Varying lidar illumination responsive to ambient light levels

Abstract

A LIDAR system is provided. The LIDAR system may include at least one processor configured to: control at least one light source in a manner enabling light flux of light from at least one light source to vary over a scan of a field of view; control at least one deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view; receive from at least one sensor information indicative of ambient light in the field of view; identify in the received information an indication of a first portion of the field of view with more ambient light than in a second portion of the field of view; and alter a light source parameter such that when scanning the field of view, light flux of light projected toward the first portion of the field of view is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion of the field of view.

1 - 329 . (canceled) 
     
     
         330 . A LIDAR system, comprising:
 at least one processor configured to:
 control at least one light source in a manner enabling light flux of light from at least one light source to vary over a scan of a field of view; 
 control at least one deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view; 
 receive from at least one sensor information indicative of ambient light in the field of view; 
 identify in the received information an indication of a first portion of the field of view with more ambient light than in a second portion of the field of view; and 
 alter a light source parameter such that when scanning the field of view, light flux of light projected toward the first portion of the field of view is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion of the field of view. 
   
     
     
         331 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the at least one light deflector such that during a scanning cycle of the field of view, the at least one light deflector is located in a plurality of different instantaneous positions. 
     
     
         332 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to coordinate the at least one light deflector and the at least one light source such that when the at least one light deflector is located at a particular instantaneous position, a portion of a light beam is deflected by the at least one light deflector from the at least one light source towards an object in the field of view, and reflections of the portion of the light beam from the object are deflected by the at least one light deflector toward at least one sensor. 
     
     
         333 . The LIDAR system of  claim 331 , further comprising a plurality of light sources aimed at the at least one light deflector, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to control the at least one light deflector such that when the at least one light deflector is located at a particular instantaneous position, light from the plurality of light sources is projected toward a plurality of independent regions in the field of view. 
     
     
         334 . The LIDAR system of  claim 331 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to coordinate the at least one light deflector and the at least one light source such that when the at least one light deflector is located at a particular instantaneous position, a number of light-pulses are projected toward the first portion, and wherein the number of light-pulses projected is determined based on detected reflections of the projected light from an object in the first portion of the field of view. 
     
     
         335 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the least one processor is further configured to alter the light source parameter such that an intensity of the light projected toward the first portion is greater than an intensity of the light projected toward the second portion. 
     
     
         336 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter the light source parameter such that in a single scanning cycle, more light-pulses per solid angle are projected toward the first portion than a number of light-pulses per solid angle projected toward the second portion. 
     
     
         337 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter the light source parameter such that during at least one single scanning cycle, no light is projected towards the second portion of the field of view. 
     
     
         338 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter the light source parameter such that the light projected toward the first portion is at a different wavelength than the light projected toward the second portion. 
     
     
         339 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one sensor includes a first sensor configured to detect reflections of light from objects in the field of view and a second sensor configured to measure the ambient light in the field of view. 
     
     
         340 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one sensor includes a single sensor configured to detect reflections of light from objects in the field of view and to measure the ambient light in the field of view. 
     
     
         341 . The Lidar system of  claim 340 , wherein following light emission by the at least one light source, the at least one sensor is configured to detect reflections of light from the field of view in a first sensing duration following a light emission, and to measure the ambient light in the field of view in a second sensing duration following the light emission. 
     
     
         342 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to identify, based on the received information, a type of light source causing the ambient light in the field of view and to determine a value for the light source parameter based on the identified type. 
     
     
         343 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to identify, based on the received information, an existence of a light source in a third portion of the field of view and to alter sensor sensitivity for reflections from the third portion. 
     
     
         344 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter the light source parameter such that light flux of light projected toward the first portion is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion, upon obtaining an identification of a region of interest in the first portion. 
     
     
         345 . The LIDAR system of  claim 330 , wherein the at least one processor is further configured to alter a light source parameter such that, during a scanning cycle of the field of view, light flux of light projected toward the first portion of the field of view is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion of the field of view, while receiving from at least one sensor information indicative of ambient light in the field of view associated with the first portion or the second portion of the field of view. 
     
     
         346 . A method for detecting objects using LIDAR, the method comprising:
 controlling at least one light source in a manner enabling light flux of light from at least one light source to vary over a scan of a field of view;   controlling at least one deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view;   receiving from at least one sensor information indicative of ambient light in the field of view;   identifying in the received information an indication of a first portion of the field of view with more ambient light than in a second portion of the field of view; and   altering a light source parameter such that when scanning the field of view, light flux of light projected toward the first portion of the field of view is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion of the field of view.   
     
     
         347 . The method of  claim 346 , further comprising altering the light source parameter such that in a single scanning cycle, more light-pulses are projected toward the first portion than a number of light-pulses projected toward the second portion. 
     
     
         348 . The method of  claim 347 , further comprising coordinating the at least one light deflector and the at least one light source such that when the at least one light deflector is located at a particular instantaneous position, a number of light-pulses are projected toward the first portion, and wherein the number of light-pulses projected toward the first portion is determined based on detected reflections of the projected light from an object in the first portion of the field of view. 
     
     
         349 . The method of  claim 346 , further comprising altering the light source parameter such that light flux of light projected toward the first portion is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion, upon obtaining an identification of a region of interest in the first portion. 
     
     
         350 . The method of  claim 346 , wherein the at least one sensor includes a first sensor configured to detect reflections of light from objects in the field of view and a second sensor configured to measure the ambient light in the field of view. 
     
     
         351 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform a method for detecting objects using LIDAR, the method comprising:
 controlling at least one light source in a manner enabling light flux of light from at least one light source to vary over a scan of a field of view;   controlling at least one deflector to deflect light from the at least one light source in order to scan the field of view;   receiving from at least one sensor information indicative of ambient light in the field of view;   identifying in the received information a first portion of the field of view with more ambient light than in a second portion of the field of view; and   altering a light source parameter such that when scanning the field of view, light flux of light projected toward the first portion of the field of view is greater than light flux of light projected toward the second portion of the field of view.   
     
     
         352 - 390 . (canceled)