Described herein are systems and methods that detect an electromagnetic signal in a constant interference environment. In one embodiment, the electromagnetic signal is a light signal. A constant interference detector may detect false signal “hits” generated by constant interference, such as bright light saturation, from valid signals. The constant interference detector determines if there is constant interference for a time period that is greater than a time period of the valid signal. In one embodiment, if a received signal exceeds a programmable threshold value for a programmable period of time, when compared to previously stored ambient light, a control signal is generated to inform the next higher network layer of a sudden change in ambient light. This control signal can be used to either discard the present return or process the signal in a different way. A constant interference detector may be a component of a LIDAR system.

An example method and system for filtering point cloud data includes obtaining point cloud data from a LIDAR device. The point cloud data may include at least a first pulse-length range and a second pulse-length range. The first range may include one or more first-length pulses and the second range may include one or more second-length pulses. The method may further include filtering the point cloud data by determining respective magnitudes of each of the one or more first-length pulses and each of the one or more second-length pulses, comparing the magnitudes of the first-length pulses to a first threshold, comparing the magnitudes of the second-length pulses to a second threshold, and removing any pulses having a magnitude less than the respective thresholds. The method may further include determining, based on the filtered point cloud data, objects in an environment around the LIDAR.

An emitter unit is designed to emit segments of electromagnetic radiation temporally offset to one another along a line. A detector includes a plurality of linearly situated detector channels. A first sequence and at least one second sequence of segments are emitted. The sequences differ at least with respect to a temporal distance between two successive segments. First signals and second signals are detected on the basis of segments of the first and second sequence reflected at objects and striking the detector. Signal strengths of first and second signals are added together in order to obtain sum signals for each detection channel. Signal strengths of the sum signals are compared with a predefinable threshold value and identified as real if they are greater than the predefinable threshold value.

Systems and methods for detecting glass for robots are disclosed herein. According to at least one non-limiting exemplary embodiment, a method for detecting glass objects using a LiDAR or light based time-of-flight (“ToF”) sensor is disclosed. According to at least one non-limiting exemplary embodiment, a method for detecting glass objects using an image sensor is disclosed. Both methods may be used in conjunction to enable a robot to quickly detect, verify, and map glass objects on a computer readable map.

A method for generating light pulses of a LIDAR system. The method includes the following steps: a) generating a light pulse sequence, including at least one first light pulse and one second light pulse of different intensities by a light source, in particular a laser; b) emitting the light pulse sequence by the LIDAR system; c) receiving, by the LIDAR system, a portion of the light pulse sequence reflected by an object; d) evaluating the received portion of the light pulse sequence for measuring distance. A corresponding LIDAR system, a computer program and a machine-readable memory medium are also described.

A sensing system is disclosed for performing distance measurements. The sensing system may include an emitter configured to emit electromagnetic radiation modulated at a known frequency. The sensing system may further include a detector configured to sample incident electromagnetic radiation at the known frequency, convert the sampled electromagnetic radiation into charge carriers, and collect the charge carriers in a storage component to produce an electronic signal. The sensing system may include a processor configured to determine a correction by applying a non-linear polynomial function to the electronic signal.

There is provided a distance measurement device that can appropriately detect a distance to an object regardless of the distance. The distance measurement device includes a laser light source, a photodetector, and a controller. The controller performs a long-distance routine that detects timing for receiving light when an object is at a long distance, and a short-distance routine that detects the timing for receiving light when the object is at a short distance, based on a detection signal output from the photodetector during one distance measurement operation. The controller then selects one of a detection result of the timing for receiving light by the long-distance routine and a detection result of the timing for receiving light by the short-distance routine, and calculates the distance to the object irradiated with projection light based on the selected detection result.

In an optical detection system, features of interest can be identified from ADC circuitry data prior to inter-circuit communication with downstream object or target processing circuitry. In this manner, a volume of data being transferred to such downstream processing circuitry can be reduced as compared to other approaches, simplifying the receive signal processing chain and providing power savings. First-tier signal processing circuitry to identify features of interest can be located on or within a commonly-shared integrated circuit package with ADC circuitry, and downstream processing circuitry for object processing or range estimation can be fed with a data link meeting less stringent requirements than a link between the ADC circuitry and first-tier signal processing circuitry.

A LiDAR performance detection method, a device, and a computer storage medium are provided. The method includes: acquiring a target signal in a target monitoring mode within a blanking interval; determining a measurement value in the target monitoring mode based on the target signal in the target monitoring mode within the blanking interval; and determining that the transceiver module of the LiDAR is abnormal when the measurement value in the target monitoring mode is not within a preset range.

A detection circuit for adjusting a width of output pulses is provided, including: a single-photon avalanche diode configured to generate a photocurrent according to an incident photon; and a comparator, having a first input terminal to receive a signal indicating an adjustable threshold, and a second input terminal coupled to the single-photon avalanche diode to receive an electrical signal representing the photocurrent. The comparator outputs a waveform based on a comparison result between the electrical signal and the signal indicating the adjustable threshold. When a plurality of photons are received by the single-photon avalanche diode within a short time period, a pulse width of an output signal of the circuit is increased. A number of photons can be obtained according to the pulse width of the signal, and a dynamic range of the single-photon avalanche diode device is improved. A pulse width of a single-photon signal can be adjusted.