A method for road surface detection includes receiving ranging data including a plurality of ranging data points, extracting one or more ranging data points lying within a height range from the plurality of ranging data points, dividing the one or more ranging data points into one or more grid cells, setting a first horizontal position of a first cell point of a first grid cell of the one or more grid cells as being centered on the first grid cell, setting a first vertical position of the first cell point, and detecting the road surface based on the first vertical position and first horizontal position of the first cell point.

A light detection and ranging system can have a light source coupled to a reflector consisting of a waveguide. The waveguide may be tuned to a selected polarization by a controller to block retroreflected photons resulting from a light beam emitted from the reflector. The waveguide polarization can be altered over time by the controller to provide customized blocking of photons.

A light detection and ranging system can have a light source coupled to a reflector consisting of a waveguide. The waveguide may be tuned to a selected polarization by a controller to block retroreflected photons resulting from a light beam emitted from the reflector. The waveguide polarization can be altered over time by the controller to provide customized blocking of photons.

A light detection and ranging system can have a modulator coupled to a light source with the modulator consisting of a first PN junction with a first width and a second PN junction with a second width. In order for the total transfer function to add to arccosine, the first width and second width are configured differently.

A light detection and ranging system can have a modulator coupled to a light source with the modulator consisting of a first PN junction with a first width and a second PN junction with a second width. In order for the total transfer function to add to arccosine, the first width and second width are configured differently.

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, and devices for fault detection in a Lidar system. A fault detection system obtains incoming Lidar data output by a Lidar system during operation of an AV system. The incoming Lidar data includes one or more data points corresponding to a fault detection target on an exterior of a vehicle of the AV system. The fault detection system accesses historical Lidar data that is based on data previously output by the Lidar system. The historical Lidar data corresponds to the fault detection target. The fault detection system performs a comparison of the incoming Lidar data with the historical Lidar data to identify any differences between the two sets of data. The fault detection system detects a fault condition occurring at the Lidar system based on the comparison.

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, and devices for fault detection in a Lidar system. A fault detection system obtains incoming Lidar data output by a Lidar system during operation of an AV system. The incoming Lidar data includes one or more data points corresponding to a fault detection target on an exterior of a vehicle of the AV system. The fault detection system accesses historical Lidar data that is based on data previously output by the Lidar system. The historical Lidar data corresponds to the fault detection target. The fault detection system performs a comparison of the incoming Lidar data with the historical Lidar data to identify any differences between the two sets of data. The fault detection system detects a fault condition occurring at the Lidar system based on the comparison.

An approach is provided for biasing machine learning models towards potential risks for controlling vehicles/robots. The approach involves, for example, determining an occluded space that is occluded in sensor data collected from one or more sensors of a vehicle or a robot. The approach also involves generating a sensor space completion that represents the occluded space based on biasing a generation of one or more potential risks to the vehicle or the robot originating from the occluded space. The approach further involves providing the sensor space completion to a system of the vehicle or the robot for generating a control decision, a warning, or a combination thereof.

A visual assistance system or distance and location detection system is provided. The system comprises a sensor detecting distance of objects in a user's path and alerting the user when an object is within a designated proximity to the user. The system further comprises a location detection system using GPS technology that tracks the user's location and issues an alert to the user or other individual when the user's location exceeds the boundaries of a designated safe zone.

The invention relates to a detection device (4) for a motor vehicle (1) for detecting a distance (x1) of an object (O1) in a surrounding region (5) of the motor vehicle (1) from the motor vehicle (1), comprising an emitting unit (8), which is designed to emit a light beam (9) and to scan the surrounding region (5) by orienting the light beam (9) along predetermined emission angles (10), and comprising a receiving unit (11) having at least two receiving elements (16), which are designed to receive a part (12) of the light beam (9) reflected on the object (O1), to detect the distance (x1) on the basis of a duration between the emission of the light beam (9) and the reception of the reflected part (12) of the light beam (9), and to detect a reception angle (13), at which the reflected part (12) of the light beam (9) from the surrounding region (5) is incident on the receiving unit (11), wherein the receiving unit (11) is designed to detect a deviation (17) between the emission angle (10) of the light beam (9) and the reception angle (13) of the reflected part (12) of the light beam (9) corresponding to the emission angle (10). The invention additionally relates to a driver assistance system (2), a motor vehicle (1), and a method for detecting a distance (x1) of an object (O1) in a surrounding region (5) of a motor vehicle (1).