CN112698305A

CN112698305A - Laser radar communication method and laser radar communication system

Info

Publication number: CN112698305A
Application number: CN202011463598.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邹聪聪; 赵鑫; 向少卿
Original assignee: Hesai Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Hesai Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-12-11
Filing date: 2020-12-11
Publication date: 2021-04-23
Anticipated expiration: 2040-12-11
Also published as: WO2022121323A1; CN112698305B

Abstract

The invention discloses a laser radar communication method and a laser radar communication system. The method comprises the following steps: determining whether a second laser radar needing to communicate exists; in response to the presence of the second lidar, transmitting a predetermined encoded request communication signal for the second lidar to transmit a predetermined encoded grant communication signal for the request communication signal; and in response to receiving the agreement communication signal, transmitting a target communication signal with a preset code for the second laser radar to process the target communication signal after receiving the target communication signal. Therefore, the speed and the safety of communication content transmission between different vehicles or between the vehicles and infrastructure are improved by transmitting the communication signals with the preset codes between the laser radars.

Description

Laser radar communication method and laser radar communication system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of laser radars, in particular to a laser radar communication method and a laser radar communication system.

Background

In the field of automatic driving, unmanned vehicles automatically select the driving route with the best road condition through analysis of real-time traffic information, so that traffic jam is greatly relieved, whether vehicles exist in a blind area or not can be known, and then decision-making such as speed reduction, parking, lane changing and the like is carried out, so that the occurrence probability of traffic accidents is reduced.

Lidar, an important sensor, is widely used in the field of autonomous driving to identify surrounding conditions such as roads, other vehicles, pedestrians, obstacles, and traffic infrastructure.

In the related art, the distance to the target object is determined by transmitting a ranging signal and receiving an echo signal reflected by the target object by a laser radar.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a laser radar communication method and a laser radar communication system, which improve the speed and the safety of communication content transmission between different vehicles or between the vehicles and infrastructure.

In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a laser radar communication method, where the method includes: determining whether a second laser radar needing to communicate exists; in response to the presence of the second lidar, transmitting a predetermined encoded request communication signal for the second lidar to transmit a predetermined encoded grant communication signal for the request communication signal; and in response to receiving the agreement communication signal, transmitting a target communication signal with a preset code for the second laser radar to process the target communication signal after receiving the target communication signal.

In a second aspect, embodiments of the invention provide a lidar arranged to perform the method of any of the first aspects.

In a third aspect, embodiments of the present invention provide a lidar communication system comprising a first lidar and a second lidar, each being a lidar as described in the second aspect; wherein: a first lidar configured to transmit a predetermined encoded request communication signal in response to determining that there is a need for communication with the second lidar; a second laser radar for transmitting a predetermined coded approval communication signal in response to the request communication signal; a first laser radar for transmitting a predetermined coded target communication signal in response to the agreement communication signal; and the second laser radar receives the target communication signal and processes the target communication signal.

In the lidar communication method and the lidar communication system provided by the embodiments of the present invention, the first lidar may determine whether there is a second lidar requiring communication, and then, in response to the presence of the second lidar requiring communication, the first lidar may transmit a request communication signal of a predetermined code, further, the second lidar may transmit an agreement communication signal of the predetermined code with respect to the request communication signal, and further, in response to receiving the agreement communication signal, the first lidar may transmit a target communication signal of the predetermined code, and finally, the second lidar may process the target communication signal after receiving the target communication signal. Since the predetermined encoded communication signal emitted by the lidar is an optical pulse signal, the speed of transmitting communication content between different vehicles or between a vehicle and an infrastructure can be increased. In addition, since the first laser radar and the second laser radar emit coded communication signals, safe communication between different vehicles or between the vehicles and infrastructure can be achieved.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of various embodiments of the present invention will become more apparent by referring to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers refer to the same or similar elements. It should be understood that the drawings are schematic and that elements and features are not necessarily drawn to scale.

Fig. 1 is an exemplary system architecture to which the lidar communication method of an embodiment of the present invention may be applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a lidar in accordance with an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a timing diagram of an embodiment of a lidar communication system according to the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of one embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C are schematic diagrams of the encoding of communication signals in a first embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the invention;

FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C are schematic diagrams of the encoding of communication signals in a second embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the invention;

FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C are schematic diagrams of the encoding of communication signals in a third embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the present invention;

fig. 8A and 8B are block diagrams of a first laser array and a first detector array, respectively, in an embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present invention are shown in the drawings, it should be understood that the present invention may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but rather are provided for a more thorough and complete understanding of the present invention. It should be understood that the drawings and the embodiments of the present invention are illustrative only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

It should be understood that the various steps recited in the method embodiments of the present invention may be performed in a different order and/or performed in parallel. Moreover, method embodiments may include additional steps and/or omit performing the illustrated steps. The scope of the invention is not limited in this respect.

The term "include" and variations thereof as used herein are open-ended, i.e., "including but not limited to". The term "based on" is "based, at least in part, on". The term "one embodiment" means "a plurality of embodiments"; the term "another embodiment" means "a plurality of additional embodiments"; the term "an embodiment" means "at least one embodiment". Relevant definitions for other terms will be given in the following description.

It should be noted that the terms "first", "second", and the like in the present invention are only used for distinguishing different devices, modules or units, and are not used for limiting the order or interdependence relationship of the functions performed by the devices, modules or units.

It is noted that references to "a", "an", and "the" modifications in the present invention are intended to be illustrative rather than limiting, and that those skilled in the art will recognize that reference to "one or more" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Referring to fig. 1, fig. 1 illustrates an exemplary system architecture to which a lidar communication method of an embodiment of the present invention may be applied. As shown in fig. 1, the system architecture may include a first lidar 101 and a second lidar 102.

The first laser radar 101 and the second laser radar 102 can transmit a predetermined coded light pulse signal as a communication signal by using their own transmitting units without the aid of other devices, thereby realizing wireless communication between the laser radars.

In an autonomous driving system, communication using a lidar has various advantages. For example, the laser radars use a peer-to-peer communication mode, and compared with other peer-to-peer communication modes such as bluetooth, the laser radars use an optical communication mode, so that the data transmission speed is high, and the transmission distance is longer (for example, 200m) for short-distance communication. Compared with wireless communication equipment such as 4G/5G and the like, the wireless communication equipment does not need to utilize infrastructure such as a base station and the like, is more flexible and changeable in equipment application, is not limited to the condition that data transmission is congested or wireless signals are weak due to bandwidth (such as the condition of a tunnel, an underground garage and the like), and adopts an optical communication mode, so that the data transmission is stable.

In some scenarios, the first lidar 101 and the second lidar 102 may be mounted to different vehicles, respectively. Thus, by performing communication between the first laser radar 101 and the second laser radar 102, information exchange between different communication apparatuses can be realized.

In an autonomous driving scenario, communication using lidar has the following application:

1) when the front vehicle blocks the view of the laser radar on the rear vehicle in the congested road section, the surrounding environment information of the front vehicle can be acquired through the communication between the laser radar of the rear vehicle and the laser radar of the front vehicle.

2) When the automatic driving automobile needs lane changing, accelerating, decelerating or overtaking, the obstacle vehicle exists, the wireless communication is carried out with the laser radar of the obstacle vehicle, and the laser radar is informed of the lane changing, accelerating, decelerating or overtaking operation, so that accidents are avoided.

3) And the environmental information in the blind area range is supplemented through communication with other laser radars in the blind area range.

4) When the vehicle is running at night, the vehicle can communicate with other vehicle-mounted radars to inform the opposite side to turn off the high beam.

5) Through communicating with the laser radar in the range finding range, environmental information in other laser radar range finding ranges can be obtained, and further when two communication radars are located at the range finding limit distance of each other (for example, the farthest range finding is 200m), the distance measuring distance of the two radars in the connecting line direction can be doubled through communication (for example, the farthest range finding is changed into 400 m). Therefore, the ranging capability of the laser radar can be improved. In some scenarios, the first lidar 101 and the second lidar 102 may be mounted to a vehicle and a target device, respectively. Here, the target device may include various infrastructures such as a base station. Thus, by the first laser radar 101 and the second laser radar 102 performing communication, information exchange between the vehicle and the target device can be realized.

As an example, the first laser radar 101 or the second laser radar 102 may acquire intersection information, current status of traffic lights, and the like in advance by communicating with the road infrastructure. It should be noted that the laser radar communication method provided by the embodiment of the present invention may be executed by the first laser radar 101 or the second laser radar 102.

In summary, by transmitting the predetermined coded communication signals through the first laser radar 101 and the second laser radar 102, the communication content can be transmitted between different vehicles or between the vehicles and the infrastructure. Since the communication signal transmitted by the lidar is an encoded optical pulse signal, fast and safe communication can be achieved between different vehicles or between a vehicle and an infrastructure.

It should be understood that the number of lidar in fig. 1 is merely illustrative. There may be any number of lidar devices, as desired for implementation.

An embodiment of the invention discloses a laser radar communication system. The lidar communication system includes a first lidar and a second lidar.

As shown in fig. 2, the first lidar or the second lidar may comprise a determination unit 201, a transmission unit 202, a reception unit 203, and a processing unit 204. Wherein the determination unit 201 may be configured to determine whether there is a lidar requiring communication. The transmitting unit 202 may be used to transmit a predetermined encoded communication signal. The receiving unit 203 may be configured to receive a predetermined encoded communication signal. The processing unit 204 may process the received communication signal with the predetermined coding.

With continued reference to fig. 3, a timing diagram of an embodiment of the lidar communication system is shown. The timing diagram includes the following steps:

in step 301, the first lidar, in response to determining that there is a second lidar requiring communication, transmits a request communication signal of a predetermined code.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine whether there is a second lidar requiring communication using the determination unit 201. In response to the presence of a second lidar requiring communication, the first lidar may transmit a predetermined encoded request communication signal with the transmit unit 202.

And step 302, the second laser radar responds to the request communication signal and transmits an agreement communication signal with a preset code.

In some scenarios, the second lidar may receive the request communication signal transmitted by the transmitting unit 202 of the first lidar, using the receiving unit 203. In response to receiving the request communication signal transmitted by the first lidar, the second lidar may transmit a grant communication signal of a predetermined code using the transmit unit 202.

Step 303, the first lidar, in response to the agreement communication signal, transmits a predetermined encoded target communication signal.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may receive the consent communication signal transmitted by the transmitting unit 202 of the second lidar, using the receiving unit 203. In response to receiving the consent communication signal, the first lidar may transmit a predetermined encoded target communication signal with the transmitting unit 202.

And step 304, the second laser radar responds to the received target communication signal and processes the target communication signal.

In some scenarios, the second lidar may receive the above-mentioned target communication signal transmitted by the transmitting unit 202 of the first lidar, using the receiving unit 203. In response to receiving the target communication signal, the second lidar may process the target communication signal using the processing unit 204.

In this embodiment, the first lidar and the second lidar realize information interaction by transmitting a predetermined coded communication signal. Since the predetermined encoded communication signal emitted by the lidar is an optical pulse signal, the speed of transmitting communication content between different vehicles or between a vehicle and an infrastructure can be increased. In addition, since the communication signals transmitted by the first and second lidar are encoded, secure communication between different vehicles or between a vehicle and an infrastructure may be achieved.

In practice, the predetermined encoded communication signal may be a plurality of optical pulse signals. Thus, the first lidar or the second lidar may utilize the plurality of optical pulse signals to achieve the predetermined encoding of the communication signal in a variety of ways. The predetermined encoding of the communication signal is realized, for example, based on the pulse width, the pulse amplitude, or the pulse interval of each of the plurality of optical pulse signals.

In practice, the first and second lidar may transmit and receive the predetermined encoded communication signal in a variety of ways.

In one embodiment, the first and second lidar are respectively provided with first and second laser arrays for transmitting the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal, and first and second detector arrays for receiving the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal.

It will be appreciated that the transmit unit 202 in the first lidar may comprise a first array of lasers and the receive unit 203 in the first lidar may comprise a first array of detectors. Thus, the first lidar may transmit the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal using the first laser in the first laser array and may receive the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal transmitted by the second lidar using the first detector in the first detector array. The transmit unit 202 in the second lidar may comprise a second laser array and the receive unit 203 in the second lidar may comprise a second detector array. Thus, the second lidar may transmit the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal in a similar manner.

In one embodiment, after the first laser in the first laser array or the second laser in the second laser array emits the ranging signal, the first laser or the second laser is used to emit a communication signal with a predetermined code.

In one scenario, for any first laser in the first laser array, the first lidar may first transmit the ranging signal using the first laser, and then transmit the predetermined coded communication signal using the first laser. The second lidar may employ a similar method for transmitting the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal using a second laser in the second laser array.

Thus, the laser radar can transmit the communication signal with the predetermined code immediately after transmitting the ranging signal by using the laser. Thus, the laser is enabled to transmit the ranging signal and the communication signal of the predetermined code in the same transmission period.

In one embodiment, after each first laser in the first laser array or each second laser in the second laser array emits a ranging signal, a predetermined coded communication signal is emitted by a plurality of first lasers in the first laser array or a plurality of second lasers in the second laser array.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may transmit the ranging signal using each of the first lasers in the first laser array before transmitting the predetermined encoded communication signal using one or more of the first lasers in the first laser array.

The second lidar may employ a similar method for transmitting the ranging signal and the predetermined encoded communication signal using a second laser in the second laser array.

Thereby, it is achieved that the laser emits the ranging signal and the predetermined coded communication signal in different emission periods.

In an embodiment, the second detector in the second detector array is configured to receive a predetermined coded communication signal emitted by the first laser at the corresponding arrangement position in the first laser array. And the first detector in the first detector array is used for receiving a communication signal of a preset code emitted by the second laser at the corresponding arrangement position in the second laser array. The arrangement positions are used for representing communication contents corresponding to the communication signals.

In practice, the second lidar may receive the ranging signal or the predetermined encoded communication signal with a plurality of second detectors in a second detector array. The first lidar may receive a ranging signal or a predetermined encoded communication signal with a plurality of first detectors in a first detector array.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine, according to communication content corresponding to the communication signal, an arrangement position of the plurality of first lasers emitting the communication signal in the first laser array. Further, the first lidar may transmit the communication signal using the determined plurality of first lasers. The second lidar may receive the communication signal transmitted by the first lidar with a plurality of second detectors in a second detector array. Further, the second laser radar may determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal according to the arrangement position of the plurality of second detectors receiving the communication signal in the second detector array.

Similarly, the second lidar may transmit communication signals using a plurality of second lasers in the second laser array in a similar manner. The first lidar may receive the communication signal using a plurality of first detectors in the first detector array and determine communication content corresponding to the received communication signal in a similar manner.

Therefore, the laser radar can transmit the communication signals of corresponding communication contents by setting the arrangement positions of the plurality of lasers for transmitting the communication signals in the laser array. The laser radar can determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal by identifying the arrangement position of the plurality of detectors receiving the communication signal in the detector array.

In one embodiment, the second laser radar outputs the communication content corresponding to the target communication signal to the vehicle in communication connection with the second laser radar, so that the vehicle executes the target task based on the communication content corresponding to the target communication signal.

As an example, the target communication signal characterizes environmental information within the acquisition blind zone. After the second laser radar receives the target communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar, the vehicle where the second laser radar is located can acquire surrounding environment information and send the surrounding environment information to the first laser radar. Therefore, the vehicle where the first laser radar is located can acquire the environmental information in the blind area range by communicating with the second laser radar.

As yet another example, the target communication signal characterizes turning off the high beam. After the second laser radar receives the target communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar, the vehicle where the second laser radar is located can close the high beam. Thus, traffic accidents can be avoided.

Referring to fig. 4, a flowchart of an embodiment of a lidar communication method according to the present invention is shown. As shown in fig. 4, the lidar communication method includes the following steps:

step 401, it is determined whether there is a second lidar that needs to communicate.

In this embodiment, a first lidar (e.g., first lidar 101 shown in fig. 1) may determine whether there is a second lidar (e.g., second lidar 102 shown in fig. 1) that requires communication.

Wherein the first and second lidar may be mounted to a vehicle or infrastructure (e.g., a base station).

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine that other lidar devices are present in the surrounding vehicle by way of its installed bluetooth, 4G/5G communication device, ultrasonic waves, and the like.

In an embodiment, the first lidar may perform step 401 as follows.

And determining the number of sampling points from the echo signals in response to receiving the echo signals returned by the ranging signals transmitted by the first laser radar after encountering the detection object.

The ranging signal may be a signal used by the first laser radar to measure a distance to the detection object. The echo signal may be a signal reflected by the ranging signal after encountering the detection object.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may randomly determine the number of sample points from the echo signal.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine the number of sample points at predetermined time intervals from the echo signal.

Determining the number of noise points from the sampling points, and determining whether the second laser radar exists based on the ratio of the number of noise points to the number of sampling points.

The ratio of the number of the noise points to the number of the sampling points is the noise ratio. In some scenarios, when the first lidar performs ranging, if the noise rate of a specific direction is found to exceed a threshold value, the direction is determined to have a second lidar which needs to communicate. Alternatively, the noise threshold may be set at 10^-7To 10^-5In the meantime.

In some scenarios, in response to a ratio of the number of noise points to the number of sampling points being greater than or equal to a preset threshold, the first lidar may determine that there is a second lidar requiring communication. In response to the ratio of the number of noise points to the number of sampling points being less than a preset threshold, the first lidar may determine that there is no second lidar requiring communication.

Therefore, the first laser radar determines whether a second laser radar needing to communicate exists or not according to the noise point rate acquired from the echo signal. Therefore, the first laser radar can determine the second laser radar needing to communicate more accurately.

It should be noted that the second lidar may also determine whether there is a lidar that needs to communicate in a similar manner.

Step 402, in response to the presence of the second lidar, transmitting a request communication signal of a predetermined code for the second lidar to transmit an agreement communication signal of the predetermined code for the request communication signal.

In this embodiment, the first lidar may transmit a predetermined encoded request communication signal in response to the presence of a second lidar requiring communication. If the request communication signal transmitted by the first lidar is received, the second lidar may transmit a predetermined encoded grant communication signal for the request communication signal.

In an embodiment, the first lidar may further be configured to determine whether the number of times the request communication signal is transmitted is less than a preset number of times when the grant communication signal is not received.

When the number of times of transmitting the request communication signal is less than a preset number of times, the request communication signal is transmitted.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may stop transmitting the request communication signal when the request communication signal is transmitted a number of times equal to or greater than a preset number of times.

It can be seen that the first lidar may transmit the request communication signal multiple times when the first lidar does not receive the consent communication signal transmitted by the second lidar. Therefore, the probability that the second laser radar receives the request communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar is improved.

And step 403, in response to receiving the agreement communication signal, transmitting a target communication signal with a preset code, so that the second laser radar can process the target communication signal after receiving the target communication signal. In this embodiment, the first lidar may be configured to transmit a predetermined encoded target communication signal in response to receiving the consent communication signal.

In practice, the first lidar may establish a communication connection with the second lidar after receiving the agreement communication signal transmitted by the second lidar.

In this embodiment, if the target communication signal transmitted by the first lidar is received, the second lidar may process the target communication signal.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may transmit a request communication signal or a target communication signal to the second lidar. The second lidar may transmit an agreement communication signal to the first lidar.

In practice, the lidar transmits a communication signal with a predetermined code, so that the communication content corresponding to the communication signal with the predetermined code can be transmitted. Thus, the laser radar transmits the request communication signal, the agreement communication signal or the target communication signal with the preset code to realize the transmission of the communication content corresponding to the request communication signal, the agreement communication signal or the target communication signal.

The second lidar may process the target communication signal in a number of ways.

As an example, when a leading vehicle blocks the view of the lidar on a trailing vehicle under a congested road segment, the first lidar may transmit a target communication signal that characterizes the acquisition of ambient information ahead. Therefore, after the second laser radar receives the target communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar, the surrounding environment information in front can be acquired and sent to the first laser radar, and the automatic driving automobile can carry out operations such as position information interaction and driving route planning according to the communication content processed by the target communication signal.

As yet another example, when there is an obstructing vehicle when the autonomous vehicle requires a lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or cut-in, the first lidar may transmit a target communication signal indicative of a lane change, acceleration, deceleration, or cut-in to be made. Therefore, after the second laser radar receives the target communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar, corresponding avoidance operation can be executed.

In this embodiment, the first and second lidar establish the communication connection by transmitting a request communication signal and an agreement communication signal, respectively. The second laser radar can execute corresponding operation on the basis of interaction with the first laser radar by processing the target communication signal transmitted by the first laser radar.

After the first laser radar determines the second laser radar needing to communicate, the first laser radar transmits the request communication signal again, and the first laser radar can effectively transmit the request communication signal.

Because the communication signal transmitted by the laser radar is the coded optical pulse signal, the speed and the safety of communication content transmission between different vehicles or between the vehicles and infrastructure can be improved.

In an embodiment, the first lidar is provided with a first laser array for transmitting a ranging signal and a predetermined encoded request communication signal or target communication signal.

Typically, the first lidar determines the range to the detection object by transmitting a ranging signal using a first laser in a first laser array. Thus, the communication signal of the predetermined code is emitted by the first laser in the first laser array, without the need to provide a laser dedicated to emitting the communication signal of the predetermined code. Therefore, the communication content can be transmitted on the basis of not increasing the volume and the production cost of the laser radar.

In practice, the first lidar may transmit the predetermined encoded request communication signal or target communication signal in a number of ways.

In one embodiment, the first lidar may transmit the request communication signal or the target communication signal in a predetermined code.

Specifically, after a first laser in the first laser array transmits a ranging signal, a request communication signal or a target communication signal is transmitted by the first laser.

It can be seen that the first lidar may transmit the predetermined encoded communication signal using the first laser for ranging without additionally providing a laser for transmitting the predetermined encoded communication signal.

Specifically, after each first laser in the first laser array transmits a ranging signal, a request communication signal or a target communication signal is transmitted by using a plurality of first lasers in the first laser array.

It should be noted that, the number of the first lasers used by the first laser radar to transmit the request communication signal or the target communication signal may be preset, or may be determined according to actual requirements, and is not specifically limited herein.

In practice, the predetermined encoded communication signal may comprise a plurality of optical pulse signals. Thus, the first and second laser radars can realize predetermined encoding of the communication signal by using the plurality of optical pulse signals. It should be noted that the number of the optical pulse signals included in the predetermined encoded communication signal may be set according to actual requirements, and is not specifically limited herein.

The predetermined encoded communication signal includes at least one of the request communication signal, the target communication signal, and the grant communication signal.

In one embodiment, the communication content corresponding to the predetermined encoded communication signal is determined according to the pulse width of each of the plurality of optical pulse signals included.

Optionally, pulse intervals of adjacent pulse signals in the plurality of pulse signals are the same, and pulse amplitudes of the respective pulse signals in the plurality of pulse signals are the same.

How to implement the predetermined encoding of the communication signal according to the pulse width of the optical pulse signal is described below with reference to schematic diagrams shown in fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C.

In fig. 5A, 5B, and 5C, the pulse spacing of adjacent optical pulse signals is T0, and the pulse amplitude of each optical pulse signal is H0. According to one embodiment, pulse width encoding may be employed. For example, when encoding is performed using two kinds of pulse widths, if the pulse width of the optical pulse signal is L0, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 0, and if the pulse width of the optical pulse signal is L1, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 1.

T0 denotes a reference pulse pitch, H0 denotes a reference pulse amplitude, L0 denotes a reference pulse width, and L1 denotes an n-fold reference pulse width. In practice, the value of n may be set according to actual requirements, and is not specifically limited herein.

As shown in fig. 5A, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, in which the pulse widths of the optical pulse signals are each L0, and therefore, the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "000". When each pulse width is L0, the code of the communication signal is identified as 000. For example, a code of "000" may indicate the communication content for which communication is requested.

As shown in fig. 5B, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, wherein the pulse widths of the optical pulse signals are L0, L0, and L1, respectively, and thus the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "001". When the respective pulse widths are L0, L0, and L1 in this order, the code of the communication signal is identified as 001. For example, a code of "001" may indicate the communication content that agreed to communicate.

As shown in fig. 5C, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, wherein the pulse widths of the optical pulse signals are L0, L1, and L0, respectively, and thus, the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "010". When the respective pulse widths are L0, L1, and L0 in this order, the code of the communication signal is identified as 010. For example, encoding to "010" may indicate that the communication content of the environment information within the visual region is acquired.

Therefore, the laser radar can transmit the communication signal corresponding to the communication content by setting the pulse width of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal. The laser radar can determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal by identifying the pulse width of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal. Thus, a simple way of encoding the communication signal is provided.

In one embodiment, the communication content corresponding to the predetermined encoded communication signal is determined according to the pulse amplitude of each of the plurality of optical pulse signals included.

Alternatively, the pulse pitches of adjacent optical pulse signals among the plurality of optical pulse signals are the same, and the pulse widths of the respective optical pulse signals among the plurality of optical pulse signals are the same.

How to implement the predetermined encoding of the communication signal according to the pulse amplitude of the optical pulse signal is described below with reference to schematic diagrams shown in fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C.

In fig. 6A, 6B, and 6C, the pulse interval of adjacent optical pulse signals is T0, and the pulse width of each optical pulse signal is L0. According to one embodiment, pulse amplitude may be used for encoding. For example, when encoding is performed using two kinds of pulse amplitudes, if the pulse amplitude of the optical pulse signal is H0, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 0, and if the pulse amplitude of the optical pulse signal is H1, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 1.

For the meanings indicated by T0 and H0, reference may be made to the preceding. H1 represents n times the reference pulse amplitude.

As shown in fig. 6A, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, wherein the pulse amplitudes of the optical pulse signals are each H0, and therefore, the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "000".

As shown in fig. 6B, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, in which the pulse amplitudes of the optical pulse signals are H0, H0, and H1, respectively, and thus the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "001". When the respective pulse amplitudes are H0, H0, H1 in this order, the encoding of the communication signal is identified as 001.

As shown in fig. 6C, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, wherein the pulse amplitudes of the optical pulse signals are H0, H1, and H0, respectively, and thus the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "010". When the respective pulse amplitudes are H0, H1, H0 in this order, the encoding of the communication signal is identified as 010.

Therefore, the laser radar can transmit the communication signal corresponding to the communication content by setting the pulse amplitude of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal. The laser radar can determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal by identifying the pulse amplitude of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal.

In one embodiment, the communication content corresponding to the predetermined encoded communication signal is determined according to the pulse spacing of adjacent optical pulse signals in the included plurality of optical pulse signals.

Optionally, the pulse width and the pulse amplitude of each of the plurality of optical pulse signals are the same.

Communication signals implementing predetermined codes according to the pulse spacing of the optical pulse signals are described below in conjunction with the schematic diagrams shown in fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C.

In fig. 7A, 7B, and 7C, the pulse width of each optical pulse signal is L0, and the pulse amplitude of each optical pulse signal is H0. According to one embodiment, the pulse spacing may be used for encoding. For example, in the case of encoding with two pulse pitches, if the pulse pitch with respect to the previous optical pulse signal is T0 or the previous optical pulse signal does not exist, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 0, and if the pulse pitch with respect to the previous optical pulse signal is T1, the encoding of the optical pulse signal is 1.

For the meanings indicated by T0 and H0, reference may be made to the preceding. T1 represents n times the reference pulse spacing.

As shown in fig. 7A, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, in which the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are each T0, and the three optical pulse signals do not have a previous optical pulse signal before, and therefore, the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "000". When the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are each T0, the code of the communication signal is identified as 000.

As shown in fig. 7B, the communication signal of the predetermined code includes three optical pulse signals, in which the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are T0 and T1, respectively, and the three optical pulse signals do not exist the last optical pulse signal before, and therefore, the code of the communication signal of the predetermined code is "001". When the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are T0, T1 in this order, the code of the communication signal is identified as 001.

As shown in fig. 7C, the predetermined encoded communication signal includes three optical pulse signals, in which the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are T1 and T0, respectively, and the three optical pulse signals do not have a previous optical pulse signal before, and therefore, the encoding of the predetermined encoded communication signal is "010". When the pulse intervals between adjacent optical pulse signals are T1 and T0 in this order, the code of the communication signal is identified as 010.

Therefore, the laser radar can transmit the communication signal corresponding to the communication content by setting the pulse interval of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal. The laser radar can determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal by identifying the pulse interval of the optical pulse signal in the communication signal.

It should be noted that the above mentioned values regarding the encoding of the optical pulse signal are only an alternative implementation. In practice, the encoding of the optical pulse signal may take other values.

For example, the encoding of the communication signal may be 011, 100, 101, etc. As another example, the encoding of the communication signal may be 001, 002, etc.

In some scenarios, the communication signal encoded as 001 may represent congestion, and the code 002 may represent traffic information such as smooth roads. In some scenarios, the communication signal encoded as 001 may represent lane change and the communication signal encoded as 002 may represent driving vehicle information such as deceleration. Of course, the lidar may also customize other communication content for controlling the autonomous vehicle, which is not listed here.

In one embodiment, the first lidar may transmit a request communication signal or a target communication signal of a predetermined code as follows.

A plurality of first lasers having arrangement positions are determined from the first laser array.

The arrangement positions are used for representing communication contents corresponding to the request communication signals or the target communication signals.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine, according to communication content corresponding to the request communication signal or the target communication signal, an arrangement position of the plurality of first lasers for transmitting the request communication signal or the target communication signal in the first laser array.

And transmitting a request communication signal or a target communication signal by using the plurality of first lasers.

The manner in which the first lidar transmits a request communication signal or a target communication signal using a plurality of first lasers in the first laser array is described below in conjunction with fig. 8A. The first laser array includes a predetermined number of first laser groups (e.g., 5 first laser groups shown in fig. 8A). When the transmitted communication content includes a request communication signal or a target communication signal of "HELLO", the first laser radar may determine a plurality of first lasers arranged at position representations "H", "E", "L", "O" from among the first laser group 8011, the first laser group 8012, the first laser group 8013, the first laser group 8014, and the first laser group 8015, respectively. Further, the first lidar may transmit the communication signal using the determined plurality of first lasers to enable transmission of the request communication signal or the target communication signal having communication content including "HELLO". Thus, the first laser radar can transmit the request communication signal or the target communication signal with the predetermined code by setting the arrangement positions of the plurality of first lasers for transmitting the communication signal in the first laser array.

Similarly, the first lidar may receive a request communication signal or a target communication signal of a predetermined code in the following manner.

A plurality of first detectors having an arrangement position is determined from the first detector array.

In some scenarios, the first lidar may determine an arrangement position of a plurality of first detectors of the first detector array that receive the request communication signal or the target communication signal.

And determining the communication content corresponding to the received request communication signal or the target communication signal according to the determined arrangement positions of the plurality of first detectors.

The manner in which the first lidar receives the request communication signal or the target communication signal using the plurality of first detectors in the first detector array is described below in conjunction with fig. 8B. A predetermined number of first detector groups (e.g., the 5 first detector groups shown in fig. 8B) are included in the first detector array. When receiving the request communication signal or the target communication signal, the first lidar may determine, from the first detector group 8021, the first detector group 8022, the first detector group 8023, the first detector group 8024, and the first detector group 8025, the arrangement positions of the plurality of first detectors that receive the request communication signal or the target communication signal, respectively. Further, the first lidar may determine, from the first detector group 8021, the first detector group 8022, the first detector group 8023, the first detector group 8024, and the first detector group 8025, that the arrangement positions of the plurality of first detectors that receive the request communication signal or the target communication signal respectively represent "H", "E", "L", and "O". Thus, the first lidar receives a request communication signal or a target communication signal whose communication content includes "HELLO".

Therefore, the first laser radar can determine the communication content corresponding to the received communication signal by identifying the arrangement positions of the plurality of first detectors receiving the communication signal in the first detector array. Further, reception of a predetermined encoded communication signal is achieved.

Lidar may also be used to control autonomous vehicles by transmitting and receiving consent communication signals, or communication signals indicative of other communication content, in the manner shown in fig. 8A and 8B.

The foregoing description is only exemplary of the preferred embodiments of the invention and is illustrative of the principles of the technology employed. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the scope of the disclosure in the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the specific combinations of the above-described features, but also encompasses other embodiments in which any combination of the above-described features or their equivalents is possible without departing from the scope of the disclosure. For example, the above features and (but not limited to) features having similar functions disclosed in the present invention are mutually replaced to form the technical solution.

Further, while operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order. Under certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, while several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A laser radar communication method is applied to a first laser radar, and is characterized by comprising the following steps:

determining whether a second laser radar needing to communicate exists;

in response to the presence of the second lidar, transmitting a predetermined encoded request communication signal for the second lidar to transmit a predetermined encoded grant communication signal for the request communication signal;

and in response to receiving the agreement communication signal, transmitting a target communication signal with a preset code for the second laser radar to process the target communication signal after receiving the target communication signal.

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the first lidar is provided with a first laser array for transmitting a ranging signal and a predetermined coded request communication signal or target communication signal.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the first lidar transmits the request communication signal or the target communication signal by:

and after a first laser in the first laser array transmits a ranging signal, transmitting the request communication signal or the target communication signal by using the first laser.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the first lidar transmits the request communication signal or the target communication signal by:

after each first laser in the first laser array transmits a ranging signal, transmitting the request communication signal or the target communication signal by using a plurality of first lasers in the first laser array.

5. The method of claim 1,

the communication signal with the preset code comprises a plurality of optical pulse signals, and the communication content corresponding to the communication signal is determined according to the pulse width of each optical pulse signal in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

the communication signal comprises at least one of the request communication signal, the target communication signal, and the consent communication signal.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the communication signal with the preset code comprises a plurality of optical pulse signals, and the communication content corresponding to the communication signal is determined according to the pulse amplitude of each optical pulse signal in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

7. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the communication signal with the preset code comprises a plurality of optical pulse signals, and the communication content corresponding to the communication signal is determined according to the pulse spacing of adjacent optical pulse signals in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

8. The method of claim 2,

the first lidar transmits the request communication signal or the target communication signal by:

determining a plurality of first lasers with arrangement positions from the first laser array, wherein the arrangement positions are used for representing communication contents corresponding to the request communication signal or the target communication signal;

transmitting the request communication signal or the target communication signal with the plurality of first lasers.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether a second lidar is present that requires communication comprises:

determining the number of sampling points from echo signals returned after a ranging signal transmitted by the first laser radar meets a detection object in response to receiving the echo signals;

determining the number of noise points in the predetermined number of sampling points;

determining whether the second lidar is present based on a ratio of the number of noise points and the number of sampling points.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

in response to not receiving the consent communication signal, determining whether a number of times the request communication signal is transmitted is less than a preset number of times;

and when the number of times of transmitting the request communication signal is less than the preset number of times, transmitting the request communication signal again.

11. Lidar characterized for performing a method according to any of claims 1-10.

12. A lidar communication system comprising first and second lidar, each of the first and second lidar of claim 11, wherein:

the first laser radar transmits a request communication signal with a preset code in response to determining that the second laser radar needing to communicate exists;

the second laser radar transmits a predetermined coded consent communication signal in response to the request communication signal;

the first laser radar, in response to the agreement communication signal, transmitting a predetermined coded target communication signal;

and the second laser radar receives the target communication signal and processes the target communication signal.

13. The system of claim 12,

the predetermined encoded communication signal comprises a plurality of optical pulse signals,

the communication content corresponding to the communication signal is determined according to the pulse width of each optical pulse signal in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

14. The system of claim 12, wherein:

determining communication content corresponding to the communication signal according to the pulse amplitude of each optical pulse signal in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

15. The system of claim 12, wherein:

the communication content corresponding to the communication signal is determined according to the pulse spacing of adjacent optical pulse signals in the plurality of optical pulse signals;

16. The system according to any one of claims 12-15,

the first laser radar and the second laser radar are respectively provided with a first laser array and a second laser array which are used for transmitting ranging signals and communication signals, and a first detector array and a second detector array which are used for receiving the ranging signals and the communication signals.

17. The system of claim 16,

and after the first laser in the first laser array or the second laser in the second laser array emits the ranging signal, the first laser or the second laser is used for emitting the communication signal.

18. The system of claim 16,

transmitting the communication signal with a plurality of first lasers in the first laser array or a plurality of second lasers in the second laser array after each first laser in the first laser array or each second laser in the second laser array transmits a ranging signal.

19. The system of claim 16,

the second detector in the second detector array is used for receiving the communication signal emitted by the first laser at the corresponding arrangement position in the first laser array;

a first detector in the first detector array is used for receiving the communication signal emitted by a second laser in a corresponding arrangement position in the second laser array;

the arrangement position is used for representing communication content corresponding to the communication signal.

20. The system according to any one of claims 12-19,

and the second laser radar outputs the communication content corresponding to the target communication signal to a vehicle in communication connection with the second laser radar so that the vehicle executes a target task based on the communication content corresponding to the target communication signal.