Patent attributes
Methods and systems for estimating vehicle speed are disclosed. A light detecting and ranging (LIDAR) device obtains a set of spatial points indicative of locations of reflective surfaces in an environment of the LIDAR device. A plurality of target points that correspond to a target surface of a target vehicle is identified in the set of spatial points. The plurality of target points includes a first point indicative of a first location on the target surface obtained by the LIDAR device at a first time and a second point indicative of a second location on the target surface obtained by the LIDAR device at a second time. A speed of the target vehicle is estimated based on the first location, the first time, the second location, and the second time.
