LIDAR SCENE GENERATION FOR TRAINING MACHINE LEARNING MODELS

A lidar method and system for training and using a machine learning model are disclosed. An example method includes: obtaining a map of a background scene, the map including three-dimensional (3D) point cloud data; obtaining at least one point cloud representation of at least one foreground object, the at least one point cloud representation including 3D point cloud data, wherein one or more lidar sensors were used to generate the 3D point cloud data for the map and the at least one point cloud representation; generating a lidar scene by placing the at least one point cloud representation within the map; and training the machine learning model using the generated lidar scene. The model can be used to identify objects and control a vehicle.