Design of dark-colored acrylic coatings for increased LiDAR detection in autonomous vehicles

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) is the major sensor for autonomous vehicles. It emits near-infrared (NIR) pulsed light at 905 nm and detects the reflected portion of this light from the surrounding objects. Location and surface determination of the surrounding objects is performed using the time-of-flight (the elapsed time from launch of a pulsed beam to detection of the reflected returned beam). Solvent borne acrylic paints gained wide currency for the exterior automotive coatings over the years and topcoats with conventional dark-colored pigment dispersions exhibit low reflectivity in the NIR region. The formulation of innovative topcoats with high reflectivity in this region is an urgent task for leading paint manufacturers. In this study, pigment dispersions to be incorporated in LiDAR-detectable solvent borne acrylic automotive topcoats were designed considering the surface charges of individual pigment particles for dispersant selection. Stability of designed dispersions was demonstrated and color matching studies were realized. Three dark colors encoded RAL 9011 (Graphite black), RAL 5017 (Traffic blue), and RAL 5015 (Sky blue) from the RAL 841-GL color chart were formulated as acrylic topcoats with NIR reflective pigments. Based on the surface properties of the dry films, such as gloss, haze and distinctness of image, a significant increase in LiDAR detection was achieved for each color. The results affirmed the potential use of the developed formulations as end-product paints for coating the exterior surfaces of autonomous vehicles.