[go: up one dir, main page]
More Web Proxy on the site http://driver.im/

WO2021035695A1 - Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels - Google Patents

Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2021035695A1
WO2021035695A1 PCT/CN2019/103737 CN2019103737W WO2021035695A1 WO 2021035695 A1 WO2021035695 A1 WO 2021035695A1 CN 2019103737 W CN2019103737 W CN 2019103737W WO 2021035695 A1 WO2021035695 A1 WO 2021035695A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
time
pulse
histogram
photon
superimposed
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/CN2019/103737
Other languages
English (en)
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
朱亮
何燃
王瑞
闫敏
Original Assignee
深圳奥锐达科技有限公司
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by 深圳奥锐达科技有限公司 filed Critical 深圳奥锐达科技有限公司
Priority to PCT/CN2019/103737 priority Critical patent/WO2021035695A1/fr
Publication of WO2021035695A1 publication Critical patent/WO2021035695A1/fr

Links

Images

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/48—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S17/00
    • G01S7/483—Details of pulse systems
    • G01S7/486—Receivers

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to the field of computer technology, in particular to a system and method for time-coded time flight distance measurement.
  • the Time of Flight (TOF) method calculates the distance of an object by measuring the flight time of the beam in space. Because of its high accuracy and large measurement range, it is widely used in consumer electronics, unmanned aerial vehicles, AR/ VR and other fields.
  • Distance measurement systems based on the time-of-flight principle, such as time-of-flight depth cameras and lidars, often include a light source emitting end and a receiving end.
  • the light source emits a beam to the target space to provide illumination, and the receiving end receives the beam reflected by the target. Calculate the distance of the object by calculating the time required for the beam to be reflected and received.
  • the transmitter emits a pulsed beam to the target.
  • the pulsed beam is emitted at a certain frequency.
  • the time interval between adjacent pulses (pulse period) must not be less than the maximum flight time corresponding to the maximum measurement distance of the system. In order to avoid the situation that the signal cannot be recognized. Therefore, the frame rate of the system is often limited by the maximum measurement distance. When the measurement distance of the system reaches 100 meters or more, the frame rate is very low, and it is difficult to meet the high frame rate requirements of some practical applications.
  • the present application provides a system and method for time-coded time-of-flight distance measurement.
  • a system for measuring flight distance in random time code time including:
  • a transmitter configured to emit a light signal pulse train with a double random time code, the pulse train including N pulse groups transmitted in the form of a second random time code, and the pulse group includes n pulse groups with a first random time Pulses emitted in coded form;
  • a collector configured to collect photons in the optical signal pulse train reflected back by the object
  • the processing circuit is connected to the transmitter and the collector, and is configured to count the photons to form a single-photon count timing string of N pulse group periods; and is based on the first random time code and the N Draw a histogram of a single-photon counting sequence of pulse group cycles.
  • the processing circuit is configured to determine the time corresponding to the pulse waveform in the histogram; and determine the flight time according to the time corresponding to the pulse waveform.
  • drawing a histogram includes:
  • the superimposed total time sequence string is superimposed according to the first random time code to form the histogram.
  • drawing a histogram includes:
  • the photon counts in the corresponding time units between the N superimposed time series are superimposed to form the histogram.
  • the superimposing according to the first random time code includes:
  • the subsequent ones in the sequence string are separated from the starting unit by ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1)
  • the photon count value in all time units is superimposed with the photon count value in the starting unit, and the superimposed photon count is used as the photon count value in the starting time unit, where
  • the first random time code is [ ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1) ].
  • a method for measuring flight distance in random time code time including the following steps:
  • a histogram is drawn based on the first random time code and the single-photon counting sequence of N pulse group periods.
  • the method further includes the following steps:
  • the flight time is determined according to the time corresponding to the pulse waveform.
  • drawing the histogram includes the following steps:
  • the superimposed total time sequence string is superimposed according to the first random time code to form the histogram.
  • drawing the histogram includes the following steps:
  • the photon counts in the corresponding time units between the N superimposed time series are superimposed to form the histogram.
  • the superimposing according to the first random time code includes:
  • the subsequent ones in the sequence string are separated from the starting unit by ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1)
  • the photon count value in all time units is superimposed with the photon count value in the starting unit, and the superimposed photon count is used as the photon count value in the starting time unit, where
  • the first random time code is [ ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1) ].
  • the present invention provides a system and method for time-coded time flight distance measurement.
  • the present invention can allow a transmitter to transmit pulse trains with a pulse period that is much lower than the maximum measurement range corresponding to the maximum flight time. Improve the frame rate. Since the system and method of the preferred embodiment of the present invention do not collect photons in the entire frame period, it can not only effectively reduce ambient light noise, but also can greatly reduce the entry of photons emitted by other devices when multiple devices coexist, thereby resisting multi-devices. The interference effect is better.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a time-of-flight distance measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 2(a) is a schematic diagram showing that the corresponding time code is a regular time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the transmitter transmits a pulse train containing n pulses with a pulse period ⁇ t.
  • Fig. 2(b) is a schematic diagram showing that the corresponding time code is a regular time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the collector successively receives the photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after time t.
  • Fig. 3(a) is a schematic diagram of a frame period single-photon counting sequence string of regular time encoding according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 3(b) is a histogram formed after superimposing regular time codes according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 4(a) is a schematic diagram of the corresponding time code being a random time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the transmitter transmits a pulse train containing n pulses in a random time interval.
  • Fig. 4(b) is a schematic diagram showing that the corresponding time code is a random time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the collector successively receives the photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after time t.
  • Fig. 5(a) is a schematic diagram of a frame period single photon counting sequence string of random time encoding according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 5(b) is a histogram formed after random time code superposition according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 6(a) is a schematic diagram showing that the corresponding time code is a double random time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the transmitter transmits N*n pulses in a double random time interval.
  • Fig. 6(b) is a schematic diagram showing that the corresponding time code is a double random time code according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the collector successively receives photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after time t.
  • Fig. 7(a) is a schematic diagram of a single-photon counting sequence of N pulse group periods with double random time coding according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 7(b) is a histogram formed after double random time coding is superimposed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a time code demodulation processing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of another time code demodulation processing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • connection can be used for fixing or circuit connection.
  • first and second are only used for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with “first” and “second” may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of these features.
  • “plurality” means two or more, unless otherwise specifically defined.
  • the invention provides a time-flight distance measuring system, which has stronger anti-ambient light ability and higher resolution.
  • Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a time-of-flight distance measurement system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the distance measurement system 10 includes a transmitter 11, a collector 12, and a processing circuit 13.
  • the transmitter 11 provides a emitted light beam 30 to the target space to illuminate an object 20 in the space. At least part of the emitted light beam 30 is reflected by the object 20 to form a reflected light beam. 40. At least part of the light signals (photons) of the reflected light beam 40 are collected by the collector 12.
  • the processing circuit 13 is connected to the transmitter 11 and the collector 12 respectively, and the trigger signals of the transmitter 11 and the collector 12 are synchronized to calculate the light beam from the transmitter
  • the time required for 11 to be emitted and received by the collector 12, that is, the flight time t between the emitted light beam 30 and the reflected light beam 40, further, the distance D of the corresponding point on the object can be calculated by the following formula:
  • c is the speed of light.
  • the transmitter 11 includes a light source 111 and an optical element 112.
  • the light source 111 can be a light source such as a light emitting diode (LED), an edge emitting laser (EEL), a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL), etc., or an array light source composed of multiple light sources.
  • the array light source 111 is a monolithic semiconductor
  • a plurality of VCSEL light sources are generated on the substrate to form a VCSEL array light source chip.
  • the light beam emitted by the light source 111 may be visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, or the like.
  • the light source 111 emits light beams outward under the control of the processing circuit 13.
  • the light source 111 emits a pulsed light beam at a certain frequency (pulse period) under the control of the processing circuit 13, which can be used in the direct time flight method ( In Direct TOF measurement, the frequency is set according to the measurement distance, for example, it can be set to 1MHz ⁇ 100MHz, and the measurement distance is from several meters to several hundred meters. It is understandable that it may be a part of the processing circuit 13 or a sub-circuit independent of the processing circuit 13 to control the light source 111 to emit related light beams, such as a pulse signal generator.
  • the optical element 112 receives the pulsed beam from the light source 111, and optically modulates the pulsed beam, such as diffraction, refraction, reflection, etc., and then emits the modulated beam into space, such as a focused beam, a flood beam, and a structured light beam. Wait.
  • the optical element 112 may be a lens, a diffractive optical element, a mask, a mirror, etc., or may be a MEMS galvanometer.
  • the processing circuit 13 can be an independent dedicated circuit, such as a dedicated SOC chip, FPGA chip, ASIC chip, etc., or a general-purpose processor.
  • a dedicated SOC chip such as a dedicated SOC chip, FPGA chip, ASIC chip, etc.
  • a general-purpose processor such as a general-purpose processor.
  • the processor in the terminal can be used as at least a part of the processing circuit 13.
  • the collector 12 includes a pixel unit 121 and an imaging lens unit 122.
  • the imaging lens unit 122 receives and guides at least part of the modulated light beam reflected by the object to the pixel unit 121.
  • the pixel unit 121 is composed of a single photon avalanche photodiode (SPAD), or an array pixel unit composed of multiple SPAD pixels.
  • the array size of the array pixel unit represents the resolution of the depth camera, such as 320x240 Wait.
  • SPAD can respond to the incident single photon to realize the detection of single photon. Because of its high sensitivity and fast response speed, it can realize long-distance and high-precision measurement.
  • SPAD can count single photons, such as the use of time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) to realize the collection of weak light signals and the calculation of flight time .
  • TCSPC time-correlated single photon counting
  • connected to the pixel unit 121 also includes a readout circuit composed of one or more of a signal amplifier, a time-to-digital converter (TDC), an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and other devices (not shown in the figure).
  • TDC time-to-digital converter
  • ADC analog-to-digital converter
  • these circuits can be integrated with the pixels, and they can also be part of the processing circuit 13. For ease of description, the processing circuit 13 will be collectively regarded.
  • the distance measurement system 10 may also include a color camera, an infrared camera, an IMU, and other devices, and the combination of these devices can achieve richer functions, such as 3D texture modeling, infrared face recognition, SLAM and other functions.
  • the transmitter 11 and the collector 12 can also be arranged in a coaxial form, that is, the two are realized by optical devices with reflection and transmission functions, such as a half mirror.
  • a single photon incident on the SPAD pixel will cause an avalanche
  • the SPAD will output an avalanche signal to the TDC circuit
  • the TDC circuit will detect the time interval between the photon emission from the emitter 11 and the avalanche.
  • the time interval is passed through a time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC) circuit for histogram statistics to recover the waveform of the entire pulse signal, so as to achieve accurate flight time detection, and finally calculate the distance information of the object according to the flight time.
  • TCSPC time-correlated single photon counting
  • the maximum measurement range of the distance measurement system is Dmax
  • the corresponding maximum flight time is Generally, ⁇ t ⁇ t 1 is required to avoid signal aliasing, where c is the speed of light.
  • the time (frame period) to realize a single distance measurement will not be less than n*t 1 .
  • the maximum measurement range is 150m
  • the corresponding pulse period ⁇ t 1us
  • the frame rate will be less than 10fps. It can be seen that the maximum measurement range in the TCSPC method limits the pulse period, which further affects the frame rate of distance measurement.
  • the system and method for time-coded time-of-flight measurement provided by the present invention can be implemented by several different time-coded pulse modulation and demodulation schemes, which are described in detail as follows.
  • FIGs 2(a) and 2(b) are schematic diagrams of time-coded pulse modulation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the transmitter 11 will be much smaller than the maximum flight time corresponding to the maximum measurement range Dmax
  • the pulse period ⁇ t transmits a pulse train, and the pulse train contains n pulses, as shown in Figure 2(a). If the measured target is at D and the corresponding flight time is t, the collector 12 will successively receive the photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after the time t, as shown in Fig. 2(b).
  • the frame period T is set to T ⁇ (n-1) ⁇ t+t 1 , that is, when the target is at the maximum measurement distance, the last in the pulse train
  • the time required for a pulse to be transmitted by the transmitter 11 until received by the collector 12 is exactly t 1 , which ensures that all pulse trains in a single frame period will be received and there will be no adjacent frame periods
  • the waveform of each pulse in the transmitted pulse train is often not as regular as the square wave shown in the figure, so the figure is only used as an example.
  • the received pulse train is only an example, and what the collector 12 receives is actually a photon number sequence that can reflect the received pulse train, which will be described in detail later.
  • the present invention provides a new time-coded continuous single-photon counting demodulation method.
  • Figures 3(a) and 3(b) are time-coded continuous single-photon counting demodulation methods according to an embodiment of the present invention. While the transmitter 11 emits a pulse train containing n pulses, the collector 12 will be activated to collect part of the photons in the pulse reflected from the target, and the processing circuit 13 will process and record the corresponding time of each incident photon, such as Use the TDC circuit to collect the incident photon time, and then use the processing circuit to identify and record the photon time, and finally form the frame period single photon counting time series as shown in Figure 3(a). Each square of the time series is It is the minimum time unit determined by the TDC time resolution.
  • the time sequence string can be acquired by any appropriate method and stored in the memory, such as continuous acquisition by a TDC with a higher bandwidth, or acquisition by a TDC with a lower bandwidth through multiple acquisitions and splicing.
  • the frame period single photon counting time series can also be collected by other types of circuits.
  • the sampling circuit can respond to the SPAD avalanche signal to directly obtain the time series. Therefore, the frame period single-photon counting sequence can also be referred to as the frame period single-photon sampling sequence.
  • the collected frame period single photon counting time series is stored in the memory, and then the histogram circuit in the processor 13 draws the histogram based on the time series, which is similar to the traditional histogram drawing in TCSPC. The principle is different.
  • the histogram in this embodiment will adopt a time-coded continuous single-photon count superposition method.
  • the minimum time unit (minimum storage unit bin) of the histogram is the same as the minimum time unit of the time series. For the time unit to be drawn, superimposition is performed according to the time code when the burst is transmitted, such as sequentially Overlay.
  • the pulse train emits a total of n pulses with a pulse period ⁇ t, and the corresponding time code is a regular time code, namely [ ⁇ t, 2 ⁇ t, 3 ⁇ t,..., (n-1) ⁇ t].
  • the superposition based on the time code refers to the current
  • the time unit to be drawn is the starting unit, and the photon counts in all time units that are separated from the starting unit by ⁇ t, 2 ⁇ t, 3 ⁇ t,..., (n-1) ⁇ t in the sequence string and the starting unit
  • the photon count values are sequentially superimposed, and the superimposed photon count is used as the value of the time unit in the histogram.
  • the superimposition of the first time unit of the histogram as shown by the arrow in Figure 3(a).
  • the histogram formed by time-coding and superimposing multiple time units is shown in Figure 3(b).
  • the collector 12 has the highest probability of collecting a photon counting event only when each pulse in the pulse train emitted by the transmitter 11 is reflected back to the collector 12 during the entire frame period.
  • the probability of collecting photons at the moment of receiving the pulse train shown in Figure 2(b) is the highest, which means that the photon count value on the corresponding time unit in the time series in Figure 3(a) is The probability of "1" is significantly higher than other time units.
  • the time resolution of TDC is smaller than the pulse width, that is, the width of each time unit of the time series is smaller than the pulse width.
  • the obtained histogram will show much Each time unit has a higher value and forms a waveform diagram reflecting the pulse shape. In this case, the time corresponding to the highest point of the waveform diagram can be used as the flight time to be measured.
  • the photon acquisition time does not need to cover the entire frame period, but only needs to be within the time of [(n-1) ⁇ t+t 1 ] Acquisition, that is, the length of the frame period single photon counting sequence string is [(n-1) ⁇ t+t 1 ], and data processing can be performed during the rest of the frame period, such as histogram calculation, flight time calculation, and distance calculation Wait.
  • the size of the smallest time unit may be an integer multiple of each time unit in the frame period single-photon count sequence string, such as 2 times, thus Can reduce the amount of calculation and memory required for histogram drawing.
  • the interval between adjacent time units can be greater than 1, for example, time coding superimposition is performed every other time unit, which can also reduce The amount of calculation and memory required for drawing.
  • the total time length of the histogram is [(n-1) ⁇ t+t 1 ], when the time unit after time t 1 is superimposed, there will be no more photon counts in the time unit in the time series. Values are superimposed, and the time unit involved in the superposition will gradually decrease.
  • the preferred embodiment does not need to be drawn with the same frame cycle length histogram, but only needs to draw from zero to the period histogram of t 1, since only the target within the maximum measurement range, The first wave crest must appear, and the flight time t can be determined with the first wave crest.
  • the pulse waveform in the histogram when searching for the pulse waveform in the histogram, it can be searched by setting a threshold value. Values above the threshold value are retained, and values below the threshold value are regarded as noise.
  • the drawing order of the histogram can also be changed, that is, it is not necessary to start from 0 to draw time unit by time unit.
  • the dichotomy can be used to draw from the middle time.
  • the first pulse waveform Once the first pulse waveform is found, continue drawing in the direction of the earlier time unit until no waveform is found in the earlier time period when the current pulse waveform is separated by ⁇ t. At this time, it is considered that the time corresponding to the current pulse waveform is the flight time of the target.
  • any suitable search algorithm that can locate the first pulse waveform is suitable for this scheme.
  • the total time length of the histogram will be adaptively changed based on the execution process of the search algorithm.
  • the calculation will stop, and then the first pulse waveform can be used for The wave crest position is determined to obtain the flight time t.
  • the total time length of the adaptively changed histogram will not exceed the maximum flight time t 1 , so that the amount of calculation and memory consumption can be greatly reduced.
  • the process of drawing a frame period single-photon count time series string and drawing a histogram based on the time series string can also be combined into one, that is, the histogram can be drawn directly based on the photon count, or of course.
  • the two steps to more than three steps.
  • the implementation principles are the same, but the implementation forms are different, and the corresponding hardware circuits will also be different. For example, the detailed description of the combination of two will be described in the specific processing circuit design later.
  • the realization form of one can reduce the storage capacity. Therefore, any realization form that utilizes this principle falls within the protection scope of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4(a) and 4(b) are schematic diagrams of random time-coded pulse modulation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the pulses in this embodiment will be transmitted at preset random (pseudo-random) intervals, that is, the pulses are coded with random time [ ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1) ], ⁇ t i represents the i-th pulse and the (i+1)th pulse
  • the time interval of each pulse, i 1, 2,...(n-1), as shown in Figure 4(a).
  • the collector 12 will successively receive the photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after the time t, as shown in Fig. 4(b).
  • the frame period T is set to That is, when the most target is located at the maximum measurement distance, the time required for the last pulse in the pulse train from the beginning of reflection by the transmitter 11 to the end of being received by the collector 12 is exactly t 1 , which ensures that it is in a single frame All the bursts in the period will be received and will not be affected by the pulses in the adjacent frame period.
  • Figures 5(a) and 5(b) are random time coding continuous single photon counting demodulation methods according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the collector 12 will be activated to collect some of the photons in the pulse reflected from the target, and the processing circuit 13 will process and record the corresponding time of each incident photon, and finally form the frame period single photon count time series as shown in Figure 5(a).
  • the time series records the photon count value in each time unit, and the time series
  • the total time length of the string is the frame period.
  • the collected frame period single photon counting time series is stored in the memory, and then the histogram circuit in the processor 13 draws a histogram based on the time series, which is similar to Figure 3(a) and Figure 3. Similar to the embodiment shown in (b), the histogram in this embodiment will also adopt a time-coded continuous single-photon count superposition method. The difference is that the time code is a random time code. For the time unit to be drawn, it will be coded according to the time when the burst is transmitted [ ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,...
  • the current time unit to be drawn will be the starting unit, and the subsequent sequence in the sequence will be separated from the starting unit by ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...
  • the photon count value in all time units of + ⁇ t (n-1) is sequentially superimposed with the photon count value in the starting unit, and the superimposed photon count is used as the value of the time unit in the histogram.
  • the histogram formed by time-coding and superimposing multiple time units is shown in Figure 5(b).
  • the size of the smallest time unit may be an integer multiple of the frame period single-photon count sequence string, such as 2 times, thereby reducing the histogram drawing The amount of calculation and memory required at the time.
  • the interval between adjacent time units can be greater than 1, for example, time coding superimposition is performed every other time unit, which can also reduce The amount of calculation and memory required for drawing.
  • the total time length of the histogram is [(n-1) ⁇ t+t 1 ], when the time unit after time t 1 is superimposed, there will be no more photon counts in the time unit in the time series. Values are superimposed, and the time unit involved in the superposition will gradually decrease.
  • the preferred embodiment does not need to be drawn with the same frame cycle length histogram, but only needs to draw from zero to the period histogram of t 1, since only the target within the maximum measurement range, The first wave crest must appear, and the flight time t can be determined with the first wave crest.
  • the pulse waveform in the histogram when searching for the pulse waveform in the histogram, it can be searched by setting a threshold value. Values above the threshold value are retained, and values below the threshold value are regarded as noise.
  • the drawing order of the histogram can also be changed, that is, it is not necessary to start from 0 to draw time unit by time unit.
  • the dichotomy can be used to draw from the intermediate time, so that the pulse waveform can be quickly found.
  • the use of any suitable search algorithm that can locate the pulse waveform is suitable for this solution.
  • the total time length of the histogram will be adaptively changed based on the execution process of the search algorithm. Once the pulse waveform is detected, the calculation will stop, and then the pulse waveform can be used to determine the peak position to obtain the flight time t .
  • the process of drawing a frame period single photon count time series and drawing a histogram based on the time series can also be combined into one, that is, the histogram can be drawn directly based on the photon count, of course, the two can also be drawn.
  • the two steps are expanded into more than three steps.
  • the implementation principles are the same, but the implementation forms are different, and the corresponding hardware circuits will also be different. For example, the detailed description will be combined into one in the specific processing circuit design later.
  • the realization form of can reduce the storage capacity, so any realization form using this principle is within the protection scope of the present invention.
  • Double random time code pulse modulation and demodulation method Double random time code pulse modulation and demodulation method
  • FIG. 6(a) and 6(b) are schematic diagrams of dual random time-coded pulse modulation according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the collector 12 will successively receive the photons in the pulse train reflected by the target after the time t, as shown in Fig. 6(b).
  • the frame period T is set to That is, when the most target is located at the maximum measurement distance, the time required for the last pulse in the pulse train from the beginning of reflection by the transmitter 11 to the end of being received by the collector 12 is exactly t 1 , which ensures that it is in a single frame All the bursts in the period will be received and will not be affected by the pulses in the adjacent frame period.
  • Fig. 7(a) and Fig. 7(b) are a double random time coding continuous single photon counting demodulation method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the difference from the embodiment shown in Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b) is that while the transmitter 11 transmits N*n pulses, the collector 12 does not collect during the entire pulse train transmission time period.
  • the collector 12 will be activated to collect part of the photons in the pulse reflected from the target only during the time that each pulse group is emitted (considering the photon return time difference, it can be appropriately greater than the time period of the pulse group), the processing circuit 13 The corresponding time of each incident photon incidence will be processed and recorded, and finally a single photon counting time series of N pulse group cycles as shown in Figure 7(a) will be formed, and each time unit of the time series will record the photon count value. , The total time length of the sequence string is the time period corresponding to the pulse group.
  • the collected N pulse group period single photon counting time series are stored in the memory, and then the histogram circuit in the processor 13 draws a histogram based on the time series.
  • the method of superimposing and fusing the traditional TCSPC with the time code in the embodiment shown in Figs. 3 and 5 is actually used. That is to say, the drawing is performed in two steps (the two steps are not sequential, and can also be crossed).
  • the first step is similar to the traditional TCSPC method, that is, the photon counting in the corresponding time unit between the N pulse group period single photon counting sequence series Superimpose, as shown by the upward plus arrow in Figure 7(a); in the second step, the total sequence obtained in the first step is coded according to the first time of pulse emission in the pulse group [ ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1) ] superimpose, that is, take the current time unit to be superimposed as the starting unit, and combine the subsequent ones in the sequence string with this
  • the starting unit is separated by ⁇ t 1 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 , ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 + ⁇ t 3 ,..., ⁇ t 1 + ⁇ t 2 ...+ ⁇ t (n-1)
  • the photon count value and the starting unit in all time units The photon count values in are sequentially superimposed, and
  • time code superposition can also be performed first and then TCSPC, that is, the single photon counting sequence of each pulse group period is superimposed according to the first time code, as shown in the horizontal plus sign in Figure 7(a) As shown; and then superimpose the corresponding time units in the N superimposed time series, as shown by the arrow plus sign in Figure 7 (a). Finally, the histogram shown in Figure 7(b) will be obtained.
  • the size of the minimum time unit of the histogram can be an integer multiple of the minimum time unit of the time series.
  • the interval between two adjacent time units of the histogram can also be greater than 1, for example, time code superimposition is performed every other time unit, which can also reduce the amount of calculation and memory required for rendering.
  • the time length of the histogram can be adjusted adaptively and does not need to be the same as the period length of the pulse group. Generally, only need to draw the histogram from 0 to t 1 in the time period, because only when there is a target in the maximum measurement range, the first wave crest will definitely appear, and the first wave crest can be determined Flight time t is out.
  • the pulse waveform in the histogram when searching for the pulse waveform in the histogram, it can be searched by setting a threshold value. Values above the threshold value are retained, and values below the threshold value are regarded as noise.
  • the drawing order of the histogram can also be changed, that is, it is not necessary to start from 0 to draw time unit by time unit.
  • the dichotomy can be used to draw from the intermediate time, so that the pulse waveform can be quickly found.
  • the use of any suitable search algorithm that can locate the pulse waveform is suitable for this solution.
  • the total time length of the histogram will be adaptively changed based on the execution process of the search algorithm. Once the pulse waveform is detected, the calculation will stop, and then the pulse waveform can be used to determine the peak position to obtain the flight time t .
  • the present invention also provides a time code demodulation processing circuit and processing method.
  • Fig. 8 is a time code demodulation processing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the time code demodulation processing circuit 82 is connected to the pixel unit 81.
  • the pixel unit 81 may be a SPAD pixel for detecting the photons of the reflected light beam.
  • the processing circuit 82 detects The arrival of each photon event is processed to calculate the flight time of the photon back and forth.
  • the time code demodulation processing circuit 82 of this embodiment includes a sampling circuit 821, a timing string memory 822, a read address register 823, a time code sequence memory 824, an addition register 825, a histogram time unit counter (referred to as a bin counter) 826, and a histogram Figure memory 827.
  • the pixel unit 81 After the pixel unit 81 collects the photon signal of the reflected light beam, it will output a photon detection event represented by the pulse signal.
  • the sampling circuit 821 will sample the pulse signal under the control of the clock signal (for example, 1 GHz) sent by the clock generator.
  • a single-photon counting timing string is formed in the frame period. It can be understood that the sampling circuit 821 may also include a TDC circuit as described above, as long as it can generate a single-photon counting timing sequence from a photon counting event.
  • the sampling time interval of the sampling circuit 821 is generally not less than the pulse width, so as to avoid the situation that photons cannot be sampled at a time corresponding to a pulse width.
  • the sampling circuit 821 when the pixel unit 81 detects a photon, the sampling circuit 821 will output a digital signal 1. When no photon is detected, the sampling circuit 821 will output a digital signal 0. Therefore, within a period of time, the sampling circuit 821 will output a digital signal of 0. A sequence of 0 and 1 is output, and the sequence formed in one frame period is the single photon counting sequence of the frame period.
  • the frame period single photon counting time series sampled by the sampling circuit 821 will be sequentially stored in the time series memory 822 according to the memory unit address.
  • the memory size of the time series memory 822 is different according to the sampling time, for example, when sampling The duration is 1000ns, the sampling interval is 1ns, and the corresponding memory is 1000bits.
  • the time code sequence memory 824 is used to store pre-written time code sequences, such as the regular time code sequence shown in FIG. 2(a) or the random time code sequence shown in FIG. 4(a).
  • the read address register 823 is used to store the address of the memory unit in the time series memory 822 that needs to be read out. Under the control of the clock signal, the time series memory 822 will read the data at the corresponding address according to the address in the read address register 823 to Addition register 825. Subsequently, the read address register 823 will automatically jump to the next address that needs to be read. For example, if the current address is x, it will automatically jump to the next address that needs to be read based on the time code sequence stored in the time code sequence memory 824. The address of: x+ ⁇ t i , where ⁇ t i is the time interval sequence value stored in the time code sequence memory 824.
  • the addition register 825 is used to perform addition calculations, and add the data currently stored in it with the data in the corresponding storage unit transferred from the time sequence memory 822. When all the sequences in the time code sequence memory 824 have been read, the The addition register 825 completes the calculation of a histogram time unit bin, and then writes this value into the histogram memory 827 to draw the histogram.
  • the bin counter 826 is used to store the number of the currently drawn bin. When all the sequences in the time code sequence memory 824 are read, that is, after the current bin drawing is finished, pulses are sent to the bin counter 826 and the addition register 825, and the bin counter 826 The number is automatically +1 to start the drawing of the next bin, the value of this bin is written into the histogram memory 827, and the addition register 825 is cleared to 0 at the same time.
  • the processing circuit 82 may further calculate the flight time based on the histogram.
  • the sampling of the data and the drawing of the histogram are performed sequentially in time sequence, that is, the sampling of the frame period single photon counting time series is first saved in the time series memory 822, and then the time series is executed. Data processing to obtain histogram.
  • a multi-timing string memory 822 may be used, for example, a dual timing string memory 822 is used, and when one frame of data is sampled, it is stored in the first timing string memory 822. Subsequently, when the histogram is drawn using the time series in the first time series memory 822, the sampling circuit 821 works synchronously, and saves the sampled time series in the second time series memory 822.
  • the sampling circuit 821 saves the sampled time series in the first time series memory 822. In this way, the sampling time can be greatly increased, and the frame rate can be increased.
  • the present invention also provides a time code demodulation method, which includes the following steps:
  • the sampling circuit 821 samples the photon events of the reflected light beam detected by the pixel unit 81 to form a frame period single photon counting time series and save it in the time series memory 822;
  • the read address register 823 read the data at the corresponding address from the timing string memory 822 to the addition register 825;
  • the addition register 825 executes the addition operation between the data currently saved and the data read out by the timing string memory 822, and transmits the operation result to the corresponding bin of the histogram memory 827 to draw a histogram;
  • the number of the previously drawn bin is stored in the bin counter 826, and the number is automatically increased by 1 when the current bin drawing is completed.
  • the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 has higher requirements on the memory.
  • the processing circuit is monolithically integrated, the capacity of the on-chip memory will be higher. It is not conducive to mass production of chips.
  • the present invention provides a demodulation method for real-time histogram drawing.
  • FIG 9 is a real-time time code demodulation processing circuit according to an embodiment of the present invention.
  • the time code demodulation processing circuit 92 is connected to the pixel unit 91.
  • the pixel unit 91 may be a SPAD pixel for detecting photons of the reflected light beam.
  • the processing circuit 92 Each detected photon event is processed to calculate the round-trip flight time of the photon.
  • the time unit that is, the time point of the corresponding photon event
  • the sequence string required for each bin to perform the superposition calculation is based on time
  • the code is known. Based on this, the corresponding relationship between each bin address and the time unit address in the time sequence that needs to be superimposed can be saved in advance.
  • the photon count value output by the sampling circuit 921 in real time will be based on the corresponding relationship, and the current The bin corresponding to the photon count value, and then the photon count value is gated to enter the corresponding bin for superposition.
  • the time code demodulation processing circuit 92 of this embodiment includes a sampling circuit 921, a time code sequence controller 922, a time code sequence control memory 923, and a histogram memory 924.
  • the sampling circuit 921 samples the pulse signal under the control of the clock signal (for example, 1 GHz) sent by the clock generator to output the sampling signal ( That is, the photon count value is 0 or 1), the sampling signal is sent to the time code sequence controller 922, and the time code sequence controller 922 will control the corresponding relationship stored in the memory 923 according to the time code sequence to control the sampling signal to enter the histogram memory 924
  • the sampling signal can be selected by means of three-state gates, transmission gates, etc. to superimpose in the corresponding bins.
  • the time code sequence control memory 923 saves the corresponding relationship between the sampling signal and the bin that needs to be turned on. For example, it contains a storage space of n x j, where n is the number of time bins, and j is the number of bins in the pixel unit. The number of bits of the measurement sequence is the same. For each clock function, the corresponding n bits of data are transmitted to the time code sequence controller 922 to control the gating of the corresponding sampling signal.
  • the present invention also provides a time code demodulation method, which includes the following steps:
  • the time code sequence controller 922 controls the corresponding relationship stored in the memory 923 according to the time code sequence to control the sampling signal to enter the corresponding bin in the histogram memory 924 for superimposition to draw a histogram.
  • processing circuits shown in Figs. 8 and 9 are not only applicable to the demodulation methods in the embodiments shown in Figs. 3(a), 3(b) and 5(a), 5(b), but are also applicable The demodulation method in the embodiment shown in Figs. 7(a) and 7(b).
  • each module is described independently. In practical applications, multiple modules can also be combined, such as timing string memory, time code memory, etc. It is the same memory. Therefore, equivalent alternatives through merging, splitting, etc. should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Radar, Positioning & Navigation (AREA)
  • Remote Sensing (AREA)
  • Optical Radar Systems And Details Thereof (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un système et un procédé de mesure d'une distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels. Ledit système comprend : un émetteur (11) configuré pour émettre un train d'impulsions de signal optique à codes temporels aléatoires doubles, le train d'impulsions comprenant N groupes d'impulsions transmis sous la forme d'un second code temporel aléatoire, et chacun des groupes d'impulsions comportant n impulsions émises sous la forme d'un premier code temporel aléatoire ; un collecteur (12) configuré pour collecter des photons dans le train d'impulsions de signal optique réfléchi par un objet ; et un circuit de traitement (13) connecté à l'émetteur (11) et au collecteur (12), et configuré pour compter les photons afin de former des chaînes de séquences temporelles périodiques de comptage de photons uniques des N groupes d'impulsions, et de dessiner un histogramme sur la base du premier code temporel aléatoire et des chaînes de séquence temporelles périodiques de comptage de photons uniques des N groupes d'impulsions. Ledit système et ledit procédé permettent à l'émetteur (11) d'émettre un train d'impulsions à une période d'impulsion bien inférieure à un temps de vol maximal correspondant à une plage de mesure maximale, ce qui permet d'améliorer considérablement la fréquence de rafraîchissement de l'image.
PCT/CN2019/103737 2019-08-30 2019-08-30 Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels WO2021035695A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/CN2019/103737 WO2021035695A1 (fr) 2019-08-30 2019-08-30 Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
PCT/CN2019/103737 WO2021035695A1 (fr) 2019-08-30 2019-08-30 Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2021035695A1 true WO2021035695A1 (fr) 2021-03-04

Family

ID=74684434

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/CN2019/103737 WO2021035695A1 (fr) 2019-08-30 2019-08-30 Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels

Country Status (1)

Country Link
WO (1) WO2021035695A1 (fr)

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102692622A (zh) * 2012-05-28 2012-09-26 清华大学 基于密集脉冲的激光探测方法
CN107807353A (zh) * 2017-09-22 2018-03-16 中国科学院西安光学精密机械研究所 采用n重脉冲编码的三维成像光子计数系统及计数方法
US20180299552A1 (en) * 2017-03-01 2018-10-18 Ouster, Inc. Accurate photo detector measurements for lidar
CN110161522A (zh) * 2019-06-11 2019-08-23 中国科学院光电技术研究所 一种可消除距离模糊的高重频单光子激光雷达
CN110161519A (zh) * 2019-06-11 2019-08-23 中国科学院光电技术研究所 一种宏脉冲光子计数激光雷达

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
CN102692622A (zh) * 2012-05-28 2012-09-26 清华大学 基于密集脉冲的激光探测方法
US20180299552A1 (en) * 2017-03-01 2018-10-18 Ouster, Inc. Accurate photo detector measurements for lidar
CN107807353A (zh) * 2017-09-22 2018-03-16 中国科学院西安光学精密机械研究所 采用n重脉冲编码的三维成像光子计数系统及计数方法
CN110161522A (zh) * 2019-06-11 2019-08-23 中国科学院光电技术研究所 一种可消除距离模糊的高重频单光子激光雷达
CN110161519A (zh) * 2019-06-11 2019-08-23 中国科学院光电技术研究所 一种宏脉冲光子计数激光雷达

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
CN110632578B (zh) 用于时间编码时间飞行距离测量的系统及方法
CN110609291B (zh) 用于时间编码时间飞行距离测量的系统及方法
WO2021035694A1 (fr) Système et procédé de mesure de distance de temps de vol à base d'un codage temporel
CN110632577B (zh) 时间编码解调处理电路及方法
WO2021248892A1 (fr) Système de mesure de distance et procédé de mesure
WO2021051477A1 (fr) Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol comportant un histogramme réglable
CN110632576B (zh) 时间编码解调处理电路及方法
WO2021051478A1 (fr) Système et procédé de mesure de distance basé sur le temps de vol pour circuit tdc à double partage
WO2021212914A1 (fr) Système et procédé de mesure de distance fondée sur un retard temporel
WO2021051479A1 (fr) Procédé et système de mesure de temps de vol fondée sur une interpolation
WO2021051480A1 (fr) Procédé de mesure de distance de temps de vol basé sur un dessin d'histogramme dynamique et système de mesure
CN105043539B (zh) 用于运行光电探测器的方法和装置
WO2021051481A1 (fr) Procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol par traçage d'un histogramme dynamique et système de mesure associé
US8610043B2 (en) Proximity sensor having an array of single photon avalanche diodes and circuitry for switching off illumination source and associated method, computer readable medium and firmware
CN112731425B (zh) 一种处理直方图的方法、距离测量系统及距离测量设备
CN110221273A (zh) 时间飞行深度相机及单频调制解调的距离测量方法
CN111427230A (zh) 基于时间飞行的成像方法及3d成像装置
US20220187430A1 (en) Time of flight calculation with inter-bin delta estimation
US20220099814A1 (en) Power-efficient direct time of flight lidar
WO2021035695A1 (fr) Système et procédé de mesure de distance par temps de vol sur la base de codes temporels
WO2021035696A1 (fr) Procédé et circuit de traitement de démodulation de code temporel
WO2021035697A1 (fr) Circuit et procédé de traitement de démodulation de code temporel
CN111443356B (zh) 一种基于单光器件兼顾距离感知和成像的电路系统及设备
WO2023071908A1 (fr) Procédé de mesure de distance et système de mesure de distance
WO2023133964A1 (fr) Système radar laser et procédé de débruitage de lumière ambiante associé

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 19943778

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1

NENP Non-entry into the national phase

Ref country code: DE

122 Ep: pct application non-entry in european phase

Ref document number: 19943778

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1