# US 10,479,376 B2 · Dynamic sensor selection for self-driving vehicles > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 10,479,376 B2 - Document ID: US10479376B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 15/467,525 - Filed: 2017-03-23 - Published: 2018-09-27 - Granted: 2019-11-19 - Earliest claimed: 2017-03-23 - Assignees: Uatc, LLC - Applicants: Uatc, LLC - Inventors: Eric Meyhofer; David Rice; Scott Boehmke; Carl Wellington - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10479376B2 ## CPC - B60W 50/023: Avoiding failures by using redundant parts - G01S 13/862: {Combination of radar systems with sonar systems} - G01S 13/865: {Combination of radar systems with lidar systems} - G01S 13/867: {Combination of radar systems with cameras} - G01S 13/931: of land vehicles - G01S 17/931: of land vehicles - G05D 1/024: {in combination with a laser (lasers per se H01S)} - G05D 1/0251: {extracting 3D information from a plurality of images taken from different locations, e.g. stereo vision (stereoscopic image analysis H04N13/00; depth recovery from images G06T7/593)} - G01C 21/30: Map- or contour-matching - G01S 2013/9316: {combined with communication equipment with other vehicles or with base stations} - G01S 2013/932: {using own vehicle data, e.g. ground speed, steering wheel direction} - G01S 2013/9322: {using additional data, e.g. driver condition, road state or weather data} - B60W: CONJOINT CONTROL OF VEHICLE SUB-UNITS OF DIFFERENT TYPE OR DIFFERENT FUNCTION; CONTROL SYSTEMS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR HYBRID VEHICLES; ROAD VEHICLE DRIVE CONTROL SYSTEMS FOR PURPOSES NOT RELATED TO THE CONTROL OF A PARTICULAR SUB-UNIT - G01S: RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION OR RERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES - G05D: SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING OR REGULATING NON-ELECTRIC VARIABLES - G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S) ## Abstract A self-driving vehicle (SDV) can operate by analyzing sensor data to autonomously control acceleration, braking, and steering systems of the SDV along a current route. The SDV includes a number of sensors generating the sensor data and a control system to detect conditions relating to the operation of the SDV, such as vehicle speed and local weather, select a set of sensors based on the detected conditions, and prioritize the sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to control aspects relating to the operation of the SDV. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A self-driving vehicle (SDV) comprising: a plurality of sensors generating sensor data indicative one or more views of a surrounding area of the SDV; and a control system to execute instructions that cause the control system to: detect one or more conditions relating to an operation of the SDV; select a set of sensors from the plurality of sensors based on performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors associated with the detected one or more conditions; and prioritize the sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to control one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV based on the performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors in the detected one or more conditions relating to the operation of the SDV. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein detecting the one or more conditions includes receiving contextual information from a network service over a network. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein the control system detects the one or more conditions by analyzing the sensor data. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein the one or more conditions relating to the operation of the SDV include weather conditions, current speed of the SDV, time of day, ambient lighting, and road conditions. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein a plurality of sensor priority rules are applied to the detected one or more conditions to select the set of sensors. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The SDV of claim 5, wherein the plurality of sensor priority rules include one or more weights to apply to the sensor data from one or more of the plurality of sensors, and the control system prioritizes the sensor data based on the one or more weights. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The SDV of claim 6, wherein the plurality of sensor priority rules and/or the one or more weights are based on the performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors in a plurality of conditions relating to the operation of the SDV. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein the one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV include detecting one or more objects in an environment around the SDV. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The SDV of claim 8, wherein the control system prioritizes the sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to assign an object classification to each of the one or more objects. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The SDV of claim 1, wherein the one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV include localization, prediction, and motion planning. ### Claim 11 A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a control system of a self-driving vehicle (SDV), cause the control system to: detect one or more conditions relating to an operation of the SDV; select a set of sensors from a plurality of sensors based on performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors associated with the detected one or more conditions, the sensors are configured to generate sensor data indicative of one or more views of a surrounding area of the SDV; and prioritize the sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to control one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV based on the performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors in the detected one or more conditions relating to the operation of the SDV. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein detecting the one or more conditions includes receiving contextual information from a network service over a network. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the control system detects the one or more conditions by analyzing the sensor data. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more conditions relating to the operation of the SDV include weather conditions, current speed of the SDV, time of day, ambient lighting, and road conditions. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein a plurality of sensor priority rules are applied to the detected one or more conditions to select the set of sensors. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the plurality of sensor priority rules include one or more weights to apply to the sensor data from one or more of the plurality of sensors, and the control system prioritizes the sensor data based on the one or more weights. ### Claim 17 (depends on 16) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein the plurality of sensor priority rules and/or the one or more weights are based on the performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors in a plurality of conditions relating to the operation of the SDV. ### Claim 18 (depends on 11) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, wherein the one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV include detecting one or more objects in an environment around the SDV. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18, wherein the control system prioritizes the sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to assign an object classification to each of the one or more objects. ### Claim 20 A computer-implemented method of operating a self-driving vehicle (SDV), the method being performed by a control system of the SDV and comprising: obtaining, from a plurality of sensors onboard the SDV, sensor data indicative of one or more views of a surrounding area of the SDV; detecting one or more conditions relating to an operation of the SDV; selecting a set of sensors from the plurality of sensors based on performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors associated with the detected one or more conditions; and prioritizing sensor data generated from the selected set of sensors to control one or more aspects relating to the operation of the SDV based on the performance characteristics of each of the plurality of sensors in the detected one or more conditions relating to the operation of the SDV.