US 12,441,325 B2
Systems and methods for detecting water along driving routes
Laura W. Shane, Park City, UT (US); and Suzanne L. Woll, Livermore, CA (US)
Assigned to Kodiak Robotics, Inc., Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed by Kodiak Robotics, Inc., Mountain View, CA (US)
Filed on Oct. 4, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/937,931.
Prior Publication US 2024/0116513 A1, Apr. 11, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. B60W 40/06 (2012.01); G06V 20/56 (2022.01)
CPC B60W 40/06 (2013.01) [G06V 20/588 (2022.01); B60W 2420/408 (2024.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for determining a degree of wetness of a road surface from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) point clouds, comprising:
generating, using a LiDAR system, at least one point cloud, wherein the LiDAR system comprises a processor; and
using the processor:
identifying and isolating one or more points within the at least one point cloud that are associated with the road surface;
analyzing the identified one or more points to determine a number thereof that have zero intensity return values; and
based on the number of identified points that have zero intensity return values, determining a degree of wetness of the road surface.