Lidar system for autonomous vehicle

A method, comprising:

• outputting a transmit signal;
• receiving a return signal from at least one of reflection or scattering of the transmit signal by a real-world object;
• determining a 3D point cloud based on the return signal;
• determining a Doppler speed of the object based on the 3D point cloud;
• and
• determining a vehicle velocity of the autonomous vehicle relative to the object based on the Doppler speed.

An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a LIDAR system comprising one or more processors configured to:
• determine a Doppler speed of a real-world object based on a 3D point cloud, the 3D point cloud determined from a return signal received from at least one of scattering or reflection of a transmit signal by the object, the transmit signal transmitted by one or more scanning optics mounted to the autonomous vehicle;
• and
• determine a vehicle velocity of the autonomous vehicle relative to the object based on the Doppler speed;
• a steering system;
• a braking system;
• and
• a vehicle controller configured to control operation of at least one of the steering system or the braking system responsive to the vehicle velocity.