Enclosure for light detection and ranging unit and related methods

1. A method comprising:

(a) providing an apparatus comprising:

a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) unit, and

a LiDAR enclosure comprising:

a four-sided container having a square or rectangular cross-section, a first open end and a second open end comprising two opposite ends of the four-sided container,

a mounting area inside the four-sided container and on a first side of the four-sided container, the mounting area operable to accept the LiDAR unit, the mounting area being about equidistant from the first open end and the second open end, the LiDAR unit being attached to the mounting area, and

a reflective material disposed on an interior of a second side and a third side of the four-sided container, the second side and the third side being substantially perpendicular to the first side, and the second side and the third side being substantially parallel to one another;

(b) generating laser light with the LiDAR unit;

(c) detecting the laser light that has interacted with environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure and that has been reflected back to the LiDAR unit; and

(d) processing detected laser light to construct an image of the environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a material disposed over the first open end and the second open end of the four-sided container, and wherein the material transmits at least about 85% of generated laser light of the LiDAR unit.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the material blocks at least about 85% of visible light.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reflective material comprises aluminum, copper, silver, or gold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein operation (d) comprises:

(e) receiving an azimuth angle and range from the LiDAR unit for a detected point in the detected laser light;

(f) rejecting the detected point when the azimuth angle is greater than a maximum azimuth angle for generated laser light to escape the LiDAR enclosure;

(g) when the detected point is not rejected, determining a number of reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure;

(h) when the number of reflections is greater than zero, correcting the azimuth angle of the detected point to an actual azimuth angle of the detected point and correcting the range of the detected point to an actual range of the detected point, and when the number of reflections is zero, the azimuth angle of the detected point is the actual azimuth angle of the detected point and the range of the detected point is the actual range of the detected point;

(i) repeating operations (e)-(h) for a plurality of detected points; and

(j) constructing the image of the environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure with the actual azimuth angle and the actual range of the plurality of detected points.

6. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

prior operation (i), correcting an intensity of the detected point based on a number of reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

before operation (e), transforming the detected point to a positive quadrant from its original quadrant; and

after operation (h), transforming the detected point back to the original quadrant.

8. A device comprising:

a four-sided container having a square or rectangular cross-section, a first open end and a second open end comprising two opposite ends of the four-sided container;

a mounting area inside the four-sided container and on a first side of the four-sided container, the mounting area operable to accept a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) unit, the mounting area being about equidistant from the first open end and the second open end; and

a reflective material disposed on an interior of a second side and a third side of the four-sided container, the second side and the third side being substantially perpendicular to the first side, and the second side and the third side being substantially parallel to one another.

9. The device of claim 8 , wherein the reflective material is disposed on the interior of the first side and a fourth side of the four-sided container, wherein the fourth side is substantially perpendicular to the second side and the third side, and wherein the first side and the fourth side are substantially parallel to one another.

10. The device of claim 8 , further comprising:

a material disposed over the first open end and the second open end of the four-sided container, and wherein the material transmits at least about 85% of laser light generated by the LiDAR unit.

11. The device of claim 10 , wherein the material blocks at least about 85% of visible light.

12. The device of claim 8 , wherein the four-sided container comprises an acrylic.

13. The device of claim 8 , wherein the reflective material comprises aluminum, copper, silver, or gold.

14. The device of claim 8 , further comprising:

the LiDAR unit.

15. A method comprising:

(a) providing an apparatus comprising:

a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) unit, and

a LiDAR enclosure comprising:

a four-sided container having a square or rectangular cross-section, a first open end and a second open end comprising two opposite ends of the four-sided container,

a mounting area inside the four-sided container and on a first side of the four-sided container, the mounting area operable to accept the LiDAR unit, the mounting area being about equidistant from the first open end and the second open end, the LiDAR unit being attached to the mounting area, and

a reflective material disposed on an interior of the first side, a second side, a third side, and a fourth side of the four-sided container, the second side and the third side being substantially perpendicular to the first side, the second side and the third side being substantially parallel to one another, the fourth side being substantially perpendicular to the second side and the third side, and the first side and the fourth side being substantially parallel to one another,

(b) generating laser light with the LiDAR unit;

(c) detecting the laser light that has interacted with environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure and that has been reflected back to the LiDAR unit; and

(d) processing detected laser light to construct an image of the environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a material disposed over the first open end and the second open end of the four-sided container, and wherein the material transmits at least about 85% of generated laser light of the LiDAR unit.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the material blocks at least about 85% of visible light.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein operation (d) comprises:

(e) receiving an azimuth angle, an elevation angle, and a range from the LiDAR unit for a detected point in the detected laser light;

(f) rejecting the detected point when the azimuth angle is greater than a maximum azimuth angle for generated laser light to escape the LiDAR enclosure or when the elevation angle is greater than a maximum elevation angle for the generated laser light to escape the LiDAR enclosure;

(g) when the detected point is not rejected, determining a number of azimuthal reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure;

(h) when the number of azimuthal reflections is greater than zero, correcting the azimuth angle of the detected point to an actual azimuth angle of the detected point and correcting the range of the detected point to a corrected range of the detected point, and when the number of azimuthal reflections is zero, the azimuth angle of the detected point is the actual azimuth angle of the detected point and the range of the detected point is the corrected range of the detected point;

(i) when the detected point is not rejected, determining a number of elevation reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure;

(j) when the number of elevation reflections is greater than zero, correcting the elevation angle of the detected point to an actual elevation angle of the detected point and correcting the corrected range of the detected point to an actual range of the detected point, and when the number of elevation reflections is zero, the elevation angle of the detected point is the actual elevation angle of the detected point and the corrected range of the detected point is the actual range of the detected point;

(k) repeating operations (e)-(j) for a plurality of detected points; and

(l) constructing the image of the environment surrounding the LiDAR enclosure with the actual azimuth angle, the actual elevation angle, and the actual range of the plurality of detected points.

19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

prior to operation (k), correcting an intensity of the detected point based on a number of reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure, wherein the number of reflections of the generated laser light and the detected laser light in the LiDAR enclosure includes the number of azimuthal reflections and the number of elevation reflections.

20. The method of claim 18 , further comprising:

before operation (e), transforming the detected point to a positive octant from its original octant; and

after operation (j), transforming the detected point back to the original octant.