Google Inc.

Waymo LLC

Apple Inc.

Waymo Holding Inc.

Felix Jose Alvarez Rivera

Daniel Lynn Larner

Thomas Daniel

Atul Gupta

Lawrence K Lam

Peter Craig Lombrozo

Amy A Han

Courtney McCool

William Riis Hamburgen

Andrew Bowers

Kevin Tom

Gadi Amit

Yoshikazu Hoshino

Kenneth Ryan Loo

Jacqueline Belleau

Andreas Wendel

Jeremy Dittmer

Brendan Hermalyn

Kimberly Geneva Toth

Ji Heun Lee

Shane Mcguire

Emery Artemus Sanford

James Tanner

Vijay L Asrani

Douglas Blake Kough

Wey-Jiun Lin

Ralph Hamilton Shepard

Seth Gilbertson

Neil Hendin

Joseph Edward Clayton

Alex Khaykin

Roger Best

Scott A Myers

Richard Hung Minh Dinh

Daniel William Jarvis

Yoshimichi Matsuoka

Albert John Golko

Jean-Pierre Simon Guillou

Daniel Henry Fourie

Michelle Yu

Ken Foo

Robert Kim

Jason Minahan

Kimberley Mae Richardson

The technology relates to autonomous vehicles that use a perception system to detect objects and features in the vehicle's surroundings. A camera assembly having a ring-type structure is provided that gives the perception system an overall 360° field of view around the vehicle. Image sensors are arranged in camera modules around the assembly to provide a seamless panoramic field of view. One subsystem has multiple pairs of image sensors positioned to provide the overall 360° field of view, while another subsystem provides a set of image sensors generally facing toward the front of the vehicle to provide enhanced object identification. The camera assembly may be arranged in a housing located on top of the vehicle. The housing may include other sensors such as LIDAR and radar. The assembly includes a chassis and top and base plates, which may provide EMI protection from other sensors disposed in the housing.

Camera ring structure for autonomous vehicles

The disclosure provides for a system. The system may include a rotational control system configured to rotate a seat of a vehicle, and one or more computing devices. The one or more computing devices may have one or more processors that are configured to determine that an impact is imminent at a location on the vehicle along a collision axis. A most favorable orientation may be determined by the one or more processors based on the determined location and collision axis. Using the rotational control system, the one or more processors may rotate the seat of the vehicle to the most favorable orientation in order to reduce risks of serious injury to a passenger in the seat caused by the imminent impact. A translational control system may be used by the one or more processors to translate the seat of the vehicle to a position relative to the determined location.

Moving seats in a vehicle to enhance occupant protection

Aspects of the disclosure relate to deployable structures, such as airbag systems, for vehicles. A system is disclosed for reducing likelihood of injury to a passenger in a collision. The system may include a seat configured to accommodate the passenger and an airbag system. At least a portion of the airbag system may be incorporated into a vehicle prior to deployment of the airbag system. The airbag system may include an airbag and a locking feature. The locking feature may be configured to lock the airbag with a locking portion of a vehicle when the airbag system has been deployed. The locking feature may be attached to the airbag. Aside from airbags, other confining structures, such as nets, shades, curtains, etc., may also be used as deployable structures.

Deployable passenger enclosure

The technology relates to autonomous vehicles that use a perception system to detect objects and features in the vehicle's surroundings. A camera assembly having a ling-type structure is provided that gives the perception system an overall 360&#xb0; field of view around the vehicle. Image sensors are arranged in camera modules around the assembly to provide a seamless panoramic field of view. One subsystem has multiple pairs of image sensors positioned to provide the overall 360&#xb0; field of view, while another subsystem provides a set of image sensors generally facing toward the front of the vehicle to provide enhanced object identification. The camera assembly may be arranged in a housing located on top of the vehicle. The housing may include other sensors such as LIDAR and radar. The assembly includes a chassis and top and base plates, which may provide EMI protection from other sensors disposed in the housing.

The disclosure relates to detecting and clearing debris from a sensor window. For instance, a system may include the sensor window and one or more processors. The sensor window may include a transparent thin film conductor. The one or more processors may be configured to identify a change in capacitance using the transparent thin film conductor, detect debris on the sensor window using the change in capacitance, and activate a cleaning system in order to clear the detected debris from the sensor window.

Capacitance-based foreign object debris sensor

The disclosure provides for a wiper system for cleaning a surface of a sensor housing, such as a sensor housing positioned on top of a vehicle. The wiper system includes a plurality of windows spaced around a sensor housing, and a plurality of wipers positioned around the sensor housing, each of the wipers includes a wiper blade configured to clean a corresponding window of the plurality of windows. The wiper system further includes a drive system including a moveable part coupled to a motor. The motor is configured to drive the drive system to simultaneously rotate the plurality of wipers around the sensor housing such that the plurality of wipers remove debris from the plurality of windows.

Rotary wiper system

The disclosure relates to determining whether an optical interferent is located on a sensor window and providing a way to identify and discard erroneous sensor data. An example system includes a housing, having a first sensor window and a second sensor window, a laser light source, and an optical sensor. The first window has a first property for deflecting water, and the second window has a second property for deflecting water different from the first property. The source is configured to generate a beam of light through the first window. One or more processors are configured to receive sensor data from the optical sensor and determine that an optical interferent is located on a surface of at least one of the first window and the sensor window based on a comparison between sensor data corresponding to the first window and sensor data corresponding to the second window.

Lidar sensor window configuration for improved data integrity

The technology relates to autonomous vehicles that use a perception system to detect objects and features in the vehicle's surroundings. A camera assembly having a ring-type structure is provided that gives the perception system an overall 360&#xb0; field of view around the vehicle. Image sensors are arranged in camera modules around the assembly to provide a seamless panoramic field of view. One subsystem has multiple pairs of image sensors positioned to provide the overall 360&#xb0; field of view, while another subsystem provides a set of image sensors generally facing toward the front of the vehicle to provide enhanced object identification. The camera assembly may be arranged in a housing located on top of the vehicle. The housing may include other sensors such as LIDAR and radar. The assembly includes a chassis and top and base plates, which may provide EMI protection from other sensors disposed in the housing.

The disclosure provides for a wiper system for cleaning a surface of a sensor housing, such as a sensor housing positioned on top of a vehicle. The wiper system includes a plurality of windows spaced around a sensor housing, and a plurality of wipers positioned around the sensor housing, each of the wipers includes a wiper blade configured to clean a corresponding window of the plurality of windows. The wiper system further includes a drive system including a movable part coupled to a motor. The motor is configured to drive the drive system to simultaneously rotate the plurality of wipers around the sensor housing such that the plurality of wipers remove debris from the plurality of windows.

This technology relates to a system for clearing sensors. The system may include an air knife configured to clear a sensor housing of debris. The air knife may be attached to a bearing comprising a bearing ring. The system may also include a motor, wherein the motor is configured to rotate the bearing ring around the sensor housing.

Non-contact cleaning system

Growing community of inventors

San Jose, CA, United States of America

Felix Jose Alvarez Rivera