Multi-Lens Lidar Receiver with Multiple Readout Channels

1 . A lidar system comprising:

a first lens having a first field of view that receives incident light from the first field of view;

a second lens having a second field of view that receives incident light from the second field of view, wherein the second field of view is encompassed by and narrower than the first field of view; and

photodetector circuitry that senses incident light passed by the first and second lenses, wherein the photodetector circuitry includes a plurality of channels of readout circuitry for reading out (1) a first return signal in a first of the channels for detecting a return from a laser pulse shot that targets a location in the second field of view, wherein the first return signal is based on incident light passed by the first lens, and (2) a second return signal in a second of the channels for detecting the return, wherein the second return signal is based on incident light passed by the second lens.

2 . The system of claim 1 wherein the photodetector circuitry comprises (1) a first photodetector array for sensing incident light passed by the first lens and (2) a second photodetector array for sensing incident light passed by the second lens.

3 . The system of claim 1 wherein the photodetector circuitry comprises a photodetector array shared by the first and second lenses.

4 . The system of claim 1 further comprising:

a signal processing circuit that detects the return based on the first return signal and/or the second return signal.

5 . The system of claim 4 wherein the signal processing circuit detects the return based on the first return signal if the second return signal is oversaturated.

6 . The system of claim 4 wherein the signal processing circuit detects the return based on the first return signal if the second return signal is corrupted by interference and/or noise.

7 . The system of claim 4 wherein the signal processing circuit detects the return based on the first and second return signals to provide parallax correction.

8 . A lidar method comprising:

receiving incident light via a first lens that has a first field of view;

receiving incident light via a second lens that has a second field of view, wherein the second field of view is encompassed by and narrower than the first field of view;

sensing incident light passed by the first and second lenses;

reading out a first return signal for detecting a return from a laser pulse shot that targets a location in the second field of view, wherein the first return signal is based on sensed incident light passed by the first lens;

reading out a second return signal for detecting the return, wherein the second return signal is based on sensed incident light passed by the second lens; and

detecting the return based on the first return signal and/or the second return signal.

9 . The method of claim 8 wherein the sensing step comprises (1) sensing the incident light passed by the first lens via first photodetector array and (2) sensing the incident light passed by the second lens via a second photodetector array.

10 . The method of claim 8 wherein the sensing step comprises sensing the incident light passed by the first and second lenses via a photodetector array shared by the first and second lenses.

11 . The method of claim 8 wherein the detecting step comprises detecting the return based on the first return signal if the second return signal is oversaturated.

12 . The method of claim 8 wherein the detecting step comprises detecting the return based on the first return signal if the second return signal is corrupted by interference and/or noise.

13 . The method of claim 8 wherein the detecting step comprises detecting the return based on the first and second return signals to provide parallax correction.

14 . A lidar system comprising:

a first lens having a first field of view that receives incident light from the first field of view;

a second lens having a second field of view that receives incident light from the second field of view, wherein the second field of view is encompassed by and narrower than the first field of view;

a switch that controls which of the first and second lenses are used for detecting returns from laser pulse shots based on where the laser pulse shots are targeted in a field of view that encompasses the first and second fields of view, wherein the switch is controllable to cause both of the first and second lenses to be used within a plurality of channels for return detection with respect to the same laser pulse shot.

15 . The system of claim 14 further comprising:

a multi-channel signal processing circuit that processes return signals from the first and second lenses to detect the returns in the channels.

16 . The system, of claim 14 further comprising:

a photodetector circuit with multiple readout channels for reading out return signals from the first and second lenses.

17 . The system of claim 14 wherein the switch comprises an optical switch.

18 . The system of claim 14 wherein the switch comprises an electronic switch.

19 . The system of claim 14 further comprising:

a control circuit that (1) processes a shot list that identifies a plurality of shot coordinates for the laser pulse shots and (2) controls the switch based on the shot coordinates.

20 . The system of claim 19 wherein the control circuit controls the switch to use signals from both the first and second lenses for return detection based on defined criteria.

21 . The system of claim 19 further comprising:

a lidar transmitter that transmits the laser pulse shots, wherein the lidar transmitter comprises a scannable mirror that is scannable to define where the laser pulse shots are targeted in the field of view; and

wherein the control circuit schedules the laser pulse shots based on (1) a laser energy model that models energy available for the laser pulse shots over time and (2) a mirror motion model that models motion for the scannable mirror over time.