To determine spatial orientation of a vehicle, a set of illuminators is mechanically coupled to the vehicle so as to emit light toward a roadway. A set of sensors is mechanically coupled to the vehicle to receive the emitted light as reflected from the roadway. A timer determines times of flight between emission of the light by the set of illuminators and reception of the reflected light by the set of sensors. A processor determines the spatial orientation of the vehicle from a difference in the times of flight.

A handheld laser distance measuring device for a contactless distance measurement between the laser distance measuring device and a remote object uses a laser beam that is emitted by the laser distance measuring device. The laser distance measuring device includes a device-side coupling device paired with the device housing. The coupling device is configured for reversibly arranging at least one attachment device on the laser distance measuring device. By arranging the at least one attachment device on the laser distance measuring device, at least one additional functionality can be provided.

A laser radar includes: a light source including a laser diode; an optical system configured to shape laser light emitted from the laser diode, into a line beam that is long in one direction, and project the line beam to a target area; and a scanner configured to perform scanning with the line beam in a short side direction of the line beam. The laser diode is disposed such that a fast axis of the laser diode extends along a direction corresponding to the short side direction of the line beam.

Disclosed are a laser scanning device, a radar device, and a scanning method thereof. The laser scanning device comprises a scanning prism comprising a plurality of scanning mirror surfaces, wherein the plurality of scanning mirror surfaces rotates about a scanning axis, a normal of each of the scanning mirror surfaces forms a certain angle with respect to the scanning axis, and the angles thereof are not all the same; a transceiving component comprising a laser transmitting unit and a laser receiving unit, wherein the laser transmitting unit generates a scanning line by rotation of the scanning mirror surfaces, and the same laser transmitting unit generates a plurality of scanning lines by rotation of the scanning prism.

Disclosed are a laser scanning device, a radar device, and a scanning method thereof. The laser scanning device comprises a scanning prism comprising a plurality of scanning mirror surfaces, wherein the plurality of scanning mirror surfaces rotates about a scanning axis, a normal of each of the scanning mirror surfaces forms a certain angle with respect to the scanning axis, and the angles thereof are not all the same; a transceiving component comprising a laser transmitting unit and a laser receiving unit, wherein the laser transmitting unit generates a scanning line by rotation of the scanning mirror surfaces, and the same laser transmitting unit generates a plurality of scanning lines by rotation of the scanning prism.

A method of time of flight sensing. The method comprises using an emitter to emit pulses of radiation and using an array of photo-detectors to detect radiation reflected from an object. For a given group of photo-detectors of the array, the method determines based upon measured times of flight of the radiation, whether to use a first mode of operation in which outputs from individual photo-detectors of the group are combined together or to use a second mode of operation in which outputs from individual photo-detectors are processed separately. The array of photo-detectors comprises a plurality of groups of photo-detectors. One or more groups of photo-detectors operate in the first mode whilst in parallel one or more groups of photo-detectors operate in the second mode.

A laser ranging device and a robot. The laser ranging device comprises an emitting unit and a receiving unit. The emitting unit comprises an emitter configured to emit a laser pulse to a target object that is to be ranged, and an emitting lens configured for the laser pulse to pass through. The receiving unit comprises a photodetector configured to receive a reflected laser pulse by the target object, and a receiving lens configured for the reflected laser pulse to pass through. The photodetector is encapsulated in an encapsulation module, the encapsulation module is disposed aft of and faces the receiving lens, and a side surface of the encapsulation module facing the receiving lens is constructed as an extinction surface.

An apparatus of a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) scanning system for at least partial integration with a vehicle is disclosed. The apparatus comprises an optical core assembly including an oscillating reflective element, an optical polygon element, and transmitting and collection optics. The apparatus includes a first exterior surface at least partially bounded by at least a first portion of a vehicle roof or at least a portion of a vehicle windshield. A surface profile of the first exterior surface aligns with a surface profile associated with at least one of the first portion of the vehicle roof or the portion of the vehicle windshield. A combination of the first exterior surface and the one or more additional exterior surfaces form a housing enclosing the optical core assembly including the oscillating reflective element, the optical polygon element, and the transmitting and collection optics.

Techniques for determining bathroom occupancy are disclosed herein. In this regard, one or more sensors may determine whether a plumbing fixture is in use. When a plumbing fixture is in use, the one or more sensors may trigger a visual cue that indicates that the plumbing fixture is in use. Additionally, the one or more sensors may send (e.g., transmit) information indicating that the plumbing fixture is in use to one or more computing devices. The information may include a start time of the fixture's usage, an end time of the fixture's usage, a duration of the fixture's usage, etc. The computing device may analyze the information from a plurality of fixtures associated with a location and present the analysis to a user, for example, via a dashboard.

Methods and systems for performing multiple pulse LIDAR measurements are presented herein. In one aspect, each LIDAR measurement beam illuminates a location in a three dimensional environment with a sequence of multiple pulses of illumination light. Light reflected from the location is detected by a photosensitive detector of the LIDAR system during a measurement window having a duration that is greater than or equal to the time of flight of light from the LIDAR system out to the programmed range of the LIDAR system, and back. The pulses in a measurement pulse sequence can vary in magnitude and duration. Furthermore, the delay between pulses and the number of pulses in each measurement pulse sequence can also be varied. In some embodiments, the multi-pulse illumination beam is encoded and the return measurement pulse sequence is decoded to distinguish the measurement pulse sequence from exogenous signals.