A system to determine a position of one or more objects includes a transmitter to emit a beam of photons to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects; multiple cameras that are spaced-apart with each camera having an array of pixels to detect photons; and one or more processor devices that execute stored instructions to perform actions of a method, including: directing the transmitter to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects with the beam of photons; for each of the regions, receiving, from the cameras, an array position of each pixel that detected photons of the beam reflected or scattered by the region of the one or more objects; and, for each of the regions detected by the cameras, determining a position of the regions using the received array positions of the pixels that detected the photons of the beam reflected or scattered by that region.

A system to determine a position of one or more objects includes a transmitter to emit a beam of photons to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects; multiple cameras that are spaced-apart with each camera having an array of pixels to detect photons; and one or more processor devices that execute stored instructions to perform actions of a method, including: directing the transmitter to sequentially illuminate regions of one or more objects with the beam of photons; for each of the regions, receiving, from the cameras, an array position of each pixel that detected photons of the beam reflected or scattered by the region of the one or more objects; and, for each of the regions detected by the cameras, determining a position of the regions using the received array positions of the pixels that detected the photons of the beam reflected or scattered by that region.

A laser distance measuring device, a laser distance measuring method, and a movable platform are provided. The laser distance measuring device includes a transmitting module and a receiving module. The transmitting module includes a transmitting circuit and an optical transmitting system, the transmitting circuit is configured to transmit laser pulses, and the optical transmitting system is configured to disperse the laser pulse, to make the laser pulses cover a designated field-of-view area. The receiving module includes a receiving circuit and an optical receiving system, the receiving circuit includes an APD array operating in a linear mode and is configured to receive at least some of returning laser pulses upon the laser pulses being reflected back by a measured object, and convert the at least some of the returning laser pulses into an electrical signal.

A system includes a light source, an optical splitter, and a pulse-energy measurement circuit. The light source is configured to generate an emitted beam of light that includes an emitted pulse of light. The optical splitter is configured to split the emitted beam of light to produce at least (i) a test beam of light that includes a test pulse of light, the test pulse of light including a first portion of the emitted pulse of light and (ii) an output beam of light that includes an output pulse of light, the output pulse of light including a second portion of the emitted pulse of light allowed to at least in part exit the system. The pulse-energy measurement circuit is configured to receive the test pulse of light and determine a numerical value corresponding to an individual energy amount of the test pulse of light.

A system includes a light source, an optical splitter, and a pulse-energy measurement circuit. The light source is configured to generate an emitted beam of light that includes an emitted pulse of light. The optical splitter is configured to split the emitted beam of light to produce at least (i) a test beam of light that includes a test pulse of light, the test pulse of light including a first portion of the emitted pulse of light and (ii) an output beam of light that includes an output pulse of light, the output pulse of light including a second portion of the emitted pulse of light allowed to at least in part exit the system. The pulse-energy measurement circuit is configured to receive the test pulse of light and determine a numerical value corresponding to an individual energy amount of the test pulse of light.

A LIDAR device, including a housing, and an emitter device that is situated rotatably about a rotation axis and that is designed in such a way that the measuring beams of the emitter device intersect in the area of an exit aperture of the LIDAR device.

Techniques to adjust a gain of an analog-to-digital converter circuit (ADC) and/or an ADC full scale from one sample to the next of an analog input signal to compensate for the signal loss over distance, which can increase an effective dynamic range of the system. The benefit of compensating for the signal loss due to distance is that a data interface between the ADC of the receiver of the LIDAR system and a signal processor no longer needs to support the dynamic range from the range specification.

Techniques to adjust a gain of an analog-to-digital converter circuit (ADC) and/or an ADC full scale from one sample to the next of an analog input signal to compensate for the signal loss over distance, which can increase an effective dynamic range of the system. The benefit of compensating for the signal loss due to distance is that a data interface between the ADC of the receiver of the LIDAR system and a signal processor no longer needs to support the dynamic range from the range specification.

A driver circuit may include an array of optical emitters arranged in one or more rows and one or more columns. The array of optical emitters includes an optical emitter associated with a row and a column. The driver circuit may include a capacitive element connected to the row, a voltage booster element connected to the capacitive element, where the voltage booster element includes an inductive element, and a first switch having an open state and a closed state. The first switch in the closed state is to cause charging of the inductive element, and in the open state is to cause discharging of the inductive element to charge the capacitive element. The driver circuit may include a second switch having an open state and a closed state. The second switch in the closed state is to cause discharging of the capacitive element through the row and the column.

The subject matter of this specification can be implemented in, among other things, systems and methods of optical sensing that utilize optimized processing of multiple sensing channels for efficient and reliable scanning of environments. The optical sensing includes multiple optical communication lines that include coupling portions configured to facilitate efficient collection of various received beams. The optical sensing system further includes multiple light detectors configured to process collected beams and produce data representative of a velocity of an object that generated the received beam and/or a distance to that object.