Expanding sensor domain coverage using differential active suspension

A vehicle comprising:

• one or more external sensors;
• a suspension control system, the suspension control system able to adjust a height of at least a portion of the vehicle to move the vehicle from a first vehicle pose to a second vehicle pose;
• a perception system to receive sensor data from at least a portion of the one or more external sensors and to identify an object;
• one or more transceivers configured to communicate wirelessly with one or more of other vehicles or a central control;
• and
• a controller, in communication with the perception system, the suspension control system, and the one or more transceivers, the controller configured to:
• receive a first signal from the perception system indicating that the object is at least partially outside a field of view of a first external sensor of the one or more external sensors;
• receive perception data comprising an object classification of an interior object;
• determine, based at least in part on the object classification of the interior object, one or more of a maximum tilt angle or maximum tilt rate of the vehicle;
• and
• send a first signal to the suspension control system to cause the vehicle to assume a second vehicle pose to bring the object into the field of view of the first external sensor, the second pose being different than the first pose;
• wherein the signal comprises one or more instructions to constrain the vehicle pose based at least in part on the maximum tilt angle or instructions to constrain motion of a suspension based at least in part on a maximum tilt rate.

A method comprising:

• receiving, at a controller, sensor data from one or more sensors on a vehicle, the vehicle having a first pose;
• determining, with the controller, that the sensor data contains an object that is at least partially outside a field of view of a sensor of the one or more sensors on the vehicle;
• determining by the controller, that the object is an object of interest based at least in part on a trajectory of the vehicle;
• sending, from the controller, a first signal to a suspension controller to cause the vehicle to assume a second pose based on the object of interest;
• receiving, at the controller, updated sensor data from the one or more sensors;
• determining, with the controller, that the sensor data contains the object of interest;
• saving, to a memory associated with the controller, the sensor data associated with the object of interest;
• and
• sending, from the controller, a signal to the suspension controller to cause the vehicle to return to the first pose based on the determination.