A 3D lidar scene simulation method based on time-domain tomography and integrated imaging for large-array flash lidars

A novel optical scene simulation method is proposed in this paper which is designed for evaluating intelligent driving systems incorporating large-array flash lidars as the 3D detector. A 3D scene is first decomposed into discrete time slice patterns and displayed on a spatial light modulator. An integrated imaging system is then used to reconstruct all time slice patterns in space into a 3D scene. We have developed a 3D lidar scene simulator with a spatial resolution of 640×512 and a distance simulation range from 0.5 meters to 32 meters, achieving a distance simulation resolution of 15mm. The method proposed in this article can significantly reduce the time and space requirements for the end-of-line testing of lidar products on automated production lines and provides an effective approach for comprehensive performance evaluation in the field of intelligent driving systems.