Lidar to camera calibration for generating high definition maps

A computer system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions for
• performing calibration of sensors of a vehicle, wherein the instructions when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform the steps including:
• receiving a close-up sensor data of an object displaying a calibration pattern,
• the close-up sensor data comprising a camera image and a lidar scan of
• the object positioned less that than a threshold distance from the vehicle;
• determining an approximate lidar-to-camera transform based on the close-up sensor data;
• receiving a distant sensor data of the object, the distant sensor data comprising a camera image and a lidar scan of the object positioned greater than the threshold distance from the vehicle;
• determining an accurate lidar-to-camera transform based on the distant sensor data and the approximate lidar-to-camera transform;
• and
• using the accurate lidar-to-camera transform for calibrating sensor data captured by the vehicle.

A method for performing calibration of sensors of a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving a close-up sensor data of an object displaying a calibration pattern, the close-up sensor data comprising a camera image and a lidar scan of the object positioned less that than a threshold distance from the vehicle;
• determining an approximate lidar-to-camera transform based on the close-up sensor data;
• receiving a distant sensor data of the object, the distant sensor data comprising a camera image and a lidar scan of the object positioned greater than the threshold distance from the vehicle;
• determining an accurate lidar-to-camera transform based on the distant sensor data and the approximate lidar-to-camera transform;
• and
• using the accurate lidar-to-camera transform for calibrating sensor data captured by the vehicle.