Patents Assigned to Waymo LLC
  • Patent number: 12061091
    Abstract: Example implementations may relate to sun-aware vehicle routing. In particular, a computing system of a vehicle may determine an expected position of the sun relative to a geographic area. Based on the expected position, the computing system may make a determination that travel of the vehicle through certain location(s) within the geographic area is expected to result in the sun being proximate to an object within a field of view of the vehicle's image capture device. Responsively, the computing system may generate a route for the vehicle in the geographic area based at least on the route avoiding travel of the vehicle through these certain location(s), and may then operate the vehicle to travel in accordance with the generated route. Ultimately, this may help reduce or prevent situations where quality of image(s) degrades due to sunlight, which may allow for use of these image(s) as basis for operating the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Jeremy Dittmer, Andreas Wendel
  • Patent number: 12061296
    Abstract: An example system includes a light detection and ranging (LIDAR) device that scans a field-of-view defined by a pointing direction of the LIDAR device. The system also includes an actuator that adjusts the pointing direction of the LIDAR device. The system also includes a communication interface that receives timing information from an external system. The system also includes a controller that causes the actuator to adjust the pointing direction of the LIDAR device based on at least the received timing information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Blaise Gassend, Benjamin Ingram, Luke Wachter
  • Patent number: 12063457
    Abstract: Examples described relate to systems, methods, and apparatus for transmitting image data. The apparatus may comprise a memory buffer configured to store data elements of an image frame and generate a signal indicating that each of the data elements of the image frame have been written to the memory buffer, a processor configured to initiate a flush operation for reading out at least one data element of the image frame from the memory buffer and to output the at least one data element at a first rate, a rate adjustment unit configured to receive the at least one data element from the processor at the first rate and to output the at least one data element at a second rate, and a multiplexer configured to receive the at least one data element from the processor at the first rate and configured to receive the at least one data element from the rate adjustment unit at the second rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventor: Pieter Kapsenberg
  • Patent number: 12059994
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to optical systems, vehicles, and methods that are configured to illuminate and image a wide field of view of an environment. An example optical system includes a camera having an optical axis and an outer lens element disposed along the optical axis. The optical system also includes a plurality of illumination modules, each of which includes at least one light-emitter device configured to emit light along a respective emission axis and a secondary optical element optically coupled to the at least one light-emitter device. The secondary optical element is configured to provide a light emission pattern having an azimuthal angle extent of at least 170 degrees so as to illuminate a portion of an environment of the optical system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventor: Giulia Guidi
  • Patent number: 12055659
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to devices, lidar systems, and vehicles that include optical redirectors. An example lidar system includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transmitter includes at least one light-emitter device configured to transmit emission light into an environment of the lidar system. The receiver is configured to detect return light from the environment and includes a plurality of apertures, a plurality of photodetectors, and a plurality of optical redirector elements. Each optical redirector element is configured to optically couple a respective portion of return light from a respective aperture to at least one photodetector of the plurality of photodetectors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 26, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Blaise Gassend, David Duff, Pierre-Yves Droz, Paul Karplus, Jason Watson, Michael Brickner, Alex Rivas
  • Patent number: 12056898
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to assessing operation of a camera. In one instance, a volume of space corresponding to a first vehicle in an environment of a second vehicle may be identified using sensor data generated by a LIDAR system of the second vehicle. An image captured by a camera of the second vehicle may be identified. The camera may have an overlapping field of view of the LIDAR system at a time when the sensor data was generated. An area of the image corresponding to the volume of space may be identified and processed in order to identify a vehicle light. The operation of the camera may be assessed based on the processing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Chen Wu, Carl Warren Craddock, Andreas Wendel
  • Patent number: 12055632
    Abstract: One example system comprises an active sensor that includes a transmitter and a receiver, a first camera that detects external light originating from one or more external light sources to generate first image data, a second camera that detects external light originating from one or more external light sources to generate second image data, and a controller. The controller is configured to perform operations comprising determining a first distance estimate to a first object based on a comparison of the first image data and the second image data, determining a second distance estimate to the first object based on active sensor data, comparing the first distance estimate and the second distance estimate, and determining a third distance estimate to a second object based on the first image data, the second image data, and the comparison of the first and second distance estimates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Shashank Sharma, Matthew Last
  • Patent number: 12055442
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to systems, vehicles, and methods relating to imaging and object detection using polarization-based detection of infrared light. An example system includes at least one infrared detector configured to detect infrared light corresponding to a target object within a field of view. The infrared light includes at least one of a first polarization or a second polarization. The system also includes a controller configured to carry out operations. The operations include receiving, from the at least one infrared detector, information indicative of infrared light corresponding to the target object. The operations also include determining, based on the received information, a polarization ratio corresponding to the target object. The polarization ratio comprises a first polarization intensity divided by a second polarization intensity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2019
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Benjamin Frevert, Zachary Morriss
  • Patent number: 12055630
    Abstract: The subject matter of this specification relates to a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) device that comprises, in some implementations, a pulsed-laser source configured to generate a pulsed optical signal, a continuous wave (CW) laser source configured to generate a CW optical signal, one or more optical amplifier circuits configured to amplify at least the pulsed optical signal, a combiner configured to combine the pulsed optical signal and the CW optical signal into a hybrid transmission signal, and at least one photodetector configured to receive a reflection signal produced by reflection of the hybrid transmission signal by a target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Bernard Fidric, Pierre-Yves Droz, Michael R. Matthews, Pablo Hopman, John Lam
  • Patent number: 12058308
    Abstract: The present disclosure relates to systems, vehicles, and methods for detecting optical defects in an optical path of a camera system. An example system may include an image sensor configured to provide images of a field of view via an optical path that extends through an optical window. The system also includes at least one phase-detection device and a controller. The controller is configured to execute instructions stored in the memory so as to carry out various operations, including receiving, from the image sensor, first pixel information indicative of an image of the field of view. The operations additionally include receiving, from the at least one phase-detection device, second pixel information indicative of a portion of the field of view. The operations yet further include determining, based on the first pixel information and the second pixel information, at least one optical defect associated with the optical path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 4, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Andy Wong, Nirav Dharia
  • Patent number: 12051328
    Abstract: Aspects of the disclosure relate to providing sensor data on a display of a vehicle. For instance, data points generated by a lidar sensor may be received. The data points may be representative of one or more objects in an external environment of the vehicle. A scene including a representation of the vehicle from a perspective of a virtual camera, a first virtual object corresponding to at least one of the one or more objects, and a second virtual object corresponding to at least one object identified from pre-stored map information may be generated. Supplemental points corresponding to a surface of the at least one object identified from the pre-stored map information may be generated. A pulse including at least some of the data points generated by the sensor and the supplemental points may be generated. The scene may be displayed with the pulse on the display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Nirmal Patel, Maria Moon, Peter Crandall
  • Patent number: 12052519
    Abstract: A system includes an image sensor having a plurality of pixels that form a plurality of regions of interest (ROIs), image processing resources, and a scheduler configured to perform operations including determining a priority level for a particular ROI of the plurality of ROIs based on a feature detected by one or more image processing resources of the image processing resources within initial image data associated with the particular ROI. The operations also include selecting, based on the feature detected within the initial image data, a particular image processing resource of the image processing resources by which subsequent image data generated by the particular ROI is to be processed. The operations further include inserting, based on the priority level, the subsequent image data into a processing queue of the particular image processing resource to schedule the subsequent image data for processing by the particular image processing resource.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Vlad Cardei, Lucian Ion, Nirav Dharia
  • Patent number: 12051249
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for predicting occupancies of agents. One of the methods includes obtaining scene data characterizing a current scene in an environment; and processing a neural network input comprising the scene data using a neural network to generate a neural network output, wherein: the neural network output comprises respective occupancy outputs corresponding to a plurality of agent types at one or more future time points; the occupancy output for each agent type at a first future time point comprises respective occupancy probabilities for a plurality of locations in the environment; and in the occupancy output for each agent type at the first future time point, the respective occupancy probability for each location characterizes a likelihood that an agent of the agent type will occupy the location at the first future time point.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Mayank Bansal, Dragomir Anguelov
  • Patent number: 12050467
    Abstract: A method includes identifying route data including a threshold arrival time for a route for an autonomous vehicle (AV) and calculating, based on the route data and a fuel-efficient speed value for each segment of the route, an estimated arrival time. Responsive to the estimated arrival time not meeting the threshold arrival time, the method includes identifying at least a subset of segments that each represent a candidate for speed increase, computing, for each segment in the subset and based on the fuel economy data, a correlation metric that indicates a correlation between a change in fuel economy and a change in speed for a corresponding segment in the subset, and increasing, for at least one segment from the subset and based on a respective correlation metric, a fuel-efficient speed value of the corresponding segment from the subset to provide a speed profile reflecting the increased fuel-efficient speed value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2023
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: William Grossman, Peter Strohm
  • Patent number: 12050267
    Abstract: Aspects and implementations of the present disclosure address shortcomings of the existing technology by enabling efficient object identification and tracking in autonomous vehicle (AV) applications by using velocity data-assisted mapping of first set of points obtained for a first sensing data frame by a sensing system of the AV to a second set of points obtained for a second sensing data frame by the sensing system of the AV, the first set of points and the second set of points corresponding to an object in an environment of the AV, and causing a driving path of the AV to be determined in view of the performed mapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Nicholas Armstrong-Crews, Mingcheng Chen, Xiaoxiang Hu, Colin Andrew Braley, Yunshan Jiang
  • Patent number: D1037029
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2024
    Date of Patent: July 30, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: YooJung Ahn, Toshihiro Fujimura, Jared Gross, Solomon Lyman
  • Patent number: D1037881
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 30, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: YooJung Ahn, Jerry Chen, Toshihiro Fujimura, Jinseok Hwang, Joshua Newby, Zhaokun Wang
  • Patent number: D1038789
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: YooJung Ahn, David Gordon Duff, Joshua Newby, Paul Karplus, Candace Marbury
  • Patent number: D1038791
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: YooJung Ahn, Jared Gross, Thomas Southworth, Chun Chen, Ricky Wong
  • Patent number: D1038793
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 2023
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2024
    Assignee: Waymo LLC
    Inventors: Jared Gross, Joshua Newby, Albert Shane, Alexandre Girard