Checkout my new work: "Global Unifying Intrinsic Calibration for Spinning and Solid-State LiDARs"

Abstract - Intrinsic calibration models for spinning LiDARs have been based on hypothesized physical mechanisms, resulting in anywhere from three to ten parameters to be estimated from data, while no phenomenological models have yet been proposed for solid-state LiDARs. Instead of going down that road, we propose to abstract away from the physics of a LiDAR type (spinning vs. solid-state, for example) and focus on the point cloud's spatial geometry generated by the sensor. By modeling the calibration parameters as an element of a matrix Lie Group, we achieve a unifying view of calibration for different types of LiDARs. We further prove mathematically that the proposed model is well-constrained (has a unique answer) given four appropriately orientated targets. The proof provides a guideline for target positioning in the form of a tetrahedron. Moreover, an existing semi-definite programming global solver for SE(3) can be modified to efficiently compute the optimal calibration parameters.