Lidar scene projector (LSP) for the mass production testing of automotive lidars

Lidar is one of the core sensors in autonomous driving vehicles. However, the mass production testing of automotive lidars currently faces challenges in terms of large space occupation and long time cost. To overcome these limitations, we develop a test instrument called lidar scene projector (LSP) to realize efficient testing and small space requirement. The LSP captures the laser pulses transmitted by the lidar within a large field of view (FOV) and generates laser return signals carrying distance, intensity, and direction information. The laser return signals are then projected to the lidar under test through a tracking scanning module to ensure real-time direction matching between the laser return signals and the lidar transmitted laser pulses. The LSP covers a FOV of 15°(horizontal) × 30°(vertical) and only occupies a space less than 1.5m×1.5m×0.5m. It can easily change the simulation distance and return signal intensity via PC. The LSP can serve as a terminal test instrument on the mass production line of automotive lidars to significantly enhance the testing efficiency.