Patent ID: 11994627

Abstract:
An example μTOF is a flexible, small, sensor unit that uses modulated light to measure distance. The architecture of the sensor allows for many use cases. Use cases include the classic single emitter, single detector topology, but also include capability for operability as a full multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) system. In a MIMO configuration, the emitters and detectors can be arranged in a configuration similar to an RF antenna array or any number of other configurations from a single emitter/detector pair to vast dispersions of emitters and detectors. By coding the signal output by each emitter with a unique pseudo-noise (PN) or similar sequence, reflected signals received at the detector can be separated from each other, providing path distances between each emitter-detector pair. Given the robustness and noise immunity of PN sequences, this approach works well even with signal levels well below the noise floor. Using the measured path distances from each sensor to each emitter, the locations of objects in the scene can be extracted by triangulation.