SBIR Phase II: Micro-Fluidic LiDAR for Autonomous Vehicles

该项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是加速自动运输系统的部署，这将减少驾驶事故和死亡人数，实现城市设计的新范式，减少车辆流量，提高汽车效率，改善空气质量，使驾驶员和非驾驶员的健康立即受益。减少运输人员和货物的费用将增加几乎所有产品和服务的利润，因为几乎所有活动都需要某种形式的运输。高级驾驶辅助系统（ADAS）是半自动控制系统的简单实现，但已经通过提供智能巡航控制、车道偏离警告、转向辅助和先发制人的紧急制动来挽救生命。随着ADAS通过先进的传感器和扫描硬件得到改进，并得到更广泛的部署，将避免更多的事故，挽救更多的生命。由于扫描系统的限制，目前还没有能够感应200米以上的激光雷达成像传感器。拟议中的创新将首次加强对限制大规模传感器部署的可靠性问题的科学和技术理解，并产生第一个汽车合格的远程激光雷达传感器。该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将开发汽车级激光扫描系统，该系统将支持下一代激光雷达，这是一种三维成像传感器，对于自动送货机器人、无人机、车辆先进驾驶员安全系统和自动驾驶汽车的广泛采用至关重要。测量级激光雷达是一项成熟的技术，但由于更苛刻的冲击和振动要求，使其适合道路使用的努力失败了，并且部署的系统在两年内失效，并且在高冲击条件下显示图像失真。通过开发利用浮力抵消外部加速度的流体稳定光机械扫描仪，提出的创新将产生第一个汽车合格的远程激光雷达传感器。新型扫描仪技术将被模拟、制造，并根据ISO汽车资格规范进行测试，以证明扫描仪的精确实时稳定性和长期可靠运行。预计结果将是扫描仪能够以与大批量低成本生产方法兼容的形式通过ISO测试。通过与客户的合作，这项工作将产生一种新的视觉系统，将交通运输的效率和安全性提高到一个新的水平。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project is to hasten the deployment of autonomous transportation systems, which stand to reduce driving accidents and fatalities, enable new paradigms in urban design, reduce vehicle traffic, increase automobile efficiency, and improve air quality, benefiting the immediate health of drivers and non-drivers alike. A reduction in cost of transporting people and goods would increase the profitability of nearly all products and services, since nearly all activities require transportation in some form. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are simpler implementations of semi-autonomous controls systems but are already saving lives by providing intelligent cruise control, lane departure warnings, steering assistance, and preemptive emergency braking. As ADAS improves through advanced sensor and scanning hardware and becomes more widely deployed, more accidents will be avoided, and lives saved. There are currently no LiDAR imaging sensors that can sense greater than 200 meters and are automotive qualified due to limitations on the scanning systems. The proposed innovation would be the first to enhance a scientific and technical understanding of the reliability issues limiting wide-scale sensor deployment and result in the first automotive qualified long-range LiDAR sensors.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result in an automotive-grade laser scanning system that enables next generation LiDAR, a three- dimensional imaging sensor crucial for the widespread adoption of autonomous delivery robots, drones, advanced driver safety systems in vehicles, and autonomous vehicles. Survey-grade LiDAR is a mature technology, but efforts to make it road worthy have failed due to the harsher shock and vibration requirements and deployed systems fail within two years and display image distortion under high-shock conditions. The proposed innovation will result in the first automotive qualified long-range LiDAR sensor by developing fluid stabilized opto-mechanical scanners that utilize buoyant forces to counteract external accelerations. The novel scanner technology will be simulated, fabricated, and tested against ISO specifications for automotive qualification to demonstrate both accurate real time scanner stability and long-term reliable operation. It is expected that the results will be scanners able to pass ISO testing in a form compatible with high-volume, low-cost production methods. Through collaboration with customers, this work will result in a new class of vision systems that will bring a new level of efficiency and safety in transportation.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.