Active power control of sensors

US11561292B1 · kind B1 · utility

Assignee

• Zoox, Inc. · US

Inventors

• Subasingha Shaminda Subasingha · Menlo Park, US
• Turhan Karadeniz · Oakland, US
• Robert Nicholas Moor · San Mateo, US
• Mehran Ferdowsi · San Mateo, US
• Denis Nikitin · Campbell, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Aug 23, 2019
• Grant date: Jan 24, 2023
• Expiry date: Aug 27, 2041

Classification

• Technology area (CPC G): Physics
• CPC primary: G01S17/931
• WIPO field: Measurement
• WIPO sector: Instruments

Abstract

Sensors, including time-of-flight sensors, may be used to detect objects in an environment. In an example, a vehicle may include a time-of-flight sensor that images objects around the vehicle, e.g., so the vehicle can navigate relative to the objects. Sensor data generated by the time-of-flight sensor can return unreliable pixels, e.g., in the case of over- or under-exposure. In some examples, parameters associated with power of a time-of-flight sensor can be altered based on a number of unreliable pixels in measured data and/or based on intensity values of the measured data. For example, unreliable pixels can be determined using phase frame information captured at a receiver of the sensor.