Apple Inc.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Lyft, Inc.

Christy Fernandez Cull

Matthew Emanuel Last

Brian M Tyrrell

Andrew K Bolstad

Clarisse Mazuir

Budhadipta Dan

Arthur Yasheng Zhang

Ryan Joseph Garrone

Daniel E Potter

Matisse J Milovich

Malcolm J Northcott

Lucian Ion

David Tse-Zhou Lu

Luca Del Pero

Jack E Graves

Randol W Aikin

Evan C Cull

Abdullah Ahsan Zaidi

Mira S Misra

Daniel J Reetz

James J Reuther

Filip Ilievski

Ricardo Da Silveira Cabral

Eahab Nagi El Naga

Irene Perali

Paul Furgale

Alison Marie Thurber

Christopher M Miller

Sheila P Nabanja

Ashley John Cooper

Jonathan Mazur Dyer

Charles J Richey

Embodiments provide a hardware-based mechanism to continuously calibrate a set of sensors on a vehicle while the vehicle is in motion or in use. Specifically, each sensor is mounted on a respective rigid mounting device placed on the vehicle. A secondary sensing device for calibration is also rigidly mounted on the mounting device such that the relative position between the secondary device and the camera sensor can remain unchanged. The secondary sensing devices can then be used to detect a relative distance and/or position of the same calibration target. The sensed data is then used to determine, via stereo triangulation, the relative positions of the two secondary sensing devices, which in turn indicates the relative positions of the sensors.

Systems and methods for calibration of sensors on a vehicle

Commercial personal mobile vehicles (PMVs) managed by a fleet management system are sometimes equipped with a radar sensor to detect objects in an environment external to the PMVs. Specifically, the PMV may be equipped with a variety of sensors, such as a radar, a sonar sensor, a (optional) camera, an inertia measurement unit (IMU), and/or the like. The combination of a radar reflection signal and a sonar signal may provide measurements of characteristics such as a Doppler velocity and height information of a nearby object, which may be input to a machine learning classifier to determine the probability that the nearby object is a VRU. For another example, the reflection pattern from radar and ultrasonic may be used to input to a machine learning classifier to determine a type of the road surface, e.g., an asphalt road surface, a concrete sidewalk surface, a wet-grass lawn surface, and/or the like.

Systems and methods for detecting an environment external to a personal mobile vehicle in a fleet management system

A lighting module comprising lighting elements and a controller configured to receive a control signal that identifies a user as present. In response to the control signal associated with user presence, the lighting module is configured to send a command to one or more of the lighting elements to illuminate a first zone where the user is present. The lighting module is configured to receive a control signal that identifies that illumination of a second zone was previously requested by the user at a current location, and in response to the control signal associated with the current location, send a command to one or more of the lighting elements to illuminate the second zone.

System and method for adjustable lighting

Conventional methods for imaging transient targets are constrained by a trade-off between resolution and frame rate, and transient targets moving faster than the detector frame typically result in image blurring. Imagers using digital-pixel focal plane arrays ('DFPAs') have on-chip global pixel operation capability for extracting a single transient-feature (i.e., single-frequency discrimination) in a snapshot that depends on the number of counters implemented per pixel. However, these DFPA systems are not capable of multi-target and multi-frequency discrimination. Imagers described herein achieve multi-target transient signature discrimination orders of magnitude faster than the readout frame rate using in-pixel electronic shuttering with a known time-encoded modulation. Three-dimensional (x,y,t) data cube reconstruction is performed using compressive sensing algorithms.

Method and apparatus for on-chip per-pixel pseudo-random time coded exposure

A system includes a processor and a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations including determining a current state of a vehicle, the current state determined based on information from sensors, receiving a lighting control signal based on the information received from the sensors, and activating an adjustable and controllable spotlight based on the lighting control signal.

System and method for adjustable lighting based on occupant and object identification in a vehicle

A method includes determining temperature values for roadway areas ahead of a vehicle, determining lubricant state values for the roadway areas, and determining lubricant thickness values for the roadway areas. The method also includes determining a tire-road friction estimate for each of the roadway areas using the temperature values, the lubricant state values, and the lubricant thickness values, and defining a friction map that relates the tire-road friction estimates to the roadway areas. The method also includes determining a motion plan based at least in part on the friction map, and controlling the vehicle based on the motion plan.

Tire-road friction estimation and mapping

Aspects of the present disclosure involve systems, methods, devices, and the like, for controlling the projection of an array of lights or an image from a headlight of a vehicle in response to information provided by one or more sensors or user inputs. The projection may be utilized to highlight an object in or near the path of travel of a vehicle. In another example, the headlight may be controlled to adjust the contrast across the field of view of the headlight. In addition, the system may project one or more images onto an object or surface either in the path of the vehicle or within the field of view of the headlight, projecting a 'next step' in a series of navigation instructions onto the road, and/or projecting an indication of a movement of the vehicle to warn people around the vehicle of the movement of the vehicle. One or more visual effects may also be incorporated into the system to enhance the visibility of objects.

System and method for light and image projection

A system for optically stabilizing the projection light from a vehicle. The system includes a light source for generating and emitting light, an aperture, and a spatial light modulator for altering an illumination pattern of the light. The spatial light modulator disposed along an optical path extending from the light source to the aperture, wherein the light projects from the aperture. The system also includes an inertial-sensing. The inertial-sensing unit generates signals representing a position of the vehicle, an orientation of the vehicle, or both. The system further includes a control unit. The control unit receives signals from the inertial-sensing unit to determine changes in position and/or orientation of the vehicle relative to the road and sends signals to the spatial light modulator adjust an illumination pattern of the light to steer the light to a nominal value, defined by a vehicle in a level plane relative to a road system.

Dynamic control of projected light relative to a scene

Growing community of inventors

Sunnyvale, CA, United States of America

Christy Fernandez Cull