Optimization of eyesafe avalanche photodiode lidar for automobile safety and autonomous navigation systems

George M. Williams

doi:10.1117/1.OE.56.3.031224

28 March 2017 Optimization of eyesafe avalanche photodiode lidar for automobile safety and autonomous navigation systems

George M. Williams

Author Affiliations +

Optical Engineering, Vol. 56, Issue 3, 031224 (March 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.3.031224

Abstract

Newly emerging accident-reducing, driver-assistance, and autonomous-navigation technology for automobiles is based on real-time three-dimensional mapping and object detection, tracking, and classification using lidar sensors. Yet, the lack of lidar sensors suitable for meeting application requirements appreciably limits practical widespread use of lidar in trucking, public livery, consumer cars, and fleet automobiles. To address this need, a system-engineering perspective to eyesafe lidar-system design for high-level advanced driver-assistance sensor systems and a design trade study including 1.5-μm spot-scanned, line-scanned, and flash-lidar systems are presented. A cost-effective lidar instrument design is then proposed based on high-repetition-rate diode-pumped solid-state lasers and high-gain, low-excess-noise InGaAs avalanche photodiode receivers and focal plane arrays. Using probabilistic receiver-operating-characteristic analysis, derived from measured component performance, a compact lidar system is proposed that is capable of 220 m ranging with 5-cm accuracy, which can be readily scaled to a 360-deg field of regard.

CC BY: © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

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George M. Williams "Optimization of eyesafe avalanche photodiode lidar for automobile safety and autonomous navigation systems," Optical Engineering 56(3), 031224 (28 March 2017). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.OE.56.3.031224

Received: 4 August 2016; Accepted: 1 February 2017; Published: 28 March 2017

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