Computing chip, laser radar, controller, optical communication system, and vehicle

Abstract

A computing chip, a laser radar, a controller, an optical communication system, and a vehicle. The computing chip comprises an electrical computing sub-chip and an optical computing sub-chip communicatively connected to the electrical computing sub-chip, wherein the optical computing sub-chip is used for receiving an optical signal carrying data to be computed, obtaining a computing result on the basis of the optical signal carrying said data, and outputting the computing result to the electrical computing sub-chip in the form of an electrical signal.

Description

Computing chips, LiDAR, controllers, optical communication systems, and vehicles

[0001] This application claims priority to Chinese patent application No. 202411203261.3, filed on August 28, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] This disclosure relates to the field of vehicle technology, and more particularly to a computing chip, lidar, controller, optical communication system, and vehicle. Background Technology

[0003] With the development of vehicle electrification and intelligence, the number of sensors and actuators inside vehicles is gradually increasing. This places higher demands on the vehicle's perception, communication, and computing capabilities. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This disclosure provides a computing chip, a lidar, a controller, an optical communication system, and a vehicle.

[0005] In a first aspect, a computing chip is provided, comprising: an electrical computing sub-chip and an optical computing sub-chip communicatively connected to the electrical computing sub-chip; the optical computing sub-chip is used to receive an optical signal carrying data to be computed; to obtain a computation result based on the optical signal carrying the data to be computed; and to output the computation result to the electrical computing sub-chip in the form of an electrical signal.

[0006] It is understandable that, compared to related technologies that rely on electrical chips, resulting in low computing power and high power consumption, the computing chips provided in some embodiments of this disclosure include electrical computing sub-chips and optical computing sub-chips, which can perform optical computing and then output the computing results to the electrical computing chip in the form of electrical signals. In this way, the computing power of the whole vehicle can be improved.

[0007] In a second aspect, a lidar is provided, comprising: a photodetector component and an optical feedback component communicatively connected to the photodetector component; the photodetector component is used to phase modulate a first optical signal from an optical fiber to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal; to transmit the first phase-modulated optical signal to the outside world, and to output the second phase-modulated optical signal to the optical feedback component; the first phase-modulated optical signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal are orthogonal; the optical feedback component is used to receive a laser echo signal carrying sensing information; to couple the laser echo signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal to obtain a coupled optical signal; and to transmit the coupled optical signal through an optical fiber.

[0008] It is understood that the lidar provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can use a photodetector component to phase modulate the initial optical signal from the optical fiber to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal. The first phase-modulated optical signal is used for sensing and detection, and the second phase-modulated optical signal is used for laser echo signal coupling for communication to provide feedback of sensing information. It can be seen that the lidar provided in the embodiments of this application can integrate communication and sensing, improve resource utilization, and reduce power consumption. Simultaneously, the lidar can transmit optical signals carrying sensing information through optical fibers, improving data transmission rates. Correspondingly, it also facilitates optical computation on the received optical signals carrying sensing information at the receiving end, improving computing power.

[0009] Thirdly, a controller is provided, including a first chip and a second chip, wherein the first chip and the second chip transmit information or data through optical signals; or an optical communication transmission path is established between the first chip and the second chip.

[0010] It is understandable that transmitting information or data between multiple chips in the controller via optical signals or through optical communication transmission paths can improve data transmission efficiency.

[0011] Fourthly, an application device is provided, comprising: an application device body and an optical communication component, wherein the optical communication component is used to transmit data generated by the application device body in the form of optical signals; and during the signal reception period in the communication cycle, the received optical signals are converted into electrical signals and output to the application device body.

[0012] It is understood that the application devices provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can use optical communication components to send data generated by the application device itself in the form of optical signals, thereby improving data transmission efficiency.

[0013] In some embodiments, the optical communication component can also transmit data generated by the application device itself in the form of optical signals during the signal transmission period of the application device, and convert the received optical signals into electrical signals and send them to the application device itself during the signal reception period, thereby improving the clarity and accuracy of signal transmission.

[0014] Fifthly, an optical communication system is provided, comprising: a light source module, an optical fiber network, at least one application device, and a controller; the light source module, at least one application device, and the controller are communicatively connected via the optical fiber network.

[0015] The light source module is used to transmit multiple optical carriers;

[0016] The first application device in at least one application device is used to receive a first optical carrier sent by a light source module through an optical fiber network and modulate the first optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal, and send the uplink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network;

[0017] The controller receives the second optical carrier sent by the light source module, modulates the second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal, and sends the downlink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network.

[0018] The optical communication system provided in some embodiments of this disclosure replaces traditional vehicle Ethernet with a fiber optic network, thereby avoiding the latency issues of Ethernet and significantly improving the real-time performance of data transmission, further ensuring the timeliness and accuracy of vehicle control. The uplink and downlink light source modules facilitate centralized protection and cooling of the light source.

[0019] A sixth aspect provides a vehicle, including a frame, and at least one of the following: a computing chip as provided in the first aspect, a lidar as provided in the second aspect, a controller as provided in the third aspect, an application device as provided in the fourth aspect, or an optical communication system as provided in the fifth aspect. Attached Figure Description

[0020] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of some embodiments of this disclosure, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the accompanying drawings described below are only some embodiments of this disclosure. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0021] Figure 1 is an architecture diagram of a vehicle according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 2 is an architecture diagram of an optical communication system according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 3 is an architecture diagram of a controller according to some embodiments;

[0024] Figure 4 is an architecture diagram of another controller according to some embodiments;

[0025] Figure 5 is a block diagram of a chip unit according to some embodiments;

[0026] Figure 6 is an architecture diagram of yet another controller according to some embodiments;

[0027] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an optical interface integrated chip according to some embodiments;

[0028] Figure 8 is an architecture diagram of a computing chip according to some embodiments;

[0029] Figure 9 is an architecture diagram of another computing chip according to some embodiments;

[0030] Figure 10 is an architecture diagram of an application device according to some embodiments;

[0031] Figure 11 is an architecture diagram of another application device according to some embodiments;

[0032] Figure 12 is an architecture diagram of a lidar according to some embodiments;

[0033] Figure 13 is an architecture diagram of another lidar according to some embodiments;

[0034] Figure 14 is an architecture diagram of another lidar according to some embodiments;

[0035] Figure 15 is an architecture diagram of an optical fiber network according to some embodiments;

[0036] Figure 16 is an architecture diagram of another optical fiber network according to some embodiments;

[0037] Figure 17 is an architecture diagram of another optical fiber network according to some embodiments.

[0038] Reference numerals: Vehicle 100, Chassis 110, Body 120, Wheel 130, Optical Communication System 140; Light Source Module 210, Fiber Optic Network 220, Application Equipment 230, Controller 240, Optical Receiver 260, LiDAR 270; Chip Unit 300, Control Chip 310, Computing Chip 320, Storage Chip 330; Photoelectric Conversion Unit 400; Electrical Computing Sub-chip 3201, Optical Computing Sub-chip 3202, Control Unit 3201-1, Optical Drive Module 3201-2, Optical Computing Unit 3202-1, Photoelectric Conversion Unit 3202-2, Optical Emitting Unit 3202-3 Electro-optic conversion unit 3202-4; optical drive unit 3201-2-1, TIA 3201-2-2; application device body 2301, optical communication component 2302; photonic integrated circuit 2302-1, electronic integrated circuit 2302-2; optical detection component 2701, optical feedback component 2702; phase modulation unit 2701-1, beam splitting unit 2701-2, light output unit 2701-3, coupling unit 2702-1, optical receiving unit 2702-2; optical transmitting device 280, optical fiber main path 221; optical fiber branch path 222, dewavelength division multiplexer 223, wavelength division multiplexer 224. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The technical solutions of some embodiments of this disclosure will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of this disclosure, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of this disclosure, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of this disclosure.

[0040] In the description of this disclosure, it should be understood that the terms "upper," "lower," "left," "right," "front," "rear," "inner," and "outer," etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or relative positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are used only for the convenience of describing this disclosure and for simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this disclosure. Unless otherwise specified, the above-mentioned orientational descriptions can be flexibly set in practical applications, provided that the relative positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings are satisfied.

[0041] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of this disclosure, unless otherwise stated, "a plurality of" means two or more.

[0042] In describing some embodiments, the terms "communication connection" and "connection" and their derivative expressions may be used. For example, the term "connection" may be used in describing some embodiments to indicate that two or more components have direct physical or electrical contact with each other. Similarly, the term "communication connection" may be used in describing some embodiments to indicate that two or more components have direct physical or electrical contact. However, the term "communication connection" may also refer to two or more components that do not have direct contact with each other but still cooperate or interact with each other. The embodiments disclosed herein are not necessarily limited to the content of this document.

[0043] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, article, or apparatus. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, article, or apparatus that includes that element.

[0044] In some embodiments of this disclosure, the words "exemplarily" or "for example" are used to indicate that they are examples, illustrations, or descriptions. Any embodiment or design described as "exemplarily" or "for example" in some embodiments of this disclosure should not be construed as being more preferred or advantageous than other embodiments or designs. Rather, the use of words such as "exemplarily" or "for example" is intended to present the relevant concepts by way of example.

[0045] In the description of this specification, exemplary features, structures, materials, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0046] With the development of vehicle electrification, intelligence, and connectivity, as well as the improvement of driver assistance systems, significant challenges and opportunities have arisen for vehicles' perception, network communication, and computing capabilities. These challenges are mainly reflected in the following two aspects:

[0047] (1) Enhanced Assistance Driving Levels and Multi-Sensor Fusion. As the level of assisted driving continues to improve, vehicles need to acquire information from multiple sensors and perform efficient data fusion. These multiple sensors include cameras, ultrasonic radar, lidar, and millimeter-wave radar, each with its unique perception capabilities and limitations.

[0048] In particular, the fusion of data from in-vehicle cameras and vehicles is crucial. The development of in-vehicle cameras has two main directions: firstly, an increase in quantity, with the number of cameras now exceeding 10; secondly, higher resolution, with 8-megapixel cameras already in mass production and achieving data transmission bandwidth approaching 10Gbps without compression. As data transmission bandwidth increases, the demands on vehicle control systems are also rising, with future bandwidth requirements potentially reaching 50Gbps or even higher, up to 100Gbps. The fusion of this data requires powerful communication and computing capabilities.

[0049] (2) The Development of Smart Cockpits. Smart cockpits not only provide a more comfortable and convenient driving experience, but also integrate more interactive and entertainment devices. These devices place higher demands on the bandwidth of in-vehicle communication to ensure a smooth user experience and high-quality content transmission. To meet these needs, the in-vehicle network architecture is also constantly evolving. From the traditional Controller Area Network (CAN) to the more efficient Ethernet technology, and then to the application of future 5G and 6G communication technologies, in-vehicle networks will become more intelligent and efficient.

[0050] In summary, the challenges in the development of intelligent and connected new energy vehicles are multi-sensor fusion, high-bandwidth networks, and high-computing-power concentration.

[0051] Currently, vehicle-mounted fusion perception primarily relies on sensors such as ultrasonic radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), millimeter-wave radar, and cameras, each with its own advantages and limitations. Cameras can provide high-resolution images, including color information and depth perception (through technologies such as stereo vision or structured light), helping to accurately identify objects (such as traffic signs, pedestrians, and vehicles) and determine distances. Furthermore, cameras are relatively inexpensive and easy to integrate into vehicle systems. However, camera performance is affected by low light or inclement weather conditions (such as heavy rain, snow, or fog). Additionally, cameras have limited field of view and range, potentially resulting in blind spots. Moreover, for fast-moving objects or high-speed vehicles, the frame rate of cameras may be insufficient to provide accurate real-time perception information.

[0052] Radar sensors can accurately detect the distance and speed of objects. Because radar is an active sensor, it does not rely on ambient light and can penetrate obstacles such as rain, snow, and fog, providing stable perception data. Therefore, it performs more reliably in adverse weather conditions such as rain and snow. However, compared to cameras, radar sensors may be weaker in terms of detail and depth perception and cannot provide high-resolution image information. Therefore, the fusion of high-precision radar and high-resolution cameras is the development trend.

[0053] In particular, high-precision lidar, such as frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidar, can achieve higher detection sensitivity and accuracy based on coherent lidar technology. FMCW lidar has lower power and higher sensitivity than pulsed ToF lidar. Furthermore, each pixel in an FMCW lidar contains velocity information (4D perception), providing clearer and safer environmental perception capabilities for autonomous driving systems. FMCW measurements can return the radial velocity of each pixel, effectively providing 4D images. Therefore, developing highly integrated FMCW lidar to achieve high precision is a very competitive solution, and fusing complementary information from high-precision sensors and high-precision lidar helps improve the overall vehicle perception capabilities. However, the lidar used is pulsed ToF lidar, and its high cost is the main pain point restricting its large-scale application.

[0054] Currently, traditional vehicle buses, such as Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN), Media Oriented Systems Transport Network (MOST Network), and FlexRay bus, have transmission bandwidths of less than 150Mbps. In contrast, high-speed vehicle communication is mainly based on Ethernet, and vehicle Ethernet can achieve transmission rates of up to 100Mbit / s or even 1Gbit / s on a single pair of unshielded twisted-pair cables.

[0055] To meet the future demand for high-bandwidth (50Gbps+, e.g., greater than 50Gbps) in automotive applications, and with the development of technologies such as autonomous driving and intelligent connectivity, the amount of data that needs to be transmitted within vehicles is increasing dramatically, leading to a corresponding increase in bandwidth requirements. When bandwidth requirements exceed 40Gbps, optical fiber becomes the preferred transmission medium. Furthermore, the electromagnetic environment in the automotive field is more complex, especially in electric vehicles, which integrate high-voltage battery packs and low-voltage electronic components. Therefore, optical fiber is a better choice than cables and twisted-pair cables as the transmission medium. Optical fiber not only meets the bandwidth requirements of future automotive transmission but also better mitigates electromagnetic interference.

[0056] With the rapid development of intelligent connected vehicle technology, especially the improvement of vehicle perception fusion capabilities and the application of high-bandwidth transmission technology, the electronic and electrical architecture and computing power of vehicles are facing new challenges and requirements. In related technologies, the electronic and electrical architecture of vehicles mostly adopts a multi-domain controller network architecture, where the computing power of the whole vehicle is distributed among different domain controllers and relies on electrical chips, resulting in problems of low computing power and high power consumption.

[0057] Furthermore, as large-scale artificial intelligence (AI) models are gradually being implemented in vehicles, the demand for computing power in intelligent connected vehicles is exploding, and traditional methods of improving computing power through advanced manufacturing processes are gradually becoming unable to meet this demand.

[0058] To meet the computing power demands of intelligent connected vehicles, new computing methods and architectures can be developed, such as in-memory computing and optical computing technologies. In-memory computing, by integrating computing and storage capabilities onto the same chip, effectively avoids the "memory wall" problem in the traditional von Neumann architecture, achieving higher energy efficiency and lower power consumption.

[0059] Optical computing, with its high parallelism, high energy efficiency and high speed, has significant advantages in building large-scale matrix-matrix parallel computing systems, and can effectively meet the high computing power requirements of intelligent connected vehicles.

[0060] Meanwhile, combining optical computing and optical interconnects can not only solve the power wall problem in the traditional von Neumann architecture, but also provide high-bandwidth transmission capabilities to meet the data transmission needs of intelligent connected vehicles. Through optical computing and optical interconnects, the contradiction between the computing power and low power consumption requirements of intelligent connected vehicles and the deployment of large-scale AI models and the failure of Moore's Law can be effectively resolved.

[0061] For technologies such as optical sensing in high-precision FMCW lidar, high-bandwidth optical communication, high-performance optical computing, and low-power optical interconnects, silicon photonics platforms and processes do indeed offer the possibility of realizing highly integrated optoelectronic devices. However, silicon photonics technology currently faces some challenges and limitations in large-scale applications, mainly in the following aspects:

[0062] 1. The core of silicon photonics technology lies in integrating photonic and electronic devices onto the same silicon-based platform to achieve photoelectric signal conversion and processing. However, significant differences exist in material properties such as lattice constants and coefficients of thermal expansion between group III-V photonic emitters (e.g., InP lasers) and the silicon-based platform, posing challenges to high-quality epitaxial growth and low-defect-density integration. In other words, the bottleneck limiting the large-scale application of silicon photonics technology lies in the compatibility issue between group III-V photonic emitters and the silicon-based platform.

[0063] 2. In the complex operating environment of automotive applications, especially in temperatures ranging from -40°C to 105°C, optoelectronic devices need to maintain high reliability. However, the power attenuation and reliability degradation of optical emission modules under high-temperature conditions are major problems limiting the application of silicon photonics technology in the automotive field.

[0064] Optical power attenuation is mainly caused by changes in carrier concentration and material properties inside semiconductor optical devices at high temperatures. High temperatures will affect the quality and performance of optical sensing, optical communication, optical computing and optical interconnection.

[0065] Furthermore, due to the shortened lifespan and unstable performance of optical emitting devices at high temperatures, the reliability of optical emitting devices also decreases sharply, which will affect the stability and reliability of the entire system, increase the failure rate and maintenance costs.

[0066] In summary, the complex environment of vehicles makes it difficult to meet the temperature requirements of semiconductor optical devices in optoelectronic technology, affecting the performance stability and reliability of semiconductor optical devices, ultimately leading to an inability to accurately control the vehicle and affecting driving safety.

[0067] Against this backdrop, to address the issues of low computing power and high power consumption in related technologies, some embodiments of this disclosure employ a combination of optical sensing, fiber optic communication, optical computing, and optical interconnection to improve vehicle computing power and reduce power consumption. Furthermore, due to the complex in-vehicle environment, there may be issues with accurate vehicle control, affecting driving safety. Some embodiments of this disclosure provide an optical communication system with a centralized architecture, facilitating centralized temperature control to achieve accurate vehicle control and improve driving safety.

[0068] This disclosure provides some embodiments of a computing chip, a lidar, a controller, an optical communication system, and a vehicle. The implementation of some embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0069] As shown in Figure 1, some embodiments of this disclosure provide a vehicle 100. The vehicle 100 may include a chassis 110, a body 120, and wheels 130. It is understood that the vehicle 100 may be a gasoline-powered vehicle, an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, a natural gas vehicle, a methanol vehicle, or a solar-powered vehicle, etc.

[0070] In some embodiments, vehicle 100 may be a passenger car such as a sedan, sport utility vehicle (SUV), or multi-purpose vehicle (MPV), or a bus, truck, or semi-trailer. This disclosure does not impose any limitations on this.

[0071] It is understood that the above-mentioned components are merely examples of some components of vehicle 100 and are not a limitation on the structure of vehicle 100.

[0072] In some embodiments, the vehicle 100 may further include an optical communication system 140. The optical communication system 140 enables data transmission within the vehicle 100.

[0073] As shown in Figure 2, the optical communication system 140 may include: a light source module 210, an optical fiber network 220, at least one application device 230, and a controller 240. The controller 240 may be a central controller or a domain controller. The following description uses the controller 240 as a central controller as an example to illustrate some embodiments of the communication system disclosed herein.

[0074] In some embodiments, at least one application device 230 and controller 240 are communicatively connected via an optical fiber network 220. It is understood that using the optical fiber network 220 for optical communication improves data transmission capabilities and meets the data transmission requirements of intelligent connected vehicles.

[0075] In some embodiments, the optical fiber can be a single-mode optical fiber or a multimode optical fiber.

[0076] In some embodiments, the optical communication system 140 is deployed on the vehicle, as shown in FIG2, with the controller 240 and the light source module 210 deployed in the same area of ​​the vehicle. For example, the light source module 210 may be integrated on the controller 240.

[0077] It is understood that the optical communication system 140 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure adopts a centralized architecture, deploying the controller 240 and the light source module 210 in the same area of ​​the vehicle. This facilitates centralized temperature control and avoids the problem that the vehicle cannot be accurately controlled due to the impact of vehicle temperature on the performance stability and reliability of semiconductor optical devices, thus affecting driving safety. This enables accurate vehicle control and improves driving safety.

[0078] In some embodiments, the light source module 210 is configured to transmit multiple optical carriers.

[0079] In some embodiments, the light source module 210 may be a laser emitting unit (LD), for example, the laser emitting unit may be at least one of the following: a group III-V semiconductor laser, a P-type semiconductor-positive-intrinsic-Negative semiconductor (PIN), or an avalanche photo diode (APD).

[0080] In some embodiments, the light source module 210 may include one or more light emitting units, which are not limited in this disclosure.

[0081] As one implementation, the optical carrier transmitted by the light source module 210 can be used for communication. For example, the application device 230 and the controller 240 can use optical signals to transmit data. For example, the application device 230 generates an uplink optical signal by modulating the optical carrier, and the controller 240 generates a downlink optical signal by adjusting the optical carrier.

[0082] As another implementation, the aforementioned optical signal can be used for sensing. For example, in the case where the optical communication system 140 includes a sensing device, the sensing device can use the optical signal for sensing and detection.

[0083] In some embodiments, a first application device 230 among a plurality of application devices 230 is used to receive a first optical carrier sent by a light source module 210 through an optical fiber network 220, modulate the first optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal, and send the uplink optical signal to a controller 240 through the optical fiber network 220.

[0084] In some embodiments, the controller 240 is configured to receive a second optical carrier sent by the light source module 210, modulate the second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal, and send the downlink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network 220.

[0085] It is understood that the light source module 210 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can uniformly provide optical carriers for the optical communication system 140. Thus, devices connected via the fiber optic network 220 (e.g., application device 230, controller 240, or sensing device) can receive the optical carrier and modulate it to obtain an optical signal. For example, application device 230 can adjust the received first optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal; controller 240 can adjust the received second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal. Therefore, devices in the optical communication system 140 do not need to be additionally configured with a light source module to generate optical carriers, thereby improving resource utilization and reducing costs.

[0086] In some embodiments, the first application device 230 is configured to perform at least one of the following: receiving a first optical carrier transmitted by the light source module 210 during the signal transmission period of the first application device, modulating the received first optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal, and transmitting the uplink optical signal to the controller 240 through the optical fiber network 220; or receiving a downlink optical signal through the optical fiber network 220 during the signal reception period of the first application device 230.

[0087] In some embodiments, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the same optical transmitting unit; or, the first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by different optical transmitting units; for example, the light source module includes a first optical transmitting unit and a second optical transmitting unit, the first optical transmitting unit is configured to transmit the first optical carrier, the second optical transmitting unit is configured to transmit the second optical carrier, and the first optical transmitting unit and the second optical transmitting unit are centrally located.

[0088] It is understood that the light source module 210 may include multiple optical emitting units, with different optical emitting units used to transmit different optical carriers. Thus, the light source module 210 can simultaneously provide multiple different optical carriers. Furthermore, the optical emitting units that transmit uplink optical signals and those that transmit downlink optical signals are centrally located to facilitate centralized protection and temperature control of the light source module, such as centralized cooling.

[0089] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG2, the optical communication system 140 further includes an optical receiver 260, which is configured to receive uplink optical signals. For example, the optical receiver 260 can establish a signal communication connection and exchange with the application device 230 through the optical fiber network 220, such as receiving uplink signals generated by the application device 230.

[0090] In some embodiments, the light receiving device 260 can be a photodiode (PD). It should be noted that the light source module 210 and the light receiving device 260 can be collectively referred to as optical communication components.

[0091] In some embodiments, where the optical communication system 140 includes a light receiver 260, the controller 240, the light source module 210, and the light receiver 260 are deployed in the same area of ​​the vehicle to facilitate centralized temperature control.

[0092] In some embodiments, the application device 230 is configured to transmit data to the controller 240 using optical signals during the signal transmission cycle of the application device 230, and to receive data transmitted by the controller 240 via optical signals during the signal reception cycle of the application device 230.

[0093] In some embodiments, the application device 230 may include at least one of the following: a camera, a sensor, or an actuator.

[0094] In some embodiments, the optical communication system 140 further includes a lidar 270; the lidar 270 is configured to receive a third optical carrier from the light source module 210 via the optical fiber network 220, and to use the third optical carrier to detect and output an optical signal carrying the detected sensing information to be transmitted to the controller 240 via the optical fiber network 220.

[0095] In some embodiments, the lidar 270 described above may be the lidar 270 shown in Figure 12 or Figure 13 below, and the lidar 270 may be described in the following description.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first optical signal shown in FIG12 is obtained based on a third optical carrier, and the optical signal carrying the sensing information is the coupled optical signal shown in FIG12.

[0097] In some embodiments, the controller 240 includes multiple computing chips (not shown in Figure 2), which are interconnected via optical fiber communication. It is understood that connecting multiple computing chips via optical fiber communication enables optical interconnection, which improves data transmission capabilities and meets the data transmission requirements of intelligent connected vehicles.

[0098] For ease of understanding, the various components of the optical communication system 140 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure will be described below.

[0099] I. Controller

[0100] It is understood that the controller in some embodiments of this disclosure can be a central controller or a domain controller.

[0101] In some embodiments, the controller 240 is configured to perform computational control of the vehicle. For example, the controller 240 may have at least one of the following functions: control functions for the vehicle control domain, control functions for the cockpit domain, control functions for the intelligent driving domain, or control functions for the assisted driving domain.

[0102] In some embodiments, the controller 240 includes multiple chips, including a first chip and a second chip, and the first chip and the second chip transmit information or data through optical signals; or, an optical communication transmission path is established between the first chip and the second chip.

[0103] It is understandable that transmitting information or data via optical signals or optical communication transmission paths can improve data transmission efficiency.

[0104] In some embodiments, the first chip is one of MCU, GPU, CPU, NPU, FPGA, ASIC, ISP, or the first chip is a computing chip as shown in Figure 8 or Figure 9 below. Please refer to the following description of computing chips.

[0105] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG3, the controller 240 includes at least one of the following chips: micro controller unit (MCU), central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), network processing unit (NPU), field programmable gate array (FPGA), and application specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

[0106] In some embodiments, the controller 240 may also include a preprocessing chip for special non-computational purposes such as image processing, for example, an image signal processor (ISP).

[0107] In some embodiments, the controller 240 may also include a memory unit for storing data.

[0108] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG4, the controller 240 includes at least one photoelectric conversion interface (or optical interface). When electrical calculation is required, the controller 240 performs photoelectric conversion on the optical signal received by the optical receiving device 260, converting it into an electrical signal for electrical calculation.

[0109] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG5, the controller 240 includes various chip units 300 with different functions, such as a control chip 310, a computing chip 320, and a storage chip 330. Here, the chip units 300 with different functions can be connected via optical fiber communication to achieve optical signal transmission and inter-chip signal exchange. It is understood that connecting the chip units 300 with different functions via optical fiber communication to achieve optical interconnection can improve data transmission capabilities and meet the data transmission requirements of intelligent connected vehicles.

[0110] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG6, at least one of the MCU chip or CPU chip can be used as a control chip 310 (FIG6 shows MCU and CPU as control chips), CPU, GPU, and NPU can be used as computing chips 320, FPGA and ASIC can also be used as dedicated computing chips 320, and memory units can be used as storage chips 330.

[0111] Here, the memory chip 330 is connected to the CPU.

[0112] In some embodiments, the controller 240 further includes an optical switch, and the plurality of control chips are respectively connected to at least one computing chip 320 through the optical switch.

[0113] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG6, signal exchange between multiple chip units 300 with different functions can be transmitted using optical fiber. The MCU or CPU can receive optical signals transmitted on the optical fiber network 220 through their respective optical interfaces and output them to the control pins of the optical switch. The optical switch can adjust its internal optical path according to the received control signals and forward the optical signals sent by the control chip 310 to the computing chip 320.

[0114] It should be noted that this disclosure does not limit the interconnection method between chip units 300 with different functions, nor does it limit the interconnection method between multiple different computing chips 320. For example, the above interconnection method can be a Passive Optical Network (PON) as shown in Figure 6, or it can be other topologies, such as tree, star, bus, daisy chain, etc.

[0115] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG7, the chip unit 300 and the photoelectric conversion unit 400 can be integrated together to form an optical interface integrated chip.

[0116] In some embodiments, the photoelectric conversion unit 400 described above may include at least one of the following: a light emitting unit, a light driving unit (DRV), a transimpedance amplifier (TIA), or a light receiving unit. For example, the light emitting unit emits wavelengths in the range of [850, 1650 nm], and the light receiving unit may be a PIN or an APD, etc.

[0117] In some embodiments, the integration method between the chip unit 300 and the photoelectric conversion unit 400 can be one of the following: discrete integration, co-packaged optics (CPO) packaging, 2.5D packaging, or 3D packaging.

[0118] It is understandable that, since signal exchange between multiple chip units with different functions can be transmitted via optical fiber, when chip unit 300 needs to perform electrical calculations, the received optical signal can be converted into an electrical signal by photoelectric conversion unit 400 for electrical calculations; or, when chip unit 300 needs to transmit signals via optical fiber, the control command or calculation result electrical signal can be converted into an optical signal by photoelectric conversion unit 400 for transmission via optical fiber.

[0119] II. Computing Chip

[0120] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the computing chip 320 includes an electrical computing sub-chip 3201 and an optical computing sub-chip 3202 which is communicatively connected to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201.

[0121] In some embodiments, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 is configured to receive an optical signal carrying data to be calculated; obtain a calculation result based on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated; and output the calculation result to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 in the form of an electrical signal.

[0122] It is understood that the computing chip 320 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can perform optical computing with the help of the optical computing sub-chip 3202 to obtain the calculation result, and then output the calculation result to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 in the form of an electrical signal. In this way, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 and the electrical computing chip 3201 complement each other to improve the computing power of the whole vehicle and reduce power consumption.

[0123] In some embodiments, the electronic computing chip 3201 can process the received calculation results.

[0124] In some embodiments, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 described above can be a silicon photonics chip.

[0125] In some embodiments, the computing chip 320 can implement computational methods such as photoelectric analog computing and digital optical computing based on a silicon-based platform. Here, photoelectric analog computing can be at least one or more of the following hybrid schemes: on-chip integrated optical computing based on Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI) interference structure, micro ring resonator (MRR) combined with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system, subwavelength diffraction structure or other types of unit structure design.

[0126] It should be understood that the Mach-Zehnder interferometer is a commonly used optical interferometer that utilizes the interference phenomenon of light to modulate and process optical signals. On a silicon-based platform, photoelectric simulation calculations can be achieved by designing specific MZI structures.

[0127] A microring resonator is an optical resonator with a high quality factor (Q value). It can enhance or suppress optical signals of specific wavelengths. When combined with a wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) system, it enables simultaneous processing of multi-wavelength optical signals, thereby facilitating more complex optoelectronic simulations.

[0128] Subwavelength diffraction structures are specially designed optical structures that can modulate and process optical signals at the subwavelength scale. These structures can be fabricated on silicon-based platforms using nanofabrication techniques, offering new possibilities for optoelectronic simulation computing.

[0129] In addition to the above-mentioned solutions, other types of unit structures can be designed according to requirements to achieve on-chip integrated optical computing. The unit structures can have different functions and characteristics to meet different computing needs.

[0130] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 includes: an optical computing unit 3202-1 and a photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2 communicatively connected to the optical computing unit 3202-1; here, the optical computing unit 3202-1 is configured to perform calculation processing on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated, obtain the calculation result, and output the optical signal carrying the calculation result; the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2 is configured to convert the optical signal carrying the calculation result into an electrical signal and output it to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201.

[0131] It is understood that the optical computing sub-chip 3202 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure uses optical computing unit 3202-1 to perform calculation processing on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated and outputs an optical signal carrying the calculation result. Then, the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2 performs photoelectric conversion to obtain an electrical signal carrying the calculation result and outputs it to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201. In this way, optical computing can be realized to improve computing power, and the calculation result can also be transmitted to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 so that the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 can obtain the calculation result.

[0132] In some embodiments, the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated can be a signal from an external device of the computing chip 320. It is understood that the optical computing sub-chip 3202 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can perform optical calculations on the signal from the external device of the computing chip 320 and transmit the calculation results to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201. In this way, the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 does not need to perform calculations, thereby improving computing power.

[0133] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 further includes an optical emitting unit 3202-3, which is communicatively connected to the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4; the optical emitting unit 3202-3 is configured to emit an optical carrier, and the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated is obtained by the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 modulating the optical carrier based on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated.

[0134] It is understandable that when the optical computing sub-chip 3202 receives an optical signal carrying data to be computed from an external device of the computing chip 320, it can transmit an optical carrier through the optical transmitting unit 3202-3. Then, the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 modulates the optical carrier based on the optical signal carrying data to be computed from the external device to obtain an optical signal carrying data to be computed that can be output to the optical computing unit 3202-1, thereby realizing optical computing and improving computing power.

[0135] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the optical computing sub-chip 3202 further includes an electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 which is communicatively connected to the optical computing unit 3202-1. The electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 is configured to receive an electrical signal carrying data to be calculated, convert the electrical signal carrying the data to be calculated into an optical signal carrying the data to be calculated, and transmit it to the optical computing unit 3202-1.

[0136] In some embodiments, the electrical signal carrying the data to be calculated comes from the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 or from an external device of the computing chip 320.

[0137] It is understood that the optical computing sub-chip 3202 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can receive an electrical signal carrying data to be computed, and use an electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 to perform electro-optical conversion on the electrical signal carrying the data to be computed to obtain an optical signal carrying the data to be computed, which is then transmitted to the optical computing unit 3202-1 for optical computing. Furthermore, regardless of whether the electrical signal carrying the data to be computed comes from the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 or from an external device of the computing chip 320, the computation result can be transmitted to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201. In this way, optical computing can be realized without the need for the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 to perform electrical computing, thus improving computing power.

[0138] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG8, the electro-computing sub-chip 3201 includes: a control unit 3201-1 and an optical driving module 3201-2 communicatively connected to the control unit 3201-1. Here, the control unit 3201-1 is configured to output optical computing requirements, which include data to be computed, and the optical driving module 3201-2 is configured to send an electrical signal carrying the data to be computed to the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 according to the computing requirements.

[0139] It is understood that the electro-computing sub-chip 3201 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes a control unit 3201-1 and an optical driving module 3201-2. Here, the control unit 3201-1 can output an optical computing requirement including the data to be computed when there is an optical computing requirement. Then, the optical driving module 3201-2 sends an electrical signal carrying the data to be computed to the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 of the optical computing sub-chip 3202 to trigger the optical computing sub-chip 3202 to perform optical computing on the data to be computed, thereby improving computing power.

[0140] In some embodiments, the optical driving module 3201-2 is further configured to receive an electrical signal carrying the calculation result sent by the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2 and transmit it to the control unit 3201-1. It is understood that the optical driving module 3201-2 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure is also configured to receive the electrical signal carrying the calculation result sent by the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2 and transmit it to the control unit 3201-1, enabling the control unit 3201-1 to receive the calculation result in a timely manner. Thus, the electronic computing sub-chip 3201 can obtain the calculation result obtained from optical computing without performing electronic computing, thereby improving computing power.

[0141] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG9, the optical driving module 3201-2 includes an optical driving unit 3201-2-1 and a transimpedance amplifier 3201-2-2.

[0142] Here, the optical driving unit 3201-2-1 is communicatively connected to the control unit 3201-1 and the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 respectively; the optical driving unit 3201-2-1 is configured to send an electrical signal carrying the data to be calculated to the electro-optical conversion unit 3202-4 based on the optical computing requirements output by the control unit 3201-1.

[0143] One end of the transimpedance amplifier 3201-2-2 is communicatively connected to the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2, and the other end is communicatively connected to the control unit 3201-1. The transimpedance amplifier 3201-2-2 is configured to receive the electrical signal carrying the calculation result sent by the photoelectric conversion unit 3202-2, and transmit the electrical signal carrying the calculation result to the control unit 3201-1.

[0144] In some embodiments, the transimpedance amplifier 3201-2-2 is further configured to amplify the received electrical signal carrying the calculation result and transmit the amplified electrical signal to the control unit 3201-1.

[0145] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG9, the electronic computing sub-chip further includes a storage unit 3201-3, which is communicatively connected to the control unit 3201-1 and configured to store data. It is understood that the electronic computing sub-chip 3201 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure further includes a storage unit 3201-3 for storing data. For example, the storage unit 3201-3 is configured to store data received or generated by the control unit 3201-1. Thus, the combination of the storage unit 3201-3 and the control unit 3201-1 can improve the operating efficiency of the electronic computing sub-chip.

[0146] In some embodiments, the computing chip 320 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes at least one of the following: CPU, GPU, and NPU. It is understood that this disclosure does not limit the form of the computing chip 320.

[0147] The above is a description of the computing chip 320 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure.

[0148] It is understandable that, compared with related technologies that rely on electrical chips, resulting in low computing power and high power consumption, the computing chip 320 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes an electrical computing sub-chip 3201 and an optical computing sub-chip 3202, which can perform optical computing and then output the computing results to the electrical computing sub-chip 3201 in the form of an electrical signal, thereby improving the computing power of the entire vehicle.

[0149] III. Application Equipment

[0150] As shown in Figure 10, the application device 230 in some embodiments of this disclosure includes: an application device body 2301 and an optical communication component 2302.

[0151] In some embodiments, the optical communication component 2302 is configured to transmit data generated by the application device body 2301 in the form of an optical signal during the signal transmission period of the communication cycle of the application device 230; and to convert the received optical signal into an electrical signal and output it to the application device body 2301 during the signal reception period of the communication cycle.

[0152] In some embodiments, the application device body 2301 may include at least one of the following: a capturing device, a sensor, or an actuator. For example, an actuator can be understood as a display or an instrument; correspondingly, if the actuator is a display, the application device body 2301 can be a display. A sensor can be understood as radar; correspondingly, if the sensor is radar, the application device body 2301 can be radar. A capturing device can be understood as a camera; correspondingly, if the capturing device is a camera, the application device body 2301 can be a camera. The above are various examples provided for ease of understanding of the application device body 2301, and this disclosure does not limit it.

[0153] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG11, the optical communication component 2302 includes a photonics integrated circuit (PIC) 2302-1 and an electronic integrated circuit (EIC) 2302-2.

[0154] During the signal reception period of the communication cycle of the application device 230, the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1 outputs the received optical signal to the electronic integrated circuit 2302-2. The electronic integrated circuit 2302-2 converts the optical signal into an electrical signal and outputs it to the application device body 2301. During the signal transmission period of the communication cycle of the application device 230, the electronic integrated circuit 2302-2 drives the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1 to transmit the data generated by the application device body 2301 in the form of an optical signal.

[0155] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG11, the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1 includes an optical switch unit, an optical receiver unit, and an optical modulation unit. In some embodiments, FIG11 shows the optical receiver unit as an optical receiver PD and the optical modulation unit as an optical modulator (MOD).

[0156] The optical switching unit provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can be a single-pole double-throw switch or a single-pole multi-throw switch. When the optical switching unit is a single-pole double-throw switch, it may include a first terminal, a second terminal, and a third terminal. For example, as shown in FIG11, the first terminal of the optical switching unit is communicatively connected to a light source and configured to receive optical signals; the second terminal of the optical switching unit is communicatively connected to an optical receiving unit; and the third terminal of the optical switching unit is communicatively connected to an optical modulation unit.

[0157] Here, the optical switch unit is configured to conduct the optical path between the optical receiving unit and the light source during the signal receiving period; and to conduct the optical path between the optical modulation unit and the light source during the signal transmitting period; the optical receiving unit is configured to receive the optical signal from the light source during the signal receiving period and output the optical signal to the electronic integrated circuit; the optical modulation unit is configured to modulate the data generated by the application device body 2301 onto the optical signal of the light source and emit it during the signal transmitting period.

[0158] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG11, the electronic integrated circuit 2302-2 includes an optical drive unit (DRV) and a transimpedance amplifier (TIA). The input port of the transimpedance amplifier unit is communicatively connected to the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1, for example, to an optical receiving unit within the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1. The output port of the optical drive unit is communicatively connected to the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1, for example, to an optical modulation unit within the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1.

[0159] Here, the transimpedance amplifier, DRV, converts the optical signal from the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1 into an electrical signal and outputs it to the application device body 2301; the optical driving unit, DRV, drives the photonic integrated circuit 2302-1 to send the data generated by the application device body 2301 in the form of an optical signal.

[0160] In some embodiments, the electronic integrated circuit 2302-2 further includes a Media Access Control (MAC) chip. The input port of the MAC chip is communicatively connected to the output port of the transimpedance amplifier unit, the output port of the MAC chip is communicatively connected to the optical modulation unit, and the MAC chip is communicatively connected to the application device body 2301.

[0161] It should be noted that the MAC chip provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can determine when a node sends data packets and control the sending and receiving of data through the MAC communication protocol.

[0162] In the downlink scenario, the second terminal of the optical switch unit is closed, and the optical receiver unit receives the first optical signal (i.e., the downlink signal) from the optical fiber network 220, and outputs the first optical signal to the transimpedance amplifier unit. Correspondingly, the transimpedance amplifier unit can receive the first optical signal output by the optical receiver unit and convert it into a first electrical signal. Then, the transimpedance amplifier unit outputs this first electrical signal to the application device body 2301 through the MAC chip.

[0163] In the uplink scenario, the second end of the optical switch unit is closed, and the second electrical signal collected by the application device body 2301 flows through the output port of the MAC chip into the optical drive unit. The optical drive unit outputs the second electrical signal to the optical modulation unit, and then the optical modulation unit superimposes the second electrical signal onto the optical signal, thereby achieving modulation of the optical signal and obtaining the second optical signal (i.e., the uplink signal).

[0164] Here, the sum of the signal transmission time (e.g., uplink signal transmission time tup) and signal reception time (downlink signal reception time tdown) of the application device 230 should be less than or equal to the signal transmission time of the communication cycle of the application device 230.

[0165] It is understood that the application device 230 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can use an optical communication component to transmit data generated by the application device body 2301 in the form of optical signals, thereby improving data transmission efficiency. Furthermore, the optical communication component can also transmit data generated by the application device body 2301 in the form of optical signals during the signal transmission period of the application device 230, and convert the received optical signals into electrical signals and transmit them to the application device body 2301 during the signal reception period, thus improving the clarity and accuracy of signal transmission.

[0166] IV. LiDAR

[0167] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG12, the lidar 270 includes: a light detection component 2701 and a light feedback component 2702 communicatively connected to the light detection component 2701.

[0168] Here, the optical detection component 2701 is configured to perform phase modulation on the first optical signal from the optical fiber to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal; transmit the first phase-modulated optical signal to the outside world, and output the second phase-modulated optical signal to the optical feedback component 2702; the optical feedback component 2702 is configured to receive a laser echo signal carrying sensing information; couple the laser echo signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal to obtain a coupled optical signal; and transmit the coupled optical signal through the optical fiber.

[0169] It is understood that the lidar 270 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure modulates a first optical signal from an optical fiber to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal through phase modulation. Here, the first phase-modulated optical signal is used for sensing, and the second phase-modulated optical signal is coupled with a laser echo signal to obtain a coupled optical signal for communication, so as to provide sensing information to the controller 240. It can be seen that the lidar 270 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can achieve the integration of communication and sensing, improve resource utilization, and reduce power consumption; furthermore, the lidar 270 can transmit optical signals carrying sensing information through optical fibers, thereby improving data transmission rate.

[0170] In some embodiments, the phase difference between the first phase modulated optical signal and the second phase modulated optical signal is a preset first phase difference; or, the first phase modulated optical signal and the second phase modulated optical signal are orthogonal.

[0171] It is understood that the lidar 270 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can modulate the first optical signal from the optical fiber into two modulated optical signals that satisfy a preset first phase difference, or two modulated optical signals that satisfy phase orthogonality, in order to achieve the integration of communication and sensing, improve resource utilization, and reduce power consumption.

[0172] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG13, the optical detection component 2701 includes: a phase modulation unit 2701-1, a beam splitting unit 2701-2, and a light output unit 2701-3; the beam splitting unit 2701-2 is communicatively connected to the phase modulation unit 2701-1, the light output unit 2701-3, and the optical feedback component 2702, respectively.

[0173] Here, the phase modulation unit 2701-1 is configured to perform phase modulation on the first optical signal to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal; and is configured to output the first phase-modulated optical signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal to the beam splitting unit 2701-2; the beam splitting unit 2701-2 is configured to output the first phase-modulated optical signal to the light output unit 2701-3, and is configured to output the second phase-modulated optical signal to the optical feedback component 2702; the light output unit 2701-3 is configured to emit the first phase-modulated optical signal to the outside.

[0174] It is understood that the optical detection component 2701 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can perform phase modulation on the first optical signal through the phase modulation unit 2701-1 to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal. Then, the first phase-modulated optical signal is output to the light output unit 2701-3 for sensing through the beam splitting unit 2701-2, and the second phase-modulated optical signal is output to the optical feedback component 2702 for feedback of sensing information. In this way, the integration of communication and sensing can be realized, resource utilization can be improved, and power consumption can be reduced.

[0175] In some embodiments, the phase modulation unit 2701-1 can be an IQ modulator (IQ MOD), the beam splitting unit 2701-2 can be a beam splitter, and the light output unit 2701-3 can be a transmitter optical phased array (Tx OPA).

[0176] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG13, the optical feedback component 2702 includes a coupling unit 2702-1 and an optical receiving unit 2702-2, wherein the coupling unit 2702-1 is communicatively connected to the optical receiving unit 2702-2 and the optical detection component 2701.

[0177] Here, the optical receiving unit 2702-2 is configured to receive a laser echo signal carrying sensing information; output the laser echo signal to the coupling unit 2702-1; the coupling unit 2702-1 is configured to receive a second phase modulated optical signal from the beam splitting unit 2701-2; couple the laser echo signal and the second phase modulated optical signal to obtain a coupled optical signal; and transmit the coupled optical signal through an optical fiber.

[0178] It is understood that the optical feedback component 2702 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can receive the laser echo signal carrying sensing information through the optical receiving unit 2702-2 and output it to the coupling unit 2702-1. Then, the coupling unit 2702-1 couples the laser echo signal and the second phase modulated optical signal from the beam splitting unit 2701-2 to obtain a coupled optical signal and transmits it. In this way, while realizing sensing, the sensing information carried by the laser echo signal can be transmitted through the coupled optical signal to realize communication, improve resource utilization, and reduce power consumption.

[0179] In some embodiments, the coupling unit 2702-1 can be a coupler, and the optical receiving unit 2702-2 can be a receiver optical phased array (Rx OPA).

[0180] In some embodiments, the lidar 270 is connected to the computing chip 320 via optical fiber communication, and the computing chip 320 is configured to acquire the sensing information based on the first optical signal and the coupled optical signal.

[0181] As can be seen, the lidar 270 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure can achieve the integration of communication and sensing, improve resource utilization, and reduce power consumption; and the lidar 270 can send the coupled optical signal carrying sensing information to the computing chip 320 through optical fiber, and the computing chip 320 can obtain the sensing information based on the first light-year signal and the coupled optical signal. On the one hand, it improves the data transmission rate, and on the other hand, it also facilitates the computing chip 320 to perform calculations on the sensing information.

[0182] Here, the computing chip can be the computing chip 320 shown in Figure 8 or Figure 9. This computing chip 320 can use an optical computing sub-chip to realize optical computing, thereby improving computing power.

[0183] In some embodiments, the photodetector component 2701 and the photofeedback component 2702 in the lidar 270 described above can be integrated on a silicon photonics platform. It is understood that some embodiments of this disclosure can combine a silicon photonics platform to highly integrate the beam splitter unit 2701-2, the phase modulation unit 2701-1, the coupling unit 2702-1, the light receiver unit 2702-2, and the light transmitter unit, allowing more devices to be integrated within a limited chip space, reducing the size of the lidar system and lowering costs. Furthermore, it can optimize the optical path design, reduce signal loss and interference during transmission, and help improve the lidar's ranging accuracy, detection range, and anti-interference capability.

[0184] In some embodiments, the lidar 270 can be a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) lidar.

[0185] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG14, the FMCW lidar includes: a phase modulator IQ MOD, a beam splitter, a light emitting unit Tx OPA, a coupler, and a light receiving unit Rx OPA. The light source module 210 transmits wavelength λ to the FMCW lidar. i The optical signal enters the phase modulator IQ MOD, which modulates the input wavelength λi of the optical signal into two optical signals with different phases. and light signal And send optical signals to the beam splitter. and light signal

[0186] It should be understood that light signals and light signal They typically have a small phase difference to support subsequent coherent detection.

[0187] A beam splitter can convert the modulated optical signal and light signal It is divided into two paths. One path is used for transmission, and the other path is used for coupling with the received laser echo signal.

[0188] Here, the light emitting unit Tx OPA emits a light signal, and the resulting laser echo signal after encountering an object is received by the light receiving unit Rx OPA. It can be used with optical signal λ at the coupler i (φφ) optical coupling, forming The coupled optical signal is output to the controller 240 through the coupler, and the controller 240 can then provide computing power to analyze and extract the sensing information.

[0189] V. Fiber Optic Network

[0190] In some embodiments, the fiber optic network 220 may be a ring optical network.

[0191] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG15, the optical fiber network 220 includes an optical fiber main line 221, which is communicatively connected to a controller 240. At least one application device 230 is connected to the optical fiber main line 221 to communicate with the controller 240. The optical fiber main line 221 and the controller 240 are communicatively connected through an optical transmitter 280 and an optical receiver 260. The controller 240 sends downlink optical signals to the optical fiber main line 221 and the application device 230 through the optical transmitter 280. The controller 240 is also configured to receive uplink optical signals from the optical fiber main line 221 through the optical receiver 260.

[0192] In some embodiments, the optical emitting device 280 includes a light source module 210 and a downlink optical modulator configured to modulate a second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal.

[0193] It is understandable that, compared to traditional vehicle Ethernet data transmission solutions, some embodiments of this disclosure use a fiber optic network 220 for data transmission, which avoids the latency issues of Ethernet and significantly improves the real-time performance of data transmission. Here, the fiber optic network 220 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes a fiber optic main line 221, and at least one application device 230 can access the fiber optic main line 221 to communicate with the controller 240, thereby realizing the transmission of uplink and downlink optical signals and effectively improving real-time transmission performance.

[0194] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG16, the optical fiber network 220 further includes N optical fiber branches 222, which are connected to the optical fiber main line 221. The N optical fiber branches 222 are respectively used to transmit light waves of N wavelengths from the optical fiber main line 221. The light waves are transmitted by the optical transmitting device 280 and are at least one of optical carrier or optical signal.

[0195] At least one application device i in application device 230 is connected to the main optical fiber 221 through an optical fiber branch 222 among N optical fiber branches 222 that matches the wavelength supported by application device i.

[0196] Among the N fiber optic branches 222, fiber optic branch i satisfies at least one of the following:

[0197] The optical carrier i transmitted in optical fiber branch i in N optical fiber branches 222 is configured to modulate the uplink optical signal of the application device i connected to optical fiber branch i; or, the optical signal i transmitted in optical fiber branch i in N optical fiber branches 222 is a downlink optical signal sent to the application device i connected to optical fiber branch i.

[0198] Here, N is an integer, N is greater than or equal to 2, and i is a positive integer, i ≤ N.

[0199] It is understood that application device i is any one of at least one application device 230.

[0200] In some embodiments, the two ends of the optical fiber branch i are respectively connected to the optical fiber main branch 221.

[0201] It is understood that the optical fiber network 220 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes N optical fiber mains 221, which are configured to transmit at least one of N wavelength optical carriers or N wavelength downlink optical signals. At least one application device 230 can access the corresponding optical fiber branch 222 among the N optical fiber branches 222. In this way, the application device 230 can modulate the optical carriers transmitted on the optical fiber branch 222 to obtain uplink optical signals and downlink optical signals transmitted on the optical fiber branch 222, thereby realizing signal transmission with the controller 240 and effectively improving the real-time performance of transmission.

[0202] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG16, the fiber optic network 220 further includes a dewavelength division multiplexer 223 and a wavelength division multiplexer 224.

[0203] Here, the demultiplexer 223 is connected between the light source module 210 and multiple fiber optic branches 222, and is configured to decompose the various optical signals of different wavelengths output by the light source module 210 into multiple single-wavelength optical signals of different wavelengths, and output them to their respective corresponding fiber optic branches 222.

[0204] In some embodiments, the demultiplexer 223 decomposes multiple optical signals of different wavelengths into: an optical signal with wavelength λ1, an optical signal with wavelength λ2, and an optical signal with wavelength λ3. Here, wavelength λ... i The range can be between [850, 1650nm].

[0205] The input of wavelength division multiplexer 224 is communicatively connected to multiple optical fiber branches 222 and is configured to combine and output the single-wavelength optical signals transmitted in each of the multiple optical fiber branches 222.

[0206] In some embodiments, the fiber optic network 220 may also be in star, tree, or daisy-chain configurations, and this disclosure does not limit this configuration.

[0207] In some embodiments, as shown in Figure 16, a time-division scheme is used between different application devices 230. Here, for n (n≥1) application devices 230, the signal transmission time of each application device 230 is t. n .

[0208] It should be understood that the signal transmission time may be the same or different for different application devices 230.

[0209] For a single application device 230, the total time is t. n Here, the time for the controller 240 to send a signal (i.e., a downlink signal) to the application device 230 is t. down The time t is when the application device 230 sends a signal (i.e., an uplink signal) to the controller 240. up , then t down +t up ≤t n .

[0210] It should be understood that the signal sent by the controller 240 to the application device 230 can be a downlink signal, and the signal sent by the application device 230 to the controller 240 can be an uplink signal.

[0211] Understandably, when the nth application device 230 is operational, the optical signal emitted from the light source module 210 is divided into multiple single-wavelength optical signals with different wavelengths by the wavelength division multiplexer 223, such as λ1, λ2, and λ3 mentioned above. These multiple single-wavelength optical signals then pass through their respective application devices 230 (e.g., cameras, sensors, or actuators) to complete the data transmission of uplink and downlink signals.

[0212] In some embodiments, as shown in FIG17, the optical fiber network 220 includes N optical fiber mains 221, and the optical transmitter 280 is configured to transmit at least one of N wavelength optical carriers or N wavelength downlink optical signals to the N optical fiber mains 221; the N optical fiber mains 221 are respectively used to perform at least one of the following: transmitting N wavelength optical carriers; or transmitting N wavelength downlink optical signals; at least one application device i in the application device 230 communicates with the controller 240 through an optical fiber main 221 of the N optical fiber mains 221 that matches the wavelength supported by the application device i.

[0213] Here, N is an integer, N is greater than or equal to 2, and i is a positive integer, i ≤ N.

[0214] In some embodiments, the light emitting device 280 includes N light source modules 210 for emitting optical carriers of N wavelengths, or for emitting downlink optical signals of N wavelengths. In some embodiments, the light source modules 210 are shown in FIG17 as LDs.

[0215] In some embodiments, N fiber optic mains 221 are communicatively connected to the controller 240 via N optical receivers 260. In some embodiments, the optical receivers 260 are shown in FIG17 as PDs.

[0216] It is understood that the optical fiber network 220 provided in some embodiments of this disclosure includes N optical fiber mains 221. The N optical fiber mains 221 are configured to transmit at least one of N wavelength optical carriers or N wavelength downlink optical signals emitted by the optical transmitter 280. At least one application device 230 can access the corresponding optical fiber main 221 based on the wavelength. In this way, the application device 230 can modulate the optical carriers transmitted on the optical fiber main 221 to obtain uplink optical signals and downlink optical signals transmitted on the optical fiber main 221, thereby realizing communication with the controller 240 and effectively improving the real-time performance of transmission.

[0217] In some embodiments, at least one application device 230 includes a first application device and a second application device, wherein the first application device supports a first wavelength and the second application device supports a second wavelength, and the first application device and the second application device are of different types.

[0218] In some embodiments, the fiber optic main 221 includes at least one loop.

[0219] In some embodiments, the fiber optic main 221 includes multiple loops.

[0220] In some embodiments, the fiber optic main path 221 includes a first ring loop and a second ring loop, as well as a transmitting segment and a receiving segment shared by the first ring loop and the second ring loop. In some embodiments, the first ring loop and the second ring loop include a shared transmitting segment and a shared receiving segment; the first ring loop also includes a first loop segment connected to the transmitting segment and the receiving segment; the second ring loop also includes a second loop segment connected to the transmitting segment and the receiving segment, the transmitting segment being connected to an optical transmitting device 280, and the receiving segment being connected to an optical receiving device 260.

[0221] In some embodiments, the first loop segment and the second loop segment satisfy at least one of the following: the first loop segment and the second loop segment are connected to the transmitting segment via a beam splitter; or, the first loop segment and the second loop segment are connected to the receiving segment via a beam splitter. This allows for a better formation of a dual-ring network structure.

[0222] It is understood that the optical communication system provided in some embodiments of this disclosure replaces the traditional vehicle Ethernet with a fiber optic network, thereby avoiding the time-consuming and latency problems of Ethernet, and significantly improving the real-time performance of data transmission, further ensuring the timeliness and accuracy of vehicle control.

[0223] In the embodiments provided in this disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and devices can be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For instance, the division of units is only a logical functional division, and in actual implementation, there may be other division methods. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Furthermore, the coupling or direct coupling or communication connection shown or discussed may be through some interfaces; the indirect coupling or communication connection between devices or units may be electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0224] The units described as separate components may or may not be physically separate. The components shown as units may or may not be physical units; that is, they may be located in one place or distributed across multiple network units. Some or all of the units can be selected to achieve the purpose of this embodiment according to actual needs.

[0225] In addition, the functional units in the various embodiments of this disclosure can be integrated into one processing unit, or each unit can exist physically separately, or two or more units can be integrated into one unit.

[0226] The above are merely specific embodiments of this disclosure, but the scope of protection of this disclosure is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the scope of the technology disclosed in this disclosure should be included within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Therefore, the scope of protection of this disclosure should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A computing chip, comprising: Electronic computing chip; as well as An optical computing sub-chip that is communicatively connected to the electrical computing sub-chip; The optical computing sub-chip is configured to receive an optical signal carrying data to be computed; The calculation result is obtained based on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated; the calculation result is output to the electronic computing sub-chip in the form of an electrical signal.

2. The computing chip according to claim 1, wherein, The optical computing sub-chip includes: Optical computing unit; and The photoelectric conversion unit is communicatively connected to the optical computing unit. The optical computing unit performs calculation processing on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated and outputs an optical signal carrying the calculation result. The photoelectric conversion unit is configured to convert the optical signal carrying the calculation result into an electrical signal and output it to the electrical computing sub-chip.

3. The computing chip according to claim 2, wherein, The optical signal carrying the data to be calculated is a signal from an external device of the computing chip.

4. The computing chip according to claim 2, wherein, The optical computing sub-chip further includes an electro-optical conversion unit that is communicatively connected to the optical computing unit. The electro-optical conversion unit is configured to receive an electrical signal carrying data to be computed, convert the electrical signal carrying the data to be computed into an optical signal carrying the data to be computed, and transmit it to the optical computing unit. The electrical signal carrying the data to be computed comes from the optical computing sub-chip or from an external device of the computing chip.

5. The computing chip according to claim 4, wherein, The optical computing sub-chip also includes an optical emitting unit, which is communicatively connected to the electro-optical conversion unit. The optical emitting unit is configured to emit an optical carrier, and the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated is obtained by the electro-optical conversion unit modulating the optical carrier based on the optical signal carrying the data to be calculated.

6. The computing chip according to claim 4, wherein, The electronic computing chip includes: Control unit; and The optical drive module is communicatively connected to the control unit; The control unit is configured to output optical computing requirements, which include data to be computed, and the optical driving module is configured to send an electrical signal carrying the data to be computed to the electro-optical conversion unit according to the optical computing requirements.

7. The computing chip according to claim 6, wherein, The optical driving module is also configured to receive the electrical signal carrying the calculation result sent by the photoelectric conversion unit and transmit it to the control unit.

8. The computing chip according to claim 6, wherein, The computing chip is a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or a network processing unit (NPU).

9. A lidar, comprising: Optical detection components; as well as An optical feedback component that is communicatively connected to the optical detection component; The optical detection component is configured to phase modulate a first optical signal from an optical fiber to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal. The first phase-modulated optical signal is emitted to the outside world, and the second phase-modulated optical signal is output to the optical feedback component; The optical feedback component is configured to receive a laser echo signal carrying sensing information; couple the laser echo signal with the second phase-modulated optical signal to obtain a coupled optical signal; and transmit the coupled optical signal through the optical fiber.

10. The lidar according to claim 9, wherein, The phase difference between the first phase-modulated optical signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal is a preset first phase difference, or The first phase-modulated optical signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal are orthogonal.

11. The lidar according to claim 9 or 10, wherein, The optical detection component includes: Phase modulation unit; spectral splitter; and light emitting unit; The beam splitting unit is communicatively connected to the phase modulation unit, the light output unit, and the optical feedback component; The phase modulation unit is configured to perform phase modulation on the first optical signal to obtain a first phase-modulated optical signal and a second phase-modulated optical signal; and to output the first phase-modulated optical signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal to the beam splitting unit; The beam splitting unit is configured to output the first phase-modulated optical signal to the light output unit and the second phase-modulated optical signal to the optical feedback component; The light-emitting unit is configured to emit the first phase-modulated light signal to the outside world.

12. The lidar according to claim 11, wherein, The optical feedback component includes: Coupled unit; and Optical receiving unit; The coupling unit is communicatively connected to the optical receiving unit and the optical detection component; The optical receiving unit is configured to receive a laser echo signal carrying sensing information and output the laser echo signal to the coupling unit. The coupling unit is configured to receive a second phase-modulated optical signal from the beam splitter; couple the laser echo signal and the second phase-modulated optical signal to obtain a coupled optical signal; and transmit the coupled optical signal through the optical fiber.

13. The lidar according to claim 9, wherein, The lidar is connected to a computing chip via the optical fiber communication, and the computing chip is configured to acquire the sensing information based on the first optical signal and the coupled optical signal.

14. The lidar according to claim 13, wherein, The computing chip is the computing chip according to any one of claims 1-8.

15. A controller, comprising a first chip and a second chip, wherein the first chip and the second chip transmit information or data via optical signals; or an optical communication transmission path is established between the first chip and the second chip.

16. The controller according to claim 15, wherein, The controller is a central controller.

17. The controller according to claim 15, wherein, The first chip is one of the following: microcontroller unit (MCU), graphics processor (GPU), central processing unit (CPU), network processor (NPU), programmable array logic (FPGA), application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and image signal processor (ISP). The first chip is a computing chip according to any one of claims 1-8.

18. An optical communication system, comprising: Light source module; Fiber optic networks; At least one application device; as well as Controller; The light source module, the at least one application device, and the controller are connected via the optical fiber network. The light source module is configured to transmit multiple optical carriers; The first application device in the at least one application device is configured to receive a first optical carrier sent by the light source module through the optical fiber network, modulate the first optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal, and send the uplink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network. The controller is configured to receive a second optical carrier sent by the light source module, modulate the second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal, and send the downlink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network.

19. The optical communication system according to claim 18, wherein, The first application device is configured to perform at least one of the following: During the signal transmission cycle of the first application device, the device receives the optical carrier transmitted by the light source module, modulates the received optical carrier to generate an uplink optical signal, and transmits the uplink optical signal to the controller through the optical fiber network. or During the signal reception period of the first application device, the downlink optical signal is received through the optical fiber network.

20. The optical communication system according to claim 18 further includes a lidar; The lidar is configured to receive a third optical carrier from the light source module via the optical fiber network, use the third optical carrier to detect and output an optical signal carrying the detected sensing information, and transmit the optical signal carrying the detected sensing information to the controller via the optical fiber network.

21. The optical communication system according to claim 20, wherein, The lidar is a lidar according to any one of claims 9-14, the first optical signal is obtained based on the third optical carrier, and the optical signal carrying the sensing information is the coupled optical signal.

22. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 18-21, wherein, The first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by the same optical transmitting unit; or The first optical carrier and the second optical carrier are transmitted by different optical transmitting units; The light source module includes a first light emitting unit and a second light emitting unit. The first light emitting unit is configured to transmit the first light carrier, and the second light emitting unit is configured to transmit the second light carrier. The first light emitting unit and the second light emitting unit are centrally located.

23. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 18-21, wherein, The controller and the light source module are deployed in the same area of ​​the vehicle.

24. The optical communication system according to claim 18, wherein, The light source module and the optical fiber network include an optical fiber main line, which is communicatively connected to the controller. The at least one application device is connected to the optical fiber main line to communicate with the controller. The optical fiber main line and the controller are communicatively connected through an optical transmitter and an optical receiver. The controller sends downlink optical signals to the optical fiber main line and the application device through the optical transmitter. The controller is also configured to receive the uplink optical signals from the optical fiber main line through the optical receiver. The optical emitting device includes the light source module and also includes a downlink optical modulator configured to modulate the second optical carrier to obtain a downlink optical signal.

25. The optical communication system according to claim 24, wherein, The optical fiber network further includes N optical fiber branches, which are connected to the main optical fiber; the N optical fiber branches are respectively used to transmit light waves of N wavelengths from the main optical fiber, the light waves are transmitted by the optical transmitting device, and the light waves are at least one of optical carrier or optical signal; The application device i in the at least one application device is connected to the main optical fiber through an optical fiber branch among the N optical fiber branches that matches the wavelength supported by the application device i. Fiber optic branch i among the N fiber optic branches satisfies at least one of the following: In the N optical fiber branches, the optical carrier i transmitted in optical fiber branch i is configured to modulate the uplink optical signal with the application device i connected to optical fiber branch i; or In the N optical fiber branches, the optical signal i transmitted in optical fiber branch i is a downlink optical signal sent to the application device i connected to optical fiber branch i; Where N is an integer, N is greater than or equal to 2, and i is a positive integer, i ≤ N.

26. The optical communication system according to claim 25, wherein, The two ends of the optical fiber branch i are respectively connected to the optical fiber main line.

27. The optical communication system according to claim 25 or 26, wherein, The fiber optic network also includes: Demultiplexer; and Wavelength division multiplexer; The dewavelength division multiplexer is connected between the light source module and the N optical fiber branches, and the dewavelength division multiplexer is configured to decompose the multiple different wavelength optical signals output by the light source module into multiple single wavelength optical signals with different wavelengths, and output them to their respective corresponding optical fiber branches in the N optical fiber branches. The input of the wavelength division multiplexer is communicatively connected to the N optical fiber branches, and the wavelength division multiplexer is configured to combine and output the single-wavelength optical signals transmitted in each of the N optical fiber branches.

28. The optical communication system according to claim 24, wherein, The optical fiber network includes N optical fiber mains, and the optical transmitting device is configured to perform at least one of the following: transmit optical carriers of N wavelengths to the N optical fiber mains; or transmit downlink optical signals of N wavelengths to the N optical fiber mains; The N fiber optic mains are each used to perform at least one of the following: transmitting optical carriers of the N wavelengths; or Transmitting downlink optical signals of the N wavelengths; Application device i in the at least one application device communicates with the controller through an optical fiber main path among the N optical fiber main paths that matches the wavelength supported by application device i; Where N is an integer, N is greater than or equal to 2, and i is a positive integer, i ≤ N.

29. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 25-28, wherein, The optical transmitting device includes N optical transmitting units, which are configured to transmit optical carriers of the N wavelengths or to transmit downlink optical signals of the N wavelengths.

30. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 25-28, wherein, The at least one application device includes: A first application device, wherein the wavelength supported by the first application device is a first wavelength; and The second application device supports a second wavelength. The first application device and the second application device are of different types.

31. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 24-30, wherein, The fiber optic main path includes at least one loop.

32. The optical communication system according to claim 31, wherein, The fiber optic main path includes multiple ring loops.

33. The optical communication system according to claim 32, wherein, The fiber optic main path includes: First circular loop; and Second loop; The first ring circuit and the second ring circuit include a shared transmitting segment and a shared receiving segment. The first ring circuit also includes a first loop segment connected to the transmitting segment and the receiving segment. The second ring circuit also includes a second loop segment connected to the transmitting segment and the receiving segment. The transmitting segment is connected to the optical transmitting device, and the receiving segment is connected to the optical receiving device.

34. The optical communication system according to claim 33, wherein at least one of the following is satisfied: The first loop segment and the second loop segment are connected to the transmitting segment via a beam splitter; or, The first loop segment and the second loop segment are connected to the receiving segment via the optical splitter.

35. The optical communication system according to any one of claims 18-34, wherein, The controller is the controller according to any one of claims 15-17.

36. A vehicle comprising a body; and at least one of the following: The computing chip according to any one of claims 1 to 8; LiDAR according to any one of claims 9 to 14; The controller according to any one of claims 15 to 17; or The optical communication system according to any one of claims 18 to 35.

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