Zhizhong Yan

Title: Innovations of Zhizhong Yan in Autonomous Vehicle Calibration

Introduction

Zhizhong Yan is an accomplished inventor based in San Francisco, CA, known for his contributions to the field of autonomous vehicle technology. With a total of 4 patents to his name, Yan has developed innovative solutions that enhance the calibration processes of sensors in autonomous vehicles.

Latest Patents

One of Yan's latest patents is a drive-through calibration process. This system involves methods and computer-readable media for a calibration check process of sensors on an autonomous vehicle (AV) via a drive-through environment mapped with a series of targets. The targets are utilized to verify the calibration of the sensors on the AV, ensuring quality checks before the vehicle is deemed fit for autonomous driving. The process supervises the calibration by collecting data from the sensors based on exposure to these targets or augmented camera targets. The collected data is crucial for extrinsic calibration, which aims to determine the extrinsic parameters that define the rigid relationship between sensors within set checker bounds.

Another significant patent focuses on camera calibration for underexposed cameras using traffic signal targets. This technology addresses the issue of miscalibrated traffic signal cameras in AVs. One technique involves obtaining an image from a traffic signal camera, marking the location of a traffic signal in the image with a bounding box, and checking if the light sources of the traffic signal are within this bounding box. If they are not, an alternate reason check is performed to ascertain whether there is a valid reason for the discrepancy. If no such reason exists, the traffic signal camera may be considered miscalibrated. An additional calibration check can be conducted using images from two traffic signal cameras of the AV, each having four common light sources, and performing a homographic computation based on the light sources' locations in the images.

Career Highlights

Throughout his career, Zhizhong Yan has worked with notable companies such as GM Cruise Holdings LLC and GM Global Technology Operations LLC. His experience in these organizations has allowed him to refine his expertise in autonomous vehicle technology and sensor calibration.

Collaborations

Yan has collaborated with talented individuals in the field, including Eric Lujan and Shiva Ghose. These partnerships have contributed to the advancement of innovative solutions in the realm of autonomous vehicles.

Conclusion

Zhizhong Yan's work in the field of autonomous vehicle calibration showcases his innovative spirit and