Autonomous vehicle signal control
AssigneeState Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company
InventorsBlake Konrardy, Scott T. Christensen, Gregory Hayward, Scott Farris
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Abstract
Methods and systems for communicating between autonomous vehicles are described herein. Such communication may be performed for signaling, collision avoidance, path coordination, and/or autonomous control. An autonomous vehicle may determine an upcoming maneuver for the autonomous vehicle and identify a vehicle signal which is indicative of the upcoming maneuver. Then the autonomous vehicle may present the vehicle signal. After presenting the vehicle signal, the autonomous vehicle may perform the maneuver.
Claims17
A computer-implemented method for controlling vehicle signals in a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features, comprising:
- determining, at one or more processors in a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features, an upcoming maneuver for the vehicle;
- identifying, by the one or more processors, a vehicle signal which is indicative of the upcoming maneuver;
- causing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to present the vehicle signal;
- and
- after presenting the vehicle signal, causing, by the one or more processors, the vehicle to perform the maneuver;
- and
- decoding, by the one or more processors, one or more other vehicle signals received from one or more other vehicles.
A computer system configured to control vehicle signals in a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features, the computer system comprising one or more local or remote processors, transceivers, or sensors configured to:
- determine, in a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features, an upcoming maneuver for the vehicle;
- identify a vehicle signal which is indicative of the upcoming maneuver;
- cause the vehicle to present the vehicle signal;
- and
- after presenting the vehicle signal, cause the vehicle to perform the maneuver,
- wherein the vehicle signal is presented when the vehicle is unable to transmit communications to other vehicles having one or more autonomous operation features.
A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing thereon a set of instructions that, when executed on one or more processors in a head unit of a vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features, causes the one or more processors to:
- determine an upcoming maneuver for the vehicle;
- identify a vehicle signal which is indicative of the upcoming maneuver;
- cause the vehicle to present the vehicle signal;
- and
- after presenting the vehicle signal, cause the vehicle to perform the maneuver,
- wherein the vehicle signal is an electromagnetic signal outside of a visible light spectrum, and wherein another vehicle having one or more autonomous operation features decodes the electromagnetic signal to identify the upcoming maneuver.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.