WO2023139946A1

WO2023139946A1 - Distance measuring device and distance measuring method

Info

Publication number: WO2023139946A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/044810
Authority: WO
Inventors: 光晴大木; 康平原田; 豊三富
Original assignee: ソニーセミコンダクタソリューションズ株式会社
Priority date: 2022-01-19
Filing date: 2022-12-06
Publication date: 2023-07-27

Abstract

A distance measuring device (110, 110A) comprises: a light emitting unit (112) for emitting linear light (130) onto a target object (120); a ROM (116) (corresponding to an example of a "storage unit") for storing an emission direction of the linear light (130), measured in advance; and a calculating unit (115) for measuring a distance (radial_depth) to the target object (120) on the basis of reflected light (131) obtained by the linear light (130) being reflected from the target object (120), and the linear light (130), and calculating a position, in three dimensions, of the target object (120) on the basis of the distance (radial_depth) and the emission direction.

Description

Ranging device and ranging method

The present disclosure relates to a ranging device and a ranging method.

Conventionally, distance measuring devices based on the ToF (Time-of-Flight) method are known (see Patent Document 1, for example). Hereinafter, such a ToF-based distance measuring device will be referred to as a "ToF sensor" as appropriate.

The ToF sensor emits linear light. The irradiated light is reflected by the target object for distance measurement and returns to the ToF sensor. The ToF sensor measures the distance to the target object by receiving the returned light and measuring the time from irradiation of the light to reception of the light.

Specifically, the ToF sensor has a light source and a light emitting part consisting of a DOE (Diffractive Optical Element), a lens, and an image sensor. Light emitted from the light emitting unit is linearly irradiated in a plurality of directions by the DOE. The lens collects the light that has been reflected by the target object and returned from the linearly irradiated light. Some pixels of the image sensor then receive the light condensed by the lens.

The distance measured by the ToF sensor is the distance from the ToF sensor to the target object. Also, the direction of the target object can be known from the position of the pixel received by the image sensor.

By the way, since the lens has distortion, it is difficult to accurately determine the direction of the target object from the position of the pixel received by the image sensor. For lens distortion, for example, Brown's lens distortion model can be used (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2).

JP 2020-153865 A

However, the conventional technology has room for further improvement in accurately measuring the three-dimensional position of the target object.

For example, the lens distortion model is just a model, so it does not perfectly represent the actual lens. Therefore, even if the lens distortion model is used, it is still difficult to accurately determine the direction of the target object.

As long as it is difficult to accurately determine the direction of the target object, the 3D position of the target object measured by the conventional ToF sensor contains errors.

Therefore, the present disclosure proposes a ranging device and ranging method capable of accurately measuring the three-dimensional position of a target object.

In order to solve the above problems, a distance measuring device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes: a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light; a storage unit that stores an irradiation direction of the linear light measured in advance;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing how light is received by an image sensor in a ToF sensor; FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of distances measured by a ToF sensor; 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a distance measuring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of calibration parameters according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of ranging processing according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; 1 is an explanatory diagram of a calibration device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a calibration method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of calibration processing according to the embodiment of the present disclosure; It is a block diagram which shows the 1st modification. It is a block diagram which shows the 2nd modification.

Below, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the drawings. In addition, in each of the following embodiments, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, thereby omitting redundant explanations.

Also, the present disclosure will be described according to the order of items shown below.
1. Overview 2. Configuration of rangefinder 3. Calibration method 4 . Modification 4-1. First Modification and Second Modification 4-2. Third modification 4-3. Other modifications 5. Conclusion

<<1. Overview＞＞
First, the overview of the distance measurement method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described. Prior to this, the problem of the ToF sensor according to the conventional technology will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing how an image sensor in a ToF sensor receives light. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of distance data measured by the ToF sensor.

As already mentioned, the ToF sensor has a light emitting part consisting of a light source and DOE, a lens and an image sensor. Light emitted from the light emitting unit is linearly irradiated in a plurality of directions by the DOE. The lens collects the light that has been reflected by the target object and returned from the linearly irradiated light. Some pixels of the image sensor then receive the light condensed by the lens.

Fig. 1 schematically shows how light is received by the image sensor. Rectangles in the figure are image sensors. The black circles in the drawing represent pixels that have received light that has been reflected back from the target object. The ToF sensor measures the time when the pixels indicated by the black circles receive light. Then, the distance is calculated from the difference between the "time of light reception" and the "time of light emission" which is the time when light is emitted from the light emitting unit. Note that the example of FIG. 1 shows a case where the number of linearly irradiated lights is six.

The distance measured by the ToF sensor is the distance between the ToF sensor and the target object. Also, the direction of the target object can be known from the position of the pixel received by the image sensor. Specifically, the direction of the target object is (u, v, F), where (u, v) is the pixel position where light is received by the image sensor and F is the focal length of the lens.

Normally, the ToF sensor outputs the distance measurement result in an orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) with the ToF sensor as the origin. Therefore, the ToF sensor calculates and outputs the position (x, y, z) in the orthogonal coordinate system from the calculated "distance between the ToF sensor and the target object" and "target object direction (u, v, F)" (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Both the distance measured by the ToF sensor (the distance from the ToF sensor to the target object) and the Z coordinate value of the position in the Cartesian coordinate system are generally called "depth". Therefore, it is ambiguous whether depth represents the distance measured by the ToF sensor or represents the value of the Z coordinate of the position in the orthogonal coordinate system. To eliminate this ambiguity, the embodiments of the present disclosure will refer to the distance measured by the ToF sensor as "radial_depth."

Such "radial_depth" is shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, radial_depth is the distance from the origin of the aforementioned Cartesian coordinate system (X, Y, Z) to the target object. Here, in order to accurately obtain the position (x, y, z) of the target object, the radial_depth must be accurate and the direction of the target object must be accurate.

However, as already mentioned, the lens has distortion, and even if the lens distortion model is used, it is just a model, so it is difficult to accurately determine the direction of the target object. Therefore, the three-dimensional position of the target object measured by the conventional ToF sensor contains an error.

Therefore, in the distance measuring method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, a distance measuring device having a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light stores the irradiation direction of the linear light measured in advance, measures the distance to the target object based on the linear light and the reflected light reflected by the target object, and calculates the three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance and the irradiation direction. A more specific description will be given below with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6. FIG.

<<2. Configuration of Range Finder>>
FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the distance measuring device 110 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Also, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the distance measuring device 110 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Further, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of calibration parameters according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Also, FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of distance measurement processing according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, the distance measuring device 110 has a control section 111, a light emitting section 112, a lens 113, an image sensor 114, a computing section 115, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 116, and an output terminal 117. The light emitting section 112 has a light source 112-1 and a DOE 112-2. The image sensor 114 corresponds to an example of a "light receiving section". The ROM 116 corresponds to an example of a "storage unit".

The control unit 111 controls the entire distance measuring device 110 . The control unit 111 controls light emission from the light source 112-1. The control unit 111 also controls light reception by the image sensor 114 . Also, the control unit 111 controls the calculation in the calculation unit 115 .

The main components of the distance measuring device 110 are a light emitting unit 112 including a light source 112-1, and an image sensor 114 that receives reflected light from the light emitted from the light emitting unit 112 reaching a target object 120 and reflected. The image sensor 114 has pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array. Each pixel has a light-receiving element, and the light-receiving element receives the aforementioned reflected light.

In more detail, it is as follows. As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitted from the light emitting section 112 is emitted in a plurality of directions as linear light 130 by the DOE 112-2. Some pixels of the image sensor 114 receive reflected light 131 that is reflected by the target object 120 from the linear light 130 emitted in a plurality of directions.

That is, light emitted from the light emitting unit 112 reaches certain pixels of the image sensor 114 . This situation is already shown in FIG. A lens 113 is provided on the entire surface of the image sensor 114 so that the reflected light 131 that has been reflected by the target object 120 and returned can be efficiently focused on the pixels of the image sensor 114 .

Although the linear light 130 and the reflected light 131 are each indicated by one arrow in FIG. 3, there are actually a plurality of them. Hereinafter, a case where six linear lights 130 are emitted will be taken as an example, as described with reference to FIG. 1 . Of course, embodiments of the present disclosure do not limit the number of such linear lights 130 .

Next, the operation of the distance measuring device 110 will be described using FIG. 4 shows the main parts (light source 112-1, DOE 112-2, lens 113 and image sensor 114) in rangefinder 110 and target object 120. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4, the light emitted from the light source 112-1 becomes six linear lights 130 by the DOE 112-2. These linear lights 130 are reflected by the target object 120 . The reflected light 131 is condensed by the lens 113 and received by six specific pixels of the image sensor 114 .

The six pixel positions are stored in the ROM 116 in advance, and the calculation unit 115 reads information on these six pixel positions ((u, v) described later) from the ROM 116 . Then, the calculation unit 115 acquires the information of the light receiving time at the six pixel positions corresponding to the information from the image sensor 114 .

Here, the ROM 116 will be explained. As shown in FIG. 5, the ROM 116 stores calibrated calibration parameters for each of the six linear lights 130 . “Linear light number” is an identifier for the linear light 130 . Since this is an example in which there are six linear lights 130, they are numbered 1 to 6 here for convenience.

a and b are parameters indicating respective directions of the linear light 130 . Also, u and v are pixel positions on the image sensor 114 onto which the linear lights 130 are projected (hereinafter referred to as "spots" as appropriate).

To describe the parameters a and b in detail, when a and b are given, the three-dimensional direction is expressed as (a, b, 1). That is, it is a direction (x, y, z) that satisfies x=a×z and y=b×z.

One of the features of the embodiment of the present disclosure is that the directions of the linear lights 130 emitted from the DOE 112-2 are stored in advance as parameters a and b. The parameters a and b are set through calibration described later so as to indicate the correct direction of each linear light 130 .

Return to the description of Fig. 4. Distance measuring device 110 then obtains radial_depth in six directions from the difference between the light emission time when light is emitted from light emitting unit 112 and the light reception time when pixels of image sensor 114 receive light. This calculation is performed by the calculation unit 115 .

Furthermore, the calculation unit 115 reads parameters a and b indicating the direction of the linear light 130 from the ROM 116, and uses the aforementioned radial_depth to calculate (x, y, z) that satisfies the following equation (1). Note that the subscript i in equation (1) is the number of each linear light 130, and is 1 to 6 in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

Then, the distance measuring device 110 outputs the calculated (x, y, z) from the output terminal 117 . Again, it demonstrates using a flowchart.

As shown in FIG. 6, in step S11, the distance measuring device 110 first reads the projection position (u _i , v _i ) of each spot from the ROM 116 (i=1 to 6).

Subsequently, in step S12, distance measuring device 110 reads out data at position (u _i , v _i ) from image sensor 114, and calculates distance (radial_depth _i ) at that position in arithmetic unit 115 (i=1 to 6). Note that the calculation of radial_depth is an existing technique and is well known, so the description is omitted here.

Then, in step S13, the distance measuring device 110 reads the direction (a _i , b _i ) of each spot from the ROM 116 (i=1 to 6).

Then, in step S14, distance measuring device 110 uses radial_depth _i obtained in step S12 and (a _i , bi ₎ obtained in step S13 to solve the above equation (1), which is a simultaneous equation relating to x _i , y _i , and z _i (i=1 to 6).

Distance measuring device 110 then outputs x _i , y _i , and z _i from output terminal 117 (i=1 to 6) in step S15. Then, the process ends.

Due to parallax, the projected position (u _i , v _i ) of each spot read from the ROM 116 and the actual projected position on the image sensor 114 may be slightly different. Therefore, the pixels read out in step S12 should be read not only from the position (u _i , v _i ), but also from the surrounding pixels. Then, a pixel with the largest amount of received light may be selected from the group of pixels at the position (u _i , v _i ) and its surrounding positions, and radial_depth may be calculated from the data at that pixel.

As described above, in the distance measuring method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance measuring device 110 including the light emitting unit 112 that irradiates the linear light 130 to the target object 120 stores the irradiation direction of the linear light 130 measured in advance, measures the distance radial_depth to the target object 120 based on the linear light 130 and the reflected light 131 of the linear light 130 reflected by the target object 120, and measures the distance radial The three-dimensional position of the target object 120 is calculated based on _depth and the irradiation direction. Therefore, according to the ranging method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the three-dimensional position of the target object 120 can be accurately measured.

<<3. Calibration method >>
By the way, the accuracy of the parameters a and b pre-stored in the ROM 116 is important in executing the distance measuring method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure described above. Next, a calibration method according to an embodiment of the present disclosure for ensuring the accuracy of the parameters a and b will be described.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the calibration device 210 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Also, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the calibration method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. Also, FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the calibration process according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 7, the calibration device 210 has a distance measuring device 110, a high-pixel camera 140, and a graph paper 150. Graph paper 150 is an example of a "calibration member." 7 shows the main parts (light source 112-1, DOE 112-2, lens 113 and image sensor 114) in the distance measuring device 110. As shown in FIG.

The high-pixel camera 140 is a camera with higher pixels than the image sensor 114. The high-pixel camera 140 is provided near the distance measuring device 110 and arranged so as to photograph the graph paper 150 .

The grid sheet 150 is arranged so that the linear light 130 emitted from the distance measuring device 110 is irradiated onto the grid sheet 150 . In addition, the grid sheet 150 is arranged so that the image sensor 114 can photograph the grid sheet 150 . Here, the distance from the grid sheet 150 after placement to the DOE 112-2 is _z0 .

In such a calibration device 210, the orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) of the distance measuring device 110 is defined as follows. The X-axis is parallel to the horizontal axis (Xpaper axis) of the graph paper 150 . The Y-axis is parallel to the vertical axis (Ypaper axis) of the graph paper 150 . Therefore, the Z-axis is an axis perpendicular to the graph paper 150 . Also, the origin of the orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) is set at a distance of z ₀ from the grid sheet 150 . The origin of the coordinate system (Xpaper, Ypaper) of the grid paper 150 is (0, 0, z ₀ ) in the orthogonal coordinate system of the distance measuring device 110 .

In this setting state, in the calibration method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance measurement device 110 performs distance measurement operation assuming that the grid paper 150 is the target object 120 . Specifically, distance measuring device 110 causes light emitting unit 112 to emit light, and image sensor 114 receives the light. At the same time, the high pixel camera 140 photographs the graph paper 150 .

At this time, the light from the light emitting unit 112 becomes linear light 130 through the DOE 112-2 and is irradiated onto the graph paper 150. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, six light spots indicated by black circles appear on the graph paper 150. As shown in FIG.

Since the graph paper 150 is photographed by the high-pixel camera 140 as described above, six high-brightness positions on the graph paper 150 can be obtained by analyzing this photographed image. In this manner, six high-intensity positions on the graph paper 150 are obtained. These high luminance positions are defined as (h _i , k _i ) (i=1 to 6).

(h _i , k _i ) are accurate positions because they are obtained as six positions on the graph paper 150 by analyzing the captured image of the high-pixel camera 140 having higher pixels than the image sensor 114 .

In addition, since the linear light 130 is radiated at (hi _, k _i ) on the plane of Z=z ₀ in the orthogonal coordinate system (X, Y, Z) of the distance measuring device 110, the direction of the linear light 130 is ( _hi , k _i , z ₀ ). Since the direction (h _i , k _i , z ₀ ) is defined from the correct position (h _i , k _i ), it can be said that the direction (h _i , k _i , z ₀ ) itself is also correct. In other words, the ROM 116 stores, as the irradiation direction of the linear light 130, the direction of the trajectory of the linear light 130, which is measured through an image of the linear light 130 captured in advance by the high-pixel camera 140.

Further, since the distance measuring device 110 is performing distance measuring operation, the image sensor 114 is also performing photographing. Therefore, the image captured by the image sensor 114 also includes the graph paper 150 and the six light spots. By analyzing the captured image of the image sensor 114, the projection position for the accurate position (h _i , k _i ) on the graph paper 150 can be obtained. On the captured image of the image sensor 114, the pixel position of the pixel with the highest luminance is detected in the vicinity of this projection position. Such detected pixel positions are (u _i , v _i ) (i=1 to 6).

Supplementing here, ideally, in the captured image captured by the image sensor 114, the projected position of the position (h _i , k _i ) on the graph paper 150 should completely match as a high-luminance pixel position.

However, generally the image sensors used for ToF sensors have low resolution. Accurate positions cannot be determined by analyzing captured images captured by a low-resolution image sensor. In other words, the projected position of the position (h _i , k _i ) on the graph paper 150 cannot be obtained accurately.

Therefore, in the calibration method according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the projection position of the position (hi _, k _i ) on the graph paper 150 is obtained on the image captured by the image sensor 114, and the pixel with the highest luminance is detected in the vicinity of this projection position.

In this way, by further searching the vicinity of the projection position, even if the projection position with respect to the position ( _hi _, k _i ) on the graph paper 150 is not accurate on the captured image of the image sensor 114, it is possible to accurately determine on which pixel position the light irradiated at the position (hi, k _i ) is actually projected on the image sensor 114.

In this way, the i-th linear light 130 is emitted in the direction (a _i , b _i , 1), and the light is received at the pixel position (u _i , v _i ) of the image sensor 114. Correspondence can be analyzed (i = 1 to 6). where a _i =h _i /z ₀ and b _i =k _i /z ₀ .

I will explain again using the flowchart. As shown in FIG. 9, in step S21, the calibration device 210 first performs distance measurement with the distance measurement device 110, and at the same time, performs photographing with the high-pixel camera 140. FIG. Note that distance measurement by the distance measuring device 110 specifically means that the light emitting unit 112 emits light and the image sensor 114 receives light.

Then, in step S22, six high-brightness pixel positions are detected from the image captured by the high-pixel camera 140. FIG. Since the graph paper 150 is also photographed in the photographed image of the high-pixel camera 140, the positions of the six points on the graph paper 150 are obtained by image analysis. Let the position on the graph paper 150 be (h _i , k _i ) (i=1 to 6).

Then, in step S23, a _i =h _i /z ₀ and b _i =k _i /z ₀ (i=1 to 6).

Then, in step S24, six high-brightness pixel positions are detected from the captured image by the image sensor 114. FIG. Such pixel positions are assumed to be (u _i , v _i ) (i=1 to 6).

Then, in step S25, a _i , b _i , u _i , and v _i are written in the ROM 116 (i=1 to 6). Then, the process ends.

Thus, the calibration of the distance measuring device 110 is performed, and the calibration parameters a _i , bi _, u _i , and v _i are written in the ROM 116 .

<<4. Modification>>
By the way, several modifications can be given to the embodiments of the present disclosure described above.

<4-1. First Modification and Second Modification>
FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing a first modified example. Also, FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a second modification.

In the above-described embodiment of the present disclosure, as shown in FIG. 3, the configuration example in which the image sensor 114 and the arithmetic unit 115 are separated was given, but the image sensor 114 and the arithmetic unit 115 may be configured with a single semiconductor chip.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10, the image sensor 114 and the arithmetic unit 115 may be realized by one semiconductor chip 118.

Furthermore, the configuration shown in FIG. 11 may be used. That is, as shown in FIG. 11, an APU (Application Processor Unit) 119 may be provided after the distance measuring device 110A. The APU 119 corresponds to an example of a "processing unit".

Since the calculation amount of the calculation unit 115 in the semiconductor chip 118 is limited, it may be difficult for the calculation unit 115 to process all the processing shown in FIG. 6, for example. Therefore, the processing may be distributed between the APU 119 and, for example, step S12 in FIG.

As a result, the amount of processing in the calculation unit 115 can be reduced. Referring to FIG. 6, the details are as follows.

First, in step S11, data at position (u _i , v _i ) is sent from the ROM 116 to the calculation unit 115 . Then, in step S12, data at the position (u _i , v _i ) is read from the image sensor 114, and the calculation unit 115 calculates the distance radial_depth _i at that position.

Then, in step S13, data on the direction (a _i , b _i ) of each spot is sent from the ROM 116 to the APU 119 via the output terminal 117-2. Then, in step S14, the radial_depth _i calculated by the calculation unit 115 is sent to the APU 119 via the output terminal 117-1, so that the APU 119 solves the above equation (1), which is the simultaneous equations regarding x _i , y _i , and z _i . Then, the APU 119 outputs x _i , y _i and z _i .

By doing so, there is no need to send the data of the direction (a _i , bi ₎ of each spot to the calculation section 115, and the calculation section 115 does not need to perform calculations regarding x _i , y _i , and z _i . Thereby, the processing load of the calculation unit 115 can be reduced.

<4-2. Third modification>
In addition to this, the

distance measuring devices

110 and 110A may sequentially emit the plurality of linear lights 130 one by one instead of emitting the plurality of linear lights 130 all at once. In this case, for example, the processing procedure shown in FIG. 6 is repeated the number of times of the subscript i while adding the subscript i each time one linear light 130 is emitted. Further, in the embodiment of the present disclosure described above, the calibration member is the graph paper 150, but the calibration member is not limited. That is, the calibrating member only needs to be able to be accurately positioned on the photographed image of the calibrating member and has a regular geometric pattern.

<4-3. Other modified examples>
Further, among the processes described in the embodiments of the present disclosure described above, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be automatically performed by a known method. In addition, information including processing procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be arbitrarily changed unless otherwise specified. For example, the various information shown in each drawing is not limited to the illustrated information.

Also, each component of each device illustrated is functionally conceptual and does not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to the one shown in the figure, and all or part of them can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in arbitrary units according to various loads and usage conditions.

In addition, the embodiments of the present disclosure described above can be appropriately combined in areas where the processing contents are not inconsistent. Also, the order of the steps shown in the sequence diagrams or flowcharts of this embodiment can be changed as appropriate.

<<5. Conclusion>>
As described above, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, the distance measuring device 110 includes the light emitting unit 112 that irradiates the target object 120 with the linear light 130, the ROM 116 that stores the previously measured irradiation direction of the linear light 130 (equivalent to an example of a “storage unit”), the reflected light 131 that the linear light 130 has reflected on the target object 120, and the distance radial_depth to the target object 120 based on the linear light 130. , and calculates the three-dimensional position of the target object 120 based on the distance radial_depth and the irradiation direction. Accordingly, the three-dimensional position of the target object 120 can be accurately measured.

Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the technical scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are possible without departing from the gist of the present disclosure. Moreover, you may combine the component over different embodiment and modifications suitably.

Also, the effects of each embodiment described in this specification are merely examples and are not limited, and other effects may be provided.

Note that the present technology can also take the following configuration.
(1)
a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light;
a storage unit that stores an irradiation direction of the linear light that has been measured in advance;
a calculation unit that measures a distance to the target object based on the linear light and the reflected light reflected by the target object, and calculates a three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance and the irradiation direction;
A ranging device.
(2)
The storage unit
storing, as the irradiation direction, the direction of the trajectory of the linear light measured through a photographed image of the linear light previously photographed by a camera;
The distance measuring device according to (1) above.
(3)
further comprising a light-receiving unit having pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array and receiving the reflected light at any of the pixels;
The storage unit
further storing a correspondence relationship between a pixel position receiving the reflected light and the irradiation direction;
The calculation unit is
measuring the distance based on the light emission time of the linear light and the light reception time of the reflected light at the pixel position;
The distance measuring device according to (1) or (2) above.
(4)
The storage unit
storing the irradiation direction measured through a captured image captured by a high-pixel camera having a higher pixel count than the light-receiving unit;
The distance measuring device according to (3) above.
(5)
The storage unit
storing the pixel position with the highest brightness around the incident position of the reflected light in the light receiving unit;
The distance measuring device according to (4) above.
(6)
The storage unit
storing, as the irradiation direction, the direction of the trajectory of the linear light, which is measured in advance based on a photographed image of the calibration member having a regular geometric pattern when the linear light is irradiated to the calibration member;
The distance measuring device according to any one of (2) to (5) above.
(7)
The light receiving unit and the computing unit are provided on one semiconductor chip,
The distance measuring device according to (3), (4) or (5).
(8)
Further comprising a processing unit for calculating the three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance calculated by the calculation unit, after the calculation unit;
The distance measuring device according to (7) above.
(9)
A distance measurement method performed by a distance measurement device having a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light,
storing the irradiation direction of the linear light measured in advance;
measuring the distance to the target object based on the linear light and the reflected light reflected by the target object, and calculating the three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance and the irradiation direction;
Ranging methods, including

110, 110A rangefinder 111 control unit 112 light emitting unit 112-1 light source 112-2 DOE
113 lens 114 image sensor 115 computing unit 116 ROM
117, 117-1, 117-2 output terminal 118 semiconductor chip 119 APU
120 target object 130 linear light 131 reflected light 140 high pixel camera 210 calibration device

Claims

a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light;
a storage unit that stores an irradiation direction of the linear light that has been measured in advance;
a calculation unit that measures a distance to the target object based on the linear light and the reflected light reflected by the target object, and calculates a three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance and the irradiation direction;
A ranging device.
The storage unit
storing, as the irradiation direction, the direction of the trajectory of the linear light measured through a photographed image of the linear light previously photographed by a camera;
The distance measuring device according to claim 1.
further comprising a light-receiving unit that has pixels arranged in a two-dimensional array and receives the reflected light in a specific one of the pixels;
The storage unit
further storing a correspondence relationship between a pixel position receiving the reflected light and the irradiation direction;
The calculation unit is
measuring the distance based on the light emission time of the linear light and the light reception time of the reflected light at the pixel position;
The distance measuring device according to claim 1.
The storage unit
storing the irradiation direction measured through a captured image captured by a high-pixel camera having a higher pixel count than the light-receiving unit;
The distance measuring device according to claim 3.
The storage unit
storing the pixel position with the highest brightness around the incident position of the reflected light in the light receiving unit;
The distance measuring device according to claim 4.
The storage unit
storing, as the irradiation direction, the direction of the trajectory of the linear light, which is measured in advance based on a photographed image of the calibration member having a regular geometric pattern when the linear light is irradiated to the calibration member;
The distance measuring device according to claim 2.
The light receiving unit and the computing unit are provided on one semiconductor chip,
The distance measuring device according to claim 3.
Further comprising a processing unit for calculating the three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance calculated by the calculation unit, after the calculation unit;
The distance measuring device according to claim 7.
A distance measurement method performed by a distance measurement device having a light emitting unit that irradiates a target object with linear light,
storing the irradiation direction of the linear light measured in advance;
measuring the distance to the target object based on the linear light and the reflected light reflected by the target object, and calculating the three-dimensional position of the target object based on the distance and the irradiation direction;
Ranging methods, including