Multispectral ranging and imaging systems

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12320696-B2
Application number	US-202418770086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 11, 2024
Priority date	Aug 9, 2018
Publication date	Jun 3, 2025
Grant date	Jun 3, 2025

Abstract

A multispectral sensor array can include a combination of ranging sensor channels (e.g., LIDAR sensor channels) and ambient-light sensor channels tuned to detect ambient light having a channel-specific property (e.g., color). The sensor channels can be arranged and spaced to provide multispectral images of a field of view in which the multispectral images from different sensors are inherently aligned with each other to define an array of multispectral image pixels. Various optical elements can be provided to facilitate imaging operations. Light ranging/imaging systems incorporating multispectral sensor arrays can operate in rotating and/or static modes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A sensor array having a plurality of sensor rows, each sensor row comprising:
a LIDAR sensor channel including:
a LIDAR channel input aperture;
a photosensor;
a collimating lens element between the LIDAR channel input aperture and the photosensor; and
a LIDAR optical filter to pass light at the LIDAR signaling wavelength; and

a set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels, wherein each ambient-light sensor channel includes:
an ambient-light channel input aperture;
a photosensor;
a light guide disposed between the ambient-light channel input aperture and the photosensor; and
a channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes ambient light having a channel-specific property to the photosensor.

2. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein, for each of the one or more ambient-light sensor channels, the channel-specific optical filter is disposed on an end of the light guide proximate to the ambient-light channel input aperture.

3. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes at least two ambient-light sensor channels having respective channel-specific optical filters that are different from each other.

4. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes a white channel in which the channel-specific optical filter has a passband that encompasses at least the visible light spectrum.

5. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes:
a first color channel having a first channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes light having a first range of wavelengths; and
a second color channel having a second channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes light having a second range of wavelengths,
wherein the first range and the second range are overlapping ranges.

6. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes one or more polarization channels in which the channel-specific optical filter selectively passes light having a particular polarization property.

7. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes:
one or more color channels, wherein the channel-specific optical filter for each of the one or more color channels selectively passes light having a different range of wavelengths; and
one or more polarization channels in which the channel-specific optical filter selectively passes light having a particular polarization property.

8. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes at least two ambient-light sensor channels, each having a different channel-specific optical filter, and wherein the ambient-light sensor channels in a given sensor row are spaced apart from each other by a uniform pitch.

9. The sensor array of claim 8 wherein the LIDAR sensor channel in a given sensor row is spaced apart from a nearest one of the ambient-light sensor channels in the given sensor row by the uniform pitch or by a distance that is an integer multiple of the uniform pitch.

10. The sensor array of claim 9 wherein adjacent sensor rows are spaced apart from each other by the uniform pitch.

11. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the photosensor of each of the one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes one or more single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) operated in a photon-counting mode and wherein each LIDAR sensor channel also includes one or more SPADs operated in a photon-counting mode.

12. The sensor array of claim 1 wherein the sensor array is fabricated as a single ASIC.

13. The sensor array of claim 12 further comprising:
a data buffer disposed within the ASIC and configured to store data from two or more of the LIDAR sensor channels and two or more of the ambient-light sensor channels; and
a processing circuit disposed within the ASIC and configured to perform an image processing operation on the data stored in the data buffer.

14. A ranging/imaging system comprising:
a stationary base;
a sensor array rotationally coupled to the stationary base, the sensor array having a plurality of sensor rows, each sensor row including:
a LIDAR sensor channel including:
a LIDAR channel input aperture;
a photosensor;
a collimating lens element between the LIDAR channel input aperture and the photosensor; and
a LIDAR optical filter to pass light at the LIDAR signaling wavelength; and

a set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels, wherein each ambient-light sensor channel includes:
an ambient-light channel input aperture;
a photosensor;
a light guide disposed between the ambient-light channel input aperture and the photosensor; and
a channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes ambient light having a channel-specific property to the photosensor;

a bulk optical module disposed in front of the sensor array and configured to focus incident light on an aperture plane common to the LIDAR sensor channels and the ambient-light sensor channels; and
a controller to synchronize rotation of the sensor array and operation of the photosensors such that a given location in space relative to the stationary base is successively imaged by the LIDAR sensor channel and each of the ambient-light sensor channels in one of the sensor rows.

15. The ranging/imaging system of claim 14 wherein the controller is further configured to generate multispectral image pixel data that includes per-pixel light intensity data determined using the ambient-light sensor channels of the sensor array and per-pixel depth data determined using the LIDAR sensor channels of the sensor array.

16. The ranging/imaging system of claim 14 wherein:
the one or more ambient-light sensor channels in a given sensor row include at least two ambient-light sensor channels, each having a different channel-specific optical filter and being spaced apart from each other by a uniform pitch; and
the LIDAR sensor channel in the given sensor row is spaced apart from a nearest one of the at least two ambient-light sensor channels in the given sensor row by the uniform pitch or by a distance that is an integer multiple of the uniform pitch.

17. The ranging/imaging system of claim 16 wherein adjacent sensor rows are spaced apart from each other by the uniform pitch.

18. The ranging/imaging system of claim 14 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes at least two ambient-light sensor channels, each having a different channel-specific optical filter.

19. The ranging/imaging system of claim 14 wherein the set of one or more ambient-light sensor channels includes:
a first color channel having a first channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes light having a first range of wavelengths; and
a second color channel having a second channel-specific optical filter that selectively passes light having a second range of wavelengths,
wherein the first range and the second range are overlapping ranges.

20. The ranging/imaging system of claim 14 wherein the sensor array is fabricated as a single ASIC.

Assignees

• Ouster Inc

Inventors

• Pacala Angus
• Frichtl Mark

Classifications

• H10F77/959

  for devices working in avalanche mode · CPC title

• G01S7/4865

  Time delay measurement, e.g. time-of-flight measurement, time of arrival measurement or determining the exact position of a peak (peak detection in noise, signal conditioning G01S7/487) · CPC title

• G01S7/4863

  Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates · CPC title

• G01S17/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S17/88

  Lidar systems specially adapted for specific applications · CPC title