Provided is an optical device capable of suppressing variations in the range for scanning light. This optical device comprises: a light source that emits a laser beam; a MEMS mirror that scans the laser beam toward a predetermined range; and a diffraction grating that guides the laser beam to the MEMS mirror by guiding the laser beam in a direction corresponding to the wavelength thereof. The optical device also comprises an MEMS control unit that performs control such that, by employing a change in the optical path of the laser beam caused through the diffraction grating by a change in the wavelength of the laser beam, variations in the scanning range of the laser beam by the MEMS mirror are suppressed.

Described are various configurations for transmitting and receiving optical light using a shared path ranging system. The shared path ranging system can include an optical router (e.g., an optical coupler) coupled to a grating to transmit light to a physical object and receive light reflected by the physical object. The shared path ranging system can include rows of routers and gratings in a two-dimensional configuration to transmit and receive light for ranging purposes.

An electronic device may include an infrared light source and an infrared image sensor to enable infrared beacon functionality. In a location sharing scenario, a first electronic device may use the infrared light source to emit infrared light and serve as an infrared beacon. A second electronic device may use the infrared image sensor to detect the infrared beacon and identify the location of the first electronic device. The infrared image sensor that is used to detect the infrared beacon may also serve as a time-of-flight sensor for a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) module. The second electronic device (that detects the infrared beacon) may provide output such as visual, audio, and/or haptic output to inform a user of the location of the infrared beacon.

The invention relates to an assembly unit (100) arranged on a roof (201) of a vehicle. The assembly unit (100) comprises a radio antenna unit (101) arranged above the vehicle roof (201) and having at least one radio antenna (107) which is adapted to transmit and receive radio signals, a lidar sensor (102) arranged below the radio antenna unit (101) and above the vehicle roof (201) and adapted to detect objects around the vehicle, and a first cooling unit (103) arranged below the lidar sensor (102).

A distance measurement system and a vehicle are provided. The distance measurement system includes a scanning module and a distance measurement module. The distance measurement module is configured to: emit laser light to the scanning module, and receive reflected light transmitted by the scanning module. The scanning module includes a moving component and a lens group. The moving component is configured to drive the lens group to perform scanning. The lens group is further configured to: receive reflected light of a measured object in an environment of the distance measurement system, and transmit the reflected light to the distance measurement module.

An object detection device includes: a light emitter that emits laser light as irradiation light; a light receiver that receives light including reflected light of the irradiation light; a plurality of constituents that perform operations to detect information on an object through operations of the light emitter and the light receiver and that have an increased current period in which a consumed current is a current larger than an average current; a common power supply that supplies power to the plurality of constituents; and a controller that controls the operations of the plurality of constituents so as to make a current output from the common power supply less than a predetermined upper-limit current.

An excess heat-generating element is coupled to a heat sink through a heat conduction path. A thermal switch is mounted in the heat conduction path. A temperature-sensitive element is coupled to the heat conduction path on a same side of the thermal switch as the excess heat-generating element. A temperature monitor is mounted adjacent the temperature-sensitive element. A temperature controller has an input coupled to the temperature output of the temperature monitor and an output control line coupled to an input of the thermal switch. The temperature controller switches off the thermal switch, in response to detecting a temperature below a temperature threshold from the temperature output. When the thermal switch it off, it impedes heat flow from the excess heat-generating element to the heat sink, and the heat flow is redirected to increase heat flow from the excess heat-generating element to the heat-sensitive element.

The present disclosure provides a range-finding system capable of data communication. The range-finding system includes a rangefinder for acquiring ranging data, a magnetic ring unit having at least two communication channels, and a data processing and control unit. Each communication channel includes a magnetic ring. The magnetic ring unit transmits the ranging data as downlink data from the rangefinder to the data processing and control unit via one or more of the communication channels.

A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device including a laser source configured to provide a transmit beam, the laser source being positioned with a first offset relative to a reference line, a transmit/receive (T/R) interface configured to pass the transmit beam and reflect received light towards a detector, the T/R interface being positioned with a second offset relative to the reference line, and a lens positioned between the laser source and the T/R interface, the lens being positioned with a third offset relative to the reference line, wherein the laser source and the lens, as positioned, are configured to steer the transmit beam.

A light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device including a plurality of laser sources configured to provide a plurality of transmit beams, each laser source being positioned with a respective offset of a first plurality of offsets relative to a reference line, a plurality of transmit/receive (T/R) interfaces configured to pass the plurality of transmit beams and reflect received light towards a plurality of detectors, each T/R interface being positioned with a respective offset of a second plurality of offsets relative to the reference line, and a plurality of lenses positioned between the plurality of laser sources and the plurality of T/R interfaces, each lens being positioned with a respective offset of a third plurality of offsets relative to the reference line, wherein the plurality of laser sources and the plurality of lenses, as positioned, are configured to provide beam-steering of the plurality of transmit beams.