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:
Oct. 11, 2016
Filed:
Oct. 09, 2013
Naresh Satyan, Pasadena, CA (US);
Arseny Vasilyev, Pasadena, CA (US);
Amnon Yariv, Pasadena, CA (US);
George Rakuljic, Santa Monica, CA (US);
Naresh Satyan, Pasadena, CA (US);
Arseny Vasilyev, Pasadena, CA (US);
Amnon Yariv, Pasadena, CA (US);
George Rakuljic, Santa Monica, CA (US);
TELARIS INC., Santa Monica, CA (US);
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY, Pasadena, CA (US);
Abstract
A detection apparatus and method for FMCW LIDAR employ signals that are modified so that low-cost and low-speed photodetector arrays, such as CCD or CMOS cameras, can be employed for range detection. The LIDAR is designed to measure the range to one or more targets and includes a single mode swept frequency laser (SFL), whose optical frequency is varied with time, as a result of which, a target beam which is reflected back by the one or more targets is shifted in frequency from a reference beam by an amount that is proportional to the relative range to the one or more targets. The reflected target beam(s) is/are combined with the reference beam and detected by the photodetector array. In the case of a sparse number of targets to be detected, Compressive Sensing (CS) techniques can be employed by a processor to reduce the number of measurements necessary to determine the range of each target.