Patent ID: 11933920
Assignee: WAYMO LLC
Field: Measurement (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G | IPC G

Claim 18:
19. A system comprising:
a housing;
a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device disposed inside the housing, wherein the LIDAR device is configured to scan a field-of-view (FOV) through the housing,
wherein the LIDAR device is configured to transmit, for each scan of the FOV, a plurality of light pulses emitted from the LIDAR device in different directions toward the housing, and
wherein the LIDAR device is configured to receive, for each scan of the FOV, a plurality of returning light pulses comprising reflected portions of the transmitted plurality of light pulses reflected back to the LIDAR device;
one or more processors; and
data storage storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
receiving, from the LIDAR device, data indicative of a plurality of scans of the FOV;
based on the received data, detecting an obstruction that at least partially occludes the LIDAR device from scanning the FOV through the housing, wherein detecting the obstruction comprises:
identifying an object scanned by the LIDAR device through a first section of the housing during a first scan of the plurality of scans and through a second section of the housing during a second scan of the plurality of scans; and
comparing a first portion of the first scan associated with the identified object to a second portion of the second scan associated with the identified object;

determining that the obstruction does not occlude the LIDAR device from scanning the FOV through one or more sections of the housing; and

identifying a particular section of the housing interposed between the LIDAR device and the obstruction.