Browse Topic: Lidar

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VTOL UAS Auto-recovery Using A Tested Long-Term Motion Prediction Method to define the Deck EnvironmentF-0080-2024-10585/7/2024
Launch, recovery, and deck handling operational performance on smaller ship platforms like Corvettes, Frigates and Destroyers are qualified as the most challenging tasks in the UAS ship-deployment of a VTOL Uncrewed Air System (UAS). One of the main hurdles is the random nature of seaway-created deck motions coupled with ship structure disturbed air wake patterns. The MoD has supported a range of work aimed at bringing Quiescent Period Prediction (QPP) technology to fruition. QPP firstly requires Wave Profiling RADAR to measure the sea wave system out to approximately 2km in the region around a vessel. Secondly these measurements are employed in a wave propagation model to predict the actual wave forces acting on a vessel. Using the wave predictions as inputs to a vessel model makes possible to predict the actual (deterministic as opposed to statistical) motions of a vessel. Wave systems naturally alternate groups of large waves with smaller waves, this property, combined with the predictive ability, allows to identify the quietest (most quiescent) periods in which to conduct wave limited naval operations. Naval mission planners in the Royal Navy, and elsewhere in the World, appreciate the need to maintain rapid, but safe, deck tempo. The fundamental concept is to measure remote sea surface profiles to predict the future wave forces acting upon a vessel. The objective is to expand ship operating deck limits to approximately Sea State 6+. The deck definitions generally empirically measured by using standard rating scales, are replaced by instrumented devices reporting the status of the deck prior to touch-down. In this paper, a thorough discussion describing the QPP deck measuring devices designed to replace piloted cueing is provided. Theory, previous simulation studies and current at-sea testing along with data results, are also discussed. To conclude, the interface of the deck measuring device into the next version of the UK UAS system, is provided. The results of the RADAR trial indicated that the RADAR data was reliable, with the RADAR images matching the physical map. The two-dimensional surface plot showed both the RADAR blocking fence along with an additional target. An additional observation concerning the operation over the deck whilst the ship is experiencing a quiescent ship motion period. The coupled secondary effect documents minimized air wake confusion. This is owing to fewer ship structure excursions into and out of the air flow. To better define deck airflow around the ship the integration of a Doppler LIDAR instrumented federate is proposed. This is meant to predict the future vessel air wake and look for quiescent periods in this paralleling the vessel motion QPP technique.
Ferrier, Bernard, Christmas, Jacqueline, Belmont, Michael, Watson, RN, Commander Brad
Impact of Fog Particles on 1.55 μm Automotive LiDAR Sensor Performance: An Experimental Study in an Enclosed Chamber2021-01-00814/6/2021
To achieve full automation in self-driving vehicles, environmental perception sensing accuracy is critically important. However, ambient particles in adverse weather like foggy, rainy, or snowy conditions can significantly scatter the incident laser beam, and therefore contaminate the intensity and accuracy of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors. Especially compared to the rapidity of technology development in self-driving vehicles, there is a significant lack of documented research on LiDAR systems with wavelength longer than 1 μm for application in Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems. In this work, experimental studies were performed with a state-of-the-art 1.55 μm wavelength automotive-grade LiDAR system in a controlled laboratory fog chamber. The goal of the research is to correlate laser attenuation and the optical properties of fog particles. In this work, a thorough multistep procedure for LiDAR data analysis is presented including spatial averaging of the object measurement and characterizing the temperature effect on a LiDAR intensity parameter. Fog particle density is measured by a commercial visibility sensor instrument. Assuming a constant extinction coefficient and backscatter coefficient, a simple analytical model is derived that correlates LiDAR reflectance and extinction coefficient measured by visibility sensor. Results show that the correlation coefficient between LiDAR and visibility sensor data is 0.98 and the R-squared value of linear fitting is 0.96. By comparing the LiDAR original signal and the model, the Root-Mean-Squared Deviation is 0.007, meaning the model performs very well for predicting LiDAR reflectance in the controlled environment. Furthermore, although the returned signal strength is attenuated, the LiDAR can measure the target with a visibility range lower than six meters.
Zhan, Lu, Northrop, William F.
Dynamically Adjustable LiDAR with SPAD Array and Scanner2021-01-00914/6/2021
An important function of an Automated Driving (AD) system is to detect objects including vehicles and pedestrians on the road. Typical devices for detecting those objects include cameras, millimeter-wave RADAR, and light detection and ranging (LiDAR). LiDAR uses the flight time of a short-wavelength electromagnetic wave. Because of that LiDAR is expected to find even small objects such as tire fragments on a road in high resolution. The detection performance required for LiDAR depends on the operational design domain (ODD). For example, while a vehicle is travelling at high speeds, LiDAR needs to detect apparently small objects at long distances, and while it is travelling at low speeds, LiDAR has to detect objects over a wide angular range. Conventional LiDAR is developed to satisfy all requirements, providing performance including detection distance, resolution, and angle of view tends to expose issues such as cost and size when it is mounted onboard. To solve these problems, we have built LiDAR with a new structure consisting of an originally developed light receiving unit and scanning unit, which are the main components. The light receiving units uses an array of high-sensitivity single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs). Its vertical resolution can be selected by changing the number of SPADs per pixel. The scanning unit has introduced a reciprocal motion system, which enables dynamically choosing the range and speed of scanning, with the range of scanning 100 ° or wider. With these mechanisms, it is possible to select a high-resolution and narrow-angle mode when detecting small objects at long distances, and low-resolution and wide-angle mode for detecting many objects at short distances. Therefore, the LiDAR can adjust its performance dynamically according to driving scenes. We have confirmed that our LiDAR is effective for detecting objects under various conditions.
Nakajima, Masato, Hata, Takehiro, Ueno, Akifumi, Ozaki, Noriyuki, Mizuno, Fumiaki, Kashiwada, Shinji, Yanai, Kenichi
Multi-Sensor Fusion in Slow Lanes for Lane Keep Assist System2021-01-00844/6/2021
Implementing Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) features that are available in all road scenarios and weather conditions is a big challenge for automotive companies and considered key enablers to achieve autonomous Level 4 (L4) vehicles. One important feature is the Lane Keep Assist System (LKAS). Most LKAS systems are based on lane line detection cameras and lane coefficient estimations by the camera is the key point for LKAS where the camera recognizes the lane lines using edge detection. But when the lane markers are not available due to high traffic and slow driving on the roads, another source of data for the lane lines needs to be available for the LKAS. In this paper a multi-sensor fusion approach based on camera, Lidar, and GPS is used to allow the vehicle to maintain its lateral location within the lane. The lateral distances of the lane lines are measured by LiDAR detection of the markers based on the intensity and fused with lane line information from the HD Map after transforming the sensors to the same reference. This approach was tested on FEV’s Smart Vehicle Demonstrator and the test results show the vehicle was able to maintain the lane.
Alrousan, Qusay, Matta, Sherif, Tasky, Tom
Research on Automatic Joint Calibration Method of Multi 3D-LIDARs and Inertial Measurement Unit2021-01-00704/6/2021
In the field of automatic driving, the combination of 3D LIDAR and inertial measurement unit (IMU) is a common sensor configuration scheme in laser point-cloud localization, high-precision map making and point-cloud target detection. So it is critical to calibrate LIDAR and IMU accurately. At present, due to the large volume and high cost of 3D LIDAR with high-line-number(Such as 64 lines or 128 lines), the configuration scheme of using multiple low-line-number 3D LIDARs appears in the automatic driving vehicle sensing system. However, the common calibration methods are not suitable for multi 3D LIDARs and IMU parameters calibration on autonomous vehicle, which have the disadvantages of cumbersome implementation and low accuracy. In this paper, a joint calibration test platform composed of dual LIDARs and IMU is assembled, and a method of precise automatic calibration based on GPS/RTK data is proposed. Firstly, the initial parameters of the main 3D LIDAR and IMU are obtained by hand-eye calibration method, and then the motion distortion of the point cloud are removed by using the pose information. After global and local optimization of nearest neighbor error, the conversion parameters from the main LIDAR to IMU are obtained. Then, the remaining LIDARs are calibrated with the main LIDAR by combining coarse registration and fine registration, and finally realize the automatic calibration of external parameters of the entire system. The experimental results show that the proposed method has high calibration accuracy for the system composed of multiple 3D LIDARs and IMU, and the calibration effect is stable.
Zhang, Jinghua, He, Rui, Wu, Jian, Li, Shuai, Chen, Xuesong, Du, Zhiqiang, Chen, Guosheng, Chen, Zhicheng
Joint Calibration of Dual LiDARs and Camera Using a Circular Chessboard2020-01-00984/14/2020
Environmental perception is a crucial subsystem in autonomous vehicles. In order to build safe and efficient traffic transportation, several researches have been proposed to build accurate, robust and real-time perception systems. Camera and LiDAR are widely equipped on autonomous self-driving cars and developed with many algorithms in recent years. The fusion system of camera and LiDAR provides state-of the-art methods for environmental perception due to the defects of single vehicular sensor. Extrinsic parameter calibration is able to align the coordinate systems of sensors and has been drawing enormous attention. However, differ from spatial alignment of two sensors’ data, joint calibration of multi-sensors (more than two sensors) should balance the degree of alignment between each two sensors. In this paper, we assemble a test platform which is made up of dual LiDARs and one monocular camera and use the same sensing hardware architecture as intelligent sweeper designed by our laboratory. Meanwhile, we propose the related joint calibration method using a circular chessboard. The center of circular chessboard is respectively detected in camera image to get pixel coordinates and in point cloud of LiDAR to get 3D coordinates. The calibration problem is then converted into a 3D-2D PnP matching problem and the center of the chessboard is set as corresponding points to construct the geometric constraints to get initial calibration values. Further, a proper global loss function is elaborately designed for Levenberg-Marquardt nonlinear optimization to obtain the final calibration parameters, and then the extrinsic parameters between any two sensors are estimated simultaneously. Experimental results show that the proposed method is suitable for the joint calibration of fusion system composed of LiDARs and camera, and the calibration results have high accuracy and stability.
Deng, Zhenwen, Xiong, Lu, Yin, Dong, Shan, Fengwu
LiDAR-Based Urban Autonomous Platooning Simulation2020-01-07174/14/2020
The technological advancements of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) sensors enable the ability to; achieve autonomous vehicle platooning, increase the capacity of road lanes, and reduce traffic. This article focuses on developing urban autonomous platooning using LiDAR and GPS/IMU sensors in a simulation environment. Gazebo simulation is utilized to simulate the sensors, vehicles, and testing environment. Two vehicles are used in this study; a Lead vehicle that follows a preplanned trajectory, while the remaining vehicle (Follower) uses the LiDAR object detection and tracking information to mimic the Lead vehicle. The LiDAR object detection is handled in multiple stages: point cloud frame transformation, filtering and down-sampling, ground segmentation, and clustering. The tracking algorithm uses the clustering information to provide position and velocity of the Lead vehicle which allows for vehicle platooning. This paper covers the LiDAR object detection and tracking algorithms as well as the autonomous platooning control algorithms which were tested in a simulation environment. Test results illustrate that the Follower vehicle was able to attain the autonomous platooning based on the LiDAR data.
Alzu'bi, Hamzeh, Tasky, Tom
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering: March 202020AVEP033/5/2020
Editorial Autonomous 'Uncola' bubbles up The Navigator Cruise Origin points the way for AV architecture The Mind of Argo AI Co-founder and CEO Bryan Salesky brings a realistic approach to the self-driving technology "mission." Metamoto Goes Deep on AV Simulation Simulation based on the actual physics of vehicles and sensors continues expanding to replace millions of miles of potentially dangerous real-world testing. ZF Establishes Level 2+ ADAS Cost-effective technology solutions to meet diverse customer needs are what the "new pragmatism" in driver-assistance tech is all about. Senior VP Aine Denari explains. Lidar in a Flash Continental delivers a short-range 3D flash lidar sensor that's expected to find increasing application in commercial vehicles and off-highway ma-chines in 2020. Sensor Heat Relief Canatu's carbon nanobots keep critical sensor surfaces - and LED head-lamps - clear in sub-freezing weather. Build It and They Will Come Moving beyond vehicles, Toyota plans to manufacture an entire city. Delivering Self-driving Definitions Shifting AV-safety validation from millions of miles driven to an understand-ing of the "quality" of simulation coverage. Congestion-busting with Autonomous Shuttles GoMentum is safety-testing two Local Motors shuttles at AAA's expansive NorCal proving grounds and new V2X lab.
Lidar in a Flash20AVEP03_063/1/2020
Continental delivers a short-range 3D flash lidar sensor that's expected to find increasing application in commercial vehicles and off-highway machines in 2020. A precise three-dimensional profile of a vehicle's surroundings is a fundamental prerequisite for automated driving. A new high-resolution 3D flash lidar (HFL) sensor developed for use at close range - 50 m (164 ft) or less - delivers on this capability, according to Thomas Laux, head of business development and sales for HFL segment in Continental's Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) business unit. “This is automotive grade and solid state, meaning no moving parts. It's a bunch of semiconductors, which is ideal for commercial vehicle and even more so for the off-highway environment - they don't have a lot of hours [of operation] but their environments can be pretty rigorous,” said Laux. The IP6K9K packaging is very important for these applications, he said, as is a 3D Global Shutter feature that eliminates motion distortion and enables persistence mode and geo-registration of point cloud.
Gehm, Ryan
Long-Distance LADAR System and MethodTBMG-359802/1/2020
A laser detection and ranging (LADAR) system was developed to provide unambiguous range and velocity measurements of long-distance targets such as sea-skimming anti-ship missiles. By using the LADAR's range and velocity data, false alarms and clutter objects will be distinguished from incoming missiles at longer ranges (up to 10 km). Because the developed LADAR uses an array receiver, it can also provide three-dimensional (3D) imagery of potential threats at closer ranges (2-3 km) in support of the force protection/situational awareness mission.
Helping Autonomous Vehicles See Around CornersTBMG-357601/1/2020
To improve the safety of autonomous systems, MIT engineers have developed a system that can sense tiny changes in shadows on the ground to determine if there’s a moving object coming around the corner.
Microchip Produces High-Contrast OCT ImageryTBMG-357581/1/2020
Scientists at Columbia University, New York, have used a microchip to map the back of the eye for disease diagnosis. The interference technology used in the microchip — like bat sonar but using light instead of sound waves — has been around for a little while. However, this is the first time that technical obstacles have been overcome to fabricate a miniature device able to capture high quality images.
Wind Event Warning SystemTBMG-3545411/1/2019
NASA Langley Research Center developed a wind event warning technology that provides a practical early warning system (5-10 minutes) for a severe change in the wind vector. Events such as gusts, shear, microbursts, or thunderstorm outflows can be detected in time to prevent damage to wind turbines or help airports prevent damage to aircraft. Further, an alternative power source could be ramped up or down as needed to accommodate the power draw in the electrical grid.
Bringing Precision Anamorphic Micro-Optics to Consumer-Level Laser ApplicationsTBMG-3547511/1/2019
The use of laser light for precise illumination has been limited to high-end applications like optical lithography or small niche markets like measurement technologies. Now that such industries as automotive and consumer electronics are developing and ramping up the production of LIDAR and 3D sensors, laser illumination is scaling in a new direction. For imaging applications, optics made of polymers are already the first choice for such devices as smart cameras. But in order to deliver glass micro-optics with better performance and long-term stability, the cost structure of injection molded polymer optics needed to be addressed.
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering: September 201919AVEP099/5/2019
Editorial The new 'face' of privacy The Navigator No trust in AI systems without data protection Innovation Nation In the mobility space, Israel is rivaling Silicon Valley for smarts and start-ups - and beats it in chutzpah. Autonomy in your Face Biometric technology is deemed essential to ensuring AV driving safety and advancing the user experience-if privacy issues don't derail its deployment. About Face! To win acceptance, deployment of facial-recognition technology needs to fit within a picture-perfect consumer and legal framework that balances benefits with privacy protection. The Vehicle as Gaming Device Audi spin-off Holoride uses VR to turn the back seat into an entertainment platform. BlackBerry Tech Duo Sees Emergence of Vehicle-based Platforms Though likely to provide the OS of autonomy, BlackBerry also anticipates a larger shift to automobiles as software platforms. Improving Lidar - or Defeating It The buzz at Sensors Expo pitted lidar-tech optimism against the reality of an impending shakeout. 'Smart' in Ohio's Heartland With a 45-year history in vehicle testing, Ohio's Transportation Research Center launches a $45-million investment in the automated-vehicle future, becoming North America's largest dedicated AV test facility. Empathy to Elevate the User Experience Harman developers are striving to create human-machine interfaces oriented more towards user needs. ZF's Tech Portfolio is Ready for Level 4 Autonomy Well aware of the relentless hype that comes with automated driving development, ZF's autonomy boss knows cost will be crucial-and customer persuasion required. Trucking Without Truckers The challenges are myriad, but automated-trucking developer TUSimple believes the efficiencies of true depot-to-depot driverless hauling are too promising to ignore.
Improving Lidar - or Defeating It19AVEP09_089/1/2019
The buzz at Sensors Expo pitted lidar-tech optimism against the reality of an impending shakeout. For more than a decade, the lidar market has been led by Velodyne and its spinning towers of 64 or 128 laser beams. But the relatively high cost, delicate architecture, and beefy form factor have made it a competitive target. The growing ranks of competitors fall roughly into two camps. There are the fledgling lidar-makers with novel approaches to distance measurement, laser wavelength, and beam steering. And there are those with radar and vision systems promising lidar-level sensing capabilities at a lower cost. The jockeying for position was on full display at the 2019 Sensors Expo and Conference, held in San Jose, Calif. “The greatest amount of discussion is about lidar right now because there are a lot of startups in that space,” observed Jim Hines, an independent consultant working on semiconductor and sensor technologies for connected and autonomous vehicles.
Berman, Bradley
Optical Distance Measurement at Record-High SpeedTBMG-351629/1/2019
Scientists of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and École Poly-technique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have reported that they achieved the fastest distance measurement attained so far. The researchers demonstrated on-the-fly sampling of a gun bullet profile with micrometer accuracy. The experiment relied on a soliton frequency comb generated in a chip-based optical microresonator made from silicon nitride. Potential applications include real-time 3D cameras based on highly precise and compact LIDAR systems.
Bringing Human-Like Reasoning to Driverless Car NavigationTBMG-347727/1/2019
With the aim of bringing more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicles, MIT researchers have created a system that uses only simple maps and visual data to enable driverless cars to navigate routes in new, complex environments.
SLD and Ice Crystal Discrimination with the Optical Ice Detector2019-01-19346/10/2019
In response to new safety regulations regarding aircraft icing, Collins Aerospace has developed and tested an Optical Ice Detector (OID) capable of discriminating among icing conditions appropriate to Appendix C and Appendix O of 14 CFR Part 25 and Appendix D of Part 33. The OID is a short-range, polarimetric lidar that samples the airstream up to ten meters beyond the skin of the aircraft. The intensity and extinction of the backscatter light correlate with bulk properties of the cloud, such as water content and phase. Backscatter scintillation (combined with the outside air temperature from another probe) signals the presence of supercooled large droplets (SLD) within the cloud-a capability incorporated into the OID to meet the requirements of Appendix O. Recent laboratory and flight tests of the Optical Ice Detector have confirmed the efficacy of the OID to discriminate among the various icing conditions. Drizzle-sized droplets, mixed with a small droplet cloud in the Collins Cloud Chamber, appear as scintillations in the lidar signal when it is processed pulse-by-pulse. Averaging the signal over multiple pulses, causes large droplets to become obscured by the small droplet background. In addition, the OID has discriminated and quantified mixed phase in a flight test aboard the NASA DC-8 Airborne Science Laboratory. The threshold for ice water quantification is less than 0.5 g/m3 IWC, while that for liquid water cloud detection is less than 0.05 g/m3 LWC.
Anderson, Kaare J., Ray, Mark D.
Infrared Light-Focusing PlatformTBMG-346306/1/2019
Researchers have integrated two technologies widely used in applications such as optical communications, bio-imaging, and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) systems to create a new infrared light-focusing system that combines the best features of both technologies while reducing the size of the optical system.
Retinas to Roadways: The Evolution of Optical Coherence TechnologyTBMG-346236/1/2019
Insight Photonic Solutions Lafayette, CO
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering: May 201919AVEP055/2/2019
Editorial AVs, data and 'surveillance capitalism' SAE AV Activities SAE launches Office of Automation The Navigator Lessons from the 737 Max-8 debacle Scorecard Waymo, GM and Ford pegged as autonomous leaders Designs to Dye for: Autonomy's New-Materials Revolution From pineapples to bacteria, Envisage's research is focused on new-mobility's 'inside' story. Dining on Data Processing, in real-time, the enormous data stream that's flowing through AVs is increasingly the job of NVIDIA's mighty GPUs. Danny Shapiro relishes the feast. New Performance Metrics for Lidar Frame-rate measurement is so yesterday. Object-revisit rate and instantaneous resolution are more relevant metrics, and indicative of what a lidar system can and should do, argues a revolutionary in the artificial-perception space. 5G Cellular May Be Transformational for Automakers, Suppliers Long-awaited 5G cellular technology will be a foundational base for expanding vehicle connectivity and autonomy, enabling far more data capacity and lower latency. First Smile, Last Smile May Mobility is building a unique business model around AV shuttle services, explains COO and co-founder Alisyn Malek. 'Road Race' for AV Testing May Be Slowing To optimize safety, as well as cost- and time-efficiency, experts espouse increased virtual testing of autonomous vehicles as preferable to the industry's rush to test on public roads. The famous "Trolley Problem" might not really be the problem automat-ed-vehicle ethics have to solve. AV 'Goiters' Be Gone! Magneti Marelli's 'Smart Corner' technology aims to reduce cost, complexity and mass by integrating key vehicle sensors seamlessly into a vehicle's lighting modules. Supersonic Spy Drone To light off its ramjet engine, the 2,300-mph D-21 needed a blindingly-fast launch platform. Enter Lockheed's A-12-the precursor to the SR-71 Blackbird.
Reconstruction of 3D Accident Sites Using USGS LiDAR, Aerial Images, and Photogrammetry2019-01-04234/2/2019
The accident reconstruction community has previously relied upon photographs and site visits to recreate a scene. This method is difficult in instances where the site has changed or is not accessible. In 2017 the United States Geological Survey (USGS) released historical 3D point clouds (LiDAR) allowing for access to digital 3D data without visiting the site. This offers many unique benefits to the reconstruction community including: safety, budget, time, and historical preservation. This paper presents a methodology for collecting this data and using it in conjunction with aerial imagery, and camera matching photogrammetry to create 3D computer models of the scene without a site visit. To determine accuracies achievable using this method, evidence locations solved for using only USGS LiDAR, aerial images and scene photographs (representative of emergency personnel photographs) were compared with known locations documented using total station survey equipment and ground-based 3D laser scanning. The data collected from three different site locations was analyzed, and camera matching photogrammetry was performed independently by 5 different individuals to locate evidence. On average, the resulting evidence for all three test sites was found to be within 3.0 inches (8cm) of known evidence locations with a standard deviation of 1.7 inches (4cm). To further evaluate the quality of the USGS LiDAR, a comparative point cloud analysis of the roadway surfaces was performed. On average, 85% of the USGS LiDAR points were found to be within .5 inches of the ground-based 3D scanning points.
Terpstra, Toby, Dickinson, Jordan, Hashemian, Alireza, Fenton, Stephen
Vision System for Detecting a Small Object at Far Range2019-01-08864/2/2019
As one of the advanced sensing technologies of Autonomous driving, we have started developing the new vision system. It focuses on detecting the small object at far ranges. It makes it possible to detour a vehicle along the traffic cones (small object). This system is based on the high-resolution mono-camera with narrow FOV and the algorithms for object-detection/ranging and lane-detection. A prototype is created and evaluated. It could detect the cones and estimate their ranges up to 150 [m]. The range accuracy is 5.3 [m]. Plural cones at different ranges can be measure at one time. The lane detection could reach 150 [m].
Miyahara, Shunji, Li, Huan, Xie, Kunpeng, Bai, Bai Jincheng
Determine 24 GHz and 77 GHz Radar Characteristics of Surrogate Grass2019-01-10124/2/2019
Road Departure Mitigation System (RDMS) is a new feature in vehicle active safety systems. It may not rely only on the lane marking for road edge detection, but other roadside objects This paper discusses the radar aspect of the RDMS testing on roads with grass road edges. Since the grass color may be different at different test sites and in different seasons, testing of RDMS with real grass road edge has the repeatability issue over time and locations. A solution is to develop surrogate grass that has the same characteristics of the representative real grass. Radar can be used in RDMS to identify road edges. The surrogate grass should be similar to representative real grass in color, LIDAR characteristics, and Radar characteristics. This paper provides the 24 GHz and 77 GHz radar characteristic specifications of surrogate grass.
Lin, Jun, Chen, Chi-Chih, Chien, Stanley, Sherony, Rini, Yi, Qiang, Chen, Yaobin
Robust Validation Platform of Autonomous Capability for Commercial Vehicles2019-01-06864/2/2019
Global deployment of autonomous capability for commercial vehicles is a big challenge. In order to improve the robustness of autonomous approach under different traffic scenarios, environments, road conditions, and driver behaviors, a combined approach of virtual simulation, vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) testing, proving ground testing, and final field testing have been established for algorithms validation. During the validation platform setup, different platforms for different functionalities have been studied, including open source virtual testing environment (CARLA, AirSim), and commercial one (IPG). We also cooperate with MCity to do proving ground validation. In virtual testing, the functionality of sensors (camera, radar, Lidar, GPS, IMU) and vehicle dynamic models can be applied in the virtual environment. In VIL testing, real world and virtual test will be connected for different validation purposes. The proving ground testing will be performed in real environment with rich scenarios and high safety. Several challenges have been overcome during implementation, including data transmission, computing time, sensor system consistency, vehicle dynamic model consistency and etc. In this paper, a robust autonomous driving validation platform, including perception, planning and control algorithm, will be introduced in different virtual and physical validation approaches. Several test case studies for algorithm testing will be discussed. And conclusions will be made on the established validation platforms and next steps for the development and improvement of commercial vehicle’s autonomous capability.
Sun, Yong, Li, Hanxiang, Peng, Weilun
A Stochastic Physical Simulation Framework to Quantify the Effect of Rainfall on Automotive Lidar2019-01-01344/2/2019
The performance of environment perceiving sensors such as e.g. lidar, radar, camera and ultrasonic sensors is safety critical for automated driving vehicles. Therefore, one has to assess the sensors’ performance to assure the automated driving system’s safety. The performance of these sensors is however to some degree sensitive towards adverse weather conditions. A challenge is to quantify the effect of adverse weather conditions on the sensor’s performance early in the development of an automated driving system. This challenge is addressed in this work for lidar sensors. The lidar equation was previously employed in this context to derive estimates of a lidar’s maximum range in different weather conditions. In this work, we present a stochastic simulation framework based on a probabilistic extension of the lidar equation, to quantify the effect of adverse rainfall conditions on a lidar’s raw detection performance. To this end, we combine basic probabilistic models for key rainfall parameters with Mie theory and the theory of signal detection in a Monte Carlo simulation framework. This allows to analyze and optimize a sensor’s design early in the sensor development, when physical testing is not yet possible. A challenge not addressed in this work is to include the effect of road spray water on the lidar’s performance. Combining the effect of other noise sources with the presented framework in a ray tracer is an opportunity for realistic physical lidar simulations and would allow to virtually estimate the performance of a lidar’s object detection and tracking performance. Such simulations could contribute to verify the safety of automated driving functionalities.
Berk, Mario, Dura, Michael, Vargas Rivero, Jose, Schubert, Olaf, Kroll, Hans-Martin, Buschardt, Boris, Straub, Daniel
Laser Ranging Can See 3D Objects Melting in FiresTBMG-341814/1/2019
Optical range measurements, already used in manufacturing and other fields, may help overcome practical challenges posed by structural fires, which are too hot to measure with conventional electromechanical sensors mounted on buildings.
A Marriage of Light-Manipulation TechnologiesTBMG-339003/1/2019
Researchers have, for the first time, integrated two technologies widely used in applications such as optical communications, bio-imaging, and Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) systems. In the collaborative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory and Harvard University, researchers successfully crafted a metasurface-based lens atop a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) platform. The result is a new infrared light-focusing system that combines the best features of both technologies while reducing the size of the optical system.
Driverless ForkliftsTBMG-338873/1/2019
Although driverless forklifts have been around for about 30 years, it's only in the last 10 or so that they've been free to maneuver anywhere around their environment. In the early days, the machines followed a current in a wire buried in a concrete floor. There have since been a handful of different approaches, but all are variants on that theme. They went from wires in the floor to paint on the floor, to tape on the floor, to magnets in the floor, to reflectors on the walls, to QR codes on the ground, but they were all just different types of landmarks. So, the vehicles were confined to a fixed path — quite predictable, but extremely inflexible.
Microresonators Offer Simpler Approach to Sensing With Light PulsesTBMG-335571/1/2019
Ultrashort optical pulses are becoming more and more relevant in a number of applications including distance measurement, molecular fingerprinting and ultrafast sampling. Many of these applications rely not only on a single stream of pulses — also known as optical frequency combs — but require two or even three of them. These multi-comb approaches significantly speed up acquisition time over conventional techniques.
Autonomous Vehicle Engineering: October 201818AVEP1010/4/2018
Editorial As autonomy and mobility merge LiDAR Giant 100 competitors want to eat his lunch, but Velodyne president Mike Jellen aims to maintain leadership in this fast-moving, trillion-dollar technology space. Rewriting the Code Renovo's Aware operating system for Automated Mobility on Demand (AMoD) is expanding its reach as more players see open-platform software as a unifying-and simplifying-answer to quicker and less-costly automated-vehicle deployment. Expanding the Role of FPGAs New demands for on-vehicle data processing, and over-the-air updating, are expanding the use of these programmable semicon-ductors in production vehicles. The recent Daimler-Xilinx linkup shows the way forward. Sly HMI Mitsubishi Electric sees 'hybrid haptics' and even your own vehicle-de-ployed drone as new methods to enhance the in-cabin experience. Screen Glare be Gone A new atmospheric optical bonding process ensures the "smart surfaces" in AV cabins have significantly-reduced glare and greater clarity-all with improved durability. For Lidar, MEMS the Word Tiny gimballed mirrors on chips are being developed that could improve the form factor and cost of automotive lidar. Scooter, Scat? Some see nuisance and infrastructure pressures, but dockless electric scooters and other small rideshare vehicles probably are too useful to be regulated away. Phone Alliance's Standard Targets Automotive Sensors MIPI plans to have a high-speed automotive standard ready by 2019, to meet the data-processing demand of automated vehicles. Heavy-Duty Disruption Truck-making centenarian Navistar learns new tricks by brushing up on 'business anthropology' and studying disruptors like Amazon.
Hyperfine Interpolated Range Finding for CW Lidar, Radar, and Sonar Using Repeating Waveforms and Fourier Transform ReorderingTBMG-325188/1/2018
NASA's Langley Research Center has developed a novel fine interpolation technique that is useful in signal processing for applications in lidar, sonar, radar, and similar modalities. The interpolation technique uses repeating waveforms, Fourier transform reordering, and Richardson-Lucy deconvolution to obtain faster and more accurate results. The prime target application is range finding, but the technique is equally suitable for differential absorption studies, such as determining CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
Fail-Operational Safety Architecture for ADAS Systems Considering Domain ECUs2018-01-10694/3/2018
In recent years the automotive companies are developing their self-driving technology very rapidly. Most of them want to launch their self-driving vehicles with SAE level 4 at the beginning of 2020. The main goal of the development of self-driving cars is to reduce accidents caused by driver errors. But there are some technological challenges to solve such as increasing of the safety and availability in order to get the acceptance from the customers. The purpose of this research is to investigate the possible fail-operational safety architectures for both conventional systems as powertrain and the entire ADAS processing chain. The solutions show how the redundant system architecture and safety architecture can be created efficiently and diverse redundancy for ADAS systems considering the processing chain from sensors such as camera, radar, lidar, etc. to perception and decision algorithms in order to fulfill the ASIL D safety requirements and to increase the system availability with fail-operational for self-driving vehicles with SAE Level 3 and fully self-driving vehicles with SAE level 4 and level 5.
Sari, Bülent, Reuss, Hans-Christian
Using Multiple Photographs and USGS LiDAR to Improve Photogrammetric Accuracy2018-01-05164/3/2018
The accident reconstruction community relies on photogrammetry for taking measurements from photographs. Camera matching, a close-range photogrammetry method, is a particularly useful tool for locating accident scene evidence after time has passed and the evidence is no longer physically visible. In this method, objects within the accident scene that have remained unchanged are used as a reference for locating evidence that is no longer physically available at the scene such as tire marks, gouge marks, and vehicle points of rest. Roadway lines, edges of pavement, sidewalks, signs, posts, buildings, and other structures are recognizable scene features that if unchanged between the time of accident and time of analysis are beneficial to the photogrammetric process. In instances where these scene features are limited or do not exist, achieving accurate photogrammetric solutions can be challenging. Off-road incidents, snow-covered roadways, rural areas, and unpaved roadways are examples where available scene features may be limited. Other factors like the number of photographs, the specific vantage of the photographs, and occlusion of recognizable features within these photographs can also limit the number of common features available for use in camera matching. In these instances, camera matching solutions can be improved by extending the 3D environment to include objects visible in the distance such as mountains, valleys, and other notable landmarks that are typically outside of the scope of 3D scene mapping. This article demonstrates a method for obtaining and using this elevation data in combination with 3D scene mapping for camera matching photogrammetry. Photogrammetric solutions with limited scene features are compared to photogrammetric solutions based on the same limited scene features with the addition of digital elevation models. Solution accuracies from both scenarios are then individually evaluated to demonstrate improvements through the use of elevation models. In this study, the incorporation of digital elevation modeling at a site with limited scene features demonstrates a 74% improvement for evidence located through camera matching photogrammetry. For further evaluation, the camera match solutions were compared in combined solutions, where information obtained from one camera match was used to inform the next. This was done for both the scenario with digital elevation models and the scenario without. The results demonstrate how the number of available photos can influence the overall accuracy of photogrammetry solutions.
Terpstra, Toby, Dickinson, Jordan, Hashemian, Alireza
Automotive Engineering: February 201818AUTP022/1/2018
Leaf turns to the 2020s Nissan's pioneering battery-EV finally gets styling, propulsion and feature upgrades that put it back in the thick of the expanding electric-car race. A rebel's guide to chassis engineering Before the advent of FEA, engineers used their hands to study chassis strength and stiffness. The approach still offers benefits today, notes the man who wrote chassis engineering's "bible." Auto tech comes on strong at CES 2018 The automotive sector showed up at CES with autonomy announcements by the score and a spectrum of new-technology unveilings. New SAE President focused on Big Data Mircea Gradu, senior VP and quality chief at lidar specialist Velodyne, targets data analytics, electrification and connectivity, and STEM initiatives during his 2018 term. Editorial: Tapping the brakes on autonomy Supplier Eye Meeting the less-is-more challenge of global scale The Navigator Autonomous business models vs. current cash generators Plug-in hybrid brings Honda into sharper Clarity 2018 Detroit auto show: Achates Power OP engine begins real-world test phase Workhorse multiphysics tool gets upgrades Toyota's new Structural Blue paint shimmers on Lexus LC500 Chevy unveils larger, lighter 2019 Silverado at Detroit auto show 2018 Detroit auto show: Ford Ranger returns 2019 XC40 showcases Volvo's new CMA platform What We're Driving Q&A Dassault's Mike LaLande
New Osram IREDs enhance vehicle vision without harming human eyes18AUTP08_081/1/2018
As a compliment to cameras, LiDAR and radar, a new family of Infrared LEDs (IREDs) can expand the vision of SAE Level 4 and 5 autonomous vehicles without harming human eyes, claims maker Osram Opto Semiconductors. Infrared night vision cameras, LiDAR, radar, and vehicle headlights will provide autonomous vehicles with an ability to see the surroundings at night, but the technologies have limitations.
Buchholz, Kami
2.2-Micron, Uncooled, InGaAs Photodiodes and Balanced Photoreceivers up to 25-GHz BandwidthTBMG-2766310/1/2017
Traditional applications for 2-micron photodetectors have been largely dominated by passive remote sensing where detectors having bandwidth of even one megahertz are deemed sufficient. The onus in such applications is to achieve low dark current through active cooling. The advent of high-power, 2-micron-wavelength lasers has made coherent LiDARs viable for active sensing applications. Such a system needs photodetectors that can handle high local oscillator optical power and have large bandwidth. Through a combination of high coherent gain and small integration time, a large signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved. Operation at high optical power levels reduces the significance of photodiodes' dark current. As a result, uncooled operation at room temperature is feasible, simplifying the overall instrument design.
Automotive Engineering: June 201717AUTP066/1/2017
Tackling NVH one dB per day New tools and technologies are helping engineers reduce vehicle Noise, Vibration and Harshness. Artificial intelligence becomes a reality Automakers could be among the leaders in deploying AI in free-standing, high-reliability environments. But developers must determine how to mitigate undesirable side-effects. Lidar: autonomy's mission-critical component Automated-driving capability likely won't happen without Lidar. But what technology-and at what price? Formula One goes longer, lower, wider for 2017 New rules make the cars faster and more aggressive-looking, with a wider track, wider tires and bigger wings. Editorial: Core Ford, New Ford...OneFord? SAE Standards News Seeking a common language for vehicle automation Supplier Eye Are you innovating for NVH? Exa simulation aims to keep ADAS sensors clean CO2 buildup in vehicle cabins becoming a safety issue DSD's low-cost 12V hybrid aims for small cars VW finally fills its SUV gap with 2018 Atlas Loss leader: 2018 Chevy Equinox gets smaller, lighter, tidier Nissan engineers Sport into its hot-selling CUV Alfonso Albaisa, Nissan's new design director, relishes his relationship with engineering.
3D-Sonification for Obstacle Avoidance in Brownout ConditionsF-0073-2017-120465/9/2017
ABSTRACT Helicopter brownout is a phenomenon that occurs when making landing approaches in dusty environments, whereby sand or dust particles become swept up in the rotor outwash. Brownout is characterized by partial or total obscuration of the terrain, which degrades visual cues necessary for hovering and safe landing. Furthermore, the motion of the dust cloud produced during brownout can lead to the pilot experiencing motion cue anomalies such as vection illusions. In this context, the stability and guidance control functions can be intermittently or continuously degraded, potentially leading to undetected surface hazards and obstacles as well as unnoticed drift. Safe and controlled landing in brownout can be achieved using an integrated presentation of LADAR and RADAR imagery and aircraft state symbology. However, though detected by the LADAR and displayed on the sensor image, small obstacles can be difficult to discern from the background so that changes in obstacle elevation may go unnoticed. Moreover, pilot workload associated with tracking the displayed symbology is often so high that the pilot cannot give sufficient attention to the LADAR/RADAR image. This paper documents a simulation evaluating the use of 3D auditory cueing for obstacle avoidance in brownout as a replacement for or compliment to LADAR/RADAR imagery.
Godfroy-Cooper, M., Wenzel, E., Szoboszlay, Z., Miller, J.
Obstacle Avoidance Strategy and Implementation for Unmanned Ground Vehicle Using LIDAR2017-01-01183/28/2017
Regarding safety, obstacle avoidance has been considered as one of the most important features among ADAS systems for ground vehicles. However, the implementation of obstacle avoidance functions to commercial vehicles are still under progress. In this paper, we demonstrate a complete process of obstacle avoidance strategy for unmanned ground vehicle and implement the strategy on the self-developed Arduino based RC Car. In this process, the sensor LIDAR was used to detect the obstacles on the fore-path. Based on the measured LIDAR data, an optimized path is automatically generated with accommodation of current car position, obstacle locations, car operation capability and global environmental restrictions. The path planning is updated in real time while new or changing obstacles being detected. This algorithm is validated by the simulation results with the RC car. The comparison will be discussed at the end of this paper. The successful implementation of the proposed strategy demonstrates the feasibility of this obstacle avoidance methodology, which can be applied to commercial autonomous vehicle.
Wang, Yang, Goila, Ankit, Shetty, Rahul, Heydari, Mahdi, Desai, Ambarish, Yang, Hanlong
2.2-Micron, Uncooled, InGaAs Photodiodes and Balanced Photoreceivers up to 25-GHz BandwidthTBMG-264693/1/2017
Traditional applications for 2-micron photodetectors have been largely dominated by passive remote sensing where detectors having bandwidth of even one megahertz are deemed sufficient. The onus in such applications is to achieve low dark current through active cooling. The advent of high-power, 2-micron-wave-length lasers have made coherent LiDARs viable for active sensing applications. Such a system needs photodetectors that can handle high local oscillator optical power and have large bandwidth. Through a combination of high coherent gain and small integration time, a large signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved. Operation at high optical power levels reduces the significance of photodiodes’ dark current. As a result, uncooled operation at room temperature is feasible, simplifying the overall instrument design.
Branimir Blagojevic, Technologist, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MDTBMG-262691/23/2017
During his time with former employer Science and Engineering Services, LLC, Branimir Blagojevic helped build a remote-sensing device that detected biological agents. The technology, originally made for the Department of Defense (DoD), may soon find a place on Mars. Blagojevic currently leads the development of the Bio-Indicator Lidar Instrument (BILI), a device that could be used to spot organic molecules and signs of life on Mars.
Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind LidarTBMG-2552410/1/2016
NASA’s Langley Research Center has developed an algorithm, Airborne Wind Profiling Algorithm for Doppler Wind Lidar (APOLO), that offers highly accurate, real-time measurement of wind parameters (i.e., direction and speed) by airborne wind lidar sensors. APOLO enables the extraction of accurate wind speed and direction from noisy flight environments, and provides correction for instrument installation biases. The algorithm has been incorporated into a supporting software package that displays accurate airborne Doppler wind lidar data, and offers several data post-processing and display functionalities. The offset compensation and parameter extraction technology could be used in a variety of applications where the motion and orientation of a lidar sensor may result in data inaccuracy. NASA is seeking licensees that may benefit from integration of the compensation algorithm and data post-processing software into existing or developing systems.
Characterizing Richness of Previously Unmapped Terrain and Estimating its Impact on Navigation Performance using 3D Range Sensors in FlightTBMG-250287/1/2016
Landers to large planetary bodies such as Mars typically use a secondary reconnaissance spacecraft to generate high-fidelity 3D terrain maps that are subsequently used for landing site selection and creating onboard maps for terrain-relative navigation systems. This luxury does not exist with small primitive bodies such as comets and asteroids. For these bodies, the landing spacecraft has to perform the 3D mapping and, with possible help from ground control, choose a feasible landing site. To enable this operation, the spacecraft would need to carry a 3D ranging sensor system such as a LIDAR. With the spacecraft placed in extended mapping orbits, 3D range measurement data is then used to create a shape model of the object. Terrain-based navigation schemes that employ cameras could then be used to image, detect, match, and track features against the map database to provide a 6-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) navigation solution during descent. Camera-based systems, however, are not robust to lighting variations, and do not provide a direct 3D position/range feedback.
2.2-Micron, Uncooled, InGaAs Photodiodes and Balanced Photoreceivers up to 25-GHz BandwidthTBMG-245865/1/2016
Traditional applications for 2-micron photodetectors have been largely dominated by passive remote sensing where detectors having bandwidth of even one megahertz are deemed sufficient. The onus in such applications is to achieve low dark current through active cooling. The advent of high-power, 2-micron-wavelength lasers has made coherent LiDARs viable for active sensing applications. Such a system needs photodetectors that can handle high local oscillator optical power and have large bandwidth. Through a combination of high coherent gain and small integration time, a large signal-to-noise ratio can be achieved. Operation at high optical power levels reduces the significance of photodiodes’ dark current. As a result, uncooled operation at room temperature is feasible, simplifying the overall instrument design.
A Survey of Multi-View Photogrammetry Software for Documenting Vehicle Crush2016-01-14754/5/2016
Video and photo based photogrammetry software has many applications in the accident reconstruction community including documentation of vehicles and scene evidence. Photogrammetry software has developed in its ease of use, cost, and effectiveness in determining three dimensional data points from two dimensional photographs. Contemporary photogrammetry software packages offer an automated solution capable of generating dense point clouds with millions of 3D data points from multiple images. While alternative modern documentation methods exist, including LiDAR technologies such as 3D scanning, which provide the ability to collect millions of highly accurate points in just a few minutes, the appeal of automated photogrammetry software as a tool for collecting dimensional data is the minimal equipment, equipment costs and ease of use. This paper evaluates the accuracy and capabilities of four automated photogrammetry based software programs to accurately create 3D point clouds, by comparing the results to 3D scanning. Both a damaged and undamaged vehicle were documented with video and photographs and on average the damaged vehicle set returned more data points with higher accuracy than the undamaged vehicle set. Four cameras types were evaluated and more accurate results were achieved when using either a DSLR or a point-and-shoot camera than when using a GoPro, or a cell phone camera. Photogrammetry data from video footage was analyzed and found to be both less accurate and to return less data than photographs. By limiting the number of photographs used, it was found that a photogrammetry solution could be achieved with as few as 16 photographs encircling a vehicle, but better results were reached with a larger number of photographs.
Terpstra, Toby, Voitel, Tilo, Hashemian, Alireza
Generating a Laser Linear Frequency Modulation Waveform for Application in Coherent Doppler LidarTBMG-238572/1/2016
Frequency modulation of a single-frequency laser with a linear triangular waveform is of great interest to many laser remote sensing and interferometry applications. Linear frequency modulation of a continuous-wave (CW) laser beam can make target distance measurements with great precision. If the frequency modulation is perfectly linear with time, such a laser radar (lidar) system will have higher resolution and accuracy compared with pulsed lasers.
Real-Time LiDAR Signal Processing FPGA ModulesTBMG-236581/1/2016
A scanning LiDAR, by its inherent nature, generates a great deal of raw digital data. To generate 3D imagery in real time, the data must be processed as quickly as possible. One method of discerning time-of-flight of a laser pulse for a LiDAR application is correlating a Gaussian pulse with a discretely sampled waveform from the LiDAR receiver.
A 16-Beam, Non-Scanning, Swath-Mapping Laser Altimeter InstrumentTBMG-2327911/1/2015
The purpose of this work was to develop and demonstrate technologies for a next-generation, efficient, swath-mapping space laser altimeter. The Lidar Surface Topography (LIST) mission concept allows simultaneous measurements of 5-meter-spatial-resolution topography and vegetation vertical structure with decimeter vertical precision in an elevationimaging swath several kilometers wide from a 400-km-altitude Earth orbit. To advance and demonstrate needed technologies for the LIST mission, the Airborne LIST Simulator (ALISTS) pathfinder instrument was developed. ALISTS is a micropulse, single photon-sensitive waveform recording system based on a new and highly efficient laser measurement approach utilizing emerging laser transmitter and detector technologies.
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