Wide-View LiDAR Scanning With Adaptive Resolution Regions
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional LIDAR systems have limitations in providing adaptive angular resolution, leading to suboptimal object detection and navigation in autonomous vehicles, particularly in identifying edges of objects, moving objects, distant objects, and objects with insufficient resolution in dynamic environments.
Innovation Solution
A LIDAR device with dynamically adjustable angular resolution by modifying the pulse rate or beam slew rate to enhance scanning resolution in specific regions of the environmental scene, allowing for higher spatial resolution in areas critical for navigation and obstacle avoidance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the LIDAR system uses a fixed pulse rate and beam slew rate, then the system operation is simple, but the angular resolution cannot be enhanced in specific regions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamically adjustable pulse rate and beam slew rate in the LIDAR system. The controller modifies these parameters in real-time based on detected objects and regions of interest, enabling enhanced angular resolution in specific areas while maintaining standard resolution elsewhere. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by making the system adaptable rather than fixed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different scanning resolutions to different regions of the scanning zone. High-resolution scanning is concentrated on identified objects and their edges, while peripheral regions use standard resolution. This local differentiation enhances measurement precision where needed without uniformly increasing system complexity across the entire scanning zone.
2Measurement precision
If the LIDAR system scans the entire scene at high resolution, then the measurement precision is improved, but the scanning time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent concentrates high-resolution scanning only on identified objects and their surrounding regions, while using standard resolution for the rest of the scanning zone. This selective approach improves measurement precision for critical objects without requiring the entire scene to be scanned at high resolution, thereby reducing total scanning time.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies high-resolution scanning partially, only to regions containing objects of interest rather than uniformly across the entire scanning zone. This partial application of high-resolution scanning achieves sufficient measurement precision for navigation and obstacle avoidance without the time penalty of scanning every region at maximum resolution.
3Measurement precision
If the LIDAR system uses standard angular resolution, then the scanning speed is maintained, but the object detection accuracy is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the beam slew rate and pulse rate based on detected objects. When an object is identified, the system increases the scanning density and resolution in that region by modifying the pulse rate and beam slew rate, thereby improving object detection accuracy without maintaining high speed across the entire scanning zone.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes operational parameters (pulse rate and beam slew rate) dynamically based on scene content. By increasing these parameters in regions containing objects of interest, the system achieves higher object detection accuracy where needed while maintaining faster scanning speeds in regions without objects, resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and scanning speed.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables improved object detection and navigation by providing enhanced angular resolution in identified regions, exceeding the theoretical maximums of conventional LIDAR systems, thereby enhancing the accuracy and reliability of autonomous vehicle operations.
Implementation Method 1
Individual points are measured by generating a laser pulse and detecting a returning pulse, if any, reflected from an environmental object
Implementation Method 2
determining the distance to the reflective object according to the time delay between the emitted pulse and the reception of the reflected pulse
Implementation Method 3
The solid angle defined by each emitted light pulse is influenced by the narrowness of the emitted pulse (e.g., the amount of beam divergence)
Data Source
AI summary
A system and method include scanning a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device through a range of orientations corresponding to a scanning zone while emitting light pulses from the LIDAR device. The method also includes receiving returning light pulses corresponding to the light pulses emitted from the LIDAR device and determining initial point cloud data based on time delays between emitting the light pulses and receiving the corresponding returning light pulses and the orientations of the LIDAR device. The initial point cloud data has an initial angular resolution. The method includes identifying, based on the initial point cloud data, a reflective feature in the scanning zone and determining an enhancement region and an enhanced angular resolution for a subsequent scan to provide a higher spatial resolution in at least a portion of subsequent point cloud data from the subsequent scan corresponding to the reflective feature.