Baffles for three-dimensional sensors having spherical fields of view

A method, comprising:

• instructing, by a processing system of a distance sensor, a first pair of light sources of the distance sensor to project a first pattern of light into a field of view, wherein the first pattern of light is created when each light source of the first pair of light sources projects a plurality of beams of light, and wherein at least one light source of the first pair of light sources includes a first baffle to limit a fan angle of the plurality of beams of light;
• instructing, by the processing system, a camera of the distance sensor to acquire a first image of the field of view, wherein the first image includes the first pattern of light;
• instructing, by the processing system, a second pair of light sources of the distance sensor to project a second pattern of light into the field of view, wherein the second pattern of light is created when each light source of the second pair of light sources projects a plurality of beams of light, and wherein at least one light source of the second pair of light sources includes a second baffle to limit a fan angle of the plurality of beams of light;
• instructing, by the processing system, the camera to acquire a second image of the field of view, wherein the second image includes the second pattern of light;
• and
• calculating, by the processing system, a distance from the distance sensor to an object in the field of view, based on appearances of the first pattern of light and the second pattern of light in the first image and the second image.

A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor of a distance sensor, wherein, when executed, the instructions cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:

• instructing a first pair of light sources of the distance sensor to project a first pattern of light into a field of view, wherein the first pattern of light is created when each light source of the first pair of light sources projects a plurality of beams of light, and wherein at least one light source of the first pair of light sources includes a baffle to limit a fan angle of the plurality of beams of light;
• instructing a camera of the distance sensor to acquire a first image of the field of view, wherein the first image includes the first pattern of light;
• instructing a second pair of light sources of the distance sensor to project a second pattern of light into the field of view, wherein the second pattern of light is created when each light source of the second pair of light sources projects a plurality of beams of light, and wherein at least one light source of the second pair of light sources includes a baffle to limit a fan angle of the plurality of beams of light;
• instructing the camera to acquire a second image of the field of view, wherein the second image includes the second pattern of light;
• and
• calculating a distance from the distance sensor to an object in the field of view, based on appearances of the first pattern of light and the second pattern of light in the first image and the second image.