Flexible field of view solid state lidar

[0015]According to certain embodiments, a system can include a laser driver configured to produce a laser. The laser may be in the 600 nanometer (nm) to 1000 nm range. Other wavelengths are also permitted. For example, 1550 nm and 1064 nm are also permitted.

[0016]The system can also include phased array optics provided at an output of the laser driver. The optics can include a spatial light modulator. In relation to the laser, the spatial light modulator or other phased array optics can be configured to modulate the phase of a beam, or both the phase and the intensity of the beam.

[0017]The system can further include a controller configured to control the laser driver and the phased array optics to provide a variable field of vision pattern for a vehicle. The controller can include one or more controller. The controllers can be any suitable hardware device. For example, a controller can be an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a micro