Camera ring structure for autonomous vehicles

A vehicle configured to operate in an autonomous mode, the vehicle comprising:

• a driving system configured to perform driving operations in the autonomous mode;
• a perception system configured to detect objects in an environment surrounding the vehicle during the driving operations in the autonomous mode;
• and
• a control system operatively coupled to the driving system and the perception system, the control system having one or more computer processors configured to receive data from the perception system and to direct the driving system when operating in the autonomous mode;
• wherein the perception system includes a sensor assembly, the sensor assembly including:
• a chassis including a series of camera mounts distributed along a perimeter of the chassis in a ring arrangement around a central axis;
• a set of camera modules, each one of the camera modules being affixed to a respective one of the series of camera mounts, the set of camera modules including a first subset and a second subset, the first subset including a pair of image sensors and the second subset comprising an image sensor;
• a plate affixed to the set of camera modules;
• and
• an outer cover connected to the plate, the outer cover including a series of openings corresponding to fields of view of the image sensors of the first and second subsets.