Lidar systems and methods
A Lidar system is provided. The Lidar system may comprise: a plurality of light sources configured to emit a plurality of light beams, the plurality of light sources are mounted to a first mounting apparatus comprising a cooling feature; a plurality of optical fiber elements, and each of the plurality of light sources is optically coupled to an input end of one or more optical fiber elements from the plurality of optical fiber elements; and a second mounting apparatus comprising at least one mounting unit coupled to an emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements, and the at least one mounting unit is configured to control an output direction of the plurality of light beams individually, and a distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements.
1. A Lidar system comprising:
a plurality of light sources configured to emit a plurality of light beams;
a plurality of optical fiber elements, wherein each of the plurality of light sources is optically coupled to an input end of one optical fiber element from the plurality of optical fiber elements; and
a mounting apparatus comprising at least one mounting unit, wherein the at least one mounting unit is coupled to an emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements via a plurality of directional structures oriented with various angles, wherein each of the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements is coupled to one directional structure from the plurality of directional structures thereby providing a configurable distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements.
2. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources, the plurality of optical fiber elements, the mounting apparatus are configured to rotate about a vertical axis.
3. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources, the plurality of optical fiber elements or the mounting apparatus is disposed on a supporting body connected to a rotor of the Lidar system.
4. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the configurable distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements is independent of an arrangement of the plurality of light sources.
5. The Lidar system of claim 4 , wherein the arrangement of the plurality of light sources is optimized to facilitate heat dissipation.
6. The Lidar system of claim 4 , wherein the arrangement of the plurality of light sources is decoupled from a vertical angular resolution defined by the plurality of light beams.
7. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of light sources is optically coupled to one or more optical fiber elements using an optical coupling element.
8. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the at least one mounting unit is mechanically connected to a rotor of the Lidar system with a pre-determined orientation.
9. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of directional structures is intergrally formed with the at least one mounting unit.
10. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of directional structures comprise a set of slots or channels.
11. The Lidar system of claim 10 , wherein the set of slots or channels are arranged along a length direction of the mounting unit.
12. The Lidar system of claim 11 , wherein the set of slots or channels are non-uniformly distributed along the length direction of the mounting unit.
13. The Lidar system of claim 10 , wherein the set of slots or channels are located on two opposing sides of the at least one mounting unit.
14. The Lidar system of claim 10 , wherein a subset of slots or channels is selected from the set of slots or channels for receiving the plurality of optical fiber elements by the emitting end.
15. The Lidar system of claim 10 , wherein each of the set of slots or channels has a pre-determined tilt angle with respect to a horizontal direction.
16. The Lidar system of claim 10 , wherein an output direction of the plurality of light beams is individually controlled by selecting a given slot or a given channel with a pre-determined tilt angle from the set of slots or channels.
17. The Lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the mounting apparatus comprises multiple mounting units arranged in a horizontal plane with pre-determined orientations, and wherein each of the multiple mounting units comprises a set of slots or channels arranged along a length direction of the mounting unit.
18. The Lidar system of claim 17 , wherein the distribution pattern of the plurality of light beams emitted from the emitting end of the plurality of optical fiber elements is configured by: (i) selecting a subset of slots or channels from the set of slots or channels, or (ii) selecting one or more mounting units from the multiple mounting units.