Patent ID: 11662463

Abstract:
The present invention provides an improved lidar apparatus (11) that can scan a surrounding volume without requiring the rotation or other movement of any component other than a scanning mirror (17). The apparatus (11) comprises: a receiving lens (16) having an optical axis; the scanning mirror (17) that is angled to the optical axis of the receiving lens (16) and controlled to rotate about the optical axis of the receiving lens; at least one stationary laser source (12) that is positioned to emit light along an associated emission beam path (14) to be reflected by the scanning mirror (17) along an associated scanning beam path (18); and at least one detector (19), associated with a laser source (12) and positioned to receive light from said laser source (12) that is reflected by external objects and returned through the receiving lens (16) via the scanning mirror (17). The apparatus (11) is characterised in that the emission beam path (14) is located at an angle to the optical axis of the receiving lens (16). Embodiment of the invention comprise a plurality of laser sources (12) such that the apparatus can scan a 3D volume surrounding the apparatus (11) whilst holding each source stationary. The present invention also provides an improved method of lidar scanning that utilises any apparatus (11) according to the present invention.