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.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jun. 25, 2019
Filed:
Mar. 20, 2018
Velodyne Lidar, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA (US);
David S. Hall, Los Altos Hills, CA (US);
Mathew Noel Rekow, Santa Cruz, CA (US);
Velodyne Lidar, Inc., Morgan Hill, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods and systems for performing three dimensional LIDAR measurements with multiple illumination beams scanned over a three dimensional environment by one or more optical phase modulation devices are described herein. In one aspect, illumination light from each LIDAR measurement channel is emitted to the surrounding environment in a different direction by an optical phase modulation device. The optical phase modulation device also directs each amount of return measurement light onto a corresponding photodetector. The illumination pulse output of each LIDAR measurement channel is synchronized with commanded changes of state of each corresponding optical phase modulation device. In some embodiments, each optical phase modulation device is associated with a single LIDAR measurement channel. In some embodiments, multiple LIDAR measurement channels are associated with a single modulation device. In some embodiments, a one dimensional optical phase modulation device is employed. In other embodiments, a two dimensional optical phase modulation device is employed.