Sensor assembly with lidar for autonomous vehicles

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12545184-B2
Application number	US-202217977561-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 31, 2022
Priority date	Mar 1, 2019
Publication date	Feb 10, 2026
Grant date	Feb 10, 2026

Abstract

A sensor assembly for autonomous vehicles includes a side mirror assembly configured to mount to a vehicle. The side mirror assembly includes a first camera having a field of view in a direction opposite a direction of forward travel of the vehicle; a second camera having a field of view in the direction of forward travel of the vehicle; and a third camera having a field of view in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction of forward travel of the vehicle. The first camera, the second camera, and the third camera are oriented to provide, in combination with a fourth camera configured to be mounted on a roof of the vehicle, an uninterrupted camera field of view from the direction of forward travel of the vehicle to a direction opposite the direction of forward travel of the vehicle.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1 . A sensor assembly for an autonomous vehicle, comprising:
a bracket configured to couple to the autonomous vehicle; an arm having a first end, a second end, and a longitudinal axis connecting the first end and the second end, wherein the bracket is coupled to the first end; a housing coupled to the second end, the housing having a forward facing side, a rear facing side, and a longitudinal axis generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm;
a first lidar coupled directly to, and below, the housing such that the first lidar is entirely vertically below the arm; and
a second lidar coupled to the forward facing side of the housing such that the second lidar is a forward facing lidar having a center of a field of view of the second lidar forward of the autonomous vehicle,
wherein the first lidar is a rotating lidar configured to detect objects within a radius of 50 m, and wherein the second lidar has a viewing angle about the longitudinal axis of the housing of at least 90 degrees.

2 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein a rotational axis of the first lidar is parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing.

3 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first lidar is configured to detect objects within a radius of 75 meters.

4 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first lidar is coupled to a lower portion of the housing.

5 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first lidar has a field of view of 360 degrees.

6 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second lidar is configured to detect objects in front of the autonomous vehicle.

7 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second lidar has a viewing angle of at least 180 degrees.

8 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second lidar has a viewing angle of at least 270 degrees.

9 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second lidar has a viewing angle of 360 degrees.

10 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , further comprising one or more cameras coupled to the housing.

11 . The sensor assembly of claim 10 , wherein at least one camera of the one or more cameras are coupled to an upper portion of the housing.

12 . The sensor assembly of claim 10 , wherein at least one camera of the one or more cameras is coupled to an opposing surface from at least one of the first lidar and the second lidar.

13 . The sensor assembly of claim 10 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises at least two cameras coupled to the housing such that the at least two cameras having a portion of each field of view in opposing directions.

14 . The sensor assembly of claim 13 , further comprising one or more radars or a thermal camera.

15 . The sensor assembly of claim 14 , wherein the one or more radars comprises two or more radars.

16 . The sensor assembly of claim 10 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises at least two cameras coupled to the housing such that the at least two cameras having a portion of each field of view in substantially perpendicular directions.

17 . The sensor assembly of claim 16 , further comprising one or more radars or a thermal camera.

18 . The sensor assembly of claim 17 , wherein the one or more radars comprises two or more radars.

19 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , further comprising one or more radars.

20 . The sensor assembly of claim 19 , wherein the one or more radars comprises two or more radars.

21 . The sensor assembly of claim 20 , further comprising one or more cameras.

22 . The sensor assembly of claim 21 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises at least two cameras coupled to the housing such that the at least two cameras having a portion of each field of view in opposing directions.

23 . The sensor assembly of claim 21 , wherein the one or more cameras comprises at least two cameras coupled to the housing such that the at least two cameras having a portion of each field of view in substantially perpendicular directions.

24 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , further comprising one or more radars, a thermal camera, a first camera having a field of view including a direction opposite of a direction of travel, a second camera having a field of view including the direction of travel, a third camera having a field of view including a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel.

25 . The sensor assembly of claim 24 , wherein the second camera is a wide field of view camera.

26 . The sensor assembly of claim 24 , wherein the second camera is a narrow field of view camera.

27 . The sensor assembly of claim 24 , wherein the one or more radars comprises two or more radars.

28 . An autonomous vehicle comprising:
a trailer; a cab configured to couple to the trailer; and a sensor assembly including a housing having a forward facing side and a rear facing side, the sensor assembly comprising:
a first lidar coupled directly to, and extending below, the housing; and
a second lidar coupled to the forward facing side of the housing such that the second lidar extends vertically above an uppermost portion of the housing, the second lidar being a forward facing lidar having a center of a field of view of the second lidar forward of the autonomous vehicle,
wherein the first lidar is a rotating lidar configured to detect objects within a radius of 50 m of the autonomous vehicle, and wherein the second lidar has a viewing angle of at least 90 degrees.

29 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 28 , wherein at least a portion of the cab and at least a portion of the trailer are in a field of view of the first lidar.

30 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 28 , wherein at least a portion of a front corner of the cab is in a field of view of the second lidar.

31 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 28 , the sensor assembly further comprising one or more radars, a thermal camera, a first camera having a field of view including a direction opposite of a direction of travel, a second camera having a field of view including the direction of travel, a third camera having a field of view including a direction perpendicular to the direction of travel.

32 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 31 , wherein at least a portion of a front corner of the cab is in the field of view of the second camera.

33 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 32 , wherein at least a portion of a rear corner of the trailer is in the field of view of the first camera.

34 . The autonomous vehicle of claim 31 , wherein the third camera has a field of view that does not include the cab or the trailer.

35 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first lidar is directed at a pitch of within 5 degrees of a horizontal plane and the second lidar is directed at a pitch of within 10 degrees of a horizontal plane.

36 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the second lidar has a negative pitch.

37 . The sensor assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first lidar is positioned within a lower portion of the sensor assembly, and the second lidar is positioned within an upper portion of the sensor assembly.

38 . The sensor assembly of claim 37 , wherein the first lidar has a field of view of 3

Assignees

• Kodiak Robotics Inc

Inventors

• Burnette Donald
• Hinricher Court
• Kuvelker Jay
• Wendel Andreas
• Zinn John
• Shane Laura

Classifications

• B60R2001/1253

  with cameras, video cameras or video screens · CPC title

• H04N23/90

  Arrangement of cameras or camera modules, e.g. multiple cameras in TV studios or sports stadiums · CPC title

• G03B37/04

  with cameras or projectors providing touching or overlapping fields of view · CPC title

• G01S13/931

  of land vehicles · CPC title

• G01S13/867

  Combination of radar systems with cameras · CPC title