FINGERTIP LIDAR SYSTEM FOR VISUAL ASSISTANCE
Method and apparatus for using light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to assist the visually impaired. In some embodiments, a LiDAR system is affixed to a selected finger of a user and used to emit light pulses within a field of view (FoV) before the user. Reflected pulses are detected to generate a point cloud representation of the FoV. A sensory input is provided to the user that describes the point cloud representation of the FoV. The sensory input may be haptic, auditory or some other form. In some cases, a glove is worn by the user and a separate LiDAR system is affixed to each finger portion of the glove to provide a composite scanning and detection operation. Preconfigured hand gestures by the user can be used to change the operational configuration of the system.
1 . An apparatus comprising a portable LiDAR system having at least one LiDAR sensor and a corresponding user sensor, the LiDAR sensor affixed to a selected finger of a user, the LiDAR sensor emitting light pulses within a field of view (FoV) and detecting reflected pulses therefrom to generate a point cloud representation of the FoV, the user sensor providing a sensory input to the user that describes the point cloud representation of the FoV.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user sensor is a haptic sensor configured to be affixed adjacent a skin portion of the user and which generates a multifrequency vibratory response configured to be sensed by a nervous system of the user.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the user sensor is an auditory sensor that generates a multifrequency auditory response that is configured to be sensed by an auditory system of the user.
4 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a glove adapted to be worn on a hand of the user, wherein the the LiDAR sensor is affixed to the glove adjacent the finger of the user.
5 . The apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the finger is a first finger, and the apparatus further comprises a second LiDAR sensor affixed to the glove so as to be adjacent a different, second finger of the user.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the finger is an index finger of the user, and wherein the apparatus further comprises four additional LiDAR sensors affixed to the glove adjacent each of a middle finger, a ring finger, a pinky finger and a thumb of the user.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a processing unit coupled to the LiDAR sensor and the user sensor configured to process the reflected pulses from the LiDAR sensor to generate the point cloud representation of the FoV and to provide an input signal to the user sensor to generate the sensory input to the user.
8 . The apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the LiDAR sensor generates pulses having a first nominal wavelength, wherein the apparatus comprises a different, second LiDAR sensor adjacent a different, second finger of the user, wherein the second LiDAR sensor generates pulses having a different second nominal wavelength, and wherein reflected pulses from each of the first and second LiDAR sensors are combined to generate the point-cloud representation and corresponding sensory input for the user.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a processing unit which changes an output wavelength emitted by the LiDAR sensor responsive to an activation signal supplied to the processing unit.
10 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the activation signal is generated responsive to a target detected within the FoV.
11 . The apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the activation signal is generated responsive to the user placing a hand thereof having the finger in a predetermined gesture configuration.
12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a glove having five finger portions to accommodate five fingers of the user, wherein each finger portion supports a separate LiDAR sensor, and wherein the user sensor generates a consolidated sensory input to the user responsive to separate scans of the FoV by each of the separate LiDAR sensors.
13 . The apparatus of claim 12 , wherein each of the separate LiDAR sensors outputs light beams at a different wavelength.
14 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the LiDAR sensor comprises an optical phase array (OPA) integrated circuit device which scans the FoV using beams having at least one wavelength.
15 . A method comprising:
emitting light pulses within a field of view (FoV) from each of a plurality of a portable LiDAR sensors each affixed to a different finger of a user;
detecting reflected pulses from the emitted light pulses to generate a point cloud representation of the FoV; and
outputting a sensory signal in the form of a vibratory response to the user that describes the point cloud representation of the FoV.
16 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the sensory signal is supplied to a haptic device coupled to a skin portion of the user to transmit a multifrequency vibratory input to the user having components corresponding to at least one target within the FoV.
17 . The method of claim 15 , wherein the sensory signal is an auditory signal comprising a composite set of echolocation frequencies corresponding to at least one target within the FoV.
18 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising changing a waveform characteristic of the emitted light pulses responsive to at least one detected target within the FoV.
19 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising changing a waveform characteristic of the emitted light pulses response to a predetermined hand gesture made by the user, the hand gesture sensed responsive to an output from each of the portable LiDAR sensors.
20 . The method of claim 15 , further comprising applying a weighting function to the respective LiDAR sensors in relation to different angular orientations of the associated fingers of the user.