Systems and methods for synthetic entity augmentation in autonomous vehicle perception systems

A system for synthetic entity augmentation in autonomous vehicle perception systems, the system comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• a memory, wherein the memory contains instructions configuring the at least one processor to:
• select an entity model from an entity model database;
• receive from an autonomous vehicle, a plurality of real-world LIDAR data and real-world camera data, wherein the real-world LIDAR data and real-world camera data describe a three-dimensional (3D) space at least partially surrounding the autonomous vehicle;
• and
• insert the entity model into the 3D space to form augmented data, wherein inserting the entity model into the 3D space comprises:
• performing an RGB ray-casting procedure comprising updating RGB image pixels with pixels from the inserted entity model;
• and
• performing a LIDAR ray-casting procedure, comprising:
• determining a plurality of projected LIDAR points, wherein the plurality of projected LIDAR points comprise locations where rays from the LIDAR system of the autonomous vehicle would intersect the entity model, as a function of LIDAR system parameters and an entity location;
• determining depth values for each of the projected LIDAR points as a function of the LIDAR mask;
• and
• geometrically model, as a function of the depth values and the projected LIDAR points, return locations for LIDAR rays that hit the projected LIDAR points.