further reduced. If the destination of the data in the second direction is the controller 310, it can be directly transmitted to the controller 310 through the second interface circuit 350. If the destination of the data in the second direction is the processor 320, it can be transmitted through the first type interface between the controller 310 and the processor 320.

[0070] Figure 6 FIG. 2 shows another exemplary structure of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 6 , relative to Figure 5 In the illustrated embodiment, the laser radar 100 further includes a second receiving path, which includes a path from the connector 340 to the first interface circuit 330 and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the controller 310 , and is configured to receive data from the control platform 210 .

[0071] The introduction of the second receiving path can flexibly adapt to different types of control platforms and select the appropriate receiving path for transmission according to the transmission protocol supported by the control platform. The second receiving path can increase the fault tolerance or flexibility of the transmission. For example, when an error occurs in the first receiving path (or the second receiving path), the second receiving path (or the first receiving path) can be used to transmit data in the first direction; for another example, when the first receiving path (or the second receiving path) is busy, the second receiving path (or the first receiving path) can be used for transmission in the first direction.

[0072] The path from the first interface circuit 330 to the controller 310 can be implemented through the second type of interface. Figure 6 RMII RX shown, where RX represents the transmission direction of data relative to the controller 310, that is, the controller 310 receives data from the outside. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the data interface in the second type of interface between the first interface circuit 330 and the controller 310 can be configured as a unidirectional interface: transmitting data in the second direction, that is, data is sent from the first interface circuit 330 to the controller 310. Similarly, the data interface in the second type of interface between the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 can also be configured as a unidirectional interface: transmitting data in the first direction, that is, data is sent from the processor 320 to the first interface circuit 330.

[0073] The data interface between the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 and the data interface between the controller 310 and the first interface circuit 330 are both configured as unidirectional interfaces, which can reduce the number of interfaces between the controller 310 and the processor 320 and further reduce the overall cost of the lidar.

[0074] Optionally, a second type of interface may be provided between the controller 310 and the processor 320, for example Figure 6 RMIITX shown in FIG. 1 , where TX represents the transmission direction of data relative to the controller 310, that is, transmission from the controller 310 to the outside. The controller 310 can select to use the first type of interface (eg Figure 6 The laser radar 100 may transmit data to the processor 320 through the interface SPI shown in the figure or the second type interface. For example, control signaling may be transmitted through the first type interface. For another example, update data packets or configuration parameters may be transmitted through the second type interface. The laser radar 100 also includes a third transmission path; the third transmission path includes a path from the controller 310 to the processor 320, a path from the processor 320 to the first interface circuit 330, and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the connector 340, and the third transmission path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform.

[0075] Figure 7 FIG. 2 shows another exemplary structure of a communication circuit provided in some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 7 , relative to Figure 5 and Figure 6 In the embodiment shown, the laser radar 100 is not configured with a second interface circuit; the first interface circuit 330 is also connected to the controller 310. Data from the controller 310 in the first direction is forwarded by the processor 320; data in the second direction is transmitted to the controller 310 through the first interface circuit 330. The laser radar 100 includes a first transmission path, a second transmission path, and a receiving path. The first transmission path includes a path from the processor 320 to the first interface circuit 330 and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the connector 340; and the first transmission path is configured to send point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform. The second transmission path includes a path from the controller 310 to the processor 320, a path from the processor 320 to the first interface circuit 330, and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the connector 340; and the second transmission path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform. The receiving path includes a path from the connector 340 to the first interface circuit 330 and a path from the first interface circuit 330 to the controller 310; and the receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

[0076] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the data interface between the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 may be a unidirectional interface for transmitting data in a first direction, for example Figure 7 The interface RMII TX is shown, where TX represents the transmission direction of data relative to the processor 320, that is, transmission from the processor 320 to the outside. The data interface between the controller 310 and the first interface circuit 330 can be a unidirectional interface for transmitting data in the second direction, for example Figure 7 The interface RMII RX between the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 is shown, where RX represents the transmission direction of data relative to the controller 310, that is, the controller 310 receives data from the outside. Referring to the description of the above embodiment, the data of the unidirectional data interface can save interface design and further reduce the overall cost of the laser radar.

[0077] In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the data interface between the processor 320 and the first interface circuit 330 may be a bidirectional interface, which may provide a redundant path design.

[0078] Optionally, a second type of interface may be provided between the controller 310 and the processor 320, for example Figure 7 The interface between the controller 310 and the processor 320 is RMII TX, where TX represents the transmission direction of data relative to the controller 310, that is, transmission from the controller 310 to the outside. In this way, the controller 310 can choose to use the first type of interface (e.g. Figure 7The interface SPI) or the second type interface shown in the figure transmits data to the processor 320. For example, control signaling can be transmitted through the first type interface. For example, update data packets or configuration parameters can be transmitted through the second type interface.

[0079] In this disclosure, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, ordinal numbers, such as "first", "second", etc., are only used to distinguish and describe related objects, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the relative importance or order between related objects. In addition, ordinal numbers do not represent the number of related objects. For example, "first laser radar" may include one laser radar, or multiple laser radars. "Multiple" includes two or more, and other quantifiers are similar.

[0080] The terms "or" and "and / or" in the present disclosure are used to describe the relationship between associated objects, which represents non-exclusive inclusion. For example, "A and / or B" and "A or B" may include: "A alone", "B alone", or "A and B", where "A" and "B" may include a single object or multiple objects. For another example, "A, B and / or C", "A, B or C" and "A, B and C" may include: "A alone", "B alone", "C alone", "A and B", "A and C", "B and C", or "A, B and C", where "A", "B" and "C" may include a single object or multiple objects. In addition, " / " in the present disclosure is used to represent the "or" relationship between the previous and next associated objects. In the present disclosure, "at least one of A or B" and "one or more of A and B" have the same meaning as the above "A or B", and "one or more of A, B and C" and "at least one of A, B or C" have the same meaning as the above "A, B or C". "One or more of A, B and C" has the same meaning as the above "A, B or C".

[0081] In the above embodiments, the description of each embodiment has its own emphasis. For parts that are not described or recorded in detail in a certain embodiment, reference can be made to the relevant descriptions of other embodiments. In addition, the above embodiments can be freely combined as needed.

Claims

1. A communication circuit, characterized in that: Used for laser radar to communicate with the control platform of the vehicle, the communication circuit includes: The controller and the processor are connected via a first type interface; A first interface circuit connected to the processor via a second type interface; A connector configured to connect the first interface circuit and the control platform; The processor includes: a data processing circuit and a protocol processing circuit, the data processing circuit is configured to process the echo data into point cloud data, and the protocol processing circuit is configured to perform media access control layer processing on the point cloud data to obtain a first data packet; The first interface circuit is configured to obtain the first data packet through the second type interface, and perform physical layer processing on the first data packet to obtain a second data packet; The connector is configured to send the second data packet to the control platform.

2. The communication circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The second interface circuit is connected between the controller and the connector, and is connected to the controller through a third type interface.

3. The communication circuit according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second type of interface includes an Ethernet interface, and the third type of interface includes a controller area network interface.

4. The communication circuit according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that: The laser radar includes a first transmission path and a second transmission path, The first transmission path includes a path from the processor to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the first transmission path is configured to transmit the point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform; The second transmission path includes a path from the controller to the second interface circuit and a path from the second interface circuit to the connector, and the second transmission path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform.

5. The communication circuit according to claim 4, characterized in that: The laser radar also includes a first receiving path, which includes a path from the connector to the second interface circuit and a path from the second interface circuit to the controller, and the first receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

6. The communication circuit according to claim 5, characterized in that: The data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

7. The communication circuit according to claim 5, characterized in that: The laser radar also includes a second receiving path, which includes a path from the connector to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the controller, and the second receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

8. The communication circuit according to claim 7, characterized in that: The data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface, and the data interface between the controller and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

9. The communication circuit according to any one of claims 4 to 8, characterized in that: The laser radar also includes a third transmission path; The third transmission path includes a path from the controller to the processor, a path from the processor to the first interface circuit, and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the third transmission path is configured to send the additional information of the laser radar to the control platform.

10. The communication circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first interface circuit is also connected to the controller via the second type interface; the laser radar includes a first transmission path, a second transmission path, and a receiving path; The first transmission path includes a path from the processor to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the first transmission path is configured to transmit the point cloud data of the laser radar to the control platform; The second transmission path includes a path from the controller to the processor, a path from the processor to the first interface circuit, and a path from the first interface circuit to the connector, and the second transmission path is configured to send additional information of the laser radar to the control platform; The receiving path includes a path from the connector to the first interface circuit and a path from the first interface circuit to the controller, and the receiving path is configured to receive data from the control platform.

11. The communication circuit according to claim 10, characterized in that: The data interface between the processor and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface, and the data interface between the controller and the first interface circuit is a unidirectional interface.

12. A laser radar, characterized in that: include: a laser configured to emit laser light; A detector configured to receive the echo of the laser and convert the echo into an electrical signal; A preprocessing circuit, connected to the detector and configured to convert the electrical signal into echo data; The communication circuit according to any one of claims 1 to 11, connected to the preprocessing circuit.

13. A carrier, characterized in that: include: A laser radar and a control platform, wherein the laser radar comprises a communication circuit as described in any one of claims 1 to 11, and is used for communicating with the control platform.

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