Lidar system and autonomous driving system using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11073390-B2
Application number	US-201916590632-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 2, 2019
Priority date	Aug 30, 2019
Publication date	Jul 27, 2021
Grant date	Jul 27, 2021

Abstract

Provided are a lidar system and an autonomous driving system using the same. The lidar system includes: a light emitter configured to include a light source generating a laser beam and a scanner moving the laser beam from the light source to scan an object with the laser beam; a receiving sensor configured to convert light reflected and received by the object into an electrical signal; and a signal processor configured to include a trans impedance amplifier amplifying an output signal of the receiving sensor, an analog to digital converter converting an output signal of the trans impedance amplifier into a digital signal, and a gain controller varying a gain of the trans impedance amplifier. According to the lidar system, an autonomous vehicle, an AI device, and an external device may be linked with an artificial intelligence module, a drone, a robot, an Augmented or Virtual Reality device, etc.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A lidar system, comprising:
a light emitter configured to include a light source generating a laser beam and a scanner moving the laser beam from the light source to scan an object with the laser beam;
a receiving sensor configured to convert light reflected and received by the object into an electrical signal; and
a signal processor including a trans impedance amplifier that is configured to amplify an output signal of the receiving sensor, an analog to digital converter that is configured to convert an output signal of the trans impedance amplifier into a digital signal, and a gain controller that is configured to vary a gain of the trans impedance amplifier,
wherein the receiving sensor includes:
a first optical sensor configured to receive light from a long distance object and
a second optical sensor configured to receive light from a short distance object,

wherein the trans impedance amplifier includes:
a plurality of trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection configured to have differently set gain values to amplify an output signal of the first optical sensor; and
a plurality of trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection configured to have differently set gain values to amplify an output signal of the second optical sensor,

wherein the gain controller is configured to adjust the gain of the trans impedance amplifier depending on a detection distance of the lidar system.

2. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the gain controller is configured to adjust the gain of the trans impedance amplifier based on one or more of a speed of a vehicle, a road surface condition of a road on which the vehicle travels, or traveling environment information received from a network.

3. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the gain controller includes a switch array configured to be disposed between the first optical sensor and the second optical sensors and the trans impedance amplifiers, and
wherein the switch array connects the first optical sensor to any one of the trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection under a control of the gain controller, and connects the second optical sensor to any one of the trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection under the control of the gain controller.

4. The lidar system of claim 3 , wherein a maximum gain value of the trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection is lower than that of the trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection.

5. The lidar system of claim 4 , wherein based on the lidar system being mounted on a front bumper of a vehicle, the second optical sensor is connected to a trans impedance amplifier having a gain greater than or equal to a median value among the trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection.

6. The lidar system of claim 5 , wherein based on the lidar system being mounted on a front windshield of the vehicle, the second optical sensor is connected to a trans impedance amplifier having a gain lower than the median value among the trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection.

7. The lidar system of claim 1 , further comprising:
a signal modulator configured to modulate a digital signal output from an analog-to-digital converter by multiplying or adding a gain, and
wherein the gain controller is configured to adjust the gain of the signal modulator depending on the detection distance of the lidar system.

8. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein each of the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor includes a photo-diode to convert the received light into an electrical signal.

9. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor are arranged in a matrix type to convert the received light from the long distance object and the short distance object into current.

10. An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
a lidar system configured to irradiate a laser beam to an outside of a vehicle to detect an object outside the vehicle; and
an autonomous driving device configured to receive sensor data received from the lidar system to reflect information on the object to movement control of the vehicle,
wherein the lidar system includes:
a light emitter configured to include a light source generating a laser beam and a scanner moving the laser beam from the light source to scan an object with the laser beam;
a receiving sensor configured to convert light reflected and received by the object into an electrical signal; and
a signal processor including a trans impedance amplifier configured to amplify an output signal of the receiving sensor, an analog to digital converter configured to convert an output signal of the trans impedance amplifier into a digital signal, and a gain controller configured to vary a gain of the trans impedance amplifier, and

wherein the receiving sensor includes:
a first optical sensor configured to receive light from a long distance object; and
a second optical sensor configured to receive light from a short distance object,

wherein the trans impedance amplifier includes:
a plurality of trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection configured to have differently set gain values to amplify an output signal of a first optical sensor; and
a plurality of trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection configured to have differently set gain values to amplify an output signal of the second optical sensor, and

wherein the gain controller is configured to adjust the gain of the trans impedance amplifier depending on a detection distance of the lidar system.

11. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the gain controller is configured to adjust the gain of the trans impedance amplifier based on one or more of a speed of a vehicle, a road surface condition of a road on which the vehicle travels, or traveling environment information received from a network.

12. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the gain controller includes a switch array configured to be disposed between the optical sensors and the trans impedance amplifiers, and
wherein the switch array connects the first optical sensor to any one of the trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection under a control of the gain controller, and connects the second optical sensor to any one of the trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection under a control of the gain controller.

13. The autonomous vehicle of claim 12 , wherein a maximum gain value of the trans impedance amplifiers for short distance detection is lower than that of the trans impedance amplifiers for long distance detection.

14. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10 , wherein each of the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor includes a photo-diode to convert the received light into an electrical signal.

15. The autonomous vehicle of claim 10 , wherein the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor are arranged in a matrix type to convert the received light from the long distance object and the short distance object into current.

16. A lidar system, comprising:
a light emitter configured to include a light source generating a laser beam and a scanner moving the laser beam from the light source to scan an object with the laser beam;
a receiving sensor configured to convert light reflected and received by the object into an electrical signal;
a signal processor including a trans impedance amplifier configured to amplify an output signal of the receiving sensor, an analog to digital converter configured to convert an output signal of the trans impedance amplifier into a

Assignees

• Lg Electronics Inc

Inventors

• Lee Jejong

Classifications

• G01S2013/93274

  on the side of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S2013/93272

  in the back of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S2013/93271

  in the front of the vehicles · CPC title

• G01S2013/9324

  Alternative operation using ultrasonic waves · CPC title

• G01S2013/9323

  Alternative operation using light waves · CPC title