Diffractive optical elements as optical calibration references for LIDAR systems

Paolo Batoni; Jared Stack; Jeff Gardner; Kevin Welch; Richard Jones; John Childers

doi:10.1117/12.2663405

13 June 2023 Diffractive optical elements as optical calibration references for LIDAR systems

Paolo Batoni, Jared Stack, Jeff Gardner, Kevin Welch, Richard Jones, John Childers

Proceedings Volume 12540, Autonomous Systems: Sensors, Processing, and Security for Ground, Air, Sea, and Space Vehicles and Infrastructure 2023; 1254004 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2663405
Event: SPIE Defense + Commercial Sensing, 2023, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

As autonomous vehicles rapidly transition to fully automated operations, the ability of these systems to make critical safety decisions in real-time remains of paramount concern. Successful implementation will rely on maintaining the highest possible fidelity of the underlying image data while operating in the challenging automotive light detection and ranging (LIDAR) environment. In addition to three dimensional (3D) depth data, some proposed systems seek to overlay data from multiple sources in order to further improve decision quality and safety margin. The requirement to establish and maintain system calibration over life, including overlay of various fields of view suggests the need for an optical reference that could be used to routinely recalibrate the system in the field. The ability to validate and re-calibrate LIDAR systems in the field without the need for operator intervention would also serve to ensure consistent data quality as well as removing the need to take vehicles offline for periodic re-calibration. Diffractive-Optical-Elements (DOEs) are well suited for use as optical calibration references. In addition to their small size and lithographic precision, fused silica DOEs exhibit extreme stability and mechanical strength, potentially allowing for direct integration into the LIDAR system itself. In this paper, we examine the use of DOEs as LIDAR calibration standards, including the impact of material properties on the stability of the generated reference patterns and consequently on the reliability of the imaging system data.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Paolo Batoni, Jared Stack, Jeff Gardner, Kevin Welch, Richard Jones, and John Childers "Diffractive optical elements as optical calibration references for LIDAR systems", Proc. SPIE 12540, Autonomous Systems: Sensors, Processing, and Security for Ground, Air, Sea, and Space Vehicles and Infrastructure 2023, 1254004 (13 June 2023); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2663405

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