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US 10,474,699 B2Granted
Use of relative atlas in autonomous vehicle
AssigneeAurora Innovation, Inc.
InventorsEthan Eade, Michael Bode, James Andrew Bagnell
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A relative atlas may be used to lay out elements in a digital map used in the control of an autonomous vehicle. A vehicle pose for the autonomous vehicle within a geographical area may be determined, and the relative atlas may be accessed to identify elements in the geographical area and to determine relative poses between those elements. The elements may then be laid out within the digital map using the determined relative poses, e.g., for use in planning vehicle trajectories, for estimating the states of traffic controls, or for tracking and/or identifying dynamic objects, among other purposes.
Claims20
A method comprising:
- determining a vehicle pose for an autonomous vehicle in a geographical area, wherein determining the vehicle pose includes:
- obtaining sensor data from one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle;
- and
- identifying a position and orientation of the autonomous vehicle within the geographical area using the sensor data;
- obtaining data from a relative atlas, the data being associated with the geographical area;
- identifying, based on the data obtained from the relative atlas, a first element and a second element in the geographical area, wherein the first element represents a first gate and the second element represents a second gate, each of the first gate and the second gate representing a respective vehicle pose for the autonomous vehicle in the geographical area;
- determining, based upon the data obtained from the relative atlas, a relative pose that associates the first gate with the second gate in the geographical area;
- inserting, in a digital map, the first gate and the second gate using the relative pose, wherein inserting the first gate and the second gate in the digital map using the relative pose includes:
- inserting the first gate at a first position in the digital map;
- determining a second position for the second gate relative to the first position using the relative pose;
- and
- inserting the second gate at the second position in the digital map;
- determining a particular path with respect to the vehicle pose using the first gate and the second gate in the digital map;
- and
- in response to determining the particular path, providing data identifying the particular path to the autonomous vehicle such that the autonomous vehicle is operated autonomously based on the particular path.
12 more elements
An autonomous vehicle, comprising:
- a memory storing a relative atlas;
- and an autonomous vehicle control system coupled to the memory and configured to:
- determine a vehicle pose for the autonomous vehicle in a geographical area, wherein the autonomous vehicle control system is configured to determine the vehicle pose by:
- obtaining sensor data from one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle;
- and identifying a position and orientation of the autonomous vehicle within the geographical area using the sensor data;
- obtain data from the relative atlas, the data being associated with the geographical area;
- identify, based on the data obtained from the relative atlas, a first element and a second element in the geographical area, wherein the first element represents a first gate and the second element represents a second gate, each of the first gate and the second gate representing a respective vehicle pose for the autonomous vehicle in the geographical area;
- determine, based upon the data obtained from the relative atlas, a relative pose that associates the first gate with the second gate in the geographical area;
- insert, in a digital map, the first gate and the second gate using the relative pose, wherein the autonomous vehicle control system is configured to insert the first gate and the second gate in the digital map using the relative pose by:
- inserting the first gate at a first position in the digital map;
- determining a second position for the second gate relative to the first position using the relative pose;
- and inserting the second gate at the second position in the digital map;
- determine a particular path with respect to the vehicle pose using the first gate and the second gate in the digital map;
- and in response to determining the particular path, providing data identifying the particular path to the autonomous vehicle such that the autonomous vehicle is operated autonomously based on the particular path.
11 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computer instructions executable by one or more processors to perform a method to operate an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:
- determining a vehicle pose for an autonomous vehicle in a geographical area, wherein determining the vehicle pose includes:
- obtaining sensor data from one or more sensors of the autonomous vehicle;
- and
- identifying a position and orientation of the autonomous vehicle within the geographical area using the sensor data;
- obtaining data from a relative atlas, the data being associated with the geographical area;
- identifying, based on the data obtained from the relative atlas, a first element and a second element in the geographical area, wherein the first element represents a first gate and the second element represents a second gate, each of the first gate and the second gate representing a respective vehicle pose for the autonomous vehicle in the geographical area;
- determining, based upon the data obtained from the relative atlas, a relative pose that associates the first gate with the second gate in the geographical area;
- inserting, in a digital map, the first gate and the second gate using the relative pose, wherein inserting the first gate and the second gate in the digital map using the relative pose includes:
- inserting the first gate at a first position in the digital map;
- determining a second position for the second gate relative to the first position using the relative pose;
- and
- inserting the second gate at the second position in the digital map;
- determining a particular path with respect to the vehicle pose using the first gate and the second gate in the digital map;
- and
- in response to determining the particular path, providing data identifying the particular path to the autonomous vehicle such that the autonomous vehicle is operated autonomously based on the particular path.
12 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.