EP4689714A1

EP4689714A1 - Apparatus, method, and computer program

Info

Publication number: EP4689714A1
Application number: EP24715166.5A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Renato FERRACINI ALVES
Original assignee: Sony Depthsensing Solutions NV SA; Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp
Current assignee: Sony Depthsensing Solutions NV SA; Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp
Priority date: 2023-03-30
Filing date: 2024-03-27
Publication date: 2026-02-11
Also published as: WO2024200551A1

Abstract

An apparatus for ToF measurements that includes: a beam steer unit configured to direct illumi- nation light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone of a predefined set of illumination zones, and a ToF imaging element configured to selectively read out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels that correspond to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illumination zones that correspond to a respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

Description

APPARATUS, METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally pertains to zone ultra-short range lidar, a method for operating a zone ultra-short range lidar, a program operating a zone ultra-short range lidar and an automotive lidar system comprising a zone ultra-short range lidar.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

In the automotive industry, lidar is mainly seen as a key component in the development of autonomous vehicles and improved automation and safety. Lidar sensors use laser beams to build 3D maps of their surroundings and detect other vehicles, pedestrians, and obstacles. This information is then processed by advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) to make real-time driving decisions. An ever-growing need for advanced safety features and increased automation are expected to drive continued investment into lidar R&D for the automotive sector, where the market is expected to reach billions of dollars in the coming years.

Usually, automotive lidars are split into two categories: long and short range. The difference between them lies mainly in their operating range, field of view, accuracy, and cost. Long-range lidars usually have a range of over 100 meters, and a narrow field of view compared to their short-range counterpart. They support autonomous driving decisions on the highway, requiring a high level of safety and dependability. Due to specialized hardware, like mechanical beam steering mechanisms, they are currently fairly expensive. On the other hand, short-range lidars have a range of up to around 50 meters and are usually simpler, smaller, and less expensive. An additional subdivision can be made on the short-range lidar category. For some applications, only a maximum range of 15 meters is required, and we refer to such systems as ultra-short range lidars (USRL). Apart from the relaxed range, its requirements are similar to the short-range version.

SUMMARY

According to a first aspect, the disclosure provides an apparatus for ToF measurements comprising: a beam steer unit configured to direct illumination light from a light-emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone of a predefined set of illumination zones, and a ToF imaging element configured to selectively read out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illumination zones corresponds to a respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest. According to a second aspect, the disclosure provides a method for time-of-fhght measurements comprising: directing illumination light from a light-emitting circuitry into an illumination zone of a predefined set of illuminations zones, and selectively reading out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each one of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illuminations zones corresponds to one respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

According to a third aspect, the disclosure provides a program comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method above.

According to a fourth aspect, the disclosure provides an automotive lidar system comprising the apparatus above as an outside-vehicle information detecting section.

Further aspects are set forth in the dependent claims, the following description and the drawings.

Short range lidar for outdoor automotive sensing require a large field of view, a high resolution, and a low price.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments are explained by way of example with respect to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 schematically shows the basic operational principle of an indirect time-of-flight imaging system which can be used for depth sensing in a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar scanning a field-of-view;

Fig. 4 schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 5a schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with one selected angle;

Fig. 5b schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with two selected angles;

Fig. 5c schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with four selected angles; Fig. 5d schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with eight selected angles;

Fig. 6a shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar illuminating only one field-of-illumination;

Fig. 6b shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar illuminating two fields-of-illumination;

Fig. 7a shows a diagram of a simplified model of the edges of fields-of-illumination projected on an orthogonal object plane;

Fig. 7b shows a diagram of the projected edges of the fields-of-illumination as imaged by a lens with equidistant projection;

Fig. 7c shows a diagram of the projected edges of the fields-of-illumination as imaged by a lens with orthographic projection;

Fig. 7d shows a diagram of the angular resolution at each viewing angle for a lens with equidistant projection and a lens with orthographic projection;

Fig. 8a schematically shows an exemplary orthographic lens according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 8b shows a diagram of the designed orthographic lens of an embodiment of a zone ultra- short range lidar.

Fig. 8c schematically shows collimation lens and polarizer of an embodiment of a zone ultra- short range lidar.

Fig. 9a shows a diagram of the required peak power of the illumination unit of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 9b shows a diagram of the maximum frame rate of the iToF sensor of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 9c shows the design space of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 10 schematically shows an iToF sensor of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar;

Fig. 11 shows a block diagram depicting an example of schematic configuration of a vehicle control system; and

Fig. 12 shows a diagram of assistance in explaining an example of installation positions of an outside-vehicle information detecting section and an imaging section. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Before a detailed description of the embodiments under reference to Fig. 1, general explanations are made.

In some embodiments, an apparatus for ToF measurements comprises: a beam steer unit configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone of a predefined set of illumination zones, and a ToF imaging element configured to selectively read out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illumination zones corresponds to a respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

The illumination zone can be a zone of the field of Illumination (Fol) which is a portion of the field of view of the apparatus that is illuminated through the directed illumination light that is directed by the beam steer unit.

The illumination light beam is reflected at a scene and depending on the optical properties of the scene, a portion of the light is reflected or scattered back to the apparatus. That portion of light returning from the scene is focused onto the ToF imaging sensor. If the selected illumination zone, i.e., the position on the scene that is illuminated, is changed, so does the position of the return light on the ToF imaging element. Thus, regions of interest (ROI; zone ROI for the Fol) can be defined which correspond to the selected illumination zone. Since there is a predefined set of illumination zones which might overlap, there also is a defined set of regions of interest which might also overlap.

The light beam directed at the scene and the light beams intensity distribution of can have an arbitrary shape, they might for example be conical. In the depicted examples the light beam has pyramidal shape which lead to a rectangular illumination zone. The plurality of illumination zones and regions of interest might cover a wide field-of-view. Further, the light emitting circuitry might be part of the apparatus.

This method of illuminating the scene increases the radiance of the scene since the emitter light intensity is focused in each illumination zone, which increase the Signal to noise Ratio and the framerate since less integration time of the ToF imaging element is needed. The zone ultra-short range lidar module offers a large field of view, a high resolution, and low cost in mass production. The zone ultra-short range lidar module comprises a polarized illumination unit, a beam steering unit configured to control the position of the illuminated light on the scene and a ToF sensor. The beam steering unit is positioned between the illumination unit and the scene. An orthographic receiver lens can be positioned between the scene and the ToF sensor to correct for the distortions caused by the illumination unit and the beam steering unit. The system architecture may be based on an IMX456 indirect time-of-flight (iToF) sensor and an illumination device with steering capabilities.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit to direct the illumination light into the selected illumination zone and to control the ToF imaging element to read out the corresponding region of interest.

This way the illumination zone can be selected and only the corresponding ROI can be read out, which reduces the amount of data produced as compared to a full read out of the ToF imaging element. It also increases the framerate at which the ToF imaging element can be operated due to the reduced readout time.

In some embodiments, the predefined set of illuminations zones form a field of view, and the circuitry is configured to control the beam steer unit to successively direct the illumination light into the illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones and control the ToF imaging element is controlled to successively read out the corresponding regions of interest.

This change from on illumination zone to another may facilitate a partial or complete scan of the plurality of illumination zones, and thus a partial or complete scan of the field of view. While the illumination zones are scanned, the region of interest corresponding to the selected illumination zone that is illuminated is read out.

The illumination zone may be scanned as described above by imaging them in successive frames across an entire field of view of the apparatus. In this way, the circuity may scan across of the field of view.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit to simultaneously direct the illumination light into multiple selected illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones.

This facilitates that multiple selected illumination zones of the plurality of illumination zones are images simultaneously. Consequently, the ToF imaging element also has to be controlled to read out the corresponding multiple regions of interest. This control may be performed by the same circuitry as the control of the beam steer unit.

In some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to emit light in form of a scanning line (scanning zone).

This scanning line (scanning zone) is emitted by a transmitting part of the apparatus and directed into an illumination zone by the beam steer unit. The scanning zone illuminates the illumination zone. The scanning zone is formed out of the illumination light generated and emitted by the light emitting circuitry and is formed and directed by the transmitting part comprising the beam steer unit. The light emitting circuitry may be part of the transmitting part of the apparatus.

Since the light emitting circuitry is an extended light source, the scanning zone can have a minimum thickness and thus be bar shaped. This thickness can be increased by optical components within the transmitting part to increase the thickness of the selected illumination zone. The illuminated area can further be increased by illuminating neighboring illumination zones by selecting multiple illumination zones and controlling the beam steer unit to direct light into the selected illumination zones.

In some embodiments, the scanning zone is arranged in a horizontal direction, and wherein the illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones are stacked vertically.

The scanning zone is horizontal to the ground, i.e., earth’s surface. Since the illumination zones are staked vertically, the scan direction is vertical. The scan direction follows across the different illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones.

It may also be possible to align the scanning zones vertically and scan horizontally. For either of those scans to image the entire field of view, it is necessary that the extent (horizontal angle of emission in a vertical scan or vertical angel of emission in a horizontal scan) of the scanning zone has the vertical or horizontal angle of the field of view.

It may further be possible that the illumination zones are rectangular shaped and both vertical and horizontal dimensions are smaller than the field of view. Then columns or rows may be scanned in sequence. The illumination zones of the plurality of illumination zones may overlap one another.

In some embodiments, the light emitting circuitry is configured as at least one VCSEL array that emits the illumination light. Multiple VCSEL arrays can be used and connected to one another in series or parallel and can be driven by the same or separate driver circuits. This enables a modulation of the emitted light intensity, e.g., depending on the number of selected illumination zones to be illuminated.

Multiple VCSEL array arrays may be used, furthering the increase in the scanning zone radiant intensity distribution.

In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises the light emitting circuitry.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a collimation lens provided on a light path between the light emitting circuitry and the beam steer unit and configured to collimate the illumination light in at least one direction.

The collimation in one direction may be a first part of shaping illumination light into the scanning zone having some thickness. The collimated illumination light may be outputted to a polarization converter.

In some embodiments, the polarization converter polarizes the illumination light to have a linear polarization.

This enables the use of a beam steer unit that uses diffraction to direct the illumination light and needs polarized light to do so.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a diffusor configured to generate the scanning zone based on the illumination light emitted by the light emitting circuitry.

The diffusor diffuses the illumination light in one direction to obtain the scanning zone and is provided on a light path after the beam steer unit.

In some embodiments, the beam steer unit is configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone using diffraction.

In some embodiments, the beam steer unit comprises a liquid crystal switch followed by a polarization grating configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone.

Further, a stack of alternating liquid crystal switches and polarization grating may be used.

Circular polarized illumination light may be necessary to direct the illumination light using diffraction.

Before the switches and gratings, a quarter waveplate may be used to change the linear polarization of the illumination light to a circular polarization. The quarter waveplate functionality may also be incorporated by the first liquid crystal switch. The liquid crystal switches may then change the handedness of the circular polarization and the polarization gratings may diffract the light either in the first or minus first diffraction order based on the handedness of the circular polarization, or in both orders in an intermediate state of polarization.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a lens configured to focus light onto the ToF imaging element, wherein the lens is configured to compensate for optical distortions of the illumination zones when projected onto the ToF imaging element.

The lens may receive reflected light from any one of the illumination zones. The correspondence of each of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illumination zones to the respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest may be based on the knowledge of where the lens will project the light from the illumination zone onto the ToF imaging element (projection function).

The projection of the lens can be calculated, e.g., in Zemax. Thus, zones around the projected illuminations on the ToF imaging element can be formed, as ROI, and read out instead of the entire ToF imaging element. This reduces the measured data and increases the framerate of imaging. The ROI may be referred to as zone ROI.

The lens also may be configured to compensate for distortions caused by the beam steer unit.

In some embodiments, the lens is configured to project the illumination zones onto respective regions of interest of the ToF imaging element, the regions of interest having a substantially rectangular shape.

In some embodiments, the lens is configured for an orthographic projection. The orthographic projection compensates distortions and keeps the shape of the illumination zones projection onto the ToF imaging element rectangular.

The substantially rectangular ROIs may correspond to either a group of neighboring columns or a group of neighboring rows of the pixels of the ToF image element.

In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises an infrared bandpass filter on a light path between the lens and the ToF imaging element and is configured to filter the light focused onto the ToF imaging element by the lens.

The infrared bandpass filter may reject all light except for the frequency band around the frequency of emitted light from the light emitting circuitry. In some embodiments, a method for time-of-flight measurements comprises: directing illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into an illumination zone of a predefined set of illuminations zones, and selectively reading out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each one of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illuminations zones corresponds to one respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

In some embodiments, a program comprises instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method above.

The program may control the apparatus described above by controlling voltages applied to the beam steer unit and to the ToF imaging element to read out columns or rows as the ROI.

In some embodiments, an automotive lidar system comprises the apparatus described above as an outside-vehicle information detecting section.

The apparatus may also be an outside-vehicle information detecting unit. The apparatus may also be connected to an electronic control unit.

In some embodiments, the automotive lidar system described above, comprises at least two apparatuses as described above as outside- vehicle information detecting sections and a controller configured to combine the respective outputs of the respective outside- vehicle information detecting section into one point-cloud.

The methods as described herein are also implemented in some embodiments as a computer program causing a computer and/or a processor to perform the method, when being carried out on the computer and/or processor. In some embodiments, also a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium is provided that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, such as the processor described above, causes the methods described herein to be performed.

Returning to Fig. 1, it schematically shows the basic operational principle of an indirect time-of- flight imaging system which can be used for depth sensing in a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The iToF imaging system 11 includes an iToF camera with an imaging sensor 12 (or imaging element) having a matrix of pixels and a processor (CPU) 15. A scene 17 is actively illuminated with amplitude-modulated infrared light LMS at a predetermined wavelength using an illumination device 19, for instance with some light pulses of at least one predetermined modulation frequency DML generated by a timing generator 16. The amplitude-modulated infrared light LMS is reflected from objects within the scene 17. A lens 13 collects the reflected light 19 and forms an image of the objects within the scene 17 onto the imaging sensor 12. In indirect time-of-flight (iToF) the CPU 15 determines for each pixel a phase delay between the modulated signal DML and the reflected light RL.

Fig. 2 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The zone ultra-short range lidar module 100 includes a transmission part 110 and a reviving part 120. The transmitting part 110 includes a (polarized) illumination unit 111 (also referred to as light emitting circuitry in claim language) configured as a laser, a collimation lens 112, a polarization converter 113, a digital beam steer unit 114 configured to control the position (direct the angel) of the illuminated light on the scene and therefore also on a ToF sensor (described later), and a diffusor 115.

The receiving part 120 includes an orthographic receiver lens 121, an infrared bandpass filter IRBPF 122, and an (indirect) time-of-flight (ToF) sensor 122 (referred to as a ToF imaging element in claim language).

The zone ultra-short range lidar module 100 further includes a CPU 15 and a timing generator 16 which perform the same task as the CPU and a timing generator in Fig. 1.

The illumination unit 111 of the transmitting part is configured to emit (polarized) light (TL) via the remaining components of the transmission part 110 to the scene 17. The light emitted from the transmitting part is a scanning zone (TL) and is formed out of the amplitude-modulated infrared light (LMS in Fig. 1) emitted by the illumination unit 111. The illumination unit 111 is configured as a modulated vertical -cavity surface-emitting laser (VSCEL) array or multiple thereof.

The illumination unit 111 may consist of a set of 6 VCSEL arrays, each with an optical peak power of 10 Watts, for a total of 60 Watts. The lasers are packed side by side in a single line, and pairs of two are connected in series. Therefore, three laser drivers are used, which permits the activation of only a subset of the lasers. This flexibility can be used to optimize power consumption dynamically, the illumination unit is further described with reference to Fig. 9a, 9b, and 9c.

The collimation lens 112 collimates the light LMS emitted by the illumination unit 111, for example along a vertical direction, for example using a cylindrical lens. This lowers requirements on the optics of the transmitting part 110 and may form the light of the 6 VCSEL arrays into a single beam. The lens is optically cemented to the polarization converter 113 to simplify the system alignment. The polarization converter 113 converts the light LMS collimated by the collimation lens 112 to a linear polarization. The digital beam steer unit 114 requires well-defined polarized light as input, but the polarization of the illumination source 111 configured as a VCSEL array is not well- defined. if the polarization of the emitted light LMS by the illumination unit I l l is well-defined, the polarization converter 113 may be omitted.

The light LMS is polarized by using a polarization beam splitter cube, a mirror and a half-wave- plate. The result is that the input light LMS is transformed into two parallel beams with the same polarization. The beams increasingly overlap with distance from the polarization converter 113 and can be treated as one beam of light when emitted from the transmitting part 110.

The digital beam steer unit 114 is positioned between the illumination unit and the scene and is configured to control (direct) the position of the light LMS on the scene. The beam steering unit

114 is further configured to control the size of the illumination zone on the scene.

The light LMS is polarized before entering the beam seer unit 114. Within the beam steer unit 114, the polarization of the light LMS is used and altered to diffract the light in polarization gratings. Steering the light LMS with non-mechanical parts becomes possible with a programmable polarization grating.

With the beam steer unit 114 positioned between the illumination unit and the scene, it is possible to illuminate the scene by changing the size fields of illumination in order to optimize the required illumination intensity (and adhere to eye safety limitations).

Further, this increases the temporal and spatial resolution of indirect time-of-flight (iToF) sensors by spatially concentrating the light beam LMS to smaller regions of a field-of-view (FoV) and then selectively sampling these regions using the receiving part 120. The beam seer unit is further described with reference to the Fig. 3 to 6b.

The diffusor 115 diffuses the light beam LMS from the beam steer device 114 along at least one direction orthogonal to the optical axis. On of the directions the light is diffused in is also orthogonal to the collimation direction of the collimation lens 112 the other direction in which the light may be diffuses is parallel to the collimation direction of the collimation lens 112. The diffuser

115 therefore diffuses light beam LMS in a horizontal direction and forms the scanning zone TL that is emitted from the transmitting part 110. The scanning zone TL is a with the direction that is directed by the beam seer unit 114.

The diffusor 115 is placed after the beam steer unit 114 and should shape the beam to cover the intended field-of-illumination. The shape of the beam should be kept relatively constant for the different angles of incidence. This diffusor 115 can be composed of a single or a set of optical components. One important aspect of the diffuser is that the near-held output irradiance should be spread as uniformly as possible to improve eye-safety conditions.

Thus, the transmitting part 110 emits the modulated illumination light TL that illuminates part of the scene 17 and can be scanned across the entire field of view of the zone ultra-short range lidar module 100. These zones have a line shape of the scanning zone TL extended along the horizontal direction, which may be caused by the collimation lens 112 and the diffusor 115 (in large part by the diffusor 115). The illumination light can be shaped as a scanning zone TL.

The receiving part 120 receives part of the illumination light beam LMS reflected at the scene 17 as reflected light RL.

The objective lens 121 is positioned on the light path between the scene 17 and iToF sensor 123, captures the reflected light RL, and projects the light RL through the IRBPF 122 onto the iToF sensor 123.

The lens used in the objective lens 121 may be an orthographic lens configured to correct (compensate) for the distortions caused by the illumination unit 111 and the beam steering unit 114. The objective lens 121 focuses the depth image on the iToF sensor. Because of the range requirement, its f-number must be as low as possible. The objective lens is further discussed with reference to Fig. 7a to 8.

The IRBPF 122 attenuates light of the received light beam RL, except for a frequency band around the light frequency of the modulated illumination light beam LMS. Thus, a background signal, e.g., sunlight, is attenuated, which increases the performance of the iToF sensor 123.

The minimum bandwidth of the IRBPF 122 is determined by several factors, including the f- number of the lens, the maximum chief ray angle of the lens, the spectrum of the illumination light beam LMS of the illumination unit 111, and variations in the center wavelengths of the laser and filter during manufacturing.

The iToF sensor 123 is a time-of-flight sensor with a selection of a region of interest (ROI) on the iToF sensor 123. Thus, it is possible to read only read out the part of the image sensor where the objective lens projects the reflected light beam RL. Consequently, as the transmitting part 110 scans the field of view with the illumination light beam LMS, the ROI read out by the iToF sensor 123 scans in accordance with the projected reflected light beam RL. Consequently, each of the illumination zones from a predefined set of illumination zones corresponds to a respective region of interest of a predefined set of regions of interest. The illumination zones and respective region of interest can be assigned to one another (in software).

Due to the orthographic lens, distortions of the reflected light beam RL are compensated and can be easily read out by zones (rectangular ROIs) on the sensor. This is possible due to the relatively high resolution of the iToF sensor.

Directing the illumination light beam with mechanical parts in the beam steer unit 114 (as in scanning lidars) is also possible, but this would not meet the low-cost requirements for the system.

An automotive lidar system comprising several zone ultra-short range lidar modules connected to an electronic control unit (ECU), the ECU is configured to combine the zone ultra-short range lidar module's output into one point-cloud.

With the zone ultra-short range lidar module 100, it is possible to have a zone ultra-short range lidar, with a max distance of 15 m, with a large field of view, a high resolution, with commercially available components which ensures a low price.

With the zone ultra-short range lidar module 100, it is further possible to have a robust and relatively compact lidar module with no moving parts.

With these components, a zone ultra-short range lidar module 100 can be achieved that has a range of 15 m, assuming an object reflectivity at maximum distance of 0.1, a minimum working distance of 15 cm, a horizontal field of view (hFoV) of 140° and a vertical field of view (vFoV) of 90°.

Due to the image sensor, the angular resolution is 0.3° and with the illumination, a frame rate greater than 10 to 15 frames per second is possible while the precision is approximately 5%. The system can operate in an outside temperature range of -40°C to 120°C and has a working temperature of -40°C to 105°, to achieve the AEC-Q100 grade 2 standard, while an eye safety class 1 (IEC60825-1 Class 1) is maintained with a reduced material. due to the beam steer unit 114, the collimation lens and the diffusor 115, the required vertical field of view for the light source is smaller than the laser far-field radiant intensity distribution.

Short range lidar for outdoor automotive sensing requires a large field of view, a high resolution, and a low price. The zone ultra-short range lidar module 100 offers a large field of view, a high resolution, and low cost in mass production due to its approach to increasing the temporal and spatial resolution of indirect time-of-flight (iToF) sensors. This approach is a hybrid between flash and scanning lidar.

This is performed with a spatially concentrated illumination light beam LMS in smaller regions of the field-of-view (FoV) and then selectively sampling these regions using a corresponding, localized region of interest on the iToF image sensor 123. This can help to optimize the measurement accuracy and dynamic range, as well as reduce optical peak power requirements. The illuminated regions are called fields of illumination.

Fig. 3 shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar scanning a field-of-view.

The zone ultra-short range lidar module 100 includes a transmission part 110, a reviving part 120, a CPU 15, and a timing generator 16 which perform the same task as in Fig. 2. the transmitting part 110 illuminates a section of the field-of-view (FoV) 130 of the scene (17 in Fig. 1 and 2) with the illumination light beam TL. The illuminated section is referred to as the field-of-illumination (Fol) 131.

The receiving part 120 reads the section of the FoV 130 corresponding to the Fol 131 by a dynamic field-of-measurement (FoM) 132 which is projected by the objective lens in the receiving part 120 onto the ROI on the iToF sensor which is read out.

The total FoV 130 is covered by scanning the Fol 131 and the FoM vertically along the arrows 133 and composing the corresponding frames into a combined depth image.

Fig. 4 schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The beam steer unit 114 includes a quarter waveplate 114a, and a stack of liquid crystal switches 114b and polarization gratings 114c in alternating order.

Schematically depicted is the illumination light beam LMS traversing the beam steer unit 114. The quarter wave plate 114a After the polarization converter (113 in Fig. 2) light is linear polarized. Therefore, a quarter waveplate is used to make it circular polarized (or elliptically polarized), which is required for diffraction in the polarization gratings 114c. The liquid crystal switches 114b determine the handedness of the handedness of the circular polarization of the illumination light beam LMS. The polarization gratings 114b diffract the circular polarized light LMS into the +1 order or the -1 order in accordance with the handedness of the circular polarized light LMS. An intermediate state (mix state) of the circular polarization is possible, so that the light LMS is diffracted in the +1 and -1 order. The polarization grating-based digital beam steer unit 114 has different layers of the beam steering device with three polarization gratings (heating layers are omitted for simplicity). The different switching combinations of the three liquid crystal switches 114b lead to eight possible scanning directions 0i which can be selected by the different liquid crystal switches (LCS) 114b.

From the eight possible scanning directions 0i a predefined set of illumination zones (set of fields of illumination) is defined. This predefined set of illumination zones covers the entire FoV. Further, the illumination zone (field of illumination) selected to be illuminated by the beam steer unit within the transmitting part 110 is selected from the predefined set of illumination units. This also means that a predefined set of regions of interest ROI can be defined, wherein each of the illumination zones can correspond to a respective region of interest.

The utilization of the liquid crystal switches 114b in an intermediate state, where the light can also be directed to two or more paths at the same time, which increases the size of the field-of- illumination. This allows for a tradeoff between frame rate and signal -to-noise ratio (SNR).

This means that multiple illumination zones of the predefined set of illumination zones are selected, and the corresponding ROIs are read out.

Hence, the beam steer unit 114 can be used to control the position of the light from the illumination unit on the scene, and the size of the illumination zone on the scene, while steering the illumination light beam LMS with non-mechanical parts only using the programmable polarization grating consisting of a liquid crystal switch 114b and polarization grating 114c.

With the beam steering unit positioned between the illumination unit and the scene, it is possible to illuminate the scene by zones in order to optimize the required illumination intensity (and deal with eye safety limitations).

Fig. 5a schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with one selected angle.

The beam steer unit 114 is in a switching state for selecting a single field-of-illumination (illumination zone) at the angle 05 (any angle 0i of the set of angels 0i to 08 can be selected). The semantically depicted beam path of the selected angle 05 is depicted by the solid line, while the other semantically depicted beam path not selected by the switching state are depicted as dashed lines. The white background of liquid crystal switches 114b A and C represents no phase shift, while the checkered background of liquid crystal switch 114b B represents a 7t/2 phase shift.

Fig. 5b schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with two selected angles. The beam steer unit 114 is in a switching state for selecting two fields-of-illumination (illumination zone) at the angles 9s and 06 (the neighboring angles 6i and 62, 63 and 64, 65 and 06, and 67 and 08 can be selected). The semantically depicted beam path of the selected angles 65 and 06 is depicted by the solid lines, while the other semantically depicted beam path not selected by the switching state are depicted as dashed lines.

The switching state differs from the switching state in Fig. 5a by the intermediate state in liquid crystal switch 114b C. The intermediate state between no phase shift and 7t/2 phase shift, for example a 7t/4 phase shift, where illumination light beam LMS is split in both directions, is represented by the vertical striped background of liquid crystal switch 114b C. In the intermediate state the circular polarized light is changed again to linear polarized light. The polarization gratings diffract the linear polarization as a superposition of circular states and therefore split the light in both paths.

Fig. 5c schematically shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar with four selected angles.

The beam steer unit 114 is in a switching state for selecting four fields-of-illumination (illumination) at the angles 65, 06, 07, and 08. The semantically depicted beam path of the selected angles 65, 06, 07, and 08 is depicted by the solid lines while the other semantically depicted beam path not selected by the switching state are depicted as dashed lines.

The switching state differs from the switching state in Fig. 5b by the intermediate state in liquid crystal switch 114b B. The intermediate state between no phase shift and 7t/2 phase shift, where illumination light beam LMS is split in both directions, is represented by the vertical striped background of liquid crystal switch 114b B.

Fig. 5d shows a cross-section of a beam steer unit according to an embodiment of a zone ultra- short range lidar with eight selected angles.

The beam steer unit 114 is in a switching state for selecting eight fields-of-illumination (illumination zone), which are all available fields-of-illumination, at the angles 0i to 08. The semantically depicted beam path of the selected angles 0i to 08 is depicted by the solid lines.

The switching state differs from the switching state in Fig. 5b by the intermediate state in liquid crystal switch 114b A. The intermediate state between no phase shift and 7t/2 phase shift, where illumination light beam LMS is split in both directions, is represented by the vertical striped background of liquid crystal switch 114b A. Consequently, Fig. 5d shows a configuration for full field illumination. Fig. 6a shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar illuminating only one field-of-illumination.

Fig. 6a depicts the zone ultra-short range lidar 100 in the state of Fig. 3.

Since the beam steer device (114 in Fig. 4 to 5d) can only select discrete fields-of-illumination 131 (illumination zones) in the field-of-view 130, as explained with reference to Fig. 4, there can be overlap or no overlap between the fields-of illumination in a scan with only a single field-of- illumination. Consequently, for the case of no overlap and since the fields-of-measurement lay within the fields of illumination, there also might be no overlap between the fields-of-measure- ment of a scan. The combining of the measurements during a scan is more difficult without an overlap.

The field-of-measurement 132 lays within the field-of-illumination 131 and follows it during the scan.

If there is overlap between the fields-of-illumination 131 the successive imaging’s of the successive fields-of-illumination 131 may be stitched together using the overlap.

Fig. 6b schematically shows a block diagram of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar illuminating two fields-of-illumination.

The state of the zone ultra-short range lidar 100 depicted in Fig. 6b may be the following frame to the state depicted in Fig. 6a, for a case where there is no overlap between the single fields of illumination 131.

The field-of-illumination 131 (illumination zone) in Fig. 6b includes the field-of-illumination of depicted in Fig. 6a but is also enlarged in the vertical upwards direction. Thus, includes two of the selected angles, as depicted in Fig. 5b (two illumination zones), the Next frame in the scan may be a single field-of-illumination 131 illumination of the upper part of the field-of-illumina- tion 131 depicted in Fig. 6b which is the same size as the field-of-illumination depicted in Fig. 6a. Thus, a scan with overlap between successive frames can be measured.

Furthermore, with the beam steering unit positioned between the illumination unit and the scene, it is possible to illuminate the scene by fields-of-illumination 131 in order to optimize the required illumination intensity (and deal with eye safety limitations). Fig. 7a shows a diagram of a simplified model of the edges of fields-of-illumination projected on an orthogonal object plane.

The diagram shows the object height on the object plane in meters on the y-axis and the object width on the object plane in meters on the x-axis.

The object height and width are coordinates on a simulated object plane that is orthogonal to the optical axis of the viewpoint, and the object height and width are coordinates centered where the viewpoint meets the simulated object plane. The object plane is depicted between -1.75 m to 1.75 m in object width coordinates (horizontally) and -2 m to 2 m in object height coordinates (vertically). At a distance between the viewing point and orthogonal object plane of 1 m this corresponds to a field of view of approximately 120°.

As depicted in the diagram, the Fol are lines (along the x-axis) and are staked on one another in vertical direction (along the y-axis). The distances between the edges of the Fol are narrower in the center of the projection onto the orthogonal object plane (around the zero height and the zero width). The distance between the edges of the Fol increases from the center of the projection onto the orthogonal object plane in all directions, vertical and horizontal.

Fig. 7b shows a diagram of the projected edges of the fields-of-illumination as imaged by a lens with equidistant projection.

The diagram shows the vertical extent of the projection from the orthogonal object plane of Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor in millimeters on the y-axis and the horizontal extent of the projection from the orthogonal object plane of Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor in millimeters on the x-axis. Herein, the projection is performed by the lens with the equidistant projection and projects the edges of fields-of-illumination from Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor.

The focal length of the lens used is 3.05 mm. This results in a 90° vertical FoV. The circle represents a 120° FoV and the dashed rectangle is the iToF sensor boundary.

The distances between the edges of the Fol projected onto the iToF sensor are narrower in the center of the projection onto the orthogonal object plane (around the zero height and the zero width). The distance between the edges of the Fol projected onto the iToF sensor increases from the center of the projection onto the orthogonal object plane in all directions, vertical and horizontal.

The equidistant projection of the lens corrects some distortion of the edges of the Fol in its projection onto the iToF sensor. In the center of the circle representing the 120° FoV the projected edges of the Fol are straight parallel lines with a constant distance between them in the vertical direction. However, further towards the edge of the circle the edges of the Fol exhibit a similar curvature as already depicted in the projection of the edges of Fol on the orthogonal object plane in Fig. 7a. The curvature exhibited in Fig. 7b is lesser than the curvature in Fig. 7a.

Fig. 7c shows a diagram of the projected edges of the fields-of-illumination as imaged by a lens with orthographic projection.

The diagram shows the vertical extent of the projection from the orthogonal object plane of Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor in millimeters on the y-axis and the horizontal extent of the projection from the orthogonal object plane of Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor in millimeters on the x-axis. Herein, the projection is performed by the lens with the orthographic projection and projects the edges of fields-of-illumination from Fig. 7a onto the iToF sensor.

The focal length of the lens used is 3.39 mm. This results in a 90° vertical FoV. The circle represents a 120° FoV and the dashed rectangle is the iToF sensor boundary.

The orthogonal projection of the lens corrects all the distortion of the edges of the Fol in its projection onto the iToF sensor. The edges of the Fol in its projection onto the iToF sensor are straight parallel lines with a constant distance between them in vertical direction throughout the circle represents a 120° FoV.

Fig. 7d shows a diagram of the angular resolution at each viewing angle for a lens with equidistant projection and a lens with orthographic projection.

The diagram shows the angular resolution in degrees on the y-axis and viewing angle in degrees on the x-axis.

The solid line depicts the angular resolution of the lens with equidistant projection as constant at 0.375° across the entire viewing angle, which is the goal of an equidistant projection. The dashed line depicts the angular resolution of the lens with orthographic projection. The dashed line rises seemingly exponentially from a value of 0.325° at a 0° viewing angle to 0.675° at a 60° viewing angle. The dashed line of the orthographic projection crosses the solid line of the equidistant projection at a viewing angle of approximately 25°.

Hence, for viewing angles below 25°, the angular distances between the projections onto neighboring pixels on the iToF sensor is low for the orthographic projection than the equidistant projection. This means more pixels are used to resolve the area within a circle of the 25° viewing angle. Contrastingly, for viewing angles above 25°, the angular distances between the projections onto neighboring pixels on the iToF sensor is higher for the orthographic projection than the equidistant projection. This means less pixels are used to resolve the area outside a circle of the 25° viewing angle.

The orthographic projection thus trades a correction of the distortion of the edges of the FoV for a lower resolution on the outside of the captured image.

An orthographic objective lens is thus configured to compensate the distortions caused by the illumination unit and the beam steering unit, the receiver lens being positioned on the light path between the scene and the iToF sensor.

Since the orthographic lens compensates distortions of the edges of the received Fol the fields of measurement (FoM) which lay within the Fol can be easily read out by zones (ROI) on the iToF sensor. The ROI have a rectangular shape on the iToF sensor as a result of the orthographic projection. Consequently, for the readout of the ROI the number of columns or rows of the sensor that are read out are minimized as the ROI does not have to be enlarged to accommodate projections with curvature. The frames per second of the readout are increased because fewer columns or rows of the iToF sensor have to be read out. Additionally, combining the ROIs of a scan is simplified.

«Calculation of the projection of the lenses»

Starting with the assumption that of capturing the entire image of the projected light. In other words, no cropping of the projected light is allowed. The implication is that if the imaged zone (field-of-measurement) is not a perfect rectangle, the ROI needs to be big enough to fit the projected zone extremes, which leads to a decrease in frame rate and an increase in complexity when stitching the different zones to compose the image. The shape of the imaged zone is defined by illumination and lens projection functions. A model for the projection can be done by assuming that the beam steer unit will rotate a beam along the vertical direction (along x) by an angle 9 the rotation matrix is: and that the diffusor will randomly rotate the ray along y the further rotation matrix is: then the final ray direction, if it started propagating along z direction it follows that:

Varying (p for a constant 9 the set of projection angles is obtained, which corresponds to an arbitrary Fol edge. The lens projection function T(9) is used to test how the image of such distribution will be projected into the imaging plane. The use of an equidistant projection function for the lens means T(0) = 0 and that the Fol edges will not follow a straight line. Only when a lens with orthographic projection is used, with T(9) = sin(9), the Fol will have straight edges as shown in Fig. 7c. To confirm this model results, an orthographic projection lens is designed and tested with a ray trace simulation using Zemax software. Fig. 7b and 7c show that the ray tracing results confirm the model prediction. An equidistant projection lens has the characteristic that angular resolution is constant across the field of view. This is not the case with an orthographic lens. Differentiating the projection function y = f T(9), the angular resolution across the imaging plane is obtained: dd _ 1 dy ~ Tr for an equidistant lens, the angular resolution is just the inverse of the focal length: de _ i dy equidistant f but for the orthographic lens, it decreases with the field angle: de 1 -sec(0). dy orthographic

Consequently, it is a question of tradeoff between an equidistant lens and possibly losing some frame rate due to increased complexity in stitching different Fol or more specific FoM laying within the Fol, or an orthographic that improves resolution in the center of the image by compromising on the edges.

Fig. 8a schematically shows an exemplary orthographic lens according to an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The orthographic lens (121 in Fig. 2) includes four lens elements 121a to 121 d, an aperture 121e, the infrared band pass filter IRBPF 122, s sensor cover glass 12 If and the iToF sensor 123. The box 123b resembles the selected ROI read out from the iToF sensor 123. The rays RL shown are marginal and chief rays coming from the scene and being projected onto the iToF sensor. The ROI 123b reads out only the pixel rows or columns illuminated between the marginal chief rays RL. The first and fourth elements 121a and 121 d are glass moldable lenses.

The fact that the beam steer unit is only used on the transmitter side and not for steering both Fol and FoM allows for a smaller and consequently cheaper device. The integration time and size of each ROI can be adjusted dynamically according to the scene context.

A key characteristic of the iToF sensor is the ability to readout only the region of interest (ROI), the columns or rows, corresponding to the Fol.

The orthographic lens distortions compensate the distortions of the illumination and thus enable the easy read out by ROIs on the sensor.

The lens (-system) can be simulated, e.g. using the Zemax software, using a light of 0.94 pm wavelength and optimizing for the angular resolution of an orthographic lens as described above.

The orthographic lens 121 can have the following exemplary parameters: a f-number of 1.3, an effective focal length of 3.75 mm, a back focal length of 0.56 mm, a total track length of 30 mm, an image space numerical aperture of 0.35, a design wavelength of 940 nm, a field of view of 160°, a MTF50 (center field) of 80 Ip/mm, a MTF50 sagittal (edge field) 100 Ip/mm, and a MTF50 tangential (edge field) 50 Ip/mm.

From the simulation the following exemplary dimensions of a lens(-system) can be obtained.

The first element 121a can be made of L-LAM60 glass, have a mechanical diameter of 18.6 mm and has two surfaces. The left surface can have a (curvature) radius of 21,4 mm a thickness of

2.4 mm and a clear diameter of 17.8 mm. The right surface can have a (curvature) radius of

5.4 mm a thickness of 4.2 mm and a clear diameter of 10.4 mm.

The second element 121b can be made of N-BASF2 glass, have a mechanical diameter of 10.6 mm and has two surfaces. The left surface can have a (curvature) radius of 30.1 mm a thickness of 2,4 mm and a clear diameter of 9.4 mm. The right surface can have a (curvature) radius of 4.8 mm a thickness of 4.2 mm and a clear diameter of 6.8 mm.

The third element 121c can be made of N-BAF52 glass, have a mechanical diameter of 10.3 mm and has two surfaces. The left surface can have a (curvature) radius of 13.5 mm a thickness of 4 mm and a clear diameter of 9. 1 mm. The right surface can have a (curvature) radius of - 11.5 mm a thickness of 1.7 mm and a clear diameter of 9. 1 mm. The fourth element 12 Id can be made of L-LAM60 glass, have a mechanical diameter of 12.2 mm and has two surfaces. The left surface can have a (curvature) radius of 11.8 mm a thickness of 3.3 mm and a clear diameter of 11 mm. The right surface can have a (curvature) radius of -30.9 mm a thickness of 2.3 mm and a clear diameter of 10.7 mm.

The aperture 121e can have a diameter of 6.3 mm.

The simulation further incudes infrared band pass filter IRBPF 122 made from BK7 glass with a thickness of left surface of 0.5 mm and the right surface of 4 mm and the sensor cover glass 12 If made from BK7 glass with a thickness of left surface of 0.5 mm and the right surface of 0.45 mm.

The left surface of element 121a and the right surface of element 12 Id are aspherical. The left surface of element 121a has the aspherical coefficients of a normalization radius of 10.8 mm, Ao of 2.73, Ai of 0.09, and A2 of -0.17. The right surface of element 121d has the aspherical coefficients of a normalization radius of 6.2 mm, Ao of -0.92, Ai of 0.03, and A2 of -0.008.

Depicted is a diagram of image height in mm on the y-axis as a function of a field angle in degree on the x-axis. Results of the designed lens 121 form Fig. 8a are depicted as well as the theoretical functions of perfect equidistant and orthographic lenses. The diagram shows that the lens design of Fig. 8a closely approximate the orthographic lens.

The collimation lens 112 and the polarizer 113 are combined. The polarizer comprises polarization beam splitter 113a, a prism 113b, and a waveplate 113c.

A single beam LMS of unpolarized and uncollimated light enters the system. The cylindrical lens 112 that collimates the beam in the axis of the drawing. Then a polarization beam splitter 113a divides the beam into a parallel polarized beam (to the plane of incidence), usually called p-po- larized, that continues through its original trajectory and reflects at 90° the orthogonal polarization (s-polarization). The reflected light is reflected again by prism 113b becoming parallel to the original beam direction. To adjust this second beam polarization it goes through a quarter waveplate 113c to rotate its polarization to match the first beam (p-polarization). In this Fig. 8c, the unpolarized light is represented by a solid arrow, p-polarized by a dashed arrow, and s-polarized by a dotted arrow. The Elements of the collimation lens and polarizer (all components will be optically cemented) can have the following component specifications

The cylindrical collimation lens 112 can be made of BK7 glass and be a standard cylindrical lens with 5 mm radius which gives approximately 10 mm focal length

The polarization beam splitting cube 113a can be made of BK7 glass. The film between the 45 degrees prisms should allow one polarization to pass and the orthogonal to be reflected (Tp > 90%, Rs> 95%, extinction ratio > 100: 1, in particular wavelength rage of 830 nm to 960 nm with a transmission greater than 98%).

The waveplate 113c can be made of polymer. The fast axis should be at 45 degrees relative to the incoming light polarization in order to rotate the beam polarization by 90 degrees and be optimized to a wavelength of 940 nm.

The mirror prism 113c can be made of BK7 glass and be a prism with mirror surface (wavelength rage of 830 nm to 960 nm with a reflectance greater than 98% at a 45° angle).

Fig. 9a shows a diagram of the required peak power of the illumination unit of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The required peak power in Watt is displayed for the number of illuminated Fol and different integration times of the iToF sensor in milliseconds. Since the beam steer unit can only illuminate under an angel or not, the illumination can only occur in discrete Fol.

The required peak power in Watt is displayed for a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 5 at a distance 15 meters from the scene, wherein the scene possesses a reflectivity of 0.1.

The required peak power increases towards a smaller number of Fol and shorter integration times.

Fig. 9b shows a diagram of the maximum frame rate of the iToF sensor of an embodiment a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The maximum frame rate in units of 1/s is displayed for the number of illuminated Fol and different integration times of the iToF sensor in milliseconds. Since the beam steer unit can only illuminate under an angel or not, the illumination can only occur in discrete Fol.

The maximum frame rate in 1/s is displayed for a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 5 at a distance 15 meters from the scene, wherein the scene possesses a reflectivity of 0.1.

The maximum frame rate increases towards a smaller number of Fol and shorter integration times. Fig. 9c shows the design space of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

From the diagrams of Fig. 9a and 9b, a design space for a zone ultra-short range lidar module with both for a signal -to-noise ratio (SNR) of 5 at a distance 15 meters from the scene wherein the scene possesses a reflectivity of 0.1, less than 60 W of peak power and a frame rate grater 15 frames per second can be obtained.

The possible combinations of integration time in milliseconds and number of Fol illuminated to achieve the parameters discussed above are depicted by the boxes with a hatched background.

The illumination unit may be a modulated VSCEL array configured to emit modulated polarized light to the scene.

Thus, it is possible to have a zone ultra-short range lidar (with a max distance of 15 m) with a large field of view, a high resolution, with commercially available components (low price).

Further, the intensity of the illumination unit is limited by the 60 W peak power requirement, which adheres to eye safety limitations of the zone ultra-short range lidar module.

Fig. 10 schematically shows an iToF sensor of an embodiment of a zone ultra-short range lidar.

The iToF sensor 123 includes an array of pixels 123a. Part of the array of pixels 123b can be read out separately, as depicted by the selected ROI 123b.

In this particular case, the selected ROI 123b pertains to the third to fifth row of the image sensor, which are extended in vertical direction. The read-out region thus encompasses the entire width of the iToF sensor 123. The ROI is read out like this for a vertical scan of the FoV.

The ROI 123b can also encompass more or less rows or, if a horizontal scan of the FoV is required, columns, which are vertically extended, can be read out.

Depending on the scan direction achieved by the transmitting part (110 in Fig. 3, 6a and 6b) the projection of the FoM laying within the Fol also scans across the FoV. Consequently, since the FoM is projected into the ROI on the iToF sensor, the ROI scans across the sensor in correspondence to the Fol.

Since there are discrete illumination zones defining a predefined set of illumination zones, there also is a predefined set of regions of interest. The depicted ROI 123b is one ROI of the predefined set of ROI. A scan means that another illumination zone of the predefined set of illumination zones is selected to be illuminated and the corresponding ROI of the predefined set of ROI is read out.

«4. Examples of Application» The technology according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is applicable to various products. For example, the technology according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may be implemented as a device included in a mobile body that is any of kinds of automobiles, electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, personal mobility vehicles, airplanes, drones, ships, robots, construction machinery, agricultural machinery (tractors), and the like.

Fig. 11 shows a block diagram depicting an example of schematic configuration of a vehicle control system 7000 as an example of a mobile body control system to which the technology according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied. The vehicle control system 7000 includes a plurality of electronic control units connected to each other via a communication network 7010. In the example depicted in Fig. 11, the vehicle control system 7000 includes a driving system control unit 7100, a body system control unit 7200, a battery control unit 7300, an outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400, an in-vehicle information detecting unit 7500, and an integrated control unit 7600. The communication network 7010 connecting the plurality of control units to each other may, for example, be a vehicle-mounted communication network compliant with an arbitrary standard such as controller area network (CAN), local interconnect network (LIN), local area network (LAN), FlexRay (registered trademark), or the like.

Each of the control units includes: a microcomputer that performs arithmetic processing according to various kinds of programs; a storage section that stores the programs executed by the microcomputer, parameters used for various kinds of operations, or the like; and a driving circuit that drives various kinds of control target devices. Each of the control units further includes: a network interface (I/F) for performing communication with other control units via the communication network 7010; and a communication I/F for performing communication with a device, a sensor, or the like within and without the vehicle by wire communication or radio communication. A functional configuration of the integrated control unit 7600 illustrated in Fig. 11 includes a microcomputer 7610, a general -purpose communication I/F 7620, a dedicated communication I/F 7630, a positioning section 7640, a beacon receiving section 7650, an in-vehicle device I/F 7660, a sound/image output section 7670, a vehicle-mounted network I/F 7680, and a storage section 7690. The other control units similarly include a microcomputer, a communication I/F, a storage section, and the like.

The driving system control unit 7100 controls the operation of devices related to the driving system of the vehicle in accordance with various kinds of programs. For example, the driving system control unit 7100 functions as a control device for a driving force generating device for generating the driving force of the vehicle, such as an internal combustion engine, a driving motor, or the like, a driving force transmitting mechanism for transmitting the driving force to wheels, a steering mechanism for adjusting the steering angle of the vehicle, a braking device for generating the braking force of the vehicle, and the like. The driving system control unit 7100 may have a function as a control device of an antilock brake system (ABS), electronic stability control (ESC), or the like.

The driving system control unit 7100 is connected with a vehicle state detecting section 7110. The vehicle state detecting section 7110, for example, includes at least one of a gyro sensor that detects the angular velocity of axial rotational movement of a vehicle body, an acceleration sensor that detects the acceleration of the vehicle, and sensors for detecting an amount of operation of an accelerator pedal, an amount of operation of a brake pedal, the steering angle of a steering wheel, an engine speed or the rotational speed of wheels, and the like. The driving system control unit 7100 performs arithmetic processing using a signal input from the vehicle state detecting section 7110, and controls the internal combustion engine, the driving motor, an electric power steering device, the brake device, and the like.

The body system control unit 7200 controls the operation of various kinds of devices provided to the vehicle body in accordance with various kinds of programs. For example, the body system control unit 7200 functions as a control device for a keyless entry system, a smart key system, a power window device, or various kinds of lamps such as a headlamp, a backup lamp, a brake lamp, a turn signal, a fog lamp, or the like. In this case, radio waves transmitted from a mobile device as an alternative to a key or signals of various kinds of switches can be input to the body system control unit 7200. The body system control unit 7200 receives these input radio waves or signals, and controls a door lock device, the power window device, the lamps, or the like of the vehicle.

The battery control unit 7300 controls a secondary battery 7310, which is a power supply source for the driving motor, in accordance with various kinds of programs. For example, the battery control unit 7300 is supplied with information about a battery temperature, a battery output voltage, an amount of charge remaining in the battery, or the like from a battery device including the secondary battery 7310. The battery control unit 7300 performs arithmetic processing using these signals, and performs control for regulating the temperature of the secondary battery 7310 or controls a cooling device provided to the battery device or the like.

The outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 detects information about the outside of the vehicle including the vehicle control system 7000. For example, the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 is connected with at least one of an imaging section 7410 and an outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420. The imaging section 7410 includes at least one of a time-of-flight (ToF) camera, a stereo camera, a monocular camera, an infrared camera, and other cameras. The outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420, for example, includes at least one of an environmental sensor for detecting current atmospheric conditions or weather conditions and a peripheral information detecting sensor for detecting another vehicle, an obstacle, a pedestrian, or the like on the periphery of the vehicle including the vehicle control system 7000.

The environmental sensor, for example, may be at least one of a rain drop sensor detecting rain, a fog sensor detecting a fog, a sunshine sensor detecting a degree of sunshine, and a snow sensor detecting a snowfall. The peripheral information detecting sensor may be at least one of an ultrasonic sensor, a radar device, and a LIDAR device (Light detection and Ranging device, or Laser imaging detection and ranging device). The outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420 may implement the transmitting part (110 in Fig. 2) and receiving part (120 in Fig. 2) of the zone ultra-short range lidar (100 in Fig. 2). Each of the imaging section 7410 and the outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420 may be provided as an independent sensor or device or may be provided as a device in which a plurality of sensors or devices are integrated.

Fig. 12 schematically shows an example of installation positions of the imaging section 7410 and the outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420. Imaging sections 7910, 7912, 7914, 7916, and 7918 are, for example, disposed at least one of positions on a front nose, sideview mirrors, a rear bumper, and a back door of the vehicle 7900 and a position on an upper portion of a windshield within the interior of the vehicle. The imaging section 7910 provided to the front nose and the imaging section 7918 provided to the upper portion of the windshield within the interior of the vehicle obtain mainly an image of the front of the vehicle 7900. The imaging sections 7912 and 7914 provided to the sideview mirrors obtain mainly an image of the sides of the vehicle 7900. The imaging section 7916 provided to the rear bumper or the back door obtains mainly an image of the rear of the vehicle 7900. The imaging section 7918 provided to the upper portion of the windshield within the interior of the vehicle is used mainly to detect a preceding vehicle, a pedestrian, an obstacle, a signal, a traffic sign, a lane, or the like.

Incidentally, Fig. 12 depicts an example of photographing ranges of the respective imaging sections 7910, 7912, 7914, and 7916. An imaging range a represents the imaging range of the imaging section 7910 provided to the front nose. Imaging ranges b and c respectively represent the imaging ranges of the imaging sections 7912 and 7914 provided to the sideview mirrors. An imaging range d represents the imaging range of the imaging section 7916 provided to the rear bumper or the back door. A bird’s-eye image of the vehicle 7900 as viewed from above can be obtained by superimposing image data imaged by the imaging sections 7910, 7912, 7914, and 7916, for example.

Outside-vehicle information detecting sections 7920, 7922, 7924, 7926, 7928, and 7930 provided to the front, rear, sides, and comers of the vehicle 7900 and the upper portion of the windshield within the interior of the vehicle may be, for example, an ultrasonic sensor or a radar device. The outside-vehicle information detecting sections 7920, 7926, and 7930 provided to the front nose of the vehicle 7900, the rear bumper, the back door of the vehicle 7900, and the upper portion of the windshield within the interior of the vehicle may be a LIDAR device, for example. These outside-vehicle information detecting sections 7920 to 7930 are used mainly to detect a preceding vehicle, a pedestrian, an obstacle, or the like.

Returning to Fig. 11, the description will be continued. The outside- vehicle information detecting unit 7400 makes the imaging section 7410 image an image of the outside of the vehicle, and receives imaged image data. In addition, the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 receives detection information from the outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420 connected to the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400. In a case where the outside-vehicle information detecting section 7420 is an ultrasonic sensor, a radar device, or a LIDAR device, the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 transmits an ultrasonic wave, an electromagnetic wave, or the like, and receives information of a received reflected wave. On the basis of the received information, the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may perform processing of detecting an object such as a human, a vehicle, an obstacle, a sign, a character on a road surface, or the like, or processing of detecting a distance thereto. The outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may perform environment recognition processing of recognizing a rainfall, a fog, road surface conditions, or the like on the basis of the received information. The outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may calculate a distance to an object outside the vehicle on the basis of the received information.

In addition, on the basis of the received image data, the outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may perform image recognition processing of recognizing a human, a vehicle, an obstacle, a sign, a character on a road surface, or the like, or processing of detecting a distance thereto. The outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may subject the received image data to processing such as distortion correction, alignment, or the like, and combine the image data imaged by a plurality of different imaging sections 7410 to generate a bird’s-eye image or a pan- oramic image. The outside-vehicle information detecting unit 7400 may perform viewpoint conversion processing using the image data imaged by the imaging section 7410 including the different imaging parts.

The in-vehicle information detecting unit 7500 detects information about the inside of the vehicle. The in-vehicle information detecting unit 7500 is, for example, connected with a driver state detecting section 7510 that detects the state of a driver. The driver state detecting section 7510 may include a camera that images the driver, a biosensor that detects biological information of the driver, a microphone that collects sound within the interior of the vehicle, or the like. The biosensor is, for example, disposed in a seat surface, the steering wheel, or the like, and detects biological information of an occupant sitting in a seat or the driver holding the steering wheel. On the basis of detection information input from the driver state detecting section 7510, the in-vehi- cle information detecting unit 7500 may calculate a degree of fatigue of the driver or a degree of concentration of the driver, or may determine whether the driver is dozing. The in-vehicle information detecting unit 7500 may subject an audio signal obtained by the collection of the sound to processing such as noise canceling processing or the like.

The integrated control unit 7600 controls general operation within the vehicle control system 7000 in accordance with various kinds of programs. The integrated control unit 7600 is connected with an input section 7800. The input section 7800 is implemented by a device capable of input operation by an occupant, such, for example, as a touch panel, a button, a microphone, a switch, a lever, or the like. The integrated control unit 7600 may be supplied with data obtained by voice recognition of voice input through the microphone. The input section 7800 may, for example, be a remote control device using infrared rays or other radio waves, or an external connecting device such as a mobile telephone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or the like that supports operation of the vehicle control system 7000. The input section 7800 may be, for example, a camera. In that case, an occupant can input information by gesture. Alternatively, data may be input which is obtained by detecting the movement of a wearable device that an occupant wears. Further, the input section 7800 may, for example, include an input control circuit or the like that generates an input signal on the basis of information input by an occupant or the like using the above-described input section 7800, and which outputs the generated input signal to the integrated control unit 7600. An occupant or the like inputs various kinds of data or gives an instruction for processing operation to the vehicle control system 7000 by operating the input section 7800.

The storage section 7690 may include a read only memory (ROM) that stores various kinds of programs executed by the microcomputer and a random access memory (RAM) that stores various kinds of parameters, operation results, sensor values, or the like. In addition, the storage section 7690 may be implemented by a magnetic storage device such as a hard disc drive (HDD) or the like, a semiconductor storage device, an optical storage device, a magneto-optical storage device, or the like.

The general-purpose communication I/F 7620 is a communication I/F used widely, which communication I/F mediates communication with various apparatuses present in an external environment 7750. The general-purpose communication I/F 7620 may implement a cellular communication protocol such as global system for mobile communications (GSM (registered trademark)), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX (registered trademark)), long term evolution (LTE (registered trademark)), LTE-advanced (LTE-A), or the like, or another wireless communication protocol such as wireless LAN (referred to also as wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or the like). The general- purpose communication I/F 7620 may, for example, connect to an apparatus (for example, an application server or a control server) present on an external network (for example, the Internet, a cloud network, or a company-specific network) via a base station or an access point. In addition, the general-purpose communication I/F 7620 may connect to a terminal present in the vicinity of the vehicle (which terminal is, for example, a terminal of the driver, a pedestrian, or a store, or a machine type communication (MTC) terminal) using a peer to peer (P2P) technology, for example.

The dedicated communication I/F 7630 is a communication I/F that supports a communication protocol developed for use in vehicles. The dedicated communication I/F 7630 may implement a standard protocol such, for example, as wireless access in vehicle environment (WAVE), which is a combination of institute of electrical and electronic engineers (IEEE) 802. l ip as a lower layer and IEEE 1609 as a higher layer, dedicated short range communications (DSRC), or a cellular communication protocol. The dedicated communication I/F 7630 typically carries out V2X communication as a concept including one or more of communication between a vehicle and a vehicle (Vehicle to Vehicle), communication between a road and a vehicle (Vehicle to Infrastructure), communication between a vehicle and a home (Vehicle to Home), and communication between a pedestrian and a vehicle (Vehicle to Pedestrian).

The positioning section 7640, for example, performs positioning by receiving a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) signal from a GNSS satellite (for example, a GPS signal from a global positioning system (GPS) satellite), and generates positional information including the latitude, longitude, and altitude of the vehicle. Incidentally, the positioning section 7640 may identify a current position by exchanging signals with a wireless access point, or may obtain the positional information from a terminal such as a mobile telephone, a personal handyphone system (PHS), or a smart phone that has a positioning function.

The beacon receiving section 7650, for example, receives a radio wave or an electromagnetic wave transmitted from a radio station installed on a road or the like, and thereby obtains information about the current position, congestion, a closed road, a necessary time, or the like. Incidentally, the function of the beacon receiving section 7650 may be included in the dedicated communication I/F 7630 described above.

The in-vehicle device I/F 7660 is a communication interface that mediates connection between the microcomputer 7610 and various in-vehicle devices 7760 present within the vehicle. The in- vehicle device I/F 7660 may establish wireless connection using a wireless communication protocol such as wireless LAN, Bluetooth (registered trademark), near field communication (NFC), or wireless universal serial bus (WUSB). In addition, the in-vehicle device I/F 7660 may establish wired connection by universal serial bus (USB), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI (registered trademark)), mobile high-definition link (MHL), or the like via a connection terminal (and a cable if necessary) not depicted in the figures. The in-vehicle devices 7760 may, for example, include at least one of a mobile device and a wearable device possessed by an occupant and an information device carried into or attached to the vehicle. The in-vehicle devices 7760 may also include a navigation device that searches for a path to an arbitrary destination. The in-vehicle device I/F 7660 exchanges control signals or data signals with these in-vehicle devices 7760.

The vehicle-mounted network I/F 7680 is an interface that mediates communication between the microcomputer 7610 and the communication network 7010. The vehicle-mounted network I/F 7680 transmits and receives signals or the like in conformity with a predetermined protocol supported by the communication network 7010.

The microcomputer 7610 of the integrated control unit 7600 controls the vehicle control system 7000 in accordance with various kinds of programs on the basis of information obtained via at least one of the general-purpose communication I/F 7620, the dedicated communication I/F 7630, the positioning section 7640, the beacon receiving section 7650, the in-vehicle device I/F 7660, and the vehicle-mounted network I/F 7680. For example, the microcomputer 7610 may calculate a control target value for the driving force generating device, the steering mechanism, or the braking device on the basis of the obtained information about the inside and outside of the vehicle, and output a control command to the driving system control unit 7100. For example, the microcomputer 7610 may perform cooperative control intended to implement functions of an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) which functions include collision avoidance or shock mitigation for the vehicle, following driving based on a following distance, vehicle speed maintaining driving, a warning of collision of the vehicle, a warning of deviation of the vehicle from a lane, or the like, the microcomputer 7610 may implement the timing generator and/or CPU of the zone ultra-short range lidar 100. In addition, the microcomputer 7610 may perform cooperative control intended for automatic driving, which makes the vehicle to travel autonomously without depending on the operation of the driver, or the like, by controlling the driving force generating device, the steering mechanism, the braking device, or the like on the basis of the obtained information about the surroundings of the vehicle.

The microcomputer 7610 may generate three-dimensional distance information between the vehicle and an object such as a surrounding structure, a person, or the like, and generate local map information including information about the surroundings of the current position of the vehicle, on the basis of information obtained via at least one of the general-purpose communication I/F 7620, the dedicated communication I/F 7630, the positioning section 7640, the beacon receiving section 7650, the in-vehicle device I/F 7660, and the vehicle-mounted network I/F 7680. In addition, the microcomputer 7610 may predict danger such as collision of the vehicle, approaching of a pedestrian or the like, an entry to a closed road, or the like on the basis of the obtained information, and generate a warning signal. The warning signal may, for example, be a signal for producing a warning sound or lighting a warning lamp.

The sound/image output section 7670 transmits an output signal of at least one of a sound and an image to an output device capable of visually or auditorily notifying information to an occupant of the vehicle or the outside of the vehicle. In the example of Fig. 11, an audio speaker 7710, a display section 7720, and an instrument panel 7730 are illustrated as the output device. The display section 7720 may, for example, include at least one of an on-board display and a head-up display. The display section 7720 may have an augmented reality (AR) display function. The output device may be other than these devices, and may be another device such as headphones, a wearable device such as an eyeglass type display worn by an occupant or the like, a projector, a lamp, or the like. In a case where the output device is a display device, the display device visually displays results obtained by various kinds of processing performed by the microcomputer 7610 or information received from another control unit in various forms such as text, an image, a table, a graph, or the like. In addition, in a case where the output device is an audio output device, the audio output device converts an audio signal constituted of reproduced audio data or sound data or the like into an analog signal, and auditorily outputs the analog signal.

Incidentally, at least two control units connected to each other via the communication network 7010 in the example depicted in Fig. 11 may be integrated into one control unit. Alternatively, each individual control unit may include a plurality of control units. Further, the vehicle control system 7000 may include another control unit not depicted in the figures. In addition, part or the whole of the functions performed by one of the control units in the above description may be assigned to another control unit. That is, predetermined arithmetic processing may be performed by any of the control units as long as information is transmitted and received via the communication network 7010. Similarly, a sensor or a device connected to one of the control units may be connected to another control unit, and a plurality of control units may mutually transmit and receive detection information via the communication network 7010.

Incidentally, a computer program for realizing the functions of the information processing device 100 according to the present embodiment described with reference to Fig. 11 can be implemented in one of the control units or the like. In addition, a computer readable recording medium storing such a computer program can also be provided. The recording medium is, for example, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, a flash memory, or the like. In addition, the above-described computer program may be distributed via a network, for example, without the recording medium being used.

***

It should be recognized that the embodiments describe methods with an exemplary ordering of method steps. The specific ordering of steps is however given for illustrative purposes only and should not be construed as binding. For example, the ordering of the Fol in Fig. 6a and Fig. 6b in may be exchanged. Also, more of the Fol may be used as a continuously illuminated zone. Either to aid the combination of multiple frames with less illuminate Fol or to scan with Fol that have a greater overlap between frames. Other changes in the order of method steps may be apparent to the skilled person.

It should also be noted that the division of the control or circuitry 7600 of Fig. 11 into units 7610 to 7690 is only made for illustration purposes and that the present disclosure is not limited to any specific division of functions in specific units. For instance, at least parts of the circuitry could be implemented by a respective programmed processor, field programmable gate array (FPGA), dedicated circuits, and the like. All units and entities described in this specification and claimed in the appended claims can, if not stated otherwise, be implemented as integrated circuit logic, for example on a chip, and functionality provided by such units and entities can, if not stated otherwise, be implemented by software.

In so far as the embodiments of the disclosure described above are implemented, at least in part, using software-controlled data processing apparatus, it will be appreciated that a computer program providing such software control and a transmission, storage or other medium by which such a computer program is provided are envisaged as aspects of the present disclosure.

Note that the present technology can also be configured as described below.

(1) An apparatus (100) for ToF measurements, comprising: a beam steer unit (114) configured to direct illumination light (LMS) from a light emitting circuitry (111) into a selected illumination zone (131, 00 of a predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 0i, 02, 03, 04, 0s, 06, 07, 9s), and a ToF imaging element (123) configured to selectively read out a subset of pixels (123a), the subset of pixels (123a) corresponding to a region of interest (123b), from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each of the illumination zones (131, 90 from the predefined set of illumination zones (130, 9i, 02, 03, 04, 9s, 06, 07, 9s) corresponds to a respective region of interest (123b) of the predefined set of regions of interest.

(2) The apparatus (100) of (1), further comprising circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit (114) to direct the illumination light (LMS) into the selected illumination zone (131, 00 and to control the ToF imaging element (123) to read out the corresponding region of interest.

(3) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) or (2), wherein the predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 0i, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 0s) form a field of view (130), and wherein the circuitry is configured to control the beam steer unit (114) to successively direct the illumination light (LMS) into the illumination zones (131, 00 of the predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 0i, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 9s) and to control the ToF imaging element (123) to successively read out the corresponding regions of interest.

(4) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (3), further comprising circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit (114) to simultaneously direct the illumination light (LMS) into multiple selected illumination zones (131, 00 of the predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08). (5) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (4), wherein the apparatus (100) is configured to emit light in the form of a scanning zone (TL).

(6) The apparatus (100) of (5), wherein the scanning zone (TL) is arranged in a horizontal direction, and wherein the illumination zones (131, 00 of the predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98) are stacked vertically.

(7) The apparatus (100) of any one of (5) or (6), wherein the light emitting circuitry (111) is configured as at least one VCSEL array to emits the illumination light (LMS).

(8) The apparatus (100) of any one of (5) to (7), wherein the apparatus (100) comprises the light emitting circuitry (111).

(9) The apparatus (100) of any one of (5) to (8), further comprising a collimation lens (112) provided on a light path between the light emitting circuitry (111) and the beam steer unit (114) and configured to collimate the illumination light (LMS) in at least one direction.

(10) The apparatus (100) of any one of (5) to (9), further comprising a diffusor (115) configured to generate the scanning zone (TL) based on the illumination light (LMS) emitted by the light emitting circuitry (111).

(11) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (10), wherein the beam steer unit (114) is configured to direct illumination light (LMS) from a light emitting circuitry (111) into a selected illumination zone (131, 90 using diffraction.

(12) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (11), wherein the beam steer unit (114) comprises a liquid crystal switch (114b) followed by a polarization grating (114c) configured to direct illumination light (LMS) from a light emitting circuitry (111) into a selected illumination zone (131, 90.

(13) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (12), further comprising a lens (121) configured to focus light onto the ToF imaging element (123), wherein the lens is configured to compensate for optical distortions of the illumination zones (131, 90 when projected onto the ToF imaging element (123).

(14) The apparatus (100) of (13), wherein the lens (121) is configured to project the illumination zones (131, 90 onto respective regions of interest (123b) of the ToF imaging element (123), the regions of interest having a substantially rectangular shape.

(15) The apparatus (100) of any one of (13) or (14), wherein the lens (121) is configured for an orthographic projection. (16) The apparatus (100) of any one of (1) to (15), further comprising an infrared bandpass filter (122) on a light path between the lens (121) and the ToF imaging element (123) and configured to filter the light focused onto the ToF imaging element (123) by the lens (121).

(17) A method for time-of-flight measurements comprising: directing illumination light (LMS) from a light emitting circuitry (111) into an illumination zone (131, 9i) of a predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 0i, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, Os), and selectively reading out a subset of pixels (123a), the subset of pixels (123a) corresponding to a region of interest (123b), from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each one of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illuminations zones (130, 0i, 02, 03, 04, 05, ©6, 07, 0s) corresponds to one respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

(18) A program comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method of (17).

(19) An automotive lidar system comprising the apparatus of any one of (1) to (16) as an out- side-vehicle information detecting section (7420).

(20) The automotive lidar system according to (19), comprising at least two apparatuses of any one of (1) to (16) as outside-vehicle information detecting sections (7420) and a controller configured to combine the respective outputs of the respective outside- vehicle information detecting section (7420) into one point-cloud.

(21) A computer program comprising program code causing a computer to perform the method according to (17), when being carried out on a computer.

(22) A non-transitory computer-readable recording medium that stores therein a computer program product, which, when executed by a processor, causes the method according to (17) to be performed.

Claims

1. An apparatus for ToF measurements comprising: a beam steer unit configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone of a predefined set of illumination zones, and a ToF imaging element configured to selectively read out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illumination zones corresponds to a respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit to direct the illumination light into the selected illumination zone and to control the ToF imaging element to read out the corresponding region of interest.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the predefined set of illuminations zones form a field of view, and wherein the circuitry is configured to control the beam steer unit to successively direct the illumination light into the illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones and to control the ToF imaging element to successively read out the corresponding regions of interest.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising circuitry configured to control the beam steer unit to simultaneously direct the illumination light into multiple selected illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is configured to emit light in the form of a scanning zone.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the scanning zone is arranged in a horizontal direction, and wherein the illumination zones of the predefined set of illuminations zones are stacked vertically.

7. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the light emitting circuitry is configured as at least one VCSEL array to emits the illumination light.

8. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the apparatus comprises the light emitting circuitry.

9. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a collimation lens provided on a light path between the light emitting circuitry and the beam steer unit and configured to collimate the illumination light in at least one direction.

10. The apparatus of claim 5, further comprising a diffusor configured to generate the scanning zone based on the illumination light emitted by the light emitting circuitry.

11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beam steer unit is configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone using diffraction.

12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the beam steer unit comprises a liquid crystal switch followed by a polarization grating configured to direct illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into a selected illumination zone.

13. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a lens configured to focus light onto the ToF imaging element, wherein the lens is configured to compensate for optical distortions of the illumination zones when projected onto the ToF imaging element.

14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the lens is configured to project the illumination zones onto respective regions of interest of the ToF imaging element, the regions of interest having a substantially rectangular shape.

15. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the lens is configured for an orthographic projection.

16. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an infrared bandpass filter on a light path between the lens and the ToF imaging element and configured to filter the light focused onto the ToF imaging element by the lens.

17. A method for time-of-flight measurements comprising: directing illumination light from a light emitting circuitry into an illumination zone of a predefined set of illuminations zones, and selectively reading out a subset of pixels, the subset of pixels corresponding to a region of interest, from a predefined set of regions of interest, wherein each one of the illumination zones from the predefined set of illuminations zones corresponds to one respective region of interest of the predefined set of regions of interest.

18. A program comprising instructions, which when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute the method of claim 17.

19. An automotive lidar system comprising the apparatus of claim 1 as an outside-vehicle information detecting section.

20. The automotive lidar system according to claim 19, comprising at least two apparatuses of claim 1 as outside- vehicle information detecting sections and a controller configured to combine the respective outputs of the respective outside-vehicle information detecting section into one point-cloud.