Systems and methods for autonomous vehicle control using depolarization ratio of return signal

An autonomous vehicle control system comprising one or more processors,

• wherein the one or more processors are configured to:
• cause a laser source to output a beam;
• cause a transmitter to transmit a transmit signal that is generated based on the beam;
• cause a receiver to receive a return signal reflected by an object;
• cause one or more optics to generate a first signal and a second signal based on the return signal wherein the first signal and the second signal have different polarizations;
• calculate a first reflectivity value of the object and a second reflectivity value of the object respectively based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value of the first signal and a SNR value of the second signal;
• and
• operate a vehicle based on the first reflectivity value of the object and the second reflectivity value of the object.

A autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a light detection and ranging (lidar) system comprising:
• a laser source configured to output a beam,
• a transmitter configured to transmit a transmit signal that is generated based on the beam,
• a receiver configured to receive a return signal reflected by an object, and
• one or more optics configured to generate a first signal and a second signal based on the return signal wherein the first signal and the second signal have different polarizations;
• at least one of a steering system or a braking system;
• and
• a vehicle controller comprising one or more processors configured to:
• calculate a first reflectivity value of the object and a second reflectivity value of the object respectively based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) value of the first signal and a SNR value of the second signal;
• and
• control operation of the at least one of the steering system or the braking system based on the first reflectivity value of the object and the second reflectivity value of the object.