In one embodiment, a ladar system includes a laser transmitter with at least one semiconductor laser having a pulsed laser light output. A laser drive circuit is connected to said at least one semiconductor laser and adapted to electrically drive said at least one semiconductor laser in a predetermined sequence. A laser beam steering mechanism is adapted to scan the pulsed laser light output sequentially through the field of view.

A lamp housing (143) houses a light source (141). A front sensor housing (152) houses a front LiDAR sensor (151). A supporting unit (17) supports the lamp housing (143) and the front sensor housing (152). The lamp housing (143) and the front sensor housing (152) are arranged in a direction corresponding to a left-right direction of a vehicle, when viewed from a direction corresponding to a front-rear direction of the vehicle. A maximum dimension (UD1) of the lamp housing (143) in an up-down direction of the vehicle is smaller than a maximum dimension (UD2) of the front sensor housing (152) in the same direction.

Disclosed are devices and systems for an optimized sensor layout for an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle. In one aspect, the system includes a vehicle capable of semi-autonomous or autonomous operation. A plurality of forward-facing cameras is coupled to the vehicle and configured to have a field of view in front of the vehicle. At least three forward-facing cameras of the plurality of forward-facing cameras have different focal lengths. A right-side camera is coupled to the right side of the vehicle, the right-side camera configured to have a field of view to the right of the vehicle. A left-side camera is coupled to the left side of the vehicle, the left-side camera is configured to have a field of view to the left of the vehicle.

The invention relates to a radar detection system for a vehicle, with radar detection system including a radar sensor configured to emit/receive a plurality of radar waves, a lighting element arranged facing the radar sensor and including at least one light source configured to emit light rays, and a plurality of layers including a transparent layer configured to propagate the light rays, with the layers have substantially equal dielectric permittivities.

The technology relates to enhancing the operation of autonomous vehicles. Extendible sensors are deployed based on detected or predicted conditions around a vehicle while operating in a self-driving mode. When not needed, the sensors are fully retracted into the vehicle to reduce drag and increase fuel economy. When the onboard system determines that there is a need for a deployable sensor, such as to enhance the field of view of the perception system, the sensor is extended in a predetermined manner. The deployment may depend on one or more operating conditions and/or particular driving scenarios. These and other sensors of the vehicle may be protected with a rugged housing, for instance to protect against damage from the elements. And in other situations, deployable foils may extend from the vehicle's chassis to increase drag and enhance braking. This may be helpful for large trucks in steep descent situations.

The disclosure provides systems, apparatuses, and techniques for operating automotive MIMO radars in crowded multi-path environments to obtain reliable detections by linearly predicting whether a bistatic condition occurred. To avoid saturating computing resources processing bistatic detections, the described techniques enable a radar system to quickly identify and discard from the field-of-view radar detections that are likely a result of bistatic conditions. By ignoring unusable radar returns that are likely a result of bistatic conditions, an example radar system can focus on processing radar returns from static conditions, for example, in providing radar-based detections as output to an automotive system that is driving a vehicle in an autonomous or a semi-autonomous mode. In so doing, the example radar system provides a highly accurate static object detector that is sufficiently quick in detecting bistatic conditions for use in vehicle-safety systems as well as autonomous and semi-autonomous control.

An optical face protection apparatus is provided having a support body, at least one lens and an elongate heating element. The support body is configured to be supported on a user. The at least one lens is carried by the support body and is configured to hold the at least one lens over an eye facial region of a user. The elongate heating element has an elongate tube and a heat source provided in the tube, carried by the body and configured to traverse an expansive surface area of the at least one lens.

A lamp device has a base body to be installed to a vehicle; a lamp unit; a translucent cover that is installed to the base body, covering the front surface of the base body so as to accommodate the lamp unit therein, thereby defining a lamp body space, and has a recess in the front surface at a side position in a horizontal direction of the lamp unit; and a radar unit that has a radar sensor and a radar housing accommodating the radar sensor therein, and is inserted in the recess.

A vehicular lamp fitting and the like capable of preventing (or suppressing) vibrations of a radar unit (and as a result, capable of preventing the detection area of the radar unit from being significantly changed) are provided. A vehicular lamp fitting includes: a lamp housing; an outer lens attached to the lamp housing, the outer lens including a recessed part and forming a first space between the outer lens and the lamp housing; a lamp unit disposed in the first space; a radar cover disposed while covering the recessed part, and forming a second space between the radar cover and the recessed part; a bracket disposed in the second space; a radar unit detachably fixed to the bracket; and a first fixing part fixing one end of the bracket to the outer lens; and a second fixing part fixing the other end of the bracket to the lamp housing.

A vehicular lamp fitting and the like in which a radar unit can be replaced without replacing the whole vehicular lamp fitting are provided. A vehicular lamp fitting includes a lamp housing, an outer lens attached to the lamp housing and forming a lamp chamber between the outer lens and the lamp housing, a lamp unit disposed in the lamp chamber, a bracket, and a radar unit detachably fixed to the bracket.