US 11,733,354 B2
LIDAR ring lens return filtering
Turhan Karadeniz, Oakland, CA (US); Subasingha Shaminda Subasingha, San Ramon, CA (US); Ravi Sankar Mahankali, Freemont, CA (US); and Denis Nikitin, Campbell, CA (US)
Assigned to Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US)
Filed by Zoox, Inc., Foster City, CA (US)
Filed on Feb. 22, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/181,960.
Application 17/181,960 is a continuation of application No. 15/986,676, filed on May 22, 2018, granted, now 10,928,485.
Prior Publication US 2021/0199764 A1, Jul. 1, 2021
Int. Cl. G01C 3/08 (2006.01); G01S 7/48 (2006.01); G01S 7/4865 (2020.01); G01S 17/10 (2020.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01); G01S 7/487 (2006.01)
CPC G01S 7/4808 (2013.01) [G01S 7/4865 (2013.01); G01S 7/4876 (2013.01); G01S 17/10 (2013.01); G01S 17/931 (2020.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system comprising:
a light sensor; and
control circuitry communicatively coupled to the light sensor, the control circuitry being configured to perform operations comprising:
receiving sensor data from the light sensor, the sensor data comprising a plurality of samples;
determining whether a sample of the plurality of samples is associated with a surface external to the system (an external surface) based at least in part on at least one of:
whether the sample was received within a threshold quantity of samples; or
whether the sample was received within a threshold time; and
determining a distance to the external surface based on the determining whether the sample is associated with the external surface.