# US 2023/0408656 A1 · Detecting phantom objects in ranging sensor data

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- Number: US 2023/0408656 A1
- Document ID: US20230408656A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 17/843,989
- Filed: 2022-06-18
- Published: 2023-12-21
- Earliest claimed: 2022-06-18
- Assignees: GM Cruise Holdings LLC
- Applicants: GM Cruise Holdings LLC
- Inventors: Siyuan Lu; Sijia Chen; Keren Ye; Xianming Liu
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20230408656A1

## CPC

- G01S 7/497: Means for monitoring or calibrating
- G01S 7/4802: {using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section}
- G01S 17/89: for mapping or imaging
- G01S 17/931: of land vehicles
- G01S 7/41: using analysis of echo signal for target characterisation; Target signature; Target cross-section
- G01S 13/46: Indirect determination of position data
- G01S 17/42: Simultaneous measurement of distance and other co-ordinates (indirect measurement G01S17/46)
- G01S 17/894: Three-dimensional [3D] imaging with simultaneous measurement of time-of-flight at a two-dimensional [2D] array of receiver pixels, e.g. time-of-flight cameras or flash lidar
- G01S 2013/464: {using only the non-line-of-sight signal(s), e.g. to enable survey of scene 'behind' the target only the indirect signal is evaluated}
- G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES

## Abstract

Object detection for ranging sensor data may detect objects which are not actually present in the environment. To identify certain of these phantom objects, objects detected in the environment are analyzed to determine whether they are enclosed by another object and if the enclosed object has a distance from the ranging sensor higher than the enclosing object. This may suggest that the enclosing object has a surface or other feature that is sensed as additional depth that manifests as a separate detectable object. These phantom objects are identified and removed from further perception processing.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for detecting phantom objects in ranging sensor data, comprising:
receiving ranging sensor data captured by a ranging sensor;
identifying a set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data, each candidate object having respective positions in the ranging sensor data;
identifying an enclosed object in the set of candidate objects having a position at least partially enclosed by a position of an enclosing object in the set of candidate objects;
determining that the enclosed object has a further distance from the ranging sensor than the enclosing object; and
removing or maintaining the enclosed from the set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data based as least in part in part on the determination that the enclosed object has the further distance than the second object.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the enclosed object is removed or maintained further based on the type of the enclosing object.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the position of the enclosed object is a bounding box that is enclosed by a bounding box of the enclosing object.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the ranging sensor is a LIDAR sensor.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
determining relative movement of the enclosed object and the enclosing object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining of the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
identifying another object in the set of candidate objects different than the enclosing or enclosed objects;
determining a relative movement of the enclosed object and the other object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.

### Claim 7

A system, comprising:
a processor; and
a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium containing instructions for execution by the processor for:
receiving ranging sensor data captured by a ranging sensor;
identifying a set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data, each candidate object having respective positions in the ranging sensor data;
identifying an enclosed object in the set of candidate objects having a position at least partially enclosed by a position of an enclosing object in the set of candidate objects;
determining that the enclosed object has a further distance from the ranging sensor than the enclosing object; and
removing or maintaining the enclosed from the set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data based as least in part in part on the determination that the enclosed object has the further distance than the second object.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the enclosed object is removed or maintained further based on the type of the enclosing object.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the position of the enclosed object is a bounding box that is enclosed by a bounding box of the enclosing object.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the ranging sensor is a LIDAR sensor.

### Claim 11 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor for:
determining relative movement of the enclosed object and the enclosing object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining of the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.

### Claim 12 (depends on 7)

The system of claim 7, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor for:
identifying another object in the set of candidate objects different than the enclosing or enclosed objects;
determining a relative movement of the enclosed object and the other object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.

### Claim 13

A non-transitory computer-readable medium containing instructions executable by one or more processors for:
receiving ranging sensor data captured by a ranging sensor;
identifying a set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data, each candidate object having respective positions in the ranging sensor data;
identifying an enclosed object in the set of candidate objects having a position at least partially enclosed by a position of an enclosing object in the set of candidate objects;
determining that the enclosed object has a further distance from the ranging sensor than the enclosing object; and
removing or maintaining the enclosed from the set of candidate objects in the ranging sensor data based as least in part in part on the determination that the enclosed object has the further distance than the second object.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the enclosed object is removed or maintained further based on the type of the enclosing object.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the position of the enclosed object is a bounding box that is enclosed by a bounding box of the enclosing object.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the ranging sensor is a LIDAR sensor.

### Claim 17 (depends on 13)

The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable for:
determining relative movement of the enclosed object and the enclosing object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining of the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

The computer-readable medium of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable for:
identifying another object in the set of candidate objects different than the enclosing or enclosed objects;
determining a relative movement of the enclosed object and the other object with respect to one another across frames of the sensor data; and
wherein removing or maintaining the enclosed object is further based on the relative movement.