US 12,222,421 B2
Object recognition apparatus, object recognition method, and non-transitory computer readable medium
Yumiko Kato, Osaka (JP); Satoshi Sato, Kyoto (JP); and Yoshihide Sawada, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD., Osaka (JP)
Filed by Panasonic Intellectual Property Management Co., Ltd., Osaka (JP)
Filed on Feb. 1, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/163,662.
Application 17/163,662 is a continuation of application No. PCT/JP2019/040823, filed on Oct. 17, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2018-229251 (JP), filed on Dec. 6, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0181341 A1, Jun. 17, 2021
Int. Cl. G01S 17/89 (2020.01); G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 17/10 (2020.01); G05B 13/02 (2006.01); G06F 3/14 (2006.01); G06F 18/214 (2023.01); G06T 7/521 (2017.01); G06V 10/141 (2022.01); G06V 10/147 (2022.01); G06V 10/60 (2022.01); G06V 10/764 (2022.01); G06V 10/774 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01); G06V 20/00 (2022.01)
CPC G01S 17/89 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4816 (2013.01); G01S 17/10 (2013.01); G05B 13/0265 (2013.01); G06F 3/14 (2013.01); G06F 18/214 (2023.01); G06T 7/521 (2017.01); G06V 10/141 (2022.01); G06V 10/147 (2022.01); G06V 10/60 (2022.01); G06V 10/764 (2022.01); G06V 10/774 (2022.01); G06V 10/82 (2022.01); G06V 20/00 (2022.01); G06T 2207/10028 (2013.01); G06T 2207/10152 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20081 (2013.01)] 19 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An object recognition apparatus comprising:
a light source;
a photodetector device including a plurality of photodetector elements, the photodetector device outputting photodetection data responsive to an amount of light that is incident on each of the plurality of photodetector elements during a specified exposure period;
a control circuit that controls the light source and the photodetector device,
the control circuit causing the light source to emit first light toward a scene and subsequently emit second light toward the scene, the first light having a first spatial distribution, the second light having a second spatial distribution,
the control circuit causing the photodetector device to detect first reflected light and second reflected light, the first reflected light being caused by reflection of the first light from the scene, the second reflected light being caused by reflection of the second light from the scene, and
the control circuit determining emission timings of the first light and the second light and an exposure timing of the photodetector device such that at least a portion of the plurality of photodetector elements of the photodetector device detects only a part of, but not all of the first reflected light and only a part of, but not all of the second reflected light in a same exposure period; and
a signal processing circuit that recognizes an object included in the scene based on the photodetection data output by the photodetector device and based on an object recognition model pre-trained by a machine learning algorithm, derives a distance to the object based on the photodetection data, and outputs information representing the object, and range information representing the distance.