Simulation of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) beam-to-beam variation and device-to-device variation

1 . A system comprising:

a memory; and

one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors being configured to:

generate, within a simulation environment, a first Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurement that corresponds to a first virtual beam transmission from a first LiDAR sensor;

generate, within the simulation environment, a second LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a second virtual beam transmission from the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission are directed to a virtual object in the simulation environment;

determine a beam measurement variance between the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission; and

adjust at least one of the first LiDAR measurement and the second LiDAR measurement based on the beam measurement variance.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the beam measurement variance is based on a LiDAR beam variance dataset associated with the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the LiDAR beam variance dataset includes a plurality of beam measurement variances that are based on at least one of a distance parameter, a reflectivity parameter, and a power parameter.

3 . The system of claim 2 , wherein the LiDAR beam variance dataset includes noise data measurements obtained using LiDAR hardware corresponding to the first LiDAR sensor in a real-world environment.

4 . The system of claim 2 , wherein to determine the beam measurement variance between the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission the one or more processors are further configured to:

select the beam measurement variance from a distribution of variances stored in the LiDAR beam variance dataset.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission are associated with a same transmission power.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine a distance between the first LiDAR sensor and the virtual object, wherein the beam measurement variance is determined based on the distance.

7 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

determine a reflectivity of the virtual object, wherein the beam measurement variance is determined based on the reflectivity.

8 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the first LiDAR measurement and the second LiDAR measurement include at least one of a range value and an intensity value.

9 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:

generate, within the simulation environment, a third LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a third virtual beam transmission from a second LiDAR sensor, wherein the third virtual beam transmission is directed to the virtual object in the simulation environment;

determine a device measurement variance between the first LiDAR sensor and the second LiDAR sensor; and

adjust the third LiDAR measurement based on the device measurement variance.

10 . The system of claim 9 , wherein the device measurement variance is based on a LiDAR device variance dataset associated with the first LiDAR sensor and the second LiDAR sensor.

11 . A method comprising:

generating, within a simulation environment, a first Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurement that corresponds to a first virtual beam transmission from a first LiDAR sensor;

generating, within the simulation environment, a second LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a second virtual beam transmission from the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission are directed to a virtual object in the simulation environment;

determining a beam measurement variance between the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission; and

adjusting at least one of the first LiDAR measurement and the second LiDAR measurement based on the beam measurement variance.

12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the beam measurement variance is based on a LiDAR beam variance dataset associated with the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the LiDAR beam variance dataset includes a plurality of beam measurement variances that are based on at least one of a distance parameter, a reflectivity parameter, and a power parameter.

13 . The method of claim 11 , wherein the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission are associated with a same transmission power.

14 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a distance between the first LiDAR sensor and the virtual object, wherein the beam measurement variance is determined based on the distance.

15 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

determining a reflectivity of the virtual object, wherein the beam measurement variance is determined based on the reflectivity.

16 . The method of claim 11 , further comprising:

generating, within the simulation environment, a third LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a third virtual beam transmission from a second LiDAR sensor, wherein the third virtual beam transmission is directed to the virtual object in the simulation environment;

determining a device measurement variance between the first LiDAR sensor and the second LiDAR sensor; and

adjusting the third LiDAR measurement based on the device measurement variance.

17 . A non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions stored thereon which, when executed are configured to cause a computer or processor to:

generate, within a simulation environment, a first Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) measurement that corresponds to a first virtual beam transmission from a first LiDAR sensor;

generate, within the simulation environment, a second LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a second virtual beam transmission from the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission are directed to a virtual object in the simulation environment;

determine a beam measurement variance between the first virtual beam transmission and the second virtual beam transmission; and

adjust at least one of the first LiDAR measurement and the second LiDAR measurement based on the beam measurement variance.

18 . The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17 , wherein the beam measurement variance is based on a LiDAR beam variance dataset associated with the first LiDAR sensor, wherein the LiDAR beam variance dataset includes a plurality of beam measurement variances that are based on at least one of a distance parameter, a reflectivity parameter, and a power parameter.

19 . The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17 , comprising further instructions configured to cause the computer or the processor to:

determine a distance between the first LiDAR sensor and the virtual object, wherein the beam measurement variance is determined based on the distance.

20 . The non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 17 , comprising further instructions configured to cause the computer or the processor to:

generate, within the simulation environment, a third LiDAR measurement that corresponds to a third virtual beam transmission from a second LiDAR sensor, wherein the third virtual beam transmission is directed to the virtual object in the simulation environment;

determine a device measurement variance between the first LiDAR sensor and the second LiDAR sensor; and

adjust the third LiDAR measurement based on the device measurement variance.