LiDAR Evaluation System

Introduction

LiDAR, an abbreviation for Light Detection and Ranging, is one type of optical sensor technology. The distance and angle to a remote measurement object and its nature can be measured by scanning laser light on the measurement object and measuring the scattered light and reflected light. LiDAR systems have already been installed in aircraft and satellites and used as a ranging technology for research in geology, seismology, and other fields. Recently, LiDAR has also attracted attention as a technology for use in self-driving automobiles. Because LiDAR is used in place of a human driver in automated driving, the LiDAR system must operate the vehicle appropriately based on detection of traffic signals, the road width, oncoming vehicles, pedestrians, and other conditions. LiDAR is extremely important as a technology for sensing objects that may become obstructions during driving, and thus is a key technology for realizing automated driving. nstallation Positions of Collision Avoidance Sensor and Sensor Cover Fig. 1 shows an example of the installation positions of the collision avoidance sensor and sensor cover. The laser light scanned from the LiDAR device is transmitted through a sensor cover and irradiated on remote measurement objects. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the optical properties of the materials, such as the transmittance of the sensor cover for the laser used in the LiDAR. The viewing angle of LiDAR is also one important performance feature. For example, when a LiDAR device is mounted on the front of a vehicle, as in Fig. 1, the widest possible viewing angle is necessary so as to cover a wide area in front of the car. The wavelength regions and quantity of laser light transmitted through the sensor cover change depending on the incident angle of the laser and the position of the sensor cover. In other words, because the optical properties of the cover material have a large effect on LiDAR performance, a wide range of measurements with different incident light angles and wavelength regions is necessary in a LiDAR evaluation system. Here, the optical properties of two types of samples were evaluated using an ultraviolet-visible light (UV-VIS) spectrophotometer.

March 5, 2020 GMT