WO2023279375A1 - 一种探测控制方法及装置 - Google Patents

一种探测控制方法及装置 Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2023279375A1
WO2023279375A1 PCT/CN2021/105496 CN2021105496W WO2023279375A1 WO 2023279375 A1 WO2023279375 A1 WO 2023279375A1 CN 2021105496 W CN2021105496 W CN 2021105496W WO 2023279375 A1 WO2023279375 A1 WO 2023279375A1
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WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
signal
laser
detection
time position
time
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Ceased
Application number
PCT/CN2021/105496
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English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
汪帅
余安亮
王伟
蔡中华
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Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
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Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
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Publication date
Application filed by Huawei Technologies Co Ltd filed Critical Huawei Technologies Co Ltd
Priority to PCT/CN2021/105496 priority Critical patent/WO2023279375A1/zh
Priority to EP21948869.9A priority patent/EP4354176A4/en
Priority to CN202180001852.0A priority patent/CN113614564B/zh
Publication of WO2023279375A1 publication Critical patent/WO2023279375A1/zh
Priority to US18/405,817 priority patent/US20240159879A1/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/48—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S17/00
    • G01S7/483—Details of pulse systems
    • G01S7/486—Receivers
    • G01S7/4861—Circuits for detection, sampling, integration or read-out
    • G01S7/4863—Detector arrays, e.g. charge-transfer gates
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/48—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S17/00
    • G01S7/483—Details of pulse systems
    • G01S7/486—Receivers
    • G01S7/487—Extracting wanted echo signals, e.g. pulse detection
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/48—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S17/00
    • G01S7/483—Details of pulse systems
    • G01S7/484—Transmitters
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S17/00—Systems using the reflection or reradiation of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves, e.g. lidar systems
    • G01S17/02—Systems using the reflection of electromagnetic waves other than radio waves
    • G01S17/06—Systems determining position data of a target
    • G01S17/08—Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only
    • G01S17/10—Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves
    • G01S17/18—Systems determining position data of a target for measuring distance only using transmission of interrupted, pulse-modulated waves wherein range gates are used
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
    • G01S—RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES
    • G01S7/00—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00
    • G01S7/48—Details of systems according to groups G01S13/00, G01S15/00, G01S17/00 of systems according to group G01S17/00
    • G01S7/483—Details of pulse systems
    • G01S7/486—Receivers
    • G01S7/4861—Circuits for detection, sampling, integration or read-out

Definitions

  • the present application relates to detection technology, which is applied in the fields of intelligent driving, intelligent transportation, surveying and mapping, intelligent manufacturing, etc., and in particular relates to a detection control method and device.
  • Detection devices can be regarded as the "eyes" for electronic devices (such as vehicles, robots, drones, etc.) to perceive the environment, including vision-based sensors such as cameras and radar-based sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, lidar and ultrasonic radar.
  • vision-based sensors such as cameras
  • radar-based sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, lidar and ultrasonic radar.
  • Lidar has the advantages of high resolution, good detection performance, and strong concealment, and is one of the important detection devices in perception.
  • Embodiments of the present application provide a detection control method and device, which can improve the effectiveness of detection signals and further improve the detection performance of lidar.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a detection control method, including:
  • controlling the laser detection unit to receive a first echo signal including a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to receive a second echo signal within a first time window, the second echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the second laser signal, the first Two echo signals are used for target detection;
  • the first time window is related to the first time position and a first duration
  • the first time window includes the first time position
  • the first duration is predefined or configured.
  • control device may be a control device in the detection device, or a controller connected to the detection device (such as a controller in a vehicle), and the detection device includes a laser emitting unit and a laser detection unit.
  • the detection device may be a laser radar.
  • the duration for receiving the first echo signal is longer than the length of the first time window.
  • the first segment of laser detection is used to determine the time position
  • the second segment of laser detection is used to perform target detection within the time window including the first time position.
  • the current detection device detects, it usually receives the echo signal within the entire duration of the detection time, while the duration of the first time window (that is, the first duration) in the second detection process of the embodiment of the present application is usually less than The duration of the original detection time (for example, the detection time during the first detection process).
  • the laser detection unit receives the echo signal within the first time window, so that the time for receiving the echo signal is shortened, and the detection data obtained according to the echo signal is also reduced, thereby reducing the amount of data to be processed.
  • the time position and the first duration may not receive the echo signal, thereby avoiding the influence of irrelevant signals on the detection As a result, the validity of the received echo signal is improved, and the detection performance of the lidar is improved.
  • the time position is the time position of interest obtained after the first period of detection, so in the second period of detection, the detection area corresponding to the time position is specifically detected, and the detection time is shortened to compress The amount of data in the detection process is reduced, the effectiveness of the detection signal is improved, and the detection performance of the lidar is improved.
  • the first time position corresponds to the first characteristic signal.
  • the first characteristic signal includes at least one of a pulse signal, a peak signal, or a rising edge signal.
  • the first time position may be the time position where the first characteristic signal is located.
  • the first characteristic signal may indicate a special waveform characteristic.
  • the characteristic signal indicates that a target object may exist in the detection area. Therefore, the detection can be performed again within the time position where the characteristic signal is located, so that the predicted target object can be detected, and the effectiveness of the detection signal can be improved.
  • the first characteristic signal may be obtained according to the first echo signal.
  • an electrical signal may be obtained according to the first echo signal, and the electrical signal may include at least one characteristic signal.
  • the first characteristic signal can belong to the at least one characteristic signal.
  • the characteristic signal may have a signal with a special waveform characteristic. Since the signal with special waveform characteristics may be the signal reflected by the target object, the time position of the signal returned by the predicted target object is obtained, so a time window can be obtained, and the predicted target object is detected again within the time window.
  • the first duration is related to the duration of the laser signal.
  • the first duration may indicate the width of the time window. For example, if the duration of the laser signal is 10 milliseconds (ms), the first duration may be set to 10ms, or may be slightly greater than 10ms or slightly less than 10ms. If there is an echo signal returned by the target object in the first time position, since the width of the time window is related to the duration of the laser signal, the echo signal (corresponding to the continuous laser signal) continuously returned by the target object can be received, improving Accuracy of detection results.
  • control device can control the duration of the laser signal emitted by the laser emitting unit, and the control device can also control the width of the time window in which the laser detection unit receives the echo signal.
  • the duration of the laser signal is associated with (for example, equal to) the width of the time window.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position
  • the first time window further includes the second time position
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a second time position; the laser detection unit is controlled according to the first control signal receiving the second echo signal within the first time window, comprising:
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to receive the second echo signal within the first time window and the second time window, and the second time window is related to the second time position and the In relation to the first duration, the second time window includes the second time position.
  • the above illustrates a possible design of the control signal.
  • the first control signal can be used to indicate a plurality of time positions, and correspondingly, the laser detection unit can be controlled to detect in a plurality of time windows (each time window contains at least one time position in a plurality of time positions), improving detection efficiency.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a third time position, and the method further includes:
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to receive a third echo signal within a third time window, the third echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the third laser signal, and the first Three echo signals are used for target detection, the third time window is related to the third time position and the first duration, and the third time window includes the third time position.
  • the first control signal may be used to indicate multiple temporal positions.
  • the detection device can perform multiple laser emission and multiple detections, and during each laser emission and detection process, the detection unit is controlled to receive echo signals within one or more time windows. Through multiple detections, the amount of data to be processed after each detection can be reduced, adapting to the data processing speed of the data processing module. Furthermore, through multiple detections, the time for the detector to receive the echo signal is relatively short in each detection process, which can improve detection accuracy, avoid mutual interference between echo signals, and improve the accuracy of detection results.
  • the method further includes:
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to receive a fourth echo signal within a fourth time window, the fourth echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the fourth laser signal, and the first Four echo signals are used for target detection, the fourth time window is related to the fifth time position and the first duration, and the fourth time window includes the fifth time position.
  • a plurality of control signals can be output via the first echo signal.
  • Multiple control signals may indicate multiple temporal positions.
  • the detection device can perform multiple laser emissions and multiple detections according to multiple control signals. During each laser emission and detection process, the detection unit is controlled to receive one or more time windows (each time window contains multiple time windows). The echo signal of at least one time position in the position).
  • the amount of data to be processed after each detection can be reduced, adapting to the data processing speed of the data processing module.
  • the time for the detector to receive echo signals is relatively short during each detection process, which can improve detection accuracy, avoid mutual interference between echo signals, and improve the accuracy of detection results.
  • the laser detection unit includes at least one detection element.
  • the detection element can obtain an electrical signal based on the optical signal.
  • the detection element may be a semiconductor avalanche photodiode (avalanche photo detector, APD), a single-photon avalanche diode (single-photon avalanche diode, SPAD), or an electron multiplying charge-coupled device (electron multiplying charge-coupled device, EMCCD) etc. one.
  • the laser detection unit includes at least one single-photon detection element.
  • the single-photon detection element has the sensitivity to detect a single photon, and can respond to a weak optical signal (such as a single photon) to obtain an electrical signal.
  • the single-photon detection element may be an APD, or a SPAD, or the like.
  • the detection element of the laser detection unit When the detection element of the laser detection unit is relatively sensitive, a very weak light signal from the detection area will also saturate the detection element.
  • the detection element that reaches saturation needs a certain amount of time to recover, and cannot be detected within the recovery time (or dead time). If the optical signal of the target object is reached within the recovery time, it may not be detected by the detection element. As a result, the real echo signal is overwhelmed by the previous interference signal, resulting in missed detection of the signal.
  • the detection element detects within the time window, which can avoid or reduce the situation that the echo signal of the target object is submerged by the previous interference signal, and improve the accuracy of the detection result. sex.
  • the laser detection unit may be in the form of an array.
  • arrays of specifications such as 1 ⁇ 2 array, 2 ⁇ 3 array, and 3 ⁇ 3 array are not limited in this application.
  • the laser detection unit in the form of an array can increase the detection field of view.
  • the laser detection unit in the form of an array can obtain pixel information of the detection area.
  • the laser detection unit includes a plurality of detection elements, wherein one detection element corresponds to an output signal of one pixel;
  • the first characteristic signal includes a signal obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels, and the adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the laser detection unit.
  • the above describes the process of obtaining the first characteristic signal. Since the time position where the characteristic signal is located will be detected in the subsequent detection process, and the position where there is no characteristic signal will not be detected. In order to avoid missing signal detection, the output signal can be superimposed to make the characteristic signal more obvious.
  • the method is applied to a laser detection device
  • the start time of the first time window is after the fourth time position or the same as the fourth time position; the fourth time position corresponds to the distance from the laser emitting unit to the first optical element, and the first The optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the laser detection device in the emitting light path of the second laser signal.
  • the foregoing illustrates a design of a time window.
  • One or more optical elements such as lenses, dodging sheets, windows, etc.
  • Optical components reflect light signals.
  • the detection element is relatively sensitive, the optical signal returned by the optical element of the laser detection device itself may cause the detection element to be saturated, thereby submerging the echo signal.
  • detection is performed after the optical signal returned by the outermost optical element arrives, which can prevent the real echo signal from being submerged, reduce the amount of data and avoid missed detection of the signal, and improve the validity of the signal and the accuracy of the detection result. accuracy.
  • the outputting the first control signal according to the first echo signal includes:
  • the first control signal is output, and the first control signal is used to control the laser emitting unit and/or the laser detecting unit.
  • the laser detection unit may receive the first echo signal, and obtain an electrical signal (ie, a signal to be detected) according to the first echo signal.
  • the signal detection module can detect the signal to be detected, so as to determine the first time position.
  • the method further includes:
  • a detection result of the detection area is obtained according to the second echo signal.
  • the detection result may be point cloud information, or the point cloud information may be obtained by processing the detection result.
  • the aforementioned point cloud information may include one or more of the distance, velocity, reflectivity, reflection intensity, image, pixel and other information of the detection area.
  • the controlling the laser emitting unit to emit the first laser signal includes;
  • the laser emitting unit is controlled to emit the first laser signal according to the second control signal.
  • the controlling the laser emitting unit to emit a second laser signal includes;
  • the laser emitting unit is controlled to emit the second laser signal according to the third control signal.
  • control laser detection unit receives the first echo signal including the reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal, including;
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to emit the second laser signal according to the fourth control signal.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a detection device, the detection device includes a laser emitting unit, a laser detection unit and at least one processing unit, wherein:
  • the at least one processing unit is used to control the laser emitting unit to emit a first laser signal; and is used to control the laser detection unit to receive a first echo signal including a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal;
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to output a first control signal according to the first echo signal, and the first control signal is used to indicate a first time position;
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to control the laser emitting unit to emit a second laser signal
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to control the laser detection unit to receive a second echo signal within a first time window according to the first control signal, and the second echo signal includes A reflection signal of the second laser signal, the second echo signal is used for target detection;
  • the first time window is related to the first time position and a first duration
  • the first time window includes the first time position
  • the first duration is predefined or configured.
  • the at least one processing unit includes at least one integrated circuit, and/or at least one digital signal processor.
  • the first time position corresponds to a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is obtained according to the first echo signal, and the first The characteristic signal includes at least one of a pulse signal, a peak signal, or a rising edge signal.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position, and the first time window also includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position; and the at least one processing unit is further used to:
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to receive the second echo signal within the first time window and the second time window, and the second time window is related to the second time position and the In relation to the first duration, the second time window includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a third time position
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to control the laser emitting unit to emit a third laser signal
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to control the laser detection unit to receive a third echo signal within a third time window according to the first control signal, and the third echo signal includes Reflected signals of three laser signals, the third echo signal is used for target detection, the third time window is related to the third time position and the first duration, and the third time window includes the third time Location.
  • the laser detection unit includes at least one single-photon detection element.
  • the laser detection unit includes a plurality of detection elements, wherein one detection element corresponds to an output signal of one pixel;
  • the first characteristic signal includes a signal obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels, and the adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the laser detection unit.
  • the detection device has at least one optical element
  • the start time of the first detection time window is after the fourth time position or the same as the fourth time position; the fourth time position corresponds to the second laser signal from the laser emitting unit to the at least one The distance between the first optical elements in the optical elements, the first optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the detection device in the emission light path of the second laser signal.
  • the laser detection unit is further configured to obtain a signal to be detected according to the first echo signal
  • the at least one processing unit is configured to:
  • the first control signal is output, and the first control signal is used to control the laser emitting unit and/or the laser detecting unit.
  • the at least one processing unit is further configured to obtain a detection result of the detection area according to the second echo signal.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a processing device, the processing device includes at least one processor and a communication interface, and the communication interface is used to provide instructions or data input and/or output for the processor, so The at least one processor is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.
  • the at least one processor is configured to perform the following operations:
  • controlling the detector to receive a first echo signal including a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal
  • the detector is controlled to receive a second echo signal within a first time window, the second echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the second laser signal, and the second The echo signal is used for target detection;
  • the first time window is related to the first time position and a first duration
  • the first time window includes the first time position
  • the first duration is predefined or configured.
  • the first time position corresponds to a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is obtained according to the first echo signal, and the first The characteristic signal includes at least one of a pulse signal, a peak signal, or a rising edge signal.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position, and the first time window also includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a second time position; and the at least one processor is further used to:
  • the detector is controlled to receive the second echo signal within a first time window and a second time window, and the second time window is related to the second time position and the first time window In relation to a duration, the second time window includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a third time position; and the at least one processor is further used to:
  • the detector is controlled to receive a third echo signal within a third time window, the third echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the third laser signal, and the third The echo signal is used for target detection, the third time window is related to the third time position and the first duration, and the third time window includes the third time position.
  • the processing device includes the detector, and the detector includes at least one single-photon detection element.
  • the processing device further includes the detector, and the detector includes a plurality of detection elements, wherein one detection element corresponds to an output signal of one pixel;
  • the first characteristic signal includes a signal obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels, and the adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the detector.
  • the processing device further includes the laser emitter and at least one optical element
  • the start time of the first detection time window is after or the same as the fourth time position; the fourth time position corresponds to the second laser signal from the laser emitter to the at least one optical element
  • the distance between the first optical elements in the first optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the processing device in the emission light path of the second laser signal.
  • the processing device further includes the detector, and the detector is further configured to obtain a signal to be detected according to the first echo signal;
  • the at least one processor is further configured to:
  • the first control signal is output, and the first control signal is used to control the laser emitting unit and/or the laser detecting unit.
  • the at least one processor is further configured to obtain a detection result of the detection area according to the second echo signal.
  • the at least one processor described in the third aspect above may be a processor dedicated to executing these methods (referred to as a dedicated processor for easy distinction), or it may be to execute these methods by calling a computer program processors, such as general-purpose processors.
  • at least one processor may also include both a special-purpose processor and a general-purpose processor.
  • the above computer program may be stored in a memory, which may be a non-transitory (non-transitory) memory, such as a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM).
  • a memory such as a read-only memory (Read Only Memory, ROM).
  • the detection device includes a memory
  • the memory and the processor can be integrated on the same chip, or can be arranged on different chips respectively.
  • the embodiment of the present application does not limit the type of the memory and the arrangement of the memory and the processor.
  • the at least one memory is located outside the detection device.
  • the at least one memory is located within the detection device.
  • part of the memory of the at least one memory is located inside the detection device, and another part of the memory is located outside the detection device.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a terminal, the terminal is configured to implement the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.
  • the above-mentioned terminal may be a terminal such as a fusion detection device, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a robot.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a terminal, the terminal includes the detecting device described in any one of the second aspect, and/or, the terminal includes the processing device described in any one of the third aspect.
  • the above-mentioned terminal may be a terminal such as a fusion detection device, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a robot.
  • the embodiment of the present application further provides a chip system, the chip system includes at least one processor and a communication interface, the communication interface is used to send and/or receive data, and/or, the communication interface uses for providing input/output to the at least one processor.
  • the at least one processor is configured to call a computer program, so that the chip system implements the method described in the first aspect or any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a computer-readable storage medium, wherein a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is run on one or more processors, the first Aspect or the method described in any possible implementation manner of the first aspect.
  • the embodiment of the present application discloses a computer program product.
  • the computer program product is run on one or more processors, the first aspect or any one of the possible implementation manners of the first aspect can be realized. described method.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a time position provided by an embodiment of the present application
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gating circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of another detection device provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a laser radar provided in an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a detection control method provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a statistical histogram provided in the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the output of a laser detection unit provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the output of another laser detection unit provided in the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a superimposed signal provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a time window provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of gating provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 13 is another gating schematic diagram provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 14 is another gating schematic diagram provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a timing sequence when a detection device provided by an embodiment of the present application is working.
  • FIG. 17 is a timing diagram of another signal provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • FIG. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a processing device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detection device mentioned in the embodiment of this application can be a laser radar (or a device inside the laser radar, such as a chip, an integrated circuit, a software module, etc.), or it can be other light detection devices (or a device inside a light detection device, such as chips, integrated circuits, software modules, etc.), such as fusion detection devices. Its working principle is to detect the corresponding target object by emitting light signal and receiving the light signal returned from the target object.
  • the detection device in the embodiment of the present application can be applied in various fields such as intelligent driving, intelligent transportation, intelligent manufacturing, environmental monitoring, surveying and mapping, and unmanned aerial vehicles, and can complete target detection, distance measurement, speed measurement, target tracking, and imaging recognition. One or more of these functions.
  • the detection device in the embodiment of the present application can be applied to vehicle-mounted detection devices (such as vehicle-mounted radars), roadside detection devices (such as intersection radars), etc., but can also be applied to other detection devices, such as those installed on drones, robots, Detection devices on rail cars, bicycles, signal lights, speed measuring devices or base stations, etc. This application does not limit the location where the detection device is installed.
  • vehicle-mounted detection devices such as vehicle-mounted radars
  • roadside detection devices such as intersection radars
  • other detection devices such as those installed on drones, robots, Detection devices on rail cars, bicycles, signal lights, speed measuring devices or base stations, etc. This application does not limit the location where the detection device is installed.
  • the optical signal received by the detector of the detection device is referred to as an echo signal.
  • the echo signal it may include the reflection signal of the signal emitted by the detection device, and may also include the relevant light signal of the ambient light source (for example, it may be a light signal directly from the ambient light source, or it may be a reflected signal obtained by reflecting the light signal of the ambient light source. ).
  • the ambient light source may include one or more of natural light sources (such as the sun), or artificial light sources (such as street lights, car lights, etc.).
  • Time of Flight refers to the time required for the laser transmitter to send a light pulse to the target object, and then the detector receives the light reflected from the target. Through the speed of light and ToF, the distance between the target object and the detection device can be obtained.
  • ToF measurement techniques may include single laser pulse technology, multiple laser pulse technology, and the like. Among them, in the single laser pulse technology, the measured time-of-flight is the return time of a single pulse, which requires a higher signal noise ratio (SNR, or S/N). In the multi-laser pulse technique, the detection data is obtained through the histogram data by measuring the return time of multiple pulses each time. The multi-laser pulse technology can obtain better detection results under different SNRs, and long-distance detection can also be realized if the SNR is improved.
  • the energy of the laser signal returned from the field of view area reduce.
  • ambient light such as the sun, street lamps, and laser signals from other detection devices
  • noise acts as noise, which will interfere with the detection of the signal by the detector.
  • the strength of the signal received by the detector is weak, it may not be enough to correspond the received laser signal with the emitted laser signal, which will lead to a large error in the calculation of the flight signal. Therefore, a high-sensitivity photodetector is required to detect weak light signals during the detection process.
  • the single-photon detection element (or single-photon detector) has the sensitivity to detect a single photon, and can be used to detect weak light signals. Further, time accuracy at the picosecond level can be achieved through Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting (TCSPC). Specifically, among the light signals returned from the field of view, the first photon captured by the single-photon detection element can trigger the single-photon detection element to generate an electrical signal.
  • the time-to-digital converter (Time-to-Digital Converter, TDC) can convert the delay of this electrical signal relative to the transmission time.
  • the detection device can emit and detect the same laser signal many times repeatedly, so as to obtain the statistical distribution of the delay of each detected electrical signal relative to the transmitted signal, and obtain a statistical histogram.
  • This statistical histogram restores the energy of the transmitted signal as a function of time, and then obtains the flight time of the pulse back and forth.
  • the ordinate of the statistical histogram is the number of counts (number of counts), and the abscissa is the time (time, or timebin, also known as the time pane, or timeline, etc.).
  • the time position mentioned in this application refers to the relative position of the signal in the time domain.
  • the time position may be indicated by at least one of time, period, offset, duration, timer (timer), or time difference.
  • the flight time corresponds to the distance between the target object and the detection device. Therefore, when the detection device emits multiple segments of laser signals to the target object, the echo signal from the target object will fall at a fixed time position.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a possible time position provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the laser transmitter 101 is used to emit light signals, and the detector 102 is used to receive light signals.
  • the laser transmitter 101 can transmit an optical signal at time t0.
  • the target object 103 may reflect the laser signal, and the reflected signal reaches the detector 102 at time t1 , as shown in area 105 .
  • the target object 104 may reflect the laser signal, and the reflected signal reaches the detector 102 at time t2 , as shown in area 106 .
  • the flight times of the laser signals are different, so that the time positions corresponding to the returned laser signals of the target object 103 and the target object 104 are also different.
  • a unit may include, but not limited to, hardware (such as one or more of a laser emitter entity, a detection device entity, a processor entity, a circuit entity, or a chip entity, etc.), software (such as an process, executable file, computer instruction, or computer program, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software (such as a storage medium storing computer programs, or a processor executing computer instructions, etc.), etc.
  • hardware such as one or more of a laser emitter entity, a detection device entity, a processor entity, a circuit entity, or a chip entity, etc.
  • software such as an process, executable file, computer instruction, or computer program, etc.
  • a combination of hardware and software such as a storage medium storing computer programs, or a processor executing computer instructions, etc.
  • the laser emitting unit may include a laser emitter entity, and optionally may also include one of a collimation device, a laser emitting program, a laser emitting instruction, a chip or a processor executing a laser emitting program, or a memory, or multiple.
  • the laser detection unit may include a laser detector, and optionally may also include one or more of a detection program, a detection instruction, a chip, or a memory.
  • Advanced Driving Assistance System Advanced Driving Assistance System
  • ADAS Advanced Driving Assistance System
  • the detection device can be regarded as the "eye" of electronic equipment to perceive the environment, including vision-based sensors such as cameras and radar-based sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, lidar and ultrasonic radar.
  • vision-based sensors such as cameras
  • radar-based sensors such as millimeter-wave radar, lidar and ultrasonic radar.
  • lidar has the advantages of high resolution, good detection performance, and strong concealment, and is one of the important sensors in vehicle perception.
  • FIG. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection device 20 provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detecting device 20 shown in FIG. 2 includes a laser emitter 201 , a laser detector 202 and a controller 203 .
  • a processor 204 and/or a memory 205 may also be included.
  • the laser emitter 201, the laser detector 202, the controller 203, etc. may be connected through the bus 206 or other possible connection methods.
  • the detection device 20 may also include a communication interface (not shown in the figure), which is used to provide input and/or output for each device, and/or, which is used to receive and/or send data , the communication interface may be a wireless communication interface or a wired communication interface.
  • a communication interface not shown in the figure
  • the laser transmitter 201 is used to generate laser signals.
  • the laser transmitter 201 may include a laser diode (laser diode, LD), a vertical cavity surface emitting laser (Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser, VCSEL), a distributed feedback laser diode (distributed feedback LD, DFB-LD), a distributed Bragg Reflective laser diode (distributed bragg reflection LD, DBR-LD), grating coupled sampling reflection laser diode (Grating coupled sampling reflection LD, GCSR-LD), or micro opto electromechanical system laser diode (micro opto electro mechanical system LD, MOEMS-LD ) and other light-emitting devices.
  • a laser diode laser diode
  • VCSEL Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser
  • DFB-LD distributed feedback laser diode
  • DBR-LD distributed Bragg Reflective laser diode
  • grating coupled sampling reflection laser diode grating coupled sampling reflection laser diode
  • the laser detector 202 is used to receive an optical signal, and further obtain an electrical signal based on the optical signal.
  • the laser detector 202 may include a semiconductor avalanche photodiode (avalanche photo detector, APD), a single-photon avalanche diode (single-photon avalanche diode, SPAD), or an electron multiplying charge-coupled device (electron multiplying charge-coupled device, EMCCD) and other detection elements.
  • the detection elements in the detector may be arranged in an array, such as a 1 ⁇ 2 array, a 2 ⁇ 3 array, or a 3 ⁇ 3 array, which is not limited in this application.
  • the laser detector 202 in the embodiment of the present application can be controlled to be turned on or off.
  • the detector can be controlled by a gating circuit.
  • FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a gate control circuit provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the area 301 shown in FIG. 3 is the voltage input of the gate control circuit.
  • the detection element shown in area 302 is in an on state (that is, in a working state), and can receive an optical signal and convert it into an electrical signal; when the voltage input is at a low level, the detection element is in an off state state.
  • the converted electrical signal can be read out through the readout circuit shown in area 303 .
  • the readout circuit may include an inverter, or called a comparator, which can be used to read out electrical signals.
  • the gate control circuit may include field effect transistors as shown in area 304 for adjusting the gate control circuit. It can be seen that the power supply voltage of the detection element can be adjusted through the gate control circuit shown in FIG. 3 , thereby controlling whether the detector is in the on state or in the off state.
  • the laser detector 202 may have different working modes.
  • the detector can have at least two working modes: a free-running mode and a gated mode.
  • the free-running mode the laser detector 202 may be always on, or always off, or adaptively adjusted to be on or off.
  • the gated mode the laser detector 202 can be turned on or off by other devices or modules.
  • the controller 203 is used to control some or all components in the detection device 20 .
  • the controller 203 is used to control the laser emitter 201 and the laser detector 202 in the detection device 20 .
  • the controller 203 may include multiple sub-control units.
  • the controller 203 may include two sub-control units, one sub-control unit is used to control the laser emitter, and the other sub-control unit is used to control the detector.
  • the multiple sub-control units may be independent of each other in hardware, or may be an integrated structure, or multiple logic functions implemented by software, which is not specifically limited in this application.
  • the controller 203 may generate a control signal and send it to one or more devices in the detection device 20, thereby controlling the one or more devices.
  • the controller 203 may send an emission control signal to the laser emitter 201, and the laser emitter 201 responds to the emission control signal to emit a laser signal.
  • the controller 203 may also send a detection control signal to the laser detector 202 for controlling the laser detector 202 to receive the optical signal and convert the optical signal into an electrical signal.
  • the controller 203 may also be connected to an external controller (or an external processor).
  • an external controller or an external processor.
  • the controller 203 in the detection device 20 can be connected to a multi-domain controller (Multi Domain Controller, MDC) or other possible in-vehicle controllers in the vehicle, and the in-vehicle controller Instructions can be sent to the controller 203, and the controller 203 generates control signals according to the instructions.
  • MDC Multi Domain Controller
  • controller 203 may include hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software. to realise.
  • the processor 204 is used to process the data (such as electrical signals) output by the detector to obtain detection data.
  • the detection data may be one or more of TOF values, point cloud information, or statistical histograms.
  • the processor 204 may also obtain the detection result of the detection area according to the data output by the detector.
  • the processor 204 may include a signal detection module in the detection device (such as one or more of a peak detector, etc.), a time to digital converter (Time to digital converter, TDC), a filter One or more items in the device, or time of flight (Time of flight, ToF) extraction (extraction) module, etc.
  • the filter may include one or more of a finite impulse response filter (Finite Impulse Response, FIR), an infinite impulse response filter (Infinite Impulse Response), and the like.
  • the aforementioned one or more modules may be realized by means of hardware (such as a processor, a chip, or a circuit, etc.), software (such as a computer program, a computer instruction, or an executable file, etc.), or a combination of hardware and software.
  • the signal detection module may include hardware (such as a processor, a chip, or a circuit, etc.), software (such as a computer program, computer instructions, or executable files, etc.), or a combination of hardware or software.
  • TDC is usually used to calculate the time of flight, and it is generally a circuit, but it can also be realized by software, or a combination of software and hardware. The rest will not be repeated one by one.
  • the form of the above modules is hardware
  • multiple pieces of hardware may be independent or integrated.
  • the signal detection module is a circuit entity and the TDC is a circuit entity
  • the signal detection module and the TDC may be mutually independent in hardware, or may be an integrated structure.
  • the module when the module is software, there are one or more hardware devices that execute the software to realize the functions.
  • the signal detection module and TDC can be implemented by computer instructions. Further, both the computer instructions for implementing the signal detection module and the computer instructions for implementing TDC can be invoked by the processor 204 to implement corresponding functions.
  • the detecting device 20 includes a controller 203 and a processor 204
  • the processor 204 and the controller 203 may be integrated or independent.
  • the memory 205 is used to provide storage space.
  • the memory 205 may be used to store one or more items of detector output data (such as electrical signals), detection data, computer programs, and the like.
  • the memory 205 can be random access memory (random access memory, RAM), read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable programmable read only memory, EPROM), Or one or more combinations of portable read-only memory (compact disc read-only memory, CD-ROM), etc.
  • RAM random access memory
  • ROM read-only memory
  • EPROM erasable programmable read only memory
  • CD-ROM compact disc read-only memory
  • the detection device 20 may also include a communication interface (not shown in the figure), which is used to provide input and/or output for each device, and/or, which is used to receive and/or or send data.
  • a communication interface not shown in the figure
  • the communication interface can output the electrical signal obtained by the detector to the processor.
  • the communication interface may output data (such as electrical signals) output by the detector, or detection data obtained by the processor, to an external device.
  • the detection device 20 may further include one or more optical elements such as a collimator, a lens, a window, or a spectroscopic device.
  • optical elements such as a collimator, a lens, a window, or a spectroscopic device.
  • the controller 203 can control the laser emitter 201 to emit a laser signal to the detection area.
  • the detection area reflects the optical signal, and the reflected optical signal is received by the laser detector 202 .
  • the laser detector 202 usually includes a plurality of detection elements. Therefore, during the detection process (the laser unit emits a laser signal and receives the reflected signal of the laser signal), multiple detection elements of the laser detector 202 will output multiple channels of detection data.
  • the requirements for detection results such as detection accuracy and resolution
  • the requirements for multi-channel and high parallelism are increasing.
  • the amount of data that the detection device needs to process is also increasing, which brings great challenges to the computing power, manufacturability, and cost of the chip.
  • the detection of the target detection area includes two detection processes.
  • the controller 203 can control the laser transmitter 201 to emit a laser signal (referred to as the first laser signal for convenience) to the detection area, and the laser detector 202 receives the echo signal (referred to as the first echo for convenience). signal), the first echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal.
  • the first echo signal may be used to determine one or more time positions (referred to as first time positions for convenience of description), where the first time positions correspond to the first characteristic signal.
  • the controller 203 can control the laser emitter 201 to emit a laser signal (for convenience, it is called the second laser signal), and the controller 203 can control the laser detector 202 to receive the echo signal within the time window (for convenience) The difference is called the second echo signal), and the second echo signal includes the reflection signal of the second laser signal.
  • the aforementioned time window includes the aforementioned first time position.
  • the first segment of laser detection is used to determine the first time position
  • the second segment of laser detection is used to perform target detection within a time window including the first time position.
  • the duration of the first time window ie, the first duration
  • the original detection time eg, the detection time in the first detection process.
  • the laser detection unit receives the echo signal within the first time window, so that the time for receiving the echo signal is shortened, and the detection data obtained according to the echo signal is also reduced, thereby reducing the amount of data to be processed.
  • the time position and the first duration may not receive the echo signal, thereby avoiding the influence of irrelevant signals on the detection As a result, the validity of the received echo signal is improved, and the detection performance of the lidar is improved.
  • the detection element of the laser detection unit is relatively sensitive, and a very weak light signal from the detection area will also saturate the detection element.
  • the saturated detection element needs a certain amount of time to recover, and it cannot be detected within the recovery time (or called the dead time). If the light signal returned by the target object in the detection area reaches the recovery time, it may not be possible. detected by the detection element. As a result, the real echo signal is submerged by the previous interference signal, resulting in missed detection of the signal.
  • the detection element detects within the time window, which can avoid or reduce the situation that the echo signal of the target object is submerged by the previous interference signal, and improve the accuracy of the detection result .
  • FIG. 2 is only a logical division based on functions, and is not intended to limit the specific structure of the detection device.
  • some modules may be subdivided into smaller functional modules, and some functional modules may also be combined into one functional module.
  • the detector as an array detector, the controller as a gate bias controller, and the processor as a signal detection module and a TDC as an example, a possible implementation form of the detection device will be described below.
  • FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a possible detection device 40 provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detection device 40 includes an array detector (such as a SPAD array (SPADarray)), a gate bias controller (gatebiascontrol), a signal detection module, a TDC, a memory (optional), a filter (optional) and an extraction module (optional) select).
  • an array detector such as a SPAD array (SPADarray)
  • gate bias controller gate bias controller
  • the gate bias controller can be integrated in the array detector.
  • the gate bias controller can be regarded as the controller 203 shown in FIG. 2 or a sub-control unit in the controller 203 .
  • the signal detection module is used to perform feature detection on the echo signal (for example, to detect the peak value, second pulse, and rising edge in a section of the signal), or cooperate with the gate bias controller to complete one or more of the control.
  • the signal detection module can be regarded as the controller 203 or a sub-control unit in the controller 203 , or as the processor 204 or a sub-unit in the processor 204 .
  • the histogram building module is used to detect signals, process signals, and obtain detection data (such as statistical histograms).
  • Memory is used to provide storage space.
  • a digital processor (DSP) is used for further processing of the signal, such as filtering, ToF extraction, etc.
  • Interfaces are used to provide input and/or output, and/or, to receive and/or send data.
  • the gate bias controller can control the laser emitter to emit the first laser signal.
  • the gate bias controller can control the array detector to receive the first echo signal, and the first echo signal includes a reflected signal corresponding to the first laser signal.
  • the first echo signal passes through the detection element and the signal detection module to obtain the first time position.
  • the signal detection module can output the first time position or the indication information of the time position to the gating bias voltage controller through the control signal.
  • the gated bias controller controls the emission unit to emit the second laser signal, and controls the array detector to receive the second echo signal within the first time window, and the second echo signal contains reflections corresponding to the second laser signal Signal.
  • the second echo signal can output electrical signal data through the detection element, and the electrical signal data is used to obtain the detection result of the detection area.
  • the second echo signal is passed through TDC to obtain detection data, such as a statistical histogram shown in area 401 .
  • the probe data may be stored in memory.
  • the detection data can be further output to a data signal processor (DSP) for filtering or TOF extraction to obtain a detection result (such as one of point cloud data, image, or depth data, etc.).
  • DSP data signal processor
  • one or more of the aforementioned electrical signal data, detection data, or detection results may be output to an external device for processing through the communication interface.
  • output to an external device for processing through a mobile industry processor interface (Mobile Industry Processor Interface, MIPI) as shown in FIG. 4 .
  • MIPI Mobile Industry Processor Interface
  • each module shown in Fig. 4 can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination of hardware and software.
  • the signal detection module can be an independent hardware structure, or it can be integrated in the controller 203 or the processor 204, or the signal detection module can also be a software module, which is executed by the processor to realize the corresponding functions, here for convenience
  • the description function is therefore regarded as a separate module in the figure, and does not represent a limitation on the implementation form of the signal detection module.
  • the histogram building module shown in FIG. 4 is used to complete the function of building a histogram, and its implementation may include one or more forms of software, hardware, or a combination of software and hardware.
  • the detection device 20 and/or the detection device 40 may be a laser detection device, such as a laser radar, or a fusion detection radar.
  • FIG. 5 is a schematic structural diagram of a possible laser radar 50 provided in an embodiment of the present application.
  • the laser emitter 501 is used for emitting laser signals.
  • the laser detector 502 is used to receive the optical signal, and further convert the optical signal into an electrical signal.
  • the controller 503 can control the laser emitter 501 and/or the laser detector 502 .
  • the laser radar 50 may also include an optical element 504, an optical element 505, and an optical element 506, wherein the optical element 504 is composed of two parts and can reflect light signals; the optical element 505 can rotate (or, the optical element 505 can also can be called a scanning element) to detect through different angles; the optical element 506 is an optical window.
  • the laser signal generated by the laser emitter 501 can pass through the optical element 505 and the optical element 506 and irradiate into the detection area. Objects in the measurement area can reflect light signals, and the reflected light signals pass through the optical element 506 , the optical element 505 and the optical element 504 , and irradiate onto the detector 502 .
  • target detection includes two detection processes.
  • the controller 503 can control the laser transmitter 501 to transmit the first laser signal to the detection area, and the laser detector 502 receives the first echo signal, and the first echo signal contains the reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal .
  • the first echo signal can be used to determine a first time position, which corresponds to the first characteristic signal.
  • the controller 503 can control the laser transmitter 501 to emit a second laser signal, and the controller 503 can control the laser detector 502 to receive the second echo signal within the time window, and the second echo signal includes Reflection signal to the second laser signal.
  • the aforementioned time window includes the first time position.
  • the lidar shown in FIG. 5 is only an exemplary description of the detection device, and there are many ways to realize specific products.
  • the embodiment of the present application may be applicable to a scanning lidar, a flash (flash) lidar, or a fusion detection radar, and the like.
  • the embodiments of the present application include a mechanical laser radar, a solid-state laser radar, or a hybrid solid-state laser radar.
  • the optical element 505 may include an oscillating mirror, a rotating mirror (Polygon), a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System, MEMS) vibrating mirror, or a combination of the above elements.
  • the laser emitter 501 and the laser detector 502 may also have various possible configurations, structures and positions.
  • FIG. 5 uses three optical elements as an example for illustration, and it is not intended to limit the number and functions of the optical elements.
  • the lidar may include more or fewer optical elements.
  • FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a detection control method provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detection control method may be applied to the detection device shown in FIG. 2 , FIG. 4 or FIG. 5 .
  • the method shown in Figure 6 at least includes the following steps:
  • Step S601 Control the laser emitting unit to emit a first laser signal.
  • this step S601 may be implemented by a control device.
  • the control device may be included in the detection device, or may be deployed outside the detection device.
  • the control device may be the controller 203 and/or the processor 204 in the detection device 20 as shown in FIG. 2 .
  • the control device may be a module in the controller 203 shown in FIG. 2 , such as a chip or an integrated circuit.
  • the control device may be a gate bias controller or a signal detection module (or a gate bias controller and a signal detection module) as shown in FIG. 4 .
  • the control device may be the controller 503 shown in FIG. 5 or a module in the controller 503, such as a chip or an integrated circuit.
  • the control device taking the detection device as an example of a vehicle-mounted radar, the control device may be a controller in the vehicle (such as an MDC in the vehicle) for controlling the vehicle-mounted radar to work.
  • control device may include one or more of the following devices: controller, processor, application processor (application processor, AP), TDC, filter, graphics processing unit (graphics processing unit, GPU), microprocessor Microprocessor unit (MPU), application specific integrated circuit (Application Specific Integrated Circuit, ASIC), image signal processor (image signal processor, ISP), digital signal processor (digital signal processor, DSP), field programmable logic gate array (Field Programmable Gate Array, FPGA), complex programmable logic device (Complex programmable logic device, CPLD), coprocessor (to assist the central processing unit to complete the corresponding processing and application), micro control unit (Microcontroller Unit, MCU), and / Or neural network processor (neural-network processing unit, NPU), etc.
  • controller processor
  • application processor application processor
  • AP application processor
  • TDC filter
  • graphics processing unit graphics processing unit
  • MPU microprocessor Microprocessor unit
  • ASIC application specific integrated circuit
  • image signal processor image signal processor
  • ISP image signal processor
  • DSP digital signal processor
  • the laser emitting unit includes a laser emitter for emitting laser signals.
  • the action of the laser emitting unit emitting laser signals can be controlled by the control device.
  • the control device sends a control signal to the laser emitting unit, and the laser emitting unit emits a laser signal in response to the control signal.
  • the control device may include multiple sub-control units.
  • the control device may include two sub-control units, wherein one sub-control unit (referred to as the first sub-control unit for convenience) is located in the controller 203 (just an example), and the other sub-control unit (referred to as the first sub-control unit for convenience) is located in the controller 203 (only for example). is the second sub-control unit) deployed in the laser emitter 201.
  • the first sub-control unit can send a control signal to the second sub-control unit (referred to as the second control signal for convenience of description), and the second sub-control unit controls the laser emitter 201 to emit laser signal.
  • Step S602 Control the laser detection unit to receive the first echo signal including the reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal.
  • the first echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal.
  • the laser detection unit includes a detector, can receive the first echo signal, and can convert the first echo signal into an electrical signal. Further, the electrical signal can be output to other devices (for example, a signal detection device, such as a TDC, etc.) for signal detection.
  • a signal detection device such as a TDC, etc.
  • the laser detection unit may comprise one or more detection elements.
  • the detection element may be a single-photon detection element, such as an APD or a SPAD.
  • the laser detection unit may be in the form of an array, for example, an array of specifications such as a 1 ⁇ 2 array, a 2 ⁇ 3 array, and a 3 ⁇ 3 array, which is not limited in the present application.
  • the laser detection unit may be controlled to maintain the on state, so as to receive the first echo signal.
  • a control signal may be sent to turn on the laser detection unit, so as to receive the first echo signal.
  • This step S602 can be realized by the control device. For details, refer to the control device in step S601.
  • control device can control the state of the laser detection unit by controlling the voltage of the detection element in the laser detection unit. For example, as shown in FIG. 3 , the control device inputs a high level to the gate control circuit to control the detection element in the detection unit to be in an open state, so that the detection element can receive the first echo signal. Similarly, when the control device inputs a low level to the gate control circuit, the detection element in the detection unit can be controlled to be in a closed state.
  • the control device may include multiple sub-control units.
  • the control device may include two sub-control units, wherein one sub-control unit (referred to as the third sub-control unit for convenience) is located in the controller 203 (just an example), and the other sub-control unit (for convenience The difference is called the fourth sub-control unit) is deployed in the laser detector 202.
  • the third sub-control unit may send a control signal (referred to as a fourth control signal for convenience of description) to the fourth sub-control unit, and the fourth sub-control unit controls the laser detector 202 to receive the first echo signal in response to the fourth control signal.
  • Step S603 Outputting a first control signal according to the first echo signal.
  • the first control signal is used to indicate the first time position.
  • the first time position may be a detected time position where a suspected detection object exists.
  • the first time position may be a time point, or a time period (including a start time and an end time, or a start time and a duration, or a duration and an end time, etc.), or may also be Multiple points in time or multiple time periods.
  • the first time position may correspond to the first characteristic signal.
  • the first characteristic signal belongs to one or more of the characteristic signals, and may indicate a special waveform characteristic.
  • the first characteristic signal may include at least one of a pulse signal, or a peak signal, or a rising edge signal (or referred to as a leading edge signal), or a waveform centroid signal.
  • the pulse signal is a short-term fluctuation signal like a pulse signal
  • the peak signal is the signal corresponding to the highest value of the signal value within a period of time
  • the rising edge signal is a period of signal that the signal value continues to increase within a period of time
  • the waveform centroid signal is a The signal corresponding to the centroid position of the waveform information.
  • the characteristic signal may correspond to a target object in the detection area. Therefore, the detection can be performed again within the time position where the characteristic signal is located, so that the predicted target object can be detected, and the effectiveness of the detection signal can be improved.
  • the target object 103 and the target object 104 in the detection area reflect the transmitted laser signal, and form two pulse signals as shown in the area 105 and the area 106 in the echo signal.
  • the time positions corresponding to the two pulse signals can be detected respectively, for example, as shown in part (d) of FIG. Reflected signal from target object 103 . Since the detection is performed through the time window, the interference of the signal at the time position outside the time window is avoided, and the effectiveness of the signal is improved, thereby improving the detection performance of the lidar.
  • the target object corresponding to the feature signal is predicted, and in practice, the target object may or may not exist.
  • the laser detector of vehicle A receives the reflection signal of the object on the laser signal of the vehicle-mounted radar of vehicle A, thereby forming a pulse signal P1, and the detection device can predict the corresponding distance according to the time position of the pulse signal P1
  • the detection device detects the time position of the pulse signal P1 again, which can reduce the possibility of interference caused by other interference signals to the reflected signal of the target object T1, reduce the amount of data to be processed, and improve the detection performance of the detection device.
  • the laser detector of vehicle A may receive relevant signals of the ambient light source (such as the reflection signal of the laser signal of vehicle B by an object), thereby forming a pulse signal P2, and the detection device can predict the time position of the pulse signal P2
  • the target object T2 may exist at the corresponding distance, but the target object T2 does not actually exist, that is, the pulse signal P2 is a "false alarm signal".
  • the detection device detects the time position of the false alarm signal again, which can reduce the interference of the false alarm signal to the detection result and improve the detection performance of the detection device.
  • the first characteristic signal is obtained according to the first echo signal.
  • the laser detection unit may receive the first echo signal, and then output an electrical signal.
  • the output electrical signal may contain multiple characteristic signals, or the output electrical signal may be processed (for example, to establish a statistical histogram) to obtain multiple characteristic signals.
  • FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a possible statistical histogram provided in the embodiment of the present application.
  • the statistical histogram shown in FIG. 7 is for processing the electrical signal output by the laser detection unit.
  • the ordinate is the number of counts
  • the abscissa is time.
  • Region 701 contains pulse signals. Since the pulse signal belongs to the characteristic signal, according to the statistical histogram, the first time position can be determined according to the time positions of the pulse signal, t1 to t2.
  • This step S603 can be realized by the control device. For details, refer to the control device in step S601.
  • the control device includes a signal detection module.
  • the control device can detect the electrical signal through the signal detection module, so as to obtain the first time position.
  • the laser detection unit converts an electrical signal according to the first echo signal.
  • the electrical signal can be output to a signal detection module (either directly or after being processed by a TDC or a filter), and the signal detection module detects the electrical signal to obtain the first time position.
  • step S602 is completed by a processing module in the detection device.
  • the array detector receives the first echo signal, and converts the first echo signal to obtain an electrical signal (called a signal to be detected for convenience of description), and the signal to be detected can be output
  • the signal detection module or first output the signal to be detected to the TDC, the TDC performs time-to-digital conversion processing, and then outputs the processed signal to be detected to the signal detection module).
  • the signal detection module detects the signal to be detected to obtain the first time position corresponding to the first characteristic signal.
  • the signal detection module outputs a first control signal, and the first control signal includes the first time position or the indication information of the first time position.
  • the gate bias controller may receive a first control signal, and control the laser emitting unit and/or the laser detecting unit according to the first control signal.
  • the electrical signal obtained by receiving the first echo signal may be the output signal of a plurality of pixels.
  • the laser detection unit includes N detection elements, wherein one detection element can output an output signal of one pixel, and the laser detection unit can output electrical signals of N pixels.
  • the laser detection unit includes M detection elements, where two detection elements can combine and output an output signal of one pixel, then the laser detection unit can output electrical signals of M/2 pixels.
  • the present application does not specifically limit the way of combining pixels.
  • the first feature signal is obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels.
  • adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the laser detection unit.
  • FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of an output of a laser detection unit provided by an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 8 , the output of the laser detection unit 801 is shown in a region 802 , where a small square is a pixel. The output of one pixel corresponds to one detection element in the laser detection unit 801 .
  • part of the detection elements may receive the light signal and generate electrical signal output (for example, the black squares in area 802 are pixels with electrical signal output), and some detection elements may not receive light signal, so no electrical signal output is generated (for example, the white squares in area 802 are pixels with no electrical signal output).
  • the output signals of adjacent pixels can be superimposed to obtain the superimposed signal, which includes the characteristic signal.
  • Design 1 The output signals of any adjacent P pixels can be superimposed.
  • the output signals of horizontal pixels are superimposed, or the output signals of vertical pixels are superimposed.
  • the output signals of the pixel blocks in the 3 ⁇ 3 area among the plurality of pixels are superimposed.
  • Design 2 The outputs of adjacent detection elements with signals are summed. Furthermore, in the detection with signals, the superposition area can also be divided, for example, the signals of any number of adjacent detection elements with signals are superimposed, or multiple areas are obtained by dividing according to the number, and then the detection in each area
  • the signal of the component, or the pixels with signals can be divided in other ways.
  • two examples of possible situations :
  • FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of an output of another laser detection unit provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the pixels with electrical signal output are shown as area 901 and area 902 .
  • the output signals of the 4 pixels in the area 901 can be superimposed, and the output signals of the 5 pixels in the area 902 can be superimposed.
  • the output signals of the pixels are superimposed.
  • the area 904 is a sub-area
  • the area 905 is a sub-area
  • the remaining pixels with signals are a sub-area.
  • the output signals of the 4 pixels in the area 904 can be superimposed
  • the output signals of the 4 pixels in the area 905 can be superimposed
  • the output signals of the remaining 5 pixels can be superimposed.
  • sub-regions when sub-regions are divided among multiple pixels with signals, it may be divided randomly, or according to the centroid (so that the pixels in the region are concentrated as much as possible), or according to the characteristics of the echo signal, etc. method, or the sub-region division method can also be calculated by means of reinforcement learning.
  • the number of pixels in the divided sub-regions may be pre-configured, pre-defined, or determined according to the shape and total number of pixels with signals, which is not limited in this application.
  • the above two situations may exist simultaneously. For example, if the number of adjacent detection elements with signals does not exceed (less than or equal to) the threshold, then directly superimpose, such as area 901, area 902, and area 903; when the number of adjacent detection elements with signals exceeds In the case of (greater than or equal to or greater than) the threshold, it is divided into multiple sub-regions and then superimposed separately.
  • the above threshold may be pre-defined, pre-configured, or may be calculated through an algorithm, or a reinforcement learning model, or may be input by a user or other devices.
  • FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a superimposed signal provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the signals respectively output by the four pixels are shown in area 1001. It can be seen that the fluctuation of the pixels is not obvious, which easily leads to missed signal detection.
  • the output is shown in area 1002, where an obvious pulse signal can be seen, thereby making the signal returned by the detection target more obvious and avoiding signal omission.
  • Step S604 controlling the laser emitting unit to emit a second laser signal.
  • the laser emitting unit is used to emit laser signals.
  • the laser emitting unit emits a laser signal and can be controlled by a control device.
  • the control device may send a control signal (referred to as a third control signal for convenience) to the laser emitting unit, and the laser emitting unit emits a second laser signal in response to the third control signal.
  • Step S605 According to the first control signal, control the laser detection unit to receive the second echo signal within the first time window.
  • the second echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the second laser signal.
  • the first time window is related to the first time position, the first time window contains the first time position.
  • FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a possible time window provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the first time position indicated by the first control signal is t1 to t2, and the time window shown in FIG. 11 includes the first time position.
  • the first time position is the position of the first characteristic signal.
  • the first time position may be a time position corresponding to an echo signal of a suspected detection target. Therefore, in the second detection process, the detection is performed within the first time window, so that the suspected detection target can be detected, thereby avoiding interference.
  • the laser detection unit may not receive the optical signal, which effectively reduces the amount of data to be processed.
  • the first time window may also be related to the first duration.
  • the duration is used to indicate the width of the time window. Exemplarily, for example, if the first duration is 10 milliseconds (ms), the interval between the start time and the end time of the time window is 10 ms.
  • the first duration may be predefined and preconfigured, and may also be related to the duration of the second laser signal. For ease of understanding, the following are examples of possible time window designs:
  • Design 1 The first time position is in the middle of the first time window. Exemplarily, taking the laser emission time as time 0 and the first duration as 10 ms as an example, if the first time position is 15 ms to 19 ms, then the start position of the first time window is 12 ms to 22 ms.
  • Design 2 The time position is at the beginning of the first time window. Exemplarily, taking the laser emission time as time 0 and the first duration as 10 ms as an example, if the first time position is 15 ms to 19 ms, then the start position of the first time window is 15 ms to 25 ms.
  • the time position is at the first preset position of the first time window. Exemplarily, taking the laser emission time as 0, the first duration as 10 ms, and the first preset position as 1 ms after the start time of the time window as an example, if the first time position is 15 ms to 19 ms, then the first time window The starting position is 14ms to 24ms.
  • step S605 may be implemented by a control device.
  • control device For details, refer to the description of the control device in step S602.
  • the second echo signal is used for target detection. Further optionally, by processing the second echo signal, a detection result of the detection area can be obtained, for example, distance information, point cloud information, reflection intensity information, etc. of the detection area can be obtained.
  • the first control signal may indicate multiple time positions.
  • the laser detection unit may be controlled to perform detection within multiple time windows (each time window includes at least one time position among multiple time positions), so as to improve detection efficiency.
  • the detection device may perform multiple laser emission and multiple detections, and during each laser emission and detection process, the detection unit is controlled to receive echo signals within one or more time windows.
  • the amount of data to be processed after each detection can be reduced, adapting to the data processing speed of the data processing module.
  • the time for the detector to receive echo signals is relatively short in each detection process, which can improve detection accuracy, avoid mutual interference between echo signals, and improve the accuracy of detection results.
  • the first control signal may indicate multiple time positions, and the laser detection unit may be controlled to perform detection within multiple time windows, wherein each time window includes one or more time positions.
  • FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a possible gating provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • the laser detection unit may remain on during the entire detection time, and the electrical signal obtained by receiving the first echo signal is shown in part (a) of FIG. 12 .
  • the characteristic signals are pulse 1 and pulse 2
  • the time positions corresponding to pulse 1 and pulse 2 are as follows: time positions t3 to t4, and time positions t5 to t6.
  • the first control signal can then indicate the time positions t3 to t4 and the time positions t5 to t6.
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to remain on within the first time window and within the second time window, and to be off during the rest of the time.
  • the first time window includes positions t1 to t2
  • the second time window includes positions t3 to t4. Further, the echo signals received in the second detection process are used to obtain detection results of the detection area.
  • the first control signal may indicate two time positions.
  • the laser detection unit is controlled to perform at least two detections, and the time windows during the two detections respectively include the two time positions.
  • FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of another possible gating provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • the first segment detection process may refer to case 1, which will not be repeated here.
  • the second detection process may include multiple detections, and the following uses the first detection and the second detection as an example for illustration.
  • the laser emitting unit emits a laser signal (referred to as the second laser signal for easy distinction), and the laser detection unit remains on within the first time window, and can receive the second echo signal (the second echo signal contains reflection signal of the second laser signal).
  • the first time window includes positions t1 to t2 .
  • the laser emission unit emits a laser signal (referred to as the third laser signal for easy distinction), and the laser detection unit remains on in the third time window, and can receive the third echo signal (the third echo signal contains reflection signal of the third laser signal).
  • the third time window includes positions t3 to t4.
  • the second echo signal and the third echo signal received in the second detection process are used to obtain the detection result of the detection area.
  • the first control signal may indicate multiple time positions. Among multiple time positions, time positions with close positions may be included in the same time window.
  • FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of a possible gating provided by the embodiment of the present application. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 14 , the first detection process may refer to case 1, which will not be repeated here.
  • the second detection process may include multiple detections, and the following uses the first detection and the second detection as an example for illustration.
  • the laser emitting unit emits a laser signal (referred to as the second laser signal for easy distinction), and the laser detection unit remains on within the first time window, and can receive the second echo signal (the second echo signal contains reflection signal of the second laser signal).
  • the first time window includes positions t1 to t2 and time positions t3 to t4.
  • the laser emission unit emits a laser signal (referred to as the third laser signal for easy distinction), and the laser detection unit remains on in the third time window, and can receive the third echo signal (the third echo signal contains reflection signal of the third laser signal).
  • the third time window includes positions t5 to t6.
  • the second echo signal and the third echo signal received during the second stage of detection are used to obtain the detection result of the detection area.
  • multiple control signals may also be used to control the detection unit to receive the light signal.
  • the control device may output two control signals (referred to as the first control signal and the fifth control signal for distinction) ).
  • the first control signal is used to indicate the first time position
  • the detection unit can be controlled to receive the second echo signal within the first time window through the first control signal.
  • the fifth control signal is used to indicate the fifth time position
  • the laser detection unit can be controlled to receive the fourth echo signal within the fourth time window through the fifth control signal
  • the fourth time window includes the fifth time position.
  • the second echo signal and the fourth echo signal are used to obtain the detection result of the detection area.
  • the start time of the first time window is after or the same as the fourth time position.
  • the fourth time position corresponds to the distance between the laser emitting unit and the first optical element; or, the fourth time position corresponds to the distance between the first optical element and the laser detection unit; or, the fourth time position Corresponding to the distance between the laser emitting unit and the first optical element and the distance between the first optical element and the laser detecting unit.
  • the aforementioned first optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the detection device in the transmitting optical path (or receiving optical path) of the second laser signal.
  • the outermost optical element may be an optical window of the detection device.
  • the optical element included in the detection device may be one or more of the following elements: lenses (including but not limited to one or more of lenses, beam splitters, polarizers, wave plates, cylindrical mirrors, or optical filters Multiple), or optical windows, etc., or other components that may be used for optical path design.
  • lenses including but not limited to one or more of lenses, beam splitters, polarizers, wave plates, cylindrical mirrors, or optical filters Multiple
  • optical windows etc., or other components that may be used for optical path design.
  • FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of a possible emitting light path and receiving light path of a detection device provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • Part (a) of FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the emitting light path of the detection device 150
  • part (b) of FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the receiving light path of the detection device 150 .
  • the controller 1503 in the detecting device 150 can control the laser emitting unit 1501 to emit laser signals, and control the laser detecting unit 1502 to receive echo signals.
  • the processor 1507 is configured to process the detection data and obtain detection results.
  • the processor 1507 may be located inside the detection device 150 or outside the detection device 140 .
  • the detection device 150 includes one or more optical elements, such as the optical element 1504 , the optical element 1505 , the optical element 1506 and the like shown in FIG. 15 .
  • FIG. 15 is only an exemplary illustration, and there may be various ways to implement specific products, for example, the detecting device 150 may include more or less optical elements.
  • the optical element 1505 can also be replaced by a rotating mirror, an oscillating mirror, MEMS or a combination of the above elements.
  • This application is also applicable to various types of laser radars such as scanning type, flash type, mechanical type, solid-state type or hybrid solid-state type.
  • the emission light path of the detection device 150 passes through the optical element 1505 and the optical element 1506 . Since it is difficult for an optical element to achieve total transmission or total reflection, the emitted laser signal passes through the optical element 1505 and the optical element 1506 , and part of it may be reflected by the optical element 1505 and/or the optical element 1506 .
  • the solid line is the emitted optical signal
  • the dotted line is the reflected optical signal by the optical element. The reflected light signal will be irradiated into the laser detection unit 1502, so that the detection element in the laser detection unit 1502 will be saturated, and the real echo signal will be submerged.
  • the saturated detection element cannot be recovered in a short time, when the echo signal as shown in (b) of Figure 15 arrives, part (or all) of the optical signal may not be received by the detection element, resulting in a true echo The wave signal is swamped, making the detection results inaccurate.
  • the start time of the time window can be set to be at the fourth time position After or the same as the fourth time position.
  • the detection time is shortened, so that the amount of data is correspondingly reduced, which can reduce the consumption of computing resources.
  • the laser detection unit can have different working modes.
  • the laser detection unit may have at least two working modes: a free-running mode and a gated mode.
  • the free-running mode the laser detection unit may be always on, or always off, or adaptively adjusted to be on or off.
  • the gated mode the laser detection unit can be turned on or off by other devices or modules.
  • the laser detection unit may be in a free-running mode.
  • the laser detection unit is in a gate control mode.
  • the working mode of the laser detection unit can be controlled by a control signal, for example, the laser detection unit can be operated in a gate control mode by using a gate control open signal.
  • FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a possible scanning laser radar working according to an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detection device works in the form of a detection frame.
  • the detection of a detection frame can generate a frame of point cloud image in a detection area.
  • the detection area needs to be scanned in the form of rows (or columns, or areas) during detection. Wherein, each row (or each column, or each area) corresponds to a wave position (slot, or subframe).
  • a clock (clk) signal is used for timing, or alignment, and the like.
  • RST_FR frame reset signal
  • a detection frame starts to detect the first wave position.
  • one wave position may contain one or more sub-wave positions (the following description will be described by taking two sub-wave positions as an example).
  • the laser emission unit can emit one or more laser signals, as shown by the pulse (Pulse) signal; while the laser detection unit is in the free-running mode and can receive the first echo signal , to determine one or more time positions according to the first echo signal.
  • the laser detection unit turns on the gate control mode.
  • the laser detection unit can start detection within the time window, as indicated by the time window (Gate) signal.
  • the time window signal is at a high level
  • the laser detection unit is in an open state and can receive echo signals.
  • the time window signal is at low level
  • the laser detection unit is in an off state. Multiple waves can be detected in one detection frame, and when the frame end signal (END_FR) is at a high level, the detection frame ends.
  • END_FR frame end signal
  • the first few pulses emitted by the laser emitting unit are used to determine the time position, and the start time and end time of the time window can be determined according to the time position (or the first duration).
  • the laser detection unit works in the gate control mode, and the laser detection unit receives the echo signal within the time window, which effectively reduces the amount of data and improves the validity of the signal.
  • timing sequence of the scanning type detection device is used as an example for description above, and it is not intended to limit the application scenario of the present application, and the present application is also applicable to the flash type detection device.
  • the first detection process (such as the aforementioned first subframe) may also be called a coarse detection process
  • the second detection process (such as the aforementioned second subframe) may also be called a fine detection process.
  • FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram of a possible gating provided by the embodiment of the present application.
  • the laser detection unit is in the free-running mode, and the electrical signal obtained by receiving the first echo signal is shown in part (a) of FIG. 17 .
  • the second detection process the laser detection unit is in the gate control mode, and the electrical signal obtained by receiving the second echo signal is shown in part (b) of Figure 17. It can be seen that the change of the electrical signal shown in part (b) of FIG. 17 is more accurate, and the proportion of effective signals is larger. Further, the detection result obtained according to the second echo signal is more accurate.
  • the control device can control the laser emitting unit and the laser receiving unit to perform two stages of laser detection, the first stage of laser detection is used to determine the time position, and the second stage of laser detection is used to Target detection is performed within the time window of the location.
  • the duration of the first time window ie, the first duration
  • the second detection process of the embodiment of the present application is usually shorter than the original detection time (eg, the detection time in the first detection process).
  • the laser detection unit receives the echo signal within the first time window, so that the time for receiving the echo signal is shortened, and the detection data obtained according to the echo signal is also reduced, thereby reducing the amount of data to be processed.
  • the time position and the first duration may not receive the echo signal, thereby avoiding the influence of irrelevant signals on the detection As a result, the validity of the received echo signal is improved, and the detection performance of the lidar is improved.
  • FIG. 18 is a schematic structural diagram of a detection device 180 provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the detection device 180 can be an independent device (such as one or more of a laser radar, a handheld terminal, a vehicle or a robot, etc.), or an internal component of an independent device (such as a chip, a software module or a hardware module Wait).
  • the detection device 180 is used to implement the aforementioned detection control method, such as the detection control method in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the detecting device 180 may include at least one processing unit 1801 .
  • the detecting device 180 may further include a laser emitting unit 1802 and a laser detecting unit 1803 .
  • each unit is as follows:
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is configured to control the laser emitting unit 1802 to emit a first laser signal
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to output a first control signal according to the first echo signal, and the first control signal is used to indicate a first time position;
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to control the laser emitting unit 1802 to emit a second laser signal
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to control the laser detection unit 1803 to receive a second echo signal within the first time window according to the first control signal, and the second echo signal includes the A reflection signal of the second laser signal, the second echo signal is used for target detection;
  • the first time window is related to the first time position and a first duration
  • the first time window includes the first time position
  • the first duration is predefined or configured.
  • the first time position corresponds to a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is obtained from the first echo signal, and the first characteristic signal includes a pulse At least one of signal, peak signal, rising edge signal.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position, and the first time window also includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate the second time position; the at least one processing unit 1801 is also used to:
  • the laser detection unit 1803 is controlled to receive the second echo signal within the first time window and the second time window, and the second time window is related to the second time position and the related to the first duration, and the second time window includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a third time position
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to control the laser emitting unit 1802 to emit a third laser signal;
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to control the laser detection unit 1803 to receive a third echo signal within a third time window according to the first control signal, the third echo signal containing the The reflection signal of the third laser signal, the third echo signal is used for target detection, the third time window is related to the third time position and the first duration, and the third time window includes the first Three time positions.
  • the laser detection unit 1803 includes at least one single-photon detection element.
  • the laser detection unit 1803 includes multiple detection elements, where one detection element corresponds to the output signal of one pixel;
  • the first characteristic signal includes a signal obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels, and the adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the laser detection unit 1803 .
  • the detection device 180 further includes at least one optical element
  • the start time of the first detection time window is after the fourth time position or the same as the fourth time position; the fourth time position corresponds to the second laser signal from the laser emitting unit 1802 to the at least one optical
  • the distance between the first optical elements in the elements, the first optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the detection device in the emission light path of the second laser signal.
  • the laser detection unit 1803 is also configured to obtain a signal to be detected according to the first echo signal
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is configured to:
  • the first control signal is output, and the first control signal is used to control the laser emitting unit 1802 and/or the laser detecting unit 1803 .
  • the at least one processing unit 1801 is further configured to obtain a detection result of the detection area according to the second echo signal.
  • the fourth processing unit is configured to control the laser detection unit 1803 to receive the first echo signal including the reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal according to the fourth control signal.
  • the detection device further includes a laser detection unit 1803;
  • the laser detection unit 1803 is configured to receive the second echo signal within a first time window.
  • the above-mentioned division of multiple units is only a logical division based on functions, and is not intended to limit the specific structure of the detection device 180 .
  • some of the functional modules may be subdivided into smaller functional modules, and some of the functional modules may also be combined into one functional module, but no matter whether these functional modules are subdivided or combined, the signal processing device is performing The general flow executed during signal processing is the same.
  • FIG. 19 is a schematic structural diagram of a processing device 190 provided by an embodiment of the present application.
  • the processing device 190 may be one or more of independent devices (such as a laser radar, a handheld terminal, a vehicle or a robot, etc.) ), may also be an internal component of an independent device (such as a chip, a software module or a hardware module, etc.).
  • the processing device 190 may include at least one processor 1901 and a communication interface 1902 . Further optionally, the processing device 190 may further include at least one memory 1903 . Further optionally, a bus 1904 may also be included, wherein the processor 1901 , the communication interface 1902 and the memory 1903 are connected through the bus 1904 .
  • the processor 1901 is a module for performing arithmetic operations and/or logic operations. Specifically, it can include one or more processing modules such as central processing unit (CPU), AP, TDC, filter, GPU, MPU, ASIC, ISP, DSP, FPGA, CPLD, coprocessor, MCU, NPU, etc. Various combinations.
  • Communication interface 1902 may be used to provide information input or output to the at least one processor. And/or, the communication interface 1902 can be used to receive data sent from the outside and/or send data to the outside, and can be a wired link interface such as an Ethernet cable, or a wireless link (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, general wireless transmission, vehicle short-range communication technology and other short-range wireless communication technologies, etc.) interface.
  • a wired link interface such as an Ethernet cable, or a wireless link (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, general wireless transmission, vehicle short-range communication technology and other short-range wireless communication technologies, etc.) interface.
  • the memory 1903 is used to provide a storage space, in which data such as operating systems and computer programs can be stored.
  • Memory 1903 can be random access memory (random access memory, RAM), read-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (erasable programmable read only memory, EPROM), or portable read-only memory One or more combinations of memory (compact disc read-only memory, CD-ROM), etc.
  • the processing device 190 is used to implement the aforementioned detection control method, for example, the detection control method in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the above at least one processor 1901 may be a processor dedicated to executing these methods (referred to as a dedicated processor for easy distinction), or may be a processor that executes these methods by calling a computer program, For example general purpose processors.
  • at least one processor 1901 may also include both a dedicated processor and a general-purpose processor.
  • At least one processor 1901 in the processing device 190 is used to call a computer program stored in at least one memory 1903 to execute the aforementioned detection control method, such as described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 detection control method.
  • the above-mentioned processing device 190 may be one or more of the control devices, controllers, or processors in the foregoing embodiments, or one or more of the control devices, controllers, or processors, etc. Components inside the device (such as chips, software modules or hardware modules, etc.).
  • the processing means 190 can control the laser emitters and detectors.
  • the processing device 190 is a detection device, and the detection device may also include a laser emitter and a detector, or the processing device 190 may be connected with a laser emitter and a detector.
  • the processor 1901 in the device 190 is configured to perform the following operations:
  • controlling the detector to receive a first echo signal including a reflection signal corresponding to the first laser signal
  • the first control signal is used to indicate a first time position
  • the detector is controlled to receive a second echo signal within a first time window, the second echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the second laser signal, and the second The echo signal is used for target detection;
  • the first time window is related to the first time position and a first duration
  • the first time window includes the first time position
  • the first duration is predefined or configured.
  • the first time position corresponds to a first characteristic signal, wherein the first characteristic signal is obtained from the first echo signal, and the first characteristic signal includes a pulse At least one of signal, peak signal, rising edge signal.
  • the first control signal is further used to indicate a second time position, and the first time window also includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate the second time position; the at least one processor 1901 is also used to:
  • the detector is controlled to receive the second echo signal within a first time window and a second time window, and the second time window is related to the second time position and the first time window In relation to a duration, the second time window includes the second time position.
  • the first control signal is also used to indicate a third time position; the at least one processor 1901 is also used to:
  • the detector is controlled to receive a third echo signal within a third time window, the third echo signal includes a reflection signal corresponding to the third laser signal, and the third The echo signal is used for target detection, the third time window is related to the third time position and the first duration, and the third time window includes the third time position.
  • the processing device 190 further includes the detector, and the detector includes at least one single-photon detection element.
  • the processing device 190 further includes the detector, and the detector includes a plurality of detection elements, wherein one detection element corresponds to an output signal of one pixel;
  • the first characteristic signal includes a signal obtained by superimposing output signals of adjacent pixels, and the adjacent pixels correspond to at least two adjacent detection elements in the detector.
  • the processing device 190 further includes the laser emitter and at least one optical element
  • the start time of the first detection time window is after or the same as the fourth time position; the fourth time position corresponds to the second laser signal from the laser emitter to the at least one optical element
  • the distance between the first optical elements in the first optical element is the outermost optical element belonging to the processing device in the emission light path of the second laser signal.
  • the processing device 190 includes the detector, and the detector is also configured to obtain a signal to be detected according to the first echo signal;
  • the processor 1901 is further configured to:
  • the first control signal is used to control the laser emitter and/or the detector.
  • the at least one processor 1901 is further configured to obtain a detection result of the detection area according to the second echo signal.
  • the embodiment of the present application also provides a terminal, the terminal is used to implement the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 .
  • the terminal includes the aforementioned detecting device, such as the detecting device described in FIG. 2, FIG. 4, FIG. 5 or FIG. 15, and/or, the terminal includes the aforementioned detecting device 180 or processing device 190, for example, the processing device shown in FIG. 18 or FIG. 19 .
  • the terminal may be a terminal such as a fusion detection device, a vehicle, an unmanned aerial vehicle, or a robot.
  • the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer-readable storage medium, where a computer program is stored in the computer-readable storage medium, and when the computer program is run on one or more processors, the implementation shown in FIG. 6 is realized.
  • the embodiment of the present application also provides a computer program product, and when the computer program product runs on one or more processors, the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is realized.
  • the embodiment of the present application also provides a chip system, the chip system includes a communication interface and at least one processor, the communication interface is used to provide information input/output for the at least one processor, and/or, the communication interface Used for sending/receiving data.
  • the processor is configured to call a computer program (or computer instruction) to implement the method described in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 .
  • At least one refers to one or more, and the “multiple” refers to two or more.
  • At least one of the following" or similar expressions refer to any combination of these items, including any combination of single or plural items.
  • at least one item (piece) of a, b, or c may represent: a, b, c, (a and b), (a and c), (b and c), or (a and b and c), where a, b, c can be single or multiple.
  • first and second use ordinal numerals such as "first" and "second" to distinguish multiple objects, and are not used to limit the order, timing, priority or importance of multiple objects degree.
  • first sub-control unit and the second sub-control unit are only used to distinguish different control units, but do not represent the differences in structure, principle, importance, etc. of the two control units.

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Abstract

本申请实施例公开了一种探测控制方法及装置，用于目标探测，可以应用于智能驾驶、智能运输、测绘、智能制造等领域。本申请实施例中，控制装置可以控制激光发射单元和激光接收单元进行两段激光探测，其中，第一段激光探测用于确定时间位置，第二段激光探测用于在包含第一时间位置的时间窗内进行目标探测。一方面，第二段探测过程中，控制装置控制激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收回波信号，由于接收回波信号的时间变短，从而降低了探测过程中的数据量。另一方面，不属于第一时间窗的时间位置内不进行探测，可以避免无关信号影响探测效果，提高了信号的有效性。

Description

一种探测控制方法及装置 技术领域
本申请涉及探测技术，应用于智能驾驶、智能运输、测绘、智能制造等领域，尤其涉及一种探测控制方法及装置。
背景技术
随着信息技术以及计算机视觉的发展，探测技术取得了飞速发展，各式各样的探测装置给人们的生活、出行带来了极大的便利。例如，高级驾驶辅助系统(Advanced Driving Assistance System，ADAS)在智能汽车中发挥着十分重要的作用，它是利用安装在车上的探测装置，在车辆行驶过程中探测周围的环境，收集数据，进行静止、移动物体的辨识等，并结合导航仪地图数据，进行系统的运算与分析，从而预先让驾驶者察觉到可能发生的危险，有效增加汽车驾驶的舒适性和安全性。探测装置可以看作是电子设备(例如车辆、机器人、无人机等)感知环境的“眼睛”，包括摄像头等视觉系传感器和毫米波雷达、激光雷达和超声波雷达等雷达系传感器。其中，激光雷达(Lidar)具有分辨率较高、探测性能好、隐蔽性强的优点，是感知中重要的探测装置之一。
随着对感知结果的要求越来越高，对Lidar的多通道、高并行的要求也日益增长。但是，实时、多通道大并行度的Lidar对Lidar的芯片的可制造性、成本都提出了很高的要求。
如何在不显著提高硬件设计复杂度以及成本的前提下，提升激光雷达的探测性能，是本领域人员正在研究的热点。
发明内容
本申请实施例提供一种探测控制方法及装置，能够提高探测信号的有效性，进一步提升激光雷达的探测性能。
第一方面，本申请实施例公开了一种探测控制方法，包括：
控制激光发射单元发射第一激光信号；
控制激光探测单元接收包含对应于所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
该方法可由控制装置执行。可选的，该控制装置可以为探测装置内的控制装置，也可以是与探测装置连接的控制器(例如车辆中的控制器)，前述探测装置内包含激光发射单 元和激光探测单元。示例性地，该探测装置可以为激光雷达。
一种设计中，用于接收所述第一回波信号的时长大于所述第一时间窗的长度。
本申请实施例中，第一段激光探测用于确定时间位置，第二段激光探测用于在包含第一时间位置的时间窗内进行目标探测。一方面，目前的探测装置进行探测时，通常在探测时间的整个时长内接收回波信号，而本申请实施例的第二段探测过程中第一时间窗的时长(即第一时长)通常小于原本的探测时间(例如第一次探测过程中的探测时间)的时长。激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收回波信号，使得接收回波信号的时间减短，进而根据回波信号得到的探测数据也减少，从而减少了需要处理的数据量。另一方面，通过时间位置和第一时长来定位第二次探测过程接收回波信号的时间位置，则不属于第一时间窗的时间位置可以不接收回波信号，从而可以避免无关信号影响探测效果，提高了接收的回波信号的有效性，提升了激光雷达的探测性能。
一种可能的场景中，时间位置是经过第一段探测后得到的感兴趣的时间位置，因此在第二段探测过程中专门对该时间位置对应的探测区域进行探测，减短探测时间从而压缩了探测过程中数据量，且提高了探测信号的有效性，提升了激光雷达的探测性能。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时间位置对应第一特征信号。其中，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号等中的至少一个。
示例性地，第一时间位置可以为第一特征信号所在的时间位置。其中，第一特征信号可以表明特殊波形特征。
一种可能的场景中，特征信号表征该探测区域中可能存在目标对象。因此在可以在该特征信号所在的时间位置内再次进行探测，从而可以对该预测的目标对象进行探测，提高探测信号的有效性。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，第一特征信号可以是根据第一回波信号得到的。例如，根据第一回波信号可以得到电信号，电信号中可以包含至少一个特征信号。第一特征信号可以属于该至少一个特征信号。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，特征信号可以具有特殊波形特征的信号。由于具有特殊的波形特征信号可能是目标对象反射的信号，从而得到了预测的目标对象返回的信号所在的时间位置，因此可以得到时间窗，在时间窗内对该预测的目标对象进行再次探测。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时长与激光信号的持续时长有关。示例性地，第一时长可以指示时间窗的宽度，例如激光信号的持续时长为10毫秒(ms)，则第一时长可以设置为10ms，或者可以稍大于10ms或者稍小于10ms。若第一时间位置内存在目标对象返回的回波信号，由于时间窗的宽度与激光信号的持续时长相关，从而可以接收到该目标对象持续返回的回波信号(对应持续的激光信号)，提高探测结果的准确性。
在一种设计中，控制装置可以控制激光发射单元发射的激光信号的持续时长，控制装置还可以控制激光探测单元接收回波信号的时间窗的宽度。其中，激光信号的持续时长与时间窗的宽度相关联(例如相等)。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，包括：
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
上述说明了一种可能的控制信号的设计。第一控制信号可以用于指示多个时间位置，相应的，激光探测单元可以被控制在多个时间窗(每个时间窗内包含多个时间位置中的至少一个时间位置)内进行探测，提高探测效率。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置，所述方法还包括：
控制所述激光发射单元发射第三激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
上述说明了又一种可能的控制信号的设计。第一控制信号可以用于指示多个时间位置。探测装置可以进行多次激光发射和多次探测，每一次激光发射和探测过程中，探测单元被控制接收一个或多个时间窗内的回波信号。通过多次探测，可以减少每次探测后需要处理的数据量，适应数据处理模块对数据处理的速度。进一步地，通过多次探测，每一次探测过程中，探测器接收回波信号的时间较短，可以提高探测精确性，避免回波信号之间互相干扰，提高探测结果的准确性。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述方法还包括：
根据所述第一回波信号，输出第五控制信号，所述第五控制信号用于指示第五时间位置；
控制所述激光发射单元发射第四激光信号；
根据所述第二控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第四时间窗内接收第四回波信号，所述第四回波信号包含对应于所述第四激光信号的反射信号，所述第四回波信号用于目标探测，所述第四时间窗与所述第五时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第四时间窗包含所述第五时间位置。
上述说明了又一种可能的控制信号的设计。通过第一回波信号，可以输出多个控制信号。多个控制信号可以指示了多个时间位置。探测装置根据多个控制信号，可以进行多次激光发射和多次探测，每一次激光发射和探测过程中，探测单元被控制接收一个或多个时间窗内(每个时间窗内包含多个时间位置中的至少一个时间位置)的回波信号。通过多次探测，可以减少每次探测后需要处理的数据量，适应数据处理模块对数据处理的速度。进一步地，通过多次探测，每一次探测过程中，探测器接收回波信号的时间较短，可以提高 探测精确性，避免回波信号之间互相干扰，提高探测结果的准确性。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元包括至少一个探测元件。其中，探测元件可以基于光信号得到电信号。可选的，所述探测元件可以是半导体雪崩光电二极管(avalanche photo detector，APD)、单光子雪崩二极管(single-photon avalanche diode，SPAD)、或者电子倍增电荷耦合器件(electron multiplying charge-coupled device，EMCCD)等中的一个。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元包括至少一个单光子探测元件。其中，单光子探测元件具有探测单个光子的灵敏度，对微弱的光信号(例如单个光子)也可以产生响应，得到电信号。
示例性地，单光子探测元件可以为APD、或SPAD等。
在激光探测单元的探测元件比较灵敏时，来自探测区域的十分微弱的光信号也会使得探测元件达到饱和。而达到饱和的探测元件需要一定的时间来恢复状态，在恢复时间(或称为死亡时间(deadtime))内无法进行探测，若目标对象的光信号在恢复时间内达到，可能无法被探测元件检测到，导致真正的回波信号被前面的干扰信号淹没，造成信号漏检。而本申请实施例中，在第二段探测过程中，探测元件在时间窗内进行检测，可以避免或者减少出现目标对象的回波信号被前面的干扰信号淹没的情况，提高了探测结果的正确性。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元可以为阵列形式。例如，1×2阵列、2×3阵列、3×3阵列等规格的阵列，本申请对此不做限定。
其中，阵列形式的激光探测单元可以增大探测的视野。一些可能的设计中，阵列形式的激光探测单元可以获取探测区域的像素信息。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
所述第一特征信号包括将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述激光探测单元中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
上述说明了得到第一特征信号的过程。由于后续探测过程中会对特征信号所在的时间位置进行探测，而不存在特征信号的位置则不进行探测，为了避免信号漏检，可以将输出信号进行叠加，从而使得特征信号更明显。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述方法应用于激光探测装置；
所述第一时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应从所述激光发射单元到第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述激光探测装置的最外层光学元件。
上述说明了一种时间窗的设计。由于激光探测装置内通常设置有一个或者多个光学元件，例如透镜、匀光片、视窗等。而光学元件会对光信号进行反射。在探测元件比较灵敏的情况下，激光探测装置本身的光学元件返回的光信号，可能导致探测元件出现饱和，从而淹没回波信号。在通过上述设计，在最外层光学元件返回的光信号到达后在进行探测，可以避免真实回波信号被淹没，减小数据量且避免了信号漏检，提高了信号有效性和探测结果的准确性。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，包括：
通过所述激光探测单元，根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
上述说明了一种确定时间位置的设计。激光探测单元可以接收第一回波信号，根据第一回波信号得到电信号(即待检测信号)。信号检测模块可以对待检测信号进行检测，从而确定第一时间位置。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述方法还包括：
根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。其中，探测结果可以为点云信息，或者对所述探测结果进行处理可以得到点云信息。前述的点云信息可以包含探测区域的距离、速度、反射率、反射强度、图像、像素等等信息中的一个或多个。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述控制激光发射单元发射第一激光信号，包括；
输出第二控制信号；
根据所述第二控制信号，控制所述激光发射单元发射所述第一激光信号。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号，包括；
输出第三控制信号；
根据所述第三控制信号，控制所述激光发射单元发射所述第二激光信号。
结合第一方面，在第一方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述控制激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号，包括；
输出第四控制信号；
根据所述第四控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元发射所述第二激光信号。
第二方面，本申请实施例公开了一种探测装置，所述探测装置包括激光发射单元、激光探测单元以及至少一个处理单元，其中：
所述至少一个处理单元，用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第一激光信号；以及用于控制激光探测单元接收包含对应于所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
所述至少一个处理单元，还用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号；
所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
其中，所述至少一个处理单元包括至少一个集成电路，和/或至少一个数字信号处理 器。
在第二方面的一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号等中的至少一个。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理单元，还用于：
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；
所述至少一个处理单元，还用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第三激光信号；
所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
所述第一特征信号包含将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述激光探测单元中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述探测装置至少一个光学元件；
其中，所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射单元到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述探测装置的最外层光学元件。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
所述至少一个处理单元，用于：
根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
在第二方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。
第三方面，本申请实施例公开了一种处理装置，所述处理装置包括至少一个处理器和 通信接口，所述通信接口用于为所述处理器提供指令或数据输入和/或输出，所述至少一个处理器用于实现第一方面或者第一方面的任意一种可能的实施方式所描述的方法。
在第三方面的一种可能的实施方式中，所述至少一个处理器用于执行以下操作：
控制激光发射器发射第一激光信号；
控制探测器接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
控制所述激光发射器发射第二激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时间位置对应第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号等中的至少一个。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
控制所述激光发射器发射第三激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置包含所述探测器，所述探测器包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置还包含所述探测器，所述探测器包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
所述第一特征信号包括将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述探测器中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置还包含所述激光发射器和至少一个光学元件；
所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述 第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射器到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述处理装置的最外层光学元件。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置还包含所述探测器，所述探测器还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
在第三方面的又一种可能的实施方式中，所述至少一个处理器，还用于根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。
需要说明的是，上述第三方面中所述的至少一个处理器，可以是专门用于执行这些方法的处理器(便于区别称为专用处理器)，也可以是通过调用计算机程序来执行这些方法的处理器，例如通用处理器。可选的，至少一个处理器还可以既包括专用处理器也包括通用处理器。
可选的，上述计算机程序可以存储在存储器中，该存储器可以为非瞬时性(non-transitory)存储器，例如只读存储器(Read Only Memory，ROM)。在探测装置包括存储器时，存储器可以与处理器集成在同一块芯片上，也可以分别设置在不同的芯片上，本申请实施例对存储器的类型以及存储器与处理器的设置方式不做限定。
在一种可能的实施方式中，上述至少一个存储器位于上述探测装置之外。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，上述至少一个存储器位于上述探测装置之内。
在又一种可能的实施方式之中，上述至少一个存储器的部分存储器位于上述探测装置之内，另一部分存储器位于上述探测装置之外。
第四方面，本申请实施例公开了一种终端，所述终端用于实现第一方面或者第一方面的任一种可能的实施方式所描述的方法。
可选的，上述终端可以为融合探测装置、车辆、无人机或者机器人等终端。
第五方面，本申请实施例公开了一种终端，所述终端包含第二方面任一项所述的探测装置，和/或，所述终端包含第三方面任一项所描述的处理装置。
可选的，上述终端可以为融合探测装置、车辆、无人机或者机器人等终端。
第六方面，本申请实施例还提供一种芯片系统，所述芯片系统包括至少一个处理器和通信接口，所述通信接口用于发送和/或接收数据，和/或，所述通信接口用于为所述至少一个处理器提供输入/输出。
其中，所述至少一个处理器用于调用计算机程序，使得所述芯片系统实现第一方面或者第一方面的任意一种可能的实施方式所描述的方法。
第七方面，本申请实施例公开了一种计算机可读存储介质，所述计算机可读存储介质中存储有计算机程序，当所述计算机程序在一个或多个处理器上运行时，实现第一方面或第一方面的任意一种可能的实施方式所描述的方法。
第八方面，本申请实施例公开了一种计算机程序产品，当所述计算机程序产品在一个 或多个处理器上运行时，实现第一方面或第一方面的任意一种可能的实施方式所描述的方法。
需要说明的是，本申请第二至第八方面的部分可能实施方式与第一方面的部分实施方式构思一致，其所带来的有益效果可以参考第一方面的有益效果，因此不再赘述。
附图说明
以下对本申请实施例用到的附图进行介绍。
图1所示为本申请实施例提供的一种时间位置的示意图；
图2所示为本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置的结构示意图；
图3所示为本申请实施例提供的一种门控电路的示意图；
图4所示为本申请实施例提供的又一种探测装置的结构示意图；
图5所示为本申请实施例提供的一种激光雷达的结构示意图；
图6所示为本申请实施例提供的一种探测控制方法的流程示意图；
图7所示为本申请实施例提供的一种统计直方图的示意图；
图8所示为本申请实施例提供的一种激光探测单元的输出示意图；
图9所示为本申请实施例提供的又一种激光探测单元的输出示意图；
图10所示为本申请实施例提供的一种叠加信号的示意图；
图11所示为本申请实施例提供的一种时间窗的示意图；
图12所示为本申请实施例提供的一种门控示意图；
图13所示为本申请实施例提供的又一种门控示意图；
图14所示为本申请实施例提供的又一种门控示意图；
图15所示为本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置的结构示意图；
图16所示为本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置工作时的时序示意图；
图17所示为本申请实施例提供的又一种信号的时序图；
图18所示为本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置的结构示意图；
图19所示为本申请实施例提供的一种处理装置的结构示意图。
具体实施方式
下面将结合本申请实施例中的附图，对本申请实施例进行描述。
为了便于理解，下面先对本申请实施例中的部分用语进行解释说明。
1.探测装置
本申请实施例中提到探测装置可以是激光雷达(或者激光雷达内部的器件，例如芯片、集成电路、软件模块等)，也可以是其它的光探测装置(或者光探测装置内部的器件，例如芯片、集成电路、软件模块等)，例如融合探测装置。其工作原理是通过发射光信号，并接收来自目标对象返回的光信号来探测相应的目标对象。
本申请实施例中的探测装置能够应用于在智能驾驶、智能运输、智能制造、环境监测、测绘、无人机等各种领域，能够完成目标探测、距离测量、速度测量、目标跟踪、成像识 别等中的一项或者多项功能。
本申请实施例中的探测装置可以应用于车载探测装置(例如车载雷达)、路侧探测装置(例如路口雷达)等，但是也可以应用于其它的探测装置，例如安装在无人机、机器人、轨道车、自行车、信号灯、测速装置或基站等等装置上面的探测装置。本申请对探测装置安装的位置不做限定。
2.回波信号
本申请实施例中，将探测装置的探测器接收的光信号称为回波信号。回波信号中，可以包括探测装置发射的信号的反射信号，还可以包含环境光源的相关光信号(例如可以是直接来自环境光源的光信号，也可以是反射环境光源的光信号得到的反射信号)。环境光源可以包括自然光源(例如太阳)、或人造光源(例如路灯、车灯等等)等中的一项或多项。
3.飞行时间
飞行时间(TimeofFlight，ToF)指激光发射器给目标对象发送光脉冲，然后探测器接收从目标反射的光所需的时间。通过光速和ToF，可得到目标对象与探测装置之间的距离。ToF测量技术可以包括单激光脉冲技术、多激光脉冲技术等。其中，单激光脉冲技术中，测量的飞行时间为单个脉冲返回的时间，对信噪比(signal noise ratio，SNR，或称为S/N)要求较高。多激光脉冲技术中，每次测量多个脉冲返回的时间，通过直方图数据来获得探测数据。多激光脉冲技术在不同的SNR下都能获得较好的探测结果，若提高SNR还可以实现远距离探测。
4.统计直方图
由于探测装置发射的激光信号覆盖到了整个视场区域(即该探测装置的探测区域)，而激光信号在视场区域的目标对象上产生漫反射，导致从视场区域中返回的激光信号的能量降低。与此同时，环境光(例如太阳、路灯、其他探测装置的激光信号)作为噪声，会干扰探测器对于信号的检测。在这种情况下，由于探测器接收的信号强度较弱，可能不足以将接收的激光信号与发射的激光信号相对应，进而导致计算飞行信号时会存在很大的误差。因此，探测过程中需要有高灵敏度的光探测器来检测微弱的光信号。
而单光子探测元件(或称单光子探测器)具有探测单个光子的灵敏度，可以用来检测微弱的光信号。进一步的，通过时间相关单光子技术(Time-Correlated Single-Photon Counting，TCSPC)可以实现皮秒级的时间精度。具体的，从视场区域返回的光信号中，第一个被单光子探测元件捕获的光子即可触发单光子探测元件，产生电信号。而时间数字转换器(Time-to-Digital Converter,TDC)可以转换这个电信号相对于发射时间的延时。
但是，单光子探测元件捕获一段发射的激光信号中的哪一个瞬间到达的光子具有一定的随机性。因此，探测装置可以重复很多次发射和探测相同的激光信号，即可获得每次探测的电信号相对于发射信号的延时的统计分布，得到统计直方图。这个统计直方图即恢复了发射信号的能量随着时间的变化，进而得到了脉冲来回的飞行时间。
通常来说，统计直方图的纵坐标为计数个数(numberofcounts)，横坐标为时间(time，或者timebin，也成为时间窗格、或时间线等)。
5.时间位置
本申请中所提到的时间位置是指信号在时域上的相对位置。可选的，时间位置可以通 过时刻、周期、偏移、时长、定时器(timer)、或时间差等中的至少一个来指示。
由于飞行时间对应目标对象到探测装置之间的距离。因此，当探测装置向目标对象发射多段激光信号时，来自目标对象的回波信号会固定的落到某一时间位置。
示例性地，请参见图1，图1是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的时间位置的示意图。激光发射器101用于发射光信号，探测器102用于接收光信号。请参见图1的(a)部分，激光发射器101在t0时刻可以发射光信号。请参见图1的(b)部分，目标对象103可以反射激光信号，反射的信号在t1时刻到达探测器102，如区域105所示。类似的，请参见图1的(c)部分，目标对象104可以反射激光信号，反射的信号在t2时刻到达探测器102，如区域106所示。可以看出，由于目标对象103和目标对象104与探测装置之间的距离不同，因此激光信号的飞行时间不同，从而使得目标对象103和目标对象104返回的激光信号所对应的时间位置也不同。
请参见图1的(d)部分，应理解，若下一次探测中，探测装置在t’0时刻(相对t0)发射激光信号，则在t’1时刻(相对t01)的位置可以接收来自目标对象103返回的光信号，如区域107所示。其中，t’0和t’1之间的时间差与t0和t1之间的时间差相关，例如，在探测装置和目标物体103的相对位置不变的情况下相等。
6.单元
本申请中使用的“单元”、“模块”、“部件”“系统”等可以用于表示计算机相关的实体、硬件、固件、硬件和软件的组合、软件、或执行中的软件。例如，单元可以包括但不限于硬件(例如激光发射器实体、探测器件实体、处理器实体、电路实体、或芯片实体等中的一项或者多项)、软件(例如可在处理器上运行的进程、可执行文件、计算机指令、或计算机程序等中的一项或者多项)、或硬件和软件的组合(例如存储有计算机程序的存储介质、或在执行计算机指令的处理器等)等。示例性的，激光发射单元可以包含激光发射器实体，可选的还可以包含准直装置、激光发射程序、激光发射指令、芯片或者执行激光发射程序的处理器、或存储器等中的一项或者多项。
示例性的，激光探测单元可以包含激光探测器，可选的还可以包含探测程序、探测指令、芯片、或存储器等中的一项或者多项。
上述相关概念的说明可以应用于下文的实施例中。
随着信息技术以及计算机视觉的发展，探测技术取得了飞速发展，各式各样的探测装置给人们的生活、出行带来了极大的便利。例如，高级驾驶辅助系统(Advanced Driving Assistance System，ADAS)在智能汽车中发挥着十分重要的作用，它是利用安装在车上的探测装置，在车辆行驶过程中探测周围的环境，收集数据，进行静止、移动物体的辨识等，并结合导航仪地图数据，进行系统的运算与分析，从而预先让驾驶者察觉到可能发生的危险，有效增加汽车驾驶的舒适性和安全性。
探测装置可以看作是电子设备感知环境的“眼睛”，包括摄像头等视觉系传感器和毫米波雷达、激光雷达和超声波雷达等雷达系传感器。其中，激光雷达具有分辨率较高、探测性能好、隐蔽性强的优点，是车辆感知中重要的传感器之一。
请参见图2，图2是本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置20的结构示意图。
如图2所示的探测装置20包括激光发射器201、激光探测器202、控制器203。可选的，还可以包括处理器204和/或存储器205。进一步的，激光发射器201、激光探测器202和控制器203等可以通过总线206或者其他可能的连接方式进行连接。可选的，探测装置20还可以包括通信接口(图中未示出)，该通信接口用于为各个器件提供输入和/或输出，和/或，该通信接口用于接收和/或发送数据，该通信接口可以为无线通信接口或者有线通信接口。其中各个单元的详细描述如下：
(1)激光发射器201用于产生激光信号。例如，激光发射器201可以包含激光二极管(laser diode，LD)、垂直腔面发射激光器(Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser，VCSEL)、分布式反馈激光二极管(distributed feedback LD，DFB-LD)、分布式布拉格反射激光二极管(distributed bragg reflection LD，DBR-LD)、光栅耦合采样反射激光二极管(Grating coupled sampling reflection LD，GCSR-LD)、或者微光机电系统激光二极管(micro opto electro mechanical system LD，MOEMS-LD)等发光器件。
(2)激光探测器202用于接收光信号，进一步基于光信号得到电信号。可选的，激光探测器202可以包括半导体雪崩光电二极管(avalanche photo detector，APD)、单光子雪崩二极管(single-photon avalanche diode，SPAD)、或者电子倍增电荷耦合器件(electron multiplying charge-coupled device，EMCCD)等探测元件中的至少一个。可选的，探测器中的探测元件可以是阵列排布的，例如可以为1×2阵列、2×3阵列、3×3阵列等规格的阵列，本申请对此不做限定。
本申请实施例中的激光探测器202可以被控制开启或者关闭。一种设计中，探测器可以通过门控电路来控制。示例性地，请参见图3，图3是本申请实施例提供的一种门控电路的示意图。如图3所示的区域301为门控电路的电压输入。可选的，当电压输入为高电平时，区域302所示的探测元件处于开启状态(即工作状态)，可以接收光信号并转换为电信号，当电压输入为低电平时，探测元件处于关闭状态。探测元件工作时，转换得到的电信号可以通过如区域303所示的读出电路进行读出。可选的，读出电路可以包含反相器，或称为比较器，可以用于读出电信号。可选的，门控电路可以包含如区域304所示的场效应管，用于调节门控电路。可以看出，通过图3所示的门控电路可以调整探测元件的供电电压，从而控制探测器是处于开启状态还是处于关闭状态。
一种可能的设计中，激光探测器202可以有不同的工作模式。示例性地，探测器可以有至少两种工作模式：自由运行模式和门控模式。在自由运行模式时，激光探测器202可以一直处于开启状态、或者一直处于关闭状态或者自适应的调节开启或者关闭状态。在门控模式时，激光探测器202可以被其他装置或者模块控制其开启或者关闭状态。
(3)控制器203用于控制探测装置20中的部分或者全部部件。例如，控制器203用于控制探测装置20中的激光发射器201和激光探测器202。
应理解，控制器203可以包含多个子控制单元。例如，控制器203可以包含2个子控制单元，其中一个子控制单元用于控制激光发射器，另一个子控制单元用于控制探测器。本领域技术人员可知，该多个子控制单元可以在硬件上相互独立，也可以是集成结构，或者是通过软件实现的多个逻辑功能，本申请不进行具体限定。
在一种设计中，控制器203可以产生控制信号并发送给探测装置20中的一个或者多 个器件，从而控制该一个或者多个器件。例如，该控制器203可以向激光发射器201发送发射控制信号，激光发射器201响应于发射控制信号，从而向外发射激光信号。再如，控制器203还可以向激光探测器202发送探测控制信号，用于控制激光探测器202接收光信号，并将光信号转换为电信号。
可替换的，该控制器203还可以与外部控制器(或者外部处理器)连接。例如，以探测装置20为车载雷达为例，探测装置20中的控制器203可以与车内的多域控制器(Multi Domain Controller，MDC)或者其他可能的车内控制器连接，车内控制器可以向控制器203发送指令，该控制器203根据指令产生控制信号。
可选的，控制器203可以包含硬件、软件或者硬件与软件的组合，例如控制器203可以通过芯片、电路(或集成电路)、处理器、计算机程序、计算机指令等中的一项或者多项来实现。
(4)处理器204用于对探测器输出的数据(例如电信号)进行处理，得到探测数据。例如探测数据可以为TOF值、点云信息、或统计直方图等中的一项或者多项。
进一步的，处理器204还可以根据探测器输出的数据得到探测区域的探测结果。
在一种可能的设计中，处理器204可以包括探测装置中的信号检测模块(例如峰值检测器等中的一项或者多项)、时间到数字转换器(Time to digital converter，TDC)、滤波器、或飞行时间(Time of flight，ToF)提取(extraction)模块等中的一项或者多项。其中，滤波器又可以包括有限冲击响应滤波器(Finite Impulse Response，FIR)、无限冲击响应滤波器(Infinite Impulse Response)等中的一项或者多项。
应理解，前述的一个或者多个模块，可以通过硬件(例如处理器、芯片、或电路等)、软件(例如计算机程序、计算机指令、或可执行文件等)、或硬件和软件的组合等方式来实现。例如，信号检测模块可以包含硬件(例如处理器、芯片、或电路等)、软件(例如计算机程序、计算机指令、或可执行文件等)、或硬件或者软件的组合等。再如，TDC通常是用于计算飞行时间，一般为电路，但是也可以通过软件、或软件与硬件组合的方式来实现。其余不在一一赘述。
可选的，当上述模块的形态为硬件时，多个硬件之间可以是独立的，或者，集成的。例如，在信号检测模块为电路实体、TDC为电路实体的情况下，信号检测模块和TDC可以是可以在硬件上相互独立，也可以是集成结构。
或者可选的，当模块为软件时，执行软件以实现功能的硬件装置是一个或者多个。例如，信号检测模块和TDC可以通过计算机指令来实现。进一步的，用于实现信号检测模块的计算机指令，和，用于实现TDC的计算机指令，都可以由处理器204调用，以实现对应的功能。
需要说明的是，在探测装置20包含控制器203和处理器204的情况下，该处理器204与控制器203可以是集成的，或者，独立的。
(5)存储器205用于提供存储空间。例如，存储器205可以用于存储探测器输出的数据(例如电信号)、探测数据、计算机程序等等中的一项或者多项。
可选的，存储器205以是随机存储记忆体(random access memory，RAM)、只读存储器(read-only memory，ROM)、可擦除可编程只读存储器(erasable programmable read  only memory，EPROM)、或便携式只读存储器(compact disc read-only memory，CD-ROM)等中的一种或者多种的组合。
(6)可选的，探测装置20还可以包括通信接口(图中未示出)，该通信接口用于为各个器件提供输入和/或输出，和/或，该通信接口用于接收和/或发送数据。
例如，通信接口可以将探测器得到的电信号输出给处理器。
再如，通信接口可以将探测器输出的数据(例如电信号)、或处理器得到的探测数据等输出给外部装置。
应理解，上述探测装置20中还可以包含准直装置、透镜、视窗、或分光装置等光学元件中的一项或者多项。
上述探测装置20进行探测时，控制器203可以控制激光发射器201发射激光信号到探测区域。探测区域反射光信号，反射的光信号被激光探测器202接收。由于激光探测器202通常包含多个探测元件。因此探测(激光单元发射一段激光信号、接收该激光信号的反射信号)过程中，激光探测器202的多个探测元件会输出多个通道的探测数据。而随着对探测结果的要求越来越高，例如探测精度、分辨率等要求越来越高，对多通道、高并行的要求日益增长。相应的，探测装置需要处理的数据量也越来越大，对于芯片的计算能力、可制造性、成本都带来了极大的挑战。
有鉴于此，在本申请实施例中，对目标探测区域进行探测时包含两段探测过程。第一段探测过程中，控制器203可以控制激光发射器201发射激光信号(便于区别称为第一激光信号)到探测区域，激光探测器202接收回波信号(便于区别称为第一回波信号)，第一回波信号包含对应第一激光信号的反射信号。该第一回波信号可以用于确定一个或者多个时间位置(便于描述称为第一时间位置)，其中，第一时间位置对应第一特征信号。在第二段探测过程中，控制器203可以控制激光发射器201发射激光信号(便于区别称为第二激光信号)，控制器203可以控制激光探测器202在时间窗内接收回波信号(便于区别称为第二回波信号)，该第二回波信号包含所述第二激光信号的反射信号。其中，前述时间窗包含前述的第一时间位置。
在本申请实施例中，第一段激光探测用于确定第一时间位置，第二段激光探测用于在包含第一时间位置的时间窗内进行目标探测。一方面，第二段探测过程中第一时间窗的时长(即第一时长)通常小于原本的探测时间(例如第一次探测过程中的探测时间)的时长。激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收回波信号，使得接收回波信号的时间减短，进而根据回波信号得到的探测数据也减少，从而减少了需要处理的数据量。另一方面，通过时间位置和第一时长来定位第二次探测过程接收回波信号的时间位置，则不属于第一时间窗的时间位置可以不接收回波信号，从而可以避免无关信号影响探测效果，提高了接收的回波信号的有效性，提升了激光雷达的探测性能。
在一种可能的设计中，激光探测单元的探测元件比较灵敏，来自探测区域的十分微弱的光信号也会使得探测元件达到饱和。而达到饱和的探测元件需要一定的时间来恢复状态，在恢复时间(或称为死亡时间(deadtime))内无法进行探测，若探测区域中目标对象返回的光信号在恢复时间内达到，可能无法被探测元件检测到。从而导致真正的回波信号被前面的干扰信号淹没，造成信号漏检。而本申请实施例中，在第二段探测过程中，探测元件 在时间窗内进行检测，可以避免或者减少出现目标对象的回波信号被前面的干扰信号淹没的情况，提高探测结果的准确性。
应理解，图2所示的多个模块的划分仅是一种根据功能进行的逻辑划分，不作为探测装置具体的结构的限定。在具体实现中，部分模块可能被细分为更多细小的功能模块，部分功能模块也可能组合成一个功能模块。
以下以探测器为阵列探测器、控制器为门控偏压控制器、处理器为信号检测模块和TDC为例，对一种可能的探测装置的实现形式进行说明。
请参见图4，图4是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的探测装置40的示意图。该探测装置40包含阵列探测器(例如SPAD阵列(SPADarray))、门控偏压控制器(gatebiascontrol)、信号检测模块、TDC、存储器(可选)、滤波器(可选)和提取模块(可选)。
其中，门控偏压控制器可以集成在阵列探测器中。门控偏压控制器可以看作图2所示的控制器203或者控制器203中的一个子控制单元。信号检测模块用于对回波信号进行特征检测(例如检测一段信号中的峰值、秒冲、上升沿)、或配合门控偏压控制器完成控制等中的一项或者多项。信号检测模块可以看作控制器203或控制器203中的一个子控制单元，或者看作处理器204或处理器204中的一个子单元。直方图建立模块用于检测信号、处理信号，得到探测数据(例如统计直方图)。存储器用于提供存储空间。数字处理器(DSP)用于进行信号的进一步处理，例如滤波、ToF提取等。接口用于提供输入和/或输出，和/或，用于接收和/或发送数据。
在探测过程中，门控偏压控制器可以控制激光发射器发射第一激光信号。门控偏压控制器可以控制阵列探测器接收第一回波信号，该第一回波信号中包含对应于第一激光信号的反射信号。
该第一回波信号经过探测元件和信号检测模块，可以得到第一时间位置。信号检测模块可以通过控制信号向门控偏压控制器输出第一时间位置或者时间位置的指示信息。相应的，门控偏压控制器控制发射单元发射第二激光信号，控制阵列探测器在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，第二回波信号中包含对应于第二激光信号的反射信号。
进一步的，该第二回波信号经过探测元件可以输出电信号数据，该电信号数据用于得到探测区域的探测结果。
可选的，该第二回波信号经过TDC，可以得到探测数据，例如区域401所示的统计直方图。可选的，该探测数据可以存储在存储器中。或者可选的，该探测数据可以进一步输出给数据信号处理器(DSP)等进行滤波、或TOF提取等操作，得到探测结果(如点云数据、图像、或深度数据等中的一项)。
可选的，前述的电信号数据、探测数据、或探测结果等中的一项或者多项可以通过通信接口输出给外部装置进行处理。例如，通过如图4所示的移动行业处理器接口(Mobile Industry Processor Interface，MIPI)输出给外部装置进行处理。
需要说明的是，图示是为了便于说明，故将完成各个功能的模块进行分别描述，并不作为对探测装置的结构的限定。图4所示的各个模块，其实现方式可以是硬件、软件、或 者硬件软件的组合。例如，信号检测模块可以是独立的硬件结构，也可以集成在控制器203、或处理器204中，或者信号检测模块还可以是软件模块，通过处理器执行以实现对应的功能，此处为了便于描述功能故在图示中作为单独的模块，并不表示对信号检测模块的实现形式的限定。
例如，应理解，图4所示的直方图建立模块用于完成直方图建立的功能，其实现方式可以包括一个或者多个软件、硬件、或者软件和硬件的组合等形式来实现。
一种可能的设计中，上述探测装置20和/或探测装置40可以为激光探测装置，如激光雷达、或融合探测雷达等。请参见图5，图5是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的激光雷达50的结构示意图。其中，激光发射器501用于发射激光信号。激光探测器502用于接收光信号，进一步将光信号转换为电信号。控制器503可以控制激光发射器501和/或激光探测器502。可选的，激光雷达50中还可以包含光学元件504、光学元件505和光学元件506，其中光学元件504通过两部分组成，可以反射光信号；光学元件505可以进行转动(或者，光学元件505也可以称为扫描元件)，以通过不同角度进行探测；光学元件506为光学视窗。激光发射器501产生的激光信号可以通过光学元件505和光学元件506，照射到探测区域中。来自测区域中的物体可以反射光信号，反射的光信号经过光学元件506、光学元件505和光学元件504，照射到探测器502上。
在本申请实施例中，进行目标探测时包含两段探测过程。第一段探测过程中，控制器503可以控制激光发射器501发射第一激光信号到探测区域，激光探测器502接收第一回波信号，第一回波信号包含对应第一激光信号的反射信号。该第一回波信号可以用于确定第一时间位置，该第一时间位置对应第一特征信号。在第二段探测过程中，控制器503可以控制激光发射器501发射第二激光信号，控制器503可以控制激光探测器502在时间窗内接收第二回波信号，该第二回波信号包含对第二激光信号的反射信号。其中，前述时间窗包含第一时间位置。
需要说明的是，图5所示的激光雷达仅仅是对探测装置的示例性的说明，具体的产品实现可以有多种方式。例如，本申请实施例可以适用于扫描型激光雷达、闪光(flash)激光雷达、或者融合探测雷达等。再如，本申请实施例机械式激光雷达、固态激光雷达、或者混合固态激光雷达等。再如，光学元件505可以包含摆镜、转镜(Polygon)、微机电系统(Micro-Electro-Mechanical System,MEMS)微振镜或者以上多种元件的组合。又如，激光发射器501和激光探测器502也可以有多种可能的形态、结构以及位置设置。图5以包含3个光学元件为例进行说明，并非旨在限定光学元件的数量和功能，具体实施过程中，激光雷达可以包含更多或者更少的光学元件。
下面对本申请实施例提供的方法进行说明。
请参见图6，图6是本申请实施例提供的一种探测控制方法的流程示意图。可选的，该探测控制方法可以应用于图2、图4或图5所示的探测装置。
如图6所示的方法至少包括如下步骤：
步骤S601：控制激光发射单元发射第一激光信号。
具体的，该步骤S601可以通过控制装置来实现。可选的，该控制装置可以包含在探测装置中，又或者可以部署在探测装置的外部。例如：控制装置可以为如图2所示的探测装置20中的控制器203和/或处理器204。再如，控制装置可以为如图2所示的控制器203中的一个模块，如芯片或集成电路。再如，控制装置可以为图4所示的门控偏置控制器、或信号检测模块(或者门控偏置控制器和信号检测模块)。再如，控制装置可以为如图5所示的控制器503或控制器503中的一个模块，如芯片或集成电路。再如，以探测装置为车载雷达为例，该控制装置可以为车辆中的控制器(例如车辆中的MDC)，用于控制车载雷达进行工作。
可选的，控制装置可以包含以下装置的一个或者多个：控制器、处理器、应用处理器(application processor，AP)、TDC、滤波器、图形处理器(graphics processing unit，GPU)、微处理器(microprocessor unit，MPU)、专用集成电路(Application Specific Integrated Circuit，ASIC)、图像信号处理器(image signal processor，ISP)、数字信号处理器(digital signal processor，DSP)、现场可编程逻辑门阵列(Field Programmable Gate Array，FPGA)、复杂可编程逻辑器件(Complex programmable logic device，CPLD)、协处理器(协助中央处理器完成相应处理和应用)、微控制单元(Microcontroller Unit，MCU)、和/或神经网络处理器(neural-network processing unit，NPU)等。激光发射单元包含激光发射器，用于发射激光信号。该激光发射单元发射激光信号的动作可以由控制装置来控制。示例性地，控制装置向激光发射单元发送控制信号，激光发射单元响应于控制信号发射激光信号。
一种可能的设计中，控制装置可以包含多个子控制单元。例如，参见图2，控制装置可以包含两个子控制单元，其中一个子控制单元(便于区别称为第一子控制单元)位于控制器203(仅为示例)，另一个子控制单元(便于区别称为第二子控制单元)部署在激光发射器201中。在一种设计中，第一子控制单元可以向第二子控制单元发送控制信号(便于描述称为第二控制信号)，第二子控制单元响应于第二控制信号，控制激光发射器201发射激光信号。
步骤S602：控制激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号。
具体的，第一回波信号中包含对应第一激光信号的反射信号。
其中，激光探测单元包含探测器，可以接收第一回波信号，可以将第一回波信号转换为电信号。进一步的，该电信号可以输出给其他装置(例如信号检测装置，如TDC等)，进行信号检测。
激光探测单元可以包括一个或者多个探测元件。其中，探测元件可以为单光子探测元件，如APD、或SPAD等。示例性地，激光探测单元而可以为阵列形式，例如，1×2阵列、2×3阵列、3×3阵列等规格的阵列，本申请对此不做限定。
应理解，若激光探测单元原本处于开启状态，则可以控制激光探测单元维持开启状态，从而接收第一回波信号。
若激光探测单元原本处于关闭状态，则可以发送控制信号，打开激光探测单元，从而接收第一回波信号。
该步骤S602可以由控制装置来实现。具体可以参见步骤S601中的控制装置。
进一步的，控制装置可以通过控制激光探测单元中的探测元件的电压，从而控制激光探测单元的状态。例如，如图3所示，控制装置向门控电路输入高电平，则可以控制探测单元中的探测元件处于开启状态，从而使得探测元件可以接收第一回波信号。类似地，控制装置向门控电路输入低电平，则可以控制探测单元中的探测元件处于关闭状态。
一种可能的设计中，控制装置可以包含多个子控制单元。例如，如图2所示，控制装置可以包含两个子控制单元，其中一个子控制单元(便于区别称为第三子控制单元)位于控制器203(仅为示例)，另一个子控制单元(便于区别称为第四子控制单元)部署在激光探测器202中。第三子控制单元可以向第四子控制单元发送控制信号(便于描述称为第四控制信号)，第四子控制单元响应于第四控制信号，控制激光探测器202接收第一回波信号。
步骤S603：根据第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号。
其中，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置。其中，第一时间位置可以为检出的存在疑似探测对象的时间位置。可选的，第一时间位置可以是一个时间点，也可以是一个时间段(包含开始时间和结束时间、或者包含开始时间和持续时长、或者包含持续时长和结束时间等)，或者还可以是多个时间点或多个时间段。
可选的，第一时间位置可以对应于第一特征信号。其中，第一特征信号属于特征信号中的一个或者多个，可以表明特殊波形特征。
可选的，第一特征信号可以包含脉冲信号、或者峰值信号、或者上升沿信号(或称为前沿信号)、或者波形质心信号等中的至少一个。其中，脉冲信号是形如脉搏信号的短暂起伏的信号；峰值信号为一段时间内信号值的最高值对应的信号；上升沿信号为一段时间内信号值持续增加的一段信号；波形质心信号为一个波形信息的质心位置对应的信号。
一种可能的场景中，特征信号可能对应了探测区域中的目标对象。因此在可以在该特征信号所在的时间位置内再次进行探测，从而可以对该预测的目标对象进行探测，提高探测信号的有效性。示例性的，如图1所示，探测区域中的目标对象103和目标对象104对发射激光信号进行反射，在回波信号中形成了如区域105和区域106所示两个脉冲信号。在第二段探测过程中，可以分别对两个脉冲信号对应的时间位置进行探测，例如图1的(d)部分所示，对区域105所示的脉冲信号对应的时间位置进行探测，从而可以来自目标对象103的反射信号。由于通过时间窗进行探测，避免了时间窗以外的时间位置上的信号的干扰，提高了信号的有效性，从而提升了激光雷达的探测性能。
当然，特征信号所对应的目标对象是预测的，在实际上，可能存在该目标对象，也可能不存在目标对象。例如，以车载雷达为例，车辆A的激光探测器接收物体对车辆A的车载雷达的激光信号的反射信号，从而形成脉冲信号P1，探测装置根据该脉冲信号P1的时间位置可以预测对应的距离处可能存在目标对象T1。这时，探测装置对脉冲信号P1所在的时间位置进行再次探测，可以减小其他干扰信号对目标对象T1的反射信号造成干扰的可能性，减少需要处理的数据量，提升探测装置的探测性能。
再如，车辆A的激光探测器可能会接收到环境光源的相关信号(例如物体对车辆B的激光信号的反射信号)，从而形成脉冲信号P2，探测装置根据该脉冲信号P2的时间位置可以预测对应的距离处可能存在目标对象T2，但是实际上该目标对象T2是不存在的， 即该脉冲信号P2为“虚警信号”。这时，探测装置对虚警信号所在的时间位置进行再次探测，可以减小虚警信号对探测结果的干扰，提升探测装置的探测性能。
一种可能的设计中，该第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的。具体地，激光探测单元可以接收第一回波信号，进而输出电信号。而输出的电信号中可能包含多个特征信号，或者对输出的电信号进行处理(例如建立统计直方图)可以得到多个特征信号。请参见图7，图7是本申请实施例中提供的一种可能的统计直方图的示意图，如图7所示的统计直方图为对激光探测单元输出的电信号进行处理的。其中，纵坐标为计数个数，横坐标为时间。区域701包含脉冲信号。由于脉冲信号属于特征信号，因此根据该统计直方图，可以根据该脉冲信号的时间位置，t1至t2，确定第一时间位置。
该步骤S603可以由控制装置来实现。具体可以参见步骤S601中的控制装置。
一种可能的设计中，控制装置中包括信号检测模块。控制装置可以通过信号检测模块对电信号进行检测，从而得到第一时间位置。示例性地，激光探测单元根据第一回波信号转换的得到电信号。该电信号可以输出给(可以直接输出或者经过TDC、或滤波器等处理后输出)信号检测模块，信号检测模块对该电信号进行检测，得到第一时间位置。
又一种可能的设计中，步骤S602由探测装置中的处理模块来完成。例如，以图4所示的探测装置40为例，阵列探测器接收第一回波信号，将第一回波信号转化得到电信号(便于描述称为待检测信号)，该待检测信号可以输出给信号检测模块(或者先将待检测信号输出给TDC，由TDC进行时间到数字转换处理，处理后的待检测信号再输出给信号检测模块)。信号检测模块对待检测信号进行检测，得到第一特征信号对应的第一时间位置。信号检测模块输出第一控制信号，该第一控制信号包含第一时间位置或者第一时间位置的指示信息。可选的，门控偏压控制器可以接收第一控制信号，根据第一控制信号控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
可选的，若探测单元为阵列探测单元，其接收第一回波信号所得到的电信号可以为多个像素的输出信号。示例性地，激光探测单元包括N个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件可以输出一个像素的输出信号，则该激光探测单元可以输出N个像素的电信号。或者示例性地，激光探测单元包括M个探测元件，其中，两个探测元件可以合并输出一个像素的输出信号，则该激光探测单元可以输出M/2个像素的电信号。本申请对于像素的合并方式并不具体限定。
进一步可选的，第一特征信号为将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的。其中，相邻像素对应激光探测单元中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。例如，请参见图8，图8是本申请实施例提供的一种激光探测单元的输出示意图。如图8所示，激光探测单元801的输出如区域802所示，其中一个小方格为一个像素。一个像素的输出对应激光探测单元801中的一个探测元件。激光探测单元接收第一回波信号时，部分探测元件接收到光信号，可以产生电信号输出(如区域802中黑色的方格为有电信号输出的像素)，部分探测元件可能未接收到光信号，所以未产生电信号输出(如区域802中白色的方格为没有电信号输出的像素)。在对激光探测单元输出的信号进行处理时，为了尽可能地检出特征信号，可以将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加，得到叠加后的信号，叠加后的信号中包含该特征信号。
对相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理时，至少可以有以下2种可能的设计：
设计1：任意相邻的P个像素的输出信号可以被叠加。例如，将横向的像素的输出信号进行叠加，或者将纵向的像素的输出信号进行叠加。再如，如图8所示，将多个像素中，3×3区域内的像素块的输出信号进行叠加。
设计2：将有信号的相邻探测元件的输出叠加。进一步的，在有信号的探测中，也可以划分叠加区域，例如将任意多个有信号的相邻探测元件的信号进行叠加，或者按照数量划分得到多个区域，然后将每个区域内的探测元件的信号，或者还可以通过其他方式将有信号的像素进行划分。以下例举两种可能的情况：
情况1：将任意多个有信号的相邻探测元件的信号进行叠加的情况。请参见图9，图9是本申请实施例提供的又一种激光探测单元的输出示意图。参见图9的(a)部分，多个像素中，存在电信号输出的像素如区域901和区域902所示。在进行叠加时，区域901为4个相邻的像素，区域902内为5个相邻的像素，因此可以将区域901内的4个像素的输出信号进行叠加，以及将区域902内的5个像素的输出信号进行叠加。
在这种情况下，若另一区域内还存在有信号的像素，且与区域901和区域902中的任一像素均不相邻，则作为第三区域进行像素叠加。请参见图9的(b)部分，区域903中存在有信号的像素，由于与区域901和区域902中的任一像素均不相邻，则将区域803内的2个像素的输出信号进行叠加。情况2：将有信号的相邻探测元件按照数量划分得到多个子区域。例如，请参见图9的(c)部分，可以将区域904中有信号的像素按照数量划分得到多个子区域。例如，按照每个区域内4-5个信号为例，区域904为一个子区域，区域905为一个子区域，剩下的有信号的像素为一个子区域。进行叠加时，区域904内的4个像素的输出信号可以进行叠加，区域905内的4个像素的输出信号可以进行叠加，剩下的5个像素的输出信号进行叠加。
可选的，在有信号的多个像素中进行子区域划分时，可以是通过随机划分、或按照质心划分(以使得区域中的像素尽可能集中)或按照回波信号的特征进行划分等等方式来划分，或者还可以通过强化学习等方式计算得到子区域划分方法。其中，划分得到的子区域内的像素数量可以是预先配置、预先定义，还可以是根据有信号的像素的形状、总数来确定，本申请对此不做限定。
应理解，上述两种情况可以同时存在。例如，在有信号的相邻探测元件的数量未超过(小于或者小于等于)阈值的情况下，则直接叠加，如区域901、区域902、区域903；在有信号的相邻探测元件的数量超过(大于等于或者大于)阈值的情况下，则划分为多个子区域再分别进行叠加。可选的，上述阈值可以是预先定义、预先配置的，或者可以是通过算法、或强化学习模型等计算得到的，或者可以是接收用户或者其他设备输入的。
示例性地，请参见图10，图10是本申请实施例提供的一种叠加信号的示意图。如图10所示的4个像素(像素1、像素2、像素3和像素4)分别输出的信号如区域1001所示，可以看出像素的起伏不明显，这样容易造成信号漏检。4个像素输出的信号经过叠加以后，其输出如区域1002所示，可以看出明显的脉冲信号，从而使得探测目标返回的信号更加明显，避免信号漏检。
步骤S604：控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号。
可选的，该激光发射单元用于发射激光信号。该激光发射单元发射激光信号可以由控 制装置来控制。例如，控制装置可以向激光发射单元发送控制信号(便于区别称为第三控制信号)，激光发射单元响应于所述第三控制信号发射第二激光信号。
相关描述可以参考步骤S601中的相关描述。
步骤S605：根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号。
其中，第二回波信号包含对应于第二激光信号的反射信号。第一时间窗与第一时间位置有关，第一时间窗包含第一时间位置。
示例性地，请参见图11，图11是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的时间窗的示意图。第一控制信号指示的第一时间位置为t1至t2，如图11所示的时间窗内包含了第一时间位置。结合图7以及步骤S603可知，第一时间位置为第一特征信号所在的位置。一种可能场景中，第一时间位置可能是疑似探测目标的回波信号对应的时间位置。因此在第二段探测过程中，在第一时间窗内进行探测，可以对该疑似探测目标进行探测，从而避免受到干扰。另一方面，第一时间窗以外的时间内，激光探测单元可以不接收光信号，有效减少了需处理的数据量。
可选的，第一时间窗还可以与第一时长有关。该时长用于指示时间窗的宽度，示例性地，例如第一时长为10毫秒(ms)，则时间窗的开始时间和结束时间之间的间隔为10ms。可选的，第一时长可以是预先定义的、预先配置的，还可以与第二激光信号的持续时长有关。为了便于理解，以下例举几种可能的时间窗的设计：
设计1：第一时间位置处于第一时间窗的中间位置。示例性地，以激光发射时间为0时刻、第一时长为10ms为例，若第一时间位置为15ms至19ms，则第一时间窗的开始位置为12ms至22ms。
设计2：时间位置处于第一时间窗的开始位置。示例性地，以激光发射时间为0时刻、第一时长为10ms为例，若第一时间位置为15ms至19ms，则第一时间窗的开始位置为15ms至25ms。
设计3：时间位置处于第一时间窗的第一预设位置。示例性地，以激光发射时间为0时刻、第一时长为10ms、第一预设位置为时间窗的开始时间后1ms为例，若第一时间位置为15ms至19ms，则第一时间窗的开始位置为14ms至24ms。
可选的，该步骤S605可以由控制装置来实现。具体可以参见步骤S602中对控制装置的描述。
可选的，第二回波信号用于进行目标探测。进一步的可选的，通过对第二回波信号进行处理，可以得到探测区域的探测结果，例如得到探测区域的距离信息、点云信息、反射强度信息等。
在一种可能的设计中，第一控制信号可以指示多个时间位置。可选的，激光探测单元可以被控制在多个时间窗(每个时间窗内包含多个时间位置中的至少一个时间位置)内进行探测，提高探测效率。或者可选的，探测装置可以进行多次激光发射和多次探测，每一次激光发射和探测过程中，探测单元被控制接收一个或多个时间窗内的回波信号。通过多次探测，可以减少每次探测后需要处理的数据量，适应数据处理模块对数据处理的速度。进一步地，通过多次探测，每一次探测过程中，探测器接收回波信号的时间较短，可以提 高探测精确性，避免回波信号之间互相干扰，提高探测结果的准确性。
为了便于理解，以下例举3种可能的情况：
情况1：第一控制信号可以指示多个时间位置，激光探测单元可以被控制在多个时间窗内进行探测，其中，每个时间窗包含一个或者多个时间位置。例如，请参见图12，图12是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的门控示意图。第一段探测过程中，激光探测单元可以在整个探测时间内保持开启状态，其接收第一回波信号得到的电信号如图12的(a)部分所示。根据如图12的(a)部分所示的信号，可以确定特征信号为脉冲1和脉冲2，脉冲1和脉冲2分别对应的时间位置如下：时间位置t3至t4，以及时间位置t5至t6。示例性地，第一控制信号则可以指示时间位置t3至t4，以及时间位置t5至t6。
请参见图12的(b)部分，第二段探测过程中，激光探测单元被控制在第一时间窗内和第二时间窗内保持开启状态，其余时间为关闭状态。其中，第一时间窗内包含位置t1至t2，第二时间窗内包含位置t3至t4。进一步的，第二段探测过程中接收的回波信号用于得到探测区域的探测结果。
情况2：第一控制信号可以指示两个时间位置。通过第一控制信号，控制激光探测单元进行至少两次探测，两次探测过程中的时间窗分别包含该两个时间位置。例如，请参见图13，图13是本申请实施例提供的又一种可能的门控示意图。如图13的(a)部分所示，第一次段探测过程可以参见情况1，此处不在赘述。
第二段探测过程可以包括多次探测，以下以包含第一次探测和第二次探测为例进行说明。第一次探测时，激光发射单元发射激光信号(便于区分称为第二激光信号)，激光探测单元在第一时间窗内保持开启状态，可以接收第二回波信号(第二回波信号包含第二激光信号的反射信号)。请参见图13的(b)部分，第一时间窗内包含位置t1至t2。
第二次探测时，激光发射单元发射激光信号(便于区分称为第三激光信号)，激光探测单元在第三时间窗内保持开启状态，可以接收第三回波信号(第三回波信号包含第三激光信号的反射信号)。请参见图13的(c)部分，第三时间窗内包含位置t3至t4。
进一步的，第二段探测过程中接收的第二回波信号和第三回波信号用于得到探测区域的探测结果。
情况3：第一控制信号可以指示多个时间位置。多个时间位置中，位置相近的时间位置可以包含于同一个时间窗内。请参见图14，图14是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的门控示意图。如图14的(a)部分所示，第一段探测过程可以参见情况1，此处不在赘述。
第二段探测过程可以包括多次探测，以下以包含第一次探测和第二次探测为例进行说明。第一次探测时，激光发射单元发射激光信号(便于区分称为第二激光信号)，激光探测单元在第一时间窗内保持开启状态，可以接收第二回波信号(第二回波信号包含第二激光信号的反射信号)。请参见图14的(b)部分，第一时间窗内包含位置t1至t2、以及时间位置t3至t4。
第二次探测时，激光发射单元发射激光信号(便于区分称为第三激光信号)，激光探测单元在第三时间窗内保持开启状态，可以接收第三回波信号(第三回波信号包含第三激光信号的反射信号)。请参见图14的(c)部分，第三时间窗内包含位置t5至t6。
进一步的，第二段探测过程中接收的第二回波信号和第三回波信号用于得到探测区域 的探测结果。
需要说明的是，上述多种情况可以在不互斥的情况下进行结合。
可选的，在包含多个时间位置时，还可以通过多个控制信号来控制探测单元接收光信号。示例性的，以包含两个时间位置(便于区别称为第一时间位置和第五时间位置)为例，控制装置可以输出两个控制信号(便于区别称为第一控制信号和第五控制信号)。其中，第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置，通过第一控制信号可以控制探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号。而第五控制信号用于指示第五时间位置，通过第五控制信号可以控制激光探测单元在第四时间窗内接收第四回波信号，第四时间窗包含该第五时间位置。进一步的，第二回波信号和第四回波信号用于得到探测区域的探测结果。
可选的，第一时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同。其中，第四时间位置对应所述激光发射单元到第一光学元件之间的距离；或者，第四时间位置对应第一光学元件到所述激光探测单元之间的距离；或者，第四时间位置对应所述激光发射单元到第一光学元件之间的距离和第一光学元件到所述激光探测单元之间的距离。前述第一光学元件为第二激光信号的发射光路(或者接收光路)中、属于探测装置的最外层光学元件。例如，所述最外层光学元件可以为所述探测装置的光学视窗。可选的，探测装置包含的光学元件可以为以下元件中的一项或者多项：镜片(包括但不限于透镜、分光镜、偏振镜、波片、柱面镜或滤光片中的一个或多个)、或光学视窗等，或者其他可能用于光路设计的元器件。
示例性地，请参见图15，图15是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的探测装置发射光路和接收光路的示意图。如图15的(a)部分所示为探测装置150的发射光路的示意，如图15的(b)部分所示为探测装置150的接收光路示意。探测装置150中的控制器1503可以控制激光发射单元1501发射激光信号，以及控制激光探测单元1502接收回波信号。处理器1507用于处理探测数据，得到探测结果。可选的，处理器1507可以位于探测装置150内部，也可以位于探测装置140外部。可选的，探测装置150包含一个或多个光学元件，例如图15中示出的光学元件1504、光学元件1505、光学元件1506等。需要说明的是，图15仅仅是一种示例性的说明，具体的产品实现可以有多种方式，例如探测装置150可以包含更多或者更少的光学元件。再如，光学元件1505也可以替换为转镜、摆镜、MEMS或者以上多种元件的组合。本申请对于扫描型、闪光型、机械式、固态式或混合固态式等多种类型的激光雷达同样适用。
参见图15的(a)部分，探测装置150的发射光路经过光学元件1505和光学元件1506。由于光学元件难以实现全透射或者全反射，因此发射的激光信号经过光学元件1505和光学元件1506，部分可能会被光学元件1505和/或光学元件1506反射。图15的(a)部分中，实线为发射的光信号，虚线为光学元件所反射的光信号。反射的光信号会照射到激光探测单元1502中，使得激光探测单元1502中的探测元件产生饱和，导致真正的回波信号被淹没。
例如，由于产生饱和的探测元件在短时间内无法恢复，则如图15的(b)所示的回波信号到达时，部分(或者全部)光信号可能无法被探测元件接收，导致真正的回波信号被淹没，使得探测结果不准确。
示例性地，由于飞行时间与距离相对应，若最外层的光学元件(光学元件1506)所反射的光信号在第四时间位置到达，则可以设置时间窗的开始时间为在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同。一方面，可以减小由于探测装置本身的光学元件的反射光对回波信号造成干扰的可能性，避免信号漏检，提高了信号有效性和探测结果的精确性。另一方面，探测的时间减短，使得数据量也相应的减小，可以降低计算资源的消耗。
一种可能的设计中，激光探测单元可以有不同的工作模式。示例性地，激光探测单元可以有至少两种工作模式：自由运行模式和门控模式。在自由运行模式时，激光探测单元可以一直处于开启状态、或者一直处于关闭状态或者自适应的调节开启或者关闭状态。在门控模式时，激光探测单元可以被其他装置或者模块控制其开启或者关闭状态。可选的，步骤S601中，激光探测单元可以处于自由运行模式。步骤S604中，激光探测单元处于门控模式。
可选的，激光探测单元的工作模式可以通过控制信号来控制，例如，通过门控开启信号可以使得激光探测单元使用门控模式进行工作。
示例性地，请参见图16，图16是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的扫描型激光雷达工作时的时序示意图，该探测装置以探测帧的形式工作。通常来说，一个探测帧的探测可以生成一个探测区域内的一帧点云图像。对于扫描型雷达，探测时需要以行(或列、或区域)的形式对探测区域进行扫描。其中，每一行(或每一列、或每一块区域)对应一个波位(slot，或称为子帧)。如图16所示，时钟(clk)信号用于计时、或对齐等。帧重置信号(RST_FR)处于高电平后，一个探测帧开始，进行第一个波位的探测。本申请实施例中，一个波位中可以包含一个或者多个子波位(以下以包含两个子波位为例进行说明)。如区域1601，在第一个子波位中，激光发射单元可以发射一次或多次激光信号，如脉冲(Pulse)信号所示；而激光探测单元处于自由运行模式，可以接收第一回波信号，根据该第一回波信号用于确定一个或则多个时间位置。
如区域1602，信号所示；而通过门控开启(STR_Gate)信号，激光探测单元开启门控模式。门控模式开启后，激光探测单元可以在时间窗内开始探测，如时间窗(Gate)信号所示。当时间窗信号处于高电平时，激光探测单元处于开启状态，可以接收回波信号。当时间窗信号处于低电平时，激光探测单元处于关闭状态。在一个探测帧中可以进行多个波位的探测，当帧结束信号(END_FR)处于高电平，则该探测帧结束。
可以看出，在第一个子波位中，激光发射单元发射的前几发脉冲用于确定时间位置，根据该时间位置(或者以及第一时长)可以确定时间窗的开始时间和结束时间。在第二个子波位中，激光探测单元工作在门控模式下，激光探测单元在时间窗内接收回波信号，数据量有效降低，提高了信号有效性。
需要说明的，以上以扫描型的探测装置的时序进行示例性地说明，并不旨在限定本申请地应用场景，本申请对于闪光(flash)型的探测装置同样适用。
进一步可选的，第一段探测过程(例如前述的第一个子帧)也可以称为粗探测过程，第二段探测过程(例如前述的第二个子帧)也可以称为精细探测过程。请参见图17，图17是本申请实施例提供的一种可能的门控示意图。第一段探测过程中，激光探测单元处于自由运行模式，接收第一回波信号得到的电信号如图17的(a)部分所示。第二段探测过 程中，激光探测单元处于门控模式，接收第二回波信号得到的电信号如图17的(b)部分所示。可以看出，如图17的(b)部分所示的电信号的变化更加精确，有效的信号占比更大。进一步的，根据第二回波信号得到的探测结果更加准确。
在图6所示的实施例中，控制装置可以控制激光发射单元和激光接收单元进行两段激光探测，第一段激光探测用于确定时间位置，第二段激光探测用于在包含第一时间位置的时间窗内进行目标探测。一方面，本申请实施例的第二段探测过程中第一时间窗的时长(即第一时长)通常小于原本的探测时间(例如第一次探测过程中的探测时间)的时长。激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收回波信号，使得接收回波信号的时间减短，进而根据回波信号得到的探测数据也减少，从而减少了需要处理的数据量。另一方面，通过时间位置和第一时长来定位第二次探测过程接收回波信号的时间位置，则不属于第一时间窗的时间位置可以不接收回波信号，从而可以避免无关信号影响探测效果，提高了接收的回波信号的有效性，提升了激光雷达的探测性能。
上述详细阐述了本申请实施例的方法，下面提供本申请实施例的装置。
请参见图18，图18是本申请实施例提供的一种探测装置180的结构示意图。可选的，该探测装置180可以为独立设备(例如激光雷达、手持终端、车辆或机器人等等中的一个或者多个)，也可以为独立设备内部的部件(例如芯片、软件模块或者硬件模块等)。
该探测装置180用于实现前述的探测控制方法，例如图6所示实施例中的探测控制方法。
在一种可能的实施方式中，该探测装置180可以包括至少一个处理单元1801。可选的，探测装置180还可以包含激光发射单元1802和激光探测单元1803。
在一种可能的实施方式中，各个单元的描述如下：
所述至少一个处理单元1801，用于控制激光发射单元1802发射第一激光信号；
以及用于控制激光探测单元1803接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于控制所述激光发射单元1802发射第二激光信号；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元1803在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
在一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、上升沿信号中的至少一个。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于：
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元1803在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于控制所述激光发射单元1802发射第三激光信号；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，还用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元1803在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元1803包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元1803包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
所述第一特征信号包含将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述激光探测单元1803中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述探测装置180还包含至少一个光学元件；
所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射单元1802到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述探测装置的最外层光学元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述激光探测单元1803还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
所述至少一个处理单元1801，用于：
根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元1802和/或所述激光探测单元1803。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述至少一个处理单元1801还用于根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。
所述第四处理单元，用于根据所述第四控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元1803接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述探测装置还包含激光探测单元1803；
所述激光探测单元1803，用于在第一时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号。
这里需要说明的是，上述多个单元的划分仅是一种根据功能进行的逻辑划分，不作为对探测装置180具体的结构的限定。在具体实现中，其中部分功能模块可能被细分为更多细小的功能模块，部分功能模块也可能组合成一个功能模块，但无论这些功能模块是进行了细分还是组合，信号处理装置在进行信号处理的过程中所执行的大致流程是相同的。
请参见图19，图19是本申请实施例提供的一种处理装置190的结构示意图，该处理装置190可以为独立设备(例如激光雷达、手持终端、车辆或机器人等等中的一个或者多个)，也可以为独立设备内部的部件(例如芯片、软件模块或者硬件模块等)。
该处理装置190可以包括至少一个处理器1901和通信接口1902。进一步可选的，处理装置190还可以包括至少一个存储器1903。更进一步可选的，还可以包含总线1904，其中，处理器1901、通信接口1902和存储器1903通过总线1904相连。
其中，处理器1901是进行算术运算和/或逻辑运算的模块。具体可以包含中央处理器(central processing unit，CPU)、AP、TDC、滤波器、GPU、MPU、ASIC、ISP、DSP、FPGA、CPLD、协处理器、MCU、NPU等处理模块中的一种或者多种的组合。
通信接口1902可以用于为所述至少一个处理器提供信息输入或者输出。和/或，所述通信接口1902可以用于接收外部发送的数据和/或向外部发送数据，可以为包括诸如以太网电缆等的有线链路接口，也可以是无线链路(Wi-Fi、蓝牙、通用无线传输、车载短距通信技术以及其他短距无线通信技术等)接口。
存储器1903用于提供存储空间，存储空间中可以存储操作系统和计算机程序等数据。存储器1903可以是随机存储记忆体(random access memory，RAM)、只读存储器(read-only memory，ROM)、可擦除可编程只读存储器(erasable programmable read only memory，EPROM)、或便携式只读存储器(compact disc read-only memory，CD-ROM)等等中的一种或者多种的组合。
该处理装置190用于实现前述的探测控制方法，例如图6所示实施例中的探测控制方法。
在一种可能的设计中，上述至少一个处理器1901可以是专门用于执行这些方法的处理器(便于区别称为专用处理器)，也可以是通过调用计算机程序来执行这些方法的处理器，例如通用处理器。可选的，至少一个处理器1901还可以既包括专用处理器也包括通用处理器。
在一种可能的设计中，该处理装置190中的至少一个处理器1901用于调用至少一个存储器1903中存储的计算机程序，用于执行前述的探测控制方法，例如图6所示实施例所描述的探测控制方法。
在一种可能的设计中，上述处理装置190可以为前述实施例中的控制装置、控制器、或处理器等装置中的一项或者多项，或者为控制装置、控制器、或处理器等装置内部的部件(例如芯片、软件模块或者硬件模块等)。
处理装置190可以控制激光发射器和探测器。可选的，上述处理装置190属于探测装置，所述探测装置还可以包含激光发射器和探测器，或者上述处理装置190可以与激光发射器和探测器相连接。
在一种可能的实施方式中，该装置190中的处理器1901用于执行以下操作：
控制激光发射器发射第一激光信号；
控制探测器接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位 置；
控制所述激光发射器发射第二激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
在一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、上升沿信号中的至少一个。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理器1901，还用于：
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；所述至少一个处理器1901，还用于：
控制所述激光发射器发射第三激光信号；
根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置190还包含所述探测器，所述探测器包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置190还包含所述探测器，所述探测器包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
所述第一特征信号包括将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述探测器中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置190还包含所述激光发射器和至少一个光学元件；
所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射器到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述处理装置的最外层光学元件。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述处理装置190包含所述探测器，所述探测器还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
所述处理器1901，还用于：
根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
(通过通信接口1902)输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射器和/或所述探测器。
在又一种可能的实施方式中，所述至少一个处理器1901，还用于根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。
本申请实施例还提供了一种终端，所述终端用于实现图6所示实施例中所描述的方法。
一种可能的设计中，所述终端包含前述的探测装置，例如图2、图4、图5或图15所述的探测装置，和/或，所述终端包含前述的探测装置180或处理装置190，例如图18或图19所示的处理装置。
可选的，该终端可以为融合探测装置、车辆、无人机或者机器人等终端。
本申请实施例还提供了一种计算机可读存储介质，所述计算机可读存储介质中存储有计算机程序，当所述计算机程序在一个或多个处理器上运行时，实现图6所示的实施例所述的方法。
本申请实施例还提供了一种计算机程序产品，当所述计算机程序产品在一个或多个处理器上运行时，实现图6所示的实施例所述的方法。
本申请实施例还提供了一种芯片系统，所述芯片系统包括通信接口和至少一个处理器，该通信接口用于为上述至少一个处理器提供信息输入/输出，和/或，所述通信接口用于为发送/接收数据。所述处理器用于调用计算机程序(或者计算机指令)，以实现图6所示的实施例所述的方法。
需要说明的是，本申请中，“示例性的”或者“例如”等词用于表示作例子、例证或说明。本申请中被描述为“示例性的”或者“例如”的任何实施例或设计方案不应被解释为比其他实施例或设计方案更优选或更具优势。确切而言，使用“示例性的”或者“例如”等词旨在以具体方式呈现相关概念。
本申请中实施例提到的“至少一个”是指一个或者多个，“多个”是指两个或两个以上。“以下至少一项(个)”或其类似表达，是指的这些项中的任意组合，包括单项(个)或复数项(个)的任意组合。例如，a、b、或c中的至少一项(个)，可以表示：a、b、c、(a和b)、(a和c)、(b和c)、或(a和b和c)，其中a、b、c可以是单个，也可以是多个。“和/或”，描述关联对象的关联关系，表示可以存在三种关系，例如，A和/或B，可以表示：单独存在A、同时存在A和B、单独存在B这三种情况，其中A、B可以是单数或者复数。字符“/”一般表示前后关联对象是一种“或”的关系。
本申请实施例中，根据上下文，术语“当……时”可以被解释为意思是“如果……”或“在……后”或“响应于确定……”或“响应于检测到……”。
以及，除非有相反的说明，本申请实施例使用“第一”、“第二”等序数词是用于对多个对象进行区分，不用于限定多个对象的顺序、时序、优先级或者重要程度。例如，第一子控制单元和第二子控制单元，只是为了区分不同的控制单元，而并不是表示这两种控制单元的结构、原理、重要程度等的不同。

Claims (33)

  1. 一种探测控制方法，其特征在于，包括：
    控制激光发射单元发射第一激光信号；
    控制激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
    根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
    控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号；
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
    其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
  2. 根据权利要求1所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号中的至少一个。
  3. 根据权利要求1或2所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
  4. 根据权利要求1或2所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，包括：
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
  5. 根据权利要求1-4中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置，所述方法还包括：
    控制所述激光发射单元发射第三激光信号；
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
  6. 根据权利要求1-5中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述激光探测单元包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
  7. 根据权利要求1-6中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述激光探测单元包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
    所述第一特征信号包含将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述激光探测单元中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
  8. 根据权利要求1-7中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述方法应用于激光探测装置；
    所述第一时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应从所述激光发射单元到第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述激光探测装置的最外层光学元件。
  9. 根据权利要求1-8中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，包括：
    通过所述激光探测单元，根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
    根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
    输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
  10. 根据权利要求1-9中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述控制激光发射单元发射第一激光信号，包括；
    输出第二控制信号；
    根据所述第二控制信号，控制所述激光发射单元发射所述第一激光信号；
    所述控制激光发射单元发射第二激光信号，包括：
    输出第三控制信号；
    根据所述第三控制信号，控制所述激光发射单元发射所述第二激光信号。
  11. 根据权利要求1-10中任一项所述的方法，其特征在于，所述控制激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号，包括；
    输出第四控制信号；
    根据所述第四控制信号，控制激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号。
  12. 一种探测装置，其特征在于，所述探测装置包括激光发射单元、激光探测单元以及至少一个处理单元，其中：
    所述至少一个处理单元，用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第一激光信号；以及用于控制所述激光探测单元接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
    所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
    所述至少一个处理单元，还用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第二激光信号；
    所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
    其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
  13. 根据权利要求12所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号中的至少一个。
  14. 根据权利要求12或13所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
  15. 根据权利要求12或13所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理单元，还用于：
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
  16. 根据权利要求12-15中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；
    所述至少一个处理单元，还用于控制所述激光发射单元发射第三激光信号，以及，用于根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述激光探测单元在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
  17. 根据权利要求12-16中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述激光探测单元包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
  18. 根据权利要求12-17中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述激光探测单元包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
    所述第一特征信号包括将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述激光探测单元中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
  19. 根据权利要求12-18中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述探测装置还包含至少一个光学元件；
    其中，所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射单元到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述探测装置的最外层光学元件。
  20. 根据权利要求12-19中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述激光探测单元还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
    所述至少一个处理单元，用于：
    根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
    输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
  21. 根据权利要求12-20中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述至少一个处理单元，还用于根据所述第二回波信号得到对探测区域的探测结果。
  22. 一种处理装置，其特征在于，所述处理装置包括至少一个处理器和通信接口，所述通信接口用于为所述处理器提供指令或数据输入和/或输出，所述至少一个处理器用于执行以下操作：
    控制激光发射器发射第一激光信号；
    控制探测器接收包含对应所述第一激光信号的反射信号的第一回波信号；
    根据所述第一回波信号，输出第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于指示第一时间位置；
    控制所述激光发射器发射第二激光信号；
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗内接收第二回波信号，所述第二回波信号包含对应于所述第二激光信号的反射信号，所述第二回波信号用于目标探测；
    其中，所述第一时间窗与所述第一时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第一时间窗包含所述第一时间位置，所述第一时长是预先定义或者配置的。
  23. 根据权利要求22所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一时间位置对应于第一特征信号，其中，所述第一特征信号为根据所述第一回波信号得到的，所述第一特征信号包含脉冲信号、峰值信号、或者上升沿信号中的至少一个。
  24. 根据权利要求22或23所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置，所述第一时间窗还包含所述第二时间位置。
  25. 根据权利要求22或23所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第二时间位置；所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第一时间窗和第二时间窗内接收所述第二回波信号，所述第二时间窗与所述第二时间位置和所述第一时长有关，所述第二时间窗包含所述第二时间位置。
  26. 根据权利要求22-25中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述第一控制信号还用于指示第三时间位置；所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
    控制所述激光发射器发射第三激光信号；
    根据所述第一控制信号，控制所述探测器在第三时间窗内接收第三回波信号，所述第三回波信号包含对应于所述第三激光信号的反射信号，所述第三回波信号用于目标探测，所述第三时间窗与所述第三时间位置和第一时长有关，所述第三时间窗包含所述第三时间位置。
  27. 根据权利要求22-26中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理装置包含所述探测器，所述探测器包括至少一个单光子探测元件。
  28. 根据权利要求27所述的装置，其特征在于，所述探测器包括多个探测元件，其中，一个探测元件对应一个像素的输出信号；
    所述第一特征信号包括将相邻像素的输出信号进行叠加处理后得到的信号，所述相邻像素对应所述探测器中至少两个位置相邻的探测元件。
  29. 根据权利要求22-28中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理装置包含所述激光发射器和至少一个光学元件；
    所述第一探测时间窗的开始时间在第四时间位置之后或者与第四时间位置相同；所述第四时间位置对应所述第二激光信号从所述激光发射器到所述至少一个光学元件中的第一光学元件之间的距离，所述第一光学元件为所述第二激光信号的发射光路中、属于所述处理装置的最外层光学元件。
  30. 根据权利要求22-29中任一项所述的装置，其特征在于，所述处理装置包含所述探测器，所述探测器还用于根据所述第一回波信号得到待检测信号；
    所述至少一个处理器，还用于：
    根据所述待检测信号获取所述第一时间位置；
    输出所述第一控制信号，所述第一控制信号用于控制所述激光发射单元和/或所述激光探测单元。
  31. 一种终端，其特征在于，所述终端包含权利要求12-21任一项所述的探测装置，或者，权利要求22-30中任一项所述的处理装置。
  32. 根据权利要求31所述的终端，其特征在于，所述终端为融合探测装置、车辆、无人机或者机器人。
  33. 一种计算机可读存储介质，其特征在于，所述计算机可读存储介质中存储有计算机程序，当所述计算机程序在一个或多个处理器上运行时，执行如权利要求1-11中任一项所述的方法。
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