Velodyne Lidar Usa, Inc.

Velodyne Lidar, Inc.

Rajesh Ramalingam Varadharajan

Pravin Kumar Venkatesan

Abhilash Goyal

William B Etheridge

Kiran Kumar Gunnam

Kanke Gao

Nitinkumar Sagarbhai Barot

Roger Pinto

William Etheridge

Described herein are systems and methods that that mitigate avalanche photodiode (APD) blinding and allow for improved accuracy in the detection of a multi-return light signal. A blinding spot may occur due to saturation of a primary APD. The systems and methods include the incorporation of a redundant APD and the utilization of time diversity and space diversity. Detection by the APDs is activated by a bias signal. The redundant APD receives a time delayed bias signal compared to the primary APD. Additionally, the redundant APD is positioned off the main focal plane in order to attenuate an output of the redundant APD. With attenuation, the redundant APD may not saturate and may have a successful detection during the blinding spot of the primary APD. Embodiments may include multiple primary APDs and multiple secondary APDs.

Systems and methods for mitigating avalanche photodiode (APD) blinding

Described herein are systems and methods that create a capacitive link based on a rotating cylinder capacitor. A cylindrical rotor rotates around a shaft and maintains an air gap between the cylindrical rotor and the shaft and to create one or more air gap capacitors. A first subsystem, comprising a light detection and ranging components, is coupled to the rotor. A second sub-subsystem, comprising data analysis functions, is coupled to the shaft. The first subsystem and the second subsystem are coupled via capacitive links created by the air gap capacitors. The communication signaling utilized on the capacitive links may be bi-directional and differential signaling. The first subsystem and the second subsystem may comprise a LIDAR light detection and ranging system. The second subsystem may power the first subsystem via inductive coupling.

Systems and methods for transmitting data via a contactless cylindrical interface

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San Jose, CA, United States of America

Rajesh Ramalingam Varadharajan