Noise Filtering System and Method for Solid-State LiDAR

A method of noise filtering light detection and ranging signals to reduce false positive detection, the method comprising:

• a) detecting light generated by a light detection and ranging transmitter in an ambient light environment that is reflected by a target scene;
• b) generating a received data trace based on the detected light;
• c) determining an ambient light level based on the received data trace;
• d) determining a variance of the ambient light level based on the received data trace;
• e) determining valid return pulses by comparing magnitudes of return pulses to a sum of the ambient light level and N-times the variance of the ambient light level;
• and
• f) generating a point cloud with a reduced false positive detection rate from the valid return pulses.

A light detection and ranging system with reduced false positive detection, the system comprising:

• a) a transmit module comprising a two-dimensional array of emitters that generates and projects illumination at a target;
• b) a receive module comprising a two-dimensional array of detectors that receive a portion of the illumination generated by the transmit module that is reflected from an object located at the target to generate a received data trace;
• and
• c) a signal processor having inputs electrically connected to the output of the receive module, the signal processor performing time-of flight (TOF) calculations to produce histograms of the received data trace, determining an ambient light level based on the received data trace, determining valid return pulse data using the determined ambient light level, and generating a point cloud with a reduced false positive detection rate from the valid return pulses.