Autonomous vehicle navigation

A method of controlling an autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• receiving non-pulsed illumination from the vehicle environment;
• generating image data of the vehicle environment using the non-pulsed illumination;
• receiving pulsed illumination from an object in the vehicle environment, wherein the pulsed illumination and non-pulsed illumination are in a common visible, short-wavelength infrared, a mid-wavelength infrared, or long-wavelength infrared waveband;
• generating pulse data from the pulsed illumination, wherein the image data is generated coincidentally with the pulse data;
• decoding the pulse data;
• identifying the object using frequency of the decoded pulsed illumination, wherein identifying the object includes selecting an identity associated with the object based on the decoded pulsed illumination;
• enhancing the image data by inserting the object identity into the image data;
• analyzing the enhanced image data with a machine vision algorithm;
• and
• navigating the autonomous vehicle through the vehicle environment based on the identification of the object.

A navigation system for navigating an autonomous vehicle through an external vehicle environment having objects external to the autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a sensor for receiving pulsed illumination from the object the in vehicle environment and generating pulse data and for receiving non-pulsed illumination from the vehicle environment and generating image data, wherein the image data is generated coincidentally with the pulse data;
• a decoder in communication with the sensor for decoding the pulse data;
• an object identifier in communication with the decoder for identifying the object using the decoded pulsed illumination;
• and
• a controller in communication with the object identifier and operatively connected to the autonomous vehicle for navigating the autonomous vehicle through the vehicle environment based on the identification of the object.