US Patent 10109208 LIDAR-based vehicle distance measurement system

A system and method for determining the distance between at least one point on a vehicle and at least one projected area off of the vehicle includes receiving, with a processor, sensor signals indicative of LIDAR data for the projected area off the vehicle; applying, with the processor, a linear estimation algorithm to filter out noise within the LIDAR data and define a surface plane for the projected area; evaluating, with the processor, the LIDAR data against a vehicle state model; determining, with the processor, the distance between the at least one point on the vehicle and the at least one projected area off the vehicle; and commanding a response in the vehicle controls.