The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.

The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.

Date of Patent:
Feb. 05, 2019

Filed:

Mar. 20, 2017
Applicant:

Velodyne Lidar, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA (US);

Inventors:

David S. Hall, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);

Pieter J. Kerstens, Gilroy, CA (US);

Yupeng Cui, San Jose, CA (US);

Mathew Noel Rekow, Santa Cruz, CA (US);

Stephen S. Nestinger, Santa Clara, CA (US);

Assignee:

Velodyne Lidar, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA (US);

Attorneys:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
G01J 11/00 (2006.01); G01S 7/484 (2006.01); G01S 17/10 (2006.01); G01S 17/02 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
G01S 7/484 (2013.01); G01S 17/023 (2013.01); G01S 17/10 (2013.01);
Abstract

Methods and systems for performing three dimensional LIDAR measurements with different illumination intensity patterns are described herein. Repetitive sequences of measurement pulses each having different illumination intensity patterns are emitted from a LIDAR system. One or more pulses of each repetitive sequence have a different illumination intensity than another pulse within the sequence. The illumination intensity patterns are varied to reduce total energy consumption and heat generated by the LIDAR system. In some examples, the illumination intensity pattern is varied based on the orientation of the LIDAR device. In some examples, the illumination intensity pattern is varied based on the distance between a detected object and the LIDAR device. In some examples, the illumination intensity pattern is varied based on the presence of an object detected by the LIDAR device or another imaging system.


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