US 12,392,876 B2
Method for deriving surface material properties of surface materials based upon LIDAR data, computing system and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium
Richard Stenson, Miami, FL (US)
Assigned to GM CRUISE HOLDINGS LLC, San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed by GM CRUISE HOLDINGS LLC, San Francisco, CA (US)
Filed on Dec. 8, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/545,601.
Prior Publication US 2023/0176200 A1, Jun. 8, 2023
Int. Cl. G01S 7/497 (2006.01); G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 7/481 (2006.01); G01S 7/487 (2006.01); G01S 17/89 (2020.01)
CPC G01S 7/497 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4802 (2013.01); G01S 7/4817 (2013.01); G01S 7/487 (2013.01); G01S 17/89 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for deriving a surface absorption property of surface material from LIDAR data, the method comprising:
receiving a plurality of cloud points from a LIDAR sensor, the cloud points characterized by respective intensity values corresponding to reflections off the surface material of a real-world object and respective 3D coordinates,
constructing a plurality of surface segments of the surface material by building a plurality of triangles from combinations of three neighboring cloud points from among the received plurality of cloud points, wherein each of the plurality of triangles is a surface segment;
determining the normal direction for each of the plurality of triangles from the 3D coordinates of each of the cloud points in the combination of three neighboring cloud points making up a respective triangle;
deriving the surface absorption property for a respective segment of the surface material based upon the average intensity values for the three neighboring cloud points making up a respective triangle, a known angle of incidence received from the LIDAR sensor, and the determined normal direction for each of the respective triangle; and
aggregating the derived surface absorption property across a collection of respective triangles making up the surface segments to result in the surface absorption property for a type of surface.