A sensor assembly can include a housing that includes a view pane and a mounting feature configured to replace a trailer light of a cargo trailer of a semi-trailer truck. The sensor assembly can also include a lighting element mounted within the housing to selectively generate light, and a sensor mounted within the housing and having a field of view through the view pane. The sensor assembly can also include a communication interface configured to transmit sensor data from the sensor to a control system of the self-driving tractor.

An optical receiving module may include: a light transmitting body configured to transmit light; a light incidence part through which light is incident into the light transmitting body; and a plurality of reflectors configured to reflect the light incident from the light incidence part a plurality of times, such that the light is incident toward a light receiver unit.

A sensor assembly includes a housing having a front chamber and a rear chamber fluidly isolated from the front chamber. The rear chamber includes a rear sensor window and the front chamber includes a front sensor window. The rear chamber includes a rear air inlet and a rear air outlet. The rear air outlet is aimed at the rear sensor window. The front chamber includes a front air inlet and a front air outlet. The front air inlet is aimed at the front sensor window.

An optoelectronic component includes an optical transducer made of III-V semiconductor material and an optical scanning microelectromechanical system comprising a mirror. The optical transducer and the optical scanning microelectromechanical system are produced on a common wafer comprising at least a first layer made of silicon or silicon nitride with a thickness of less than one micron and wherein at least the mirror and its holding springs are produced. In a first variant, the mobile parts of the optical scanning microelectromechanical system are produced in various layers of silicon. In a second variant, the mobile parts of the optical scanning microelectromechanical system are produced in the layer of III-V semiconductor material.

A sensing system comprising an emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation, a detector configured to detect electromagnetic radiation and an electronic component configured to interact with a circuitry of the sensing system. The electronic component is located at least partially between the emitter and the detector. The electronic component reduces an amount of electromagnetic radiation propagating from the emitter to the detector. The electronic component advantageously reduces the unwanted detection of electromagnetic radiation that would otherwise propagate directly from the emitter to the detector without leaving the sensing system, thereby reducing a measurement noise and improving an accuracy of the sensing system. The sensing system may form part of a time-of-flight sensing system or a proximity sensing system. The sensing system may form part of an electronic device such as a mobile phone.

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.

The present invention is intended to provide a contactless power supply and data communication apparatus comprising: a main shaft configured to connect and fix an upper combination body from the center while being supported by a lower combination body; a motor configured to provide rotation power for rotating a rotary part centering around the main shaft; a wireless power part consisting of a transmission part core united with and fixed to an outer circumferential surface of the main shaft, and a reception part core spaced apart from the transmission part core, and rotating from an upper end, thereby supplying and receiving power through electromagnetic induction; and an optical communication part configured to transmit and receive an optical signal by being configured in such a manner that a rotary communication element disposed on a lower surface of a rotary substrate rotating with the main shaft as its center, and a fixed communication element disposed on an upper surface of a fixed substrate which is fixed are spaced apart from each other at a fixed distance, and is also intended to provide a rotary drive light detection and ranging (LiDAR) system to which the contactless power supply and data communication apparatus is applied.

A method for scanning a transmitted beam through a 360° FOV in a LIDAR system using no moving parts. The method includes directing a laser beam at a first frequency to an SPPR device and directing the laser beam from the SPPR device onto a conical mirror to direct the laser beam at a certain angle therefrom depending on the first frequency of the laser beam. The method further includes shifting the optical frequency of the laser beam to a second frequency to change the angle that the transmitted beam is directed from the conical mirror and intensity modulating the laser beam at the second frequency using a first intensity modulation frequency for a predetermined period of time. The method further includes receiving a reflected beam from the target and estimating a round trip time of the transmitted beam and the reflected beam using the modulation of the laser beam.

A laser radar device includes: a light source; a mirror rotatable about a rotation shaft to reflect laser light emitted by the light source; a window; and a detector to detect laser light. The mirror has a low reflection area having a lower reflectance than the other region of the mirror, in a state where a mirror surface faces toward the light source, at position adjacent to the light source than the detector in an axial direction of the rotation shaft and adjacent to the window than a region where the laser light emitted by the light source hits for a first time in a radial direction of the rotation shaft. The window has an inclined posture in which a distance from the rotation shaft is shorter at position adjacent to the detector than at position adjacent to the light source.

A sensing system includes a sensor with transmitters and detectors. A light source is optically coupled to a light guide disposed in the field of view of the sensor. The light guide is generally planar and the light source illuminates the light guide from an edge, or side, to illuminate the length of the light guide. A housing for the sensing system has a surface configured to reflect or diffract light from the light source towards the surrounding environment.