White paper on LiDAR performance against selected Automotive Paints

TL;DR

This study evaluates how different automotive paints affect LiDAR sensor performance, focusing on real-world conditions in Singapore, to inform testing standards and improve autonomous vehicle sensing reliability.

Contribution

It introduces a methodology for assessing LiDAR reflectance with automotive paints and provides empirical data on how paint color influences sensor intensity readings.

Findings

Darker paints reduce LiDAR reflection intensity

Lighter paints increase LiDAR reflection intensity

Sensor performance varies with paint color and type

Abstract

LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a useful sensing technique and an important source of data for autonomous vehicles (AVs). In this publication we present the results of a study undertaken to understand the impact of automotive paint on LiDAR performance along with a methodology used to conduct this study. Our approach consists of evaluating the average reflected intensity output by different LiDAR sensor models when tested with different types of automotive paints. The paints were chosen to represent common paints found on vehicles in Singapore. The experiments were conducted with LiDAR sensors commonly used by autonomous vehicle (AV) developers and OEMs. The paints used were also selected based on those observed in real-world conditions. This stems from a desire to model real-world performance of actual sensing systems when exposed to the physical world. The goal is then to inform regulators of AVs in Singapore of the impact of automotive paint on LiDAR performance, so that they can determine testing standards and specifications which will better reflect real-world performance and also better assess the adequacy of LiDAR systems installed for local AV operations. The tests were conducted for a combination of 13 different paint panels and 3 LiDAR sensors. In general, it was observed that darker coloured paints have lower reflection intensity whereas lighter coloured paints exhibited higher intensity values.