{
  "patent_number": "US 11041957",
  "country": "US",
  "title": "LiDAR System for Seeing Through Shiny Objects",
  "original_title": "Systems and methods for mitigating effects of high-reflectivity objects in LiDAR data",
  "summary": "Toyota's patent on a LiDAR system that can ignore blinding reflections from shiny surfaces to better see what's around a vehicle.",
  "what_it_does": "This patent describes a system for self-driving cars that uses LiDAR, a type of laser radar, to map the surroundings. Sometimes, shiny objects like a wet road or a polished car can send back such strong reflections that they blind the LiDAR sensor, making it impossible to see objects behind or near the shiny surface. This invention tackles that by first scanning with a standard laser (initial intensity) to get a general picture (first point cloud). If it detects a super-bright, reflective object, it then scans again with a different laser setting (scanning intensity) or direction. This second scan is designed to avoid or minimize the blinding reflection, allowing the system to capture data about objects that would otherwise be hidden. Finally, it combines the data from both scans into a 'composite point cloud' that gives a clearer, more complete view of the environment, even with those tricky shiny surfaces present.",
  "what_it_does_not_cover": [
    "LiDAR systems that cannot detect or adapt to highly reflective objects.",
    "Methods that only use a single scan intensity and do not adjust for reflections.",
    "Systems that fail to combine data from multiple scans into a single, improved view.",
    "LiDAR systems that are not integrated into a vehicle or used for environmental sensing."
  ],
  "filed": "2018-06-25",
  "granted": "2021-06-22",
  "expires": "2038-06-25",
  "status": "active",
  "holder": "Toyota Motor Engineering and Manufacturing North America",
  "holder_url": "https://patentbrief.org/company/toyota-motor-engineering-and-manufacturing-north-america",
  "inventors": [
    {
      "name": "Yasuo Uehara",
      "url": "https://patentbrief.org/inventor/yasuo-uehara"
    }
  ],
  "times_cited": 9,
  "tags": [
    "automotive",
    "aerospace",
    "robotics",
    "consumer_electronics",
    "software"
  ],
  "abstract": "System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to improving observations of a surrounding environment using a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) device in the presence of highly reflective surfaces. In one embodiment, a method includes, in response to determining that a first point cloud includes an observation of an obscuring object that is highly reflective: i) emitting a scanning light beam at a scanning intensity that is different from an initial intensity of an initial light beam used to acquire the first point cloud, and ii) dynamically controlling the LiDAR device to acquire a second point cloud that omits the obscuring object. The method includes generating a composite point cloud from the first point cloud and the second point cloud that improves an observation of the surrounding environment using the LiDAR device by mitigating interference from the obscuring object.",
  "url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11041957/systems-and-methods-for-mitigating-effects-of-high-reflectivity-objects-in-lidar",
  "markdown_url": "https://patentbrief.org/patent/us/11041957/systems-and-methods-for-mitigating-effects-of-high-reflectivity-objects-in-lidar/md",
  "google_patents_url": "https://patents.google.com/patent/US11041957",
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}