A quadric reflector can have an approximately conical shape. The shape can tapers from a wide base to an apex. The apex can include an aperture, a mirror, and a set of one or more optical elements. A mirror can be positioned within an overhang enclosure of the device in a plane approximately parallel to a circular cross section of the conical shape. The mirror can reflect environmental light that is reflected by the quadric reflector into the aperture or reflect light emitting from the aperture onto the quadric reflector. The overhang enclosure can have a substantially conical shape which eliminates secondary reflection resulting from the environmental light reaching the aperture twice. Using the overhang enclosure to absorb the secondary reflection eliminates or minimizes banding.

An omnidirectional lens is disclosed of the type which captures light from virtually all angles of incidence, and also emits light in all directions. Embodiments are specifically disclosed as a two-way lens that receives light beams from all directions of the compass and directs those light beams to a photosensor. The same two-way lens acts in a “beacon mode” to produce light beams from one or more LEDs, and to emit such light beams (again) in all directions of the compass. The emitted light beams can also be used to signal various functions as visible signals to users on a jobsite.

A meniscus lens has a dome shape and has a first surface facing a lens array and a second surface facing an infrared sensing element. The meniscus lens has a central portion and a peripheral portion. The central portion includes a top point that is an intersection between the optical axis of the meniscus lens and the first surface. The peripheral portion includes an end of the first surface of the meniscus lens. With respect to the central portion of the meniscus lens, an aplanatic point of the first surface is located at the focus of the lens array. With respect to the peripheral portion of the meniscus lens, an aplanatic point of the second surface is located at the focus of the lens array.

A rotationally shift invariant and multi-layered array system for full-field of view and/or photon collection by 4pi steradian field of view. In the system, all of the incoming light (i.e., light from all directions), in a solid angle of 4pi steradians, is focused inside the optics. The optics have a spherically shift invariant structure, providing rotational shift invariance. The system comprises a nontraditional use of the Gabor Superlen and is a configuration of multiple microlens array shell structures with concentrically arranged bulk optical components. Examples of such bulk optical components include Luneburg lenses, micro-structured surfaces, a single lens, a plurality of single lenses, ball lenses, metalenses, diffractive optical elements, and magnetic lenses. In an embodiment, the Gabor Superlens (i.e., microlens array) is planar. In an embodiment, no moving parts are required for the system to achieve truly full-field of view imaging and/or photon collection by 4pi steradian field of view.

According to one embodiment, an optical element includes a continuous gradient index distribution area, and a first medium. The continuous gradient index distribution area is configured to continuously attenuate gradient index from a center of the optical element in a radial direction. The first medium is at the center. The first medium includes an area where absolute value of imaginary part of a complex refractive index is greater than zero.

A LIDAR system architecture which transmits light via an optical phased array and receives the reflected signal with a spherically shift invariant sensor. Phased arrays offer the ability to quickly scan a desired area by manipulating the electrical, or in this casethermal, properties of an array of sensors. Similarly spherically shift invariant systems offer the ability to bring light into focus at the same location regardless of its angle of arrival.

A meniscus lens has a dome shape and has a first surface facing a lens array and a second surface facing an infrared sensing element. The meniscus lens has a central portion and a peripheral portion. The central portion includes a top point that is an intersection between the optical axis of the meniscus lens and the first surface. The peripheral portion includes an end of the first surface of the meniscus lens. With respect to the central portion of the meniscus lens, an aplanatic point of the first surface is located at the focus of the lens array. With respect to the peripheral portion of the meniscus lens, an aplanatic point of the second surface is located at the focus of the lens array.

A panoramic sensing apparatus, comprising: a Fresnel lens system (110) and a light sensing device (120). The Fresnel lens system (110) comprises a composite Fresnel lens (111) in a shape of a frustum, at least one of an inner surface and an outer surface of a sidewall of the frustum being a tooth surface; at least two Fresnel units are distributed on said tooth surface. The light sensing device (120) is used for sensing light rays converged by the Fresnel lens system (110). As the composite Fresnel lens in the shape of a frustum is employed for sensing boundaries of a detection range, in the case where lens areas are the same as a whole, a larger detection range may be obtained, or light energy from each direction may be collected. Further, compared with a composite Fresnel refraction surface arranged on a spherical surface or on a spherical polyhedron, the composite Fresnel refraction surface which is arranged on a sidewall of a frustum involves lowered processing difficulty, and accordingly improved precision and defect-free rate.

Methods, apparatuses and systems for sensing are disclosed herein. An example sensor may include an omnidirectional reflector, a calibration source located inside the omnidirectional reflector and configured to generate one or more calibration beams, a first filter configured to filter one or more first beams including any of a first portion of the incoming beams collected and concentrated by the omnidirectional reflector, and a first detector configured to detect the filtered one or more first beams.

Methods, apparatuses and systems for sensing are disclosed herein. An example sensor may include an omnidirectional reflector, a calibration source located inside the omnidirectional reflector and configured to generate one or more calibration beams, a first filter configured to filter one or more first beams including any of a first portion of the incoming beams collected and concentrated by the omnidirectional reflector, and a first detector configured to detect the filtered one or more first beams.