Merging data from multiple lidar devices

Abstract

Among other things, a method includes receiving first LiDAR point cloud information from a first LiDAR device and second LiDAR point cloud information from a second LiDAR device, generating third point cloud information according to merging the first and second LiDAR point cloud information, and operating the vehicle based upon the third LiDAR point cloud information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method comprising:
 configuring a first LiDAR device to spin at a first frequency and from a first starting angle;   configuring a second LiDAR device to spin at a second frequency and from a second starting angle different from the first starting angle;   receiving, from the first LiDAR device, information representing a first detected light point and a first timestamp representing a time at which the first detected light point was illuminated;   receiving, from the second LiDAR device, information representing a second detected light point and a second timestamp representing a time at which the second detected light point was illuminated,   wherein a difference between a first time of the first timestamp and a second time of the second timestamp is less than an inverse of the first frequency;   determining that the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to a same location relative to a vehicle; and   in accordance with determining the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to the same location, generating LiDAR point cloud information including the first and second detected light points at a same coordinates relative to a fixed origin of the vehicle.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the time at which the first detected light point was illuminated is based on a laser emission time of a block of points detected at a first azimuth and a first offset value specific to the first detected light point. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining a correspondence between the first time and the second time in accordance with the first starting angle, first frequency, second starting angle, and second frequency. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein generating the LiDAR point cloud information comprises generating a data structure representing voxels oriented in accordance with polar coordinates. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein generating the LiDAR point cloud information comprises generating a quantity of voxels of the data structure in accordance with a predetermined resolution. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising:
 receiving a plurality of voxel metrics; and   merging a first point cloud information and a second point cloud information to generate a third point cloud information based on the voxel metrics.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein a quantity of voxels of the data structure is generated in accordance with a number of objects proximate to the vehicle. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first LiDAR device is positioned on the vehicle at a first position and the second LiDAR device is positioned on the vehicle at a second position. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , further comprising generating the LiDAR point cloud information based on the first position and the second position. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first LiDAR device and the second LiDAR device are synchronized. 
     
     
         12 . A vehicle comprising:
 at least one computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions;   at least one processor configured to execute the computer executable instructions, the execution of the instructions comprising:   configuring a first LiDAR device to spin at a first frequency and from a first starting angle;   configuring a second LiDAR device to spin at a second frequency and from a second starting angle different from the first starting angle;   receiving, from the first LiDAR device, information representing a first detected light point and a first timestamp representing a time at which the first detected light point was illuminated;   receiving, from the second LiDAR device, information representing a second detected light point and a second timestamp representing a time at which the second detected light point was illuminated,   wherein a difference between a first time of the first timestamp and a second time of the second timestamp is less than an inverse of the first frequency;   determining that the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to a same location relative to the vehicle; and   in accordance with determining the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to the same location, generating LiDAR point cloud information including the first and second detected light points at a same coordinates relative to a fixed origin of the vehicle.   
     
     
         13 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency. 
     
     
         14 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein the time at which the first detected light point was illuminated is based on a laser emission time of a block of points detected at a first azimuth and a first offset value specific to the first detected light point. 
     
     
         15 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , further comprising determining a correspondence between the first time and the second time in accordance with the first starting angle, first frequency, second starting angle, and second frequency. 
     
     
         16 . The vehicle of  claim 12 , wherein generating the LiDAR point cloud information comprises generating a data structure representing voxels oriented in accordance with polar coordinates. 
     
     
         17 . The vehicle of  claim 16 , wherein generating the LiDAR point cloud information comprises generating a quantity of voxels of the data structure in accordance with a predetermined resolution. 
     
     
         18 . A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprising at least one program for execution by at least one processor, the at least one program including instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause a vehicle to perform computer-implemented operations comprising:
 configuring a first LiDAR device to spin at a first frequency and from a first starting angle;   configuring a second LiDAR device to spin at a second frequency and from a second starting angle different from the first starting angle;   receiving, from the first LiDAR device, information representing a first detected light point and a first timestamp representing a time at which the first detected light point was illuminated;   receiving, from the second LiDAR device, information representing a second detected light point and a second timestamp representing a time at which the second detected light point was illuminated,   wherein a difference between a first time of the first timestamp and a second time of the second timestamp is less than an inverse of the first frequency;   determining that the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to a same location relative to the vehicle; and   in accordance with determining the first detected light point and the second detected light point correspond to the same location, generating LiDAR point cloud information including the first and second detected light points at a same coordinates relative to a fixed origin of the vehicle.   
     
     
         19 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the first frequency is different from the second frequency. 
     
     
         20 . The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of  claim 18 , wherein the time at which the first detected light point was illuminated is based on a laser emission time of a block of points detected at a first azimuth and a first offset value specific to the first detected light point.