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US 10,970,746 B2Granted
Autonomy first route optimization for autonomous vehicles
AssigneeNIO USA, Inc.
InventorsAbhishek Singhal, Gautam Muralidhar, Christopher F. Pouliot, Edward H. Baik, Jonathan A. Cox
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Embodiments herein can determine an optimal route for an autonomous electric vehicle. The system may score viable routes between the start and end locations of a trip using a numeric or other scale that denotes how viable the route is for autonomy. The score is adjusted using a variety of factors where a learning process leverages both offline and online data. The scored routes are not based simply on the shortest distance between the start and end points but determine the best route based on the driving context for the vehicle and the user.
Claims20
A vehicle, comprising:
- a first set of sensors to sense an environment surrounding the vehicle;
- a second set of sensors to sense an activity of an occupant in the vehicle;
- a third set of sensors to sense a state of the vehicle;
- a vehicle control system for autonomously controlling driving functions of the vehicle;
- a navigation system, in communication with the first, second, and third sets of sensors and the vehicle control system, to provide a selected route to the vehicle control system for autonomously controlling the vehicle along the selected route;
- and
- a processor in communication with the first, second, and third sets of sensors, the navigation system, and the vehicle control system, the processor:
- receiving, from a database external to the vehicle and for each of two or more routes between a common start point and a common end point, static route characteristics that do not change for each of the two or more routes;
- receiving, in real-time from one or more other vehicles, dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes, wherein each of the two or more routes has a different set of the static route characteristics and the dynamic route characteristics;
- receiving user route characteristics that indicate route preferences of the occupant of the vehicle;
- receiving vehicle characteristics that indicate a state of one or more components of the vehicle;
- selecting a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
- selecting, based on the static route characteristics, the dynamic route characteristics, the user route characteristics, and the vehicle characteristics for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
- and
- providing the selected route to the navigation system.
12 more elements
A method, comprising:
- receiving, by a processor of a vehicle from a database external to the vehicle and for each of two or more routes between a common start point and a common end point, static route characteristics that do not change for each of the two or more routes;
- receiving, by the processor in real-time from one or more other vehicles, dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes, wherein each of the two or more routes has a different set of the static route characteristics and the dynamic route characteristics;
- receiving, by the processor, user route characteristics that indicate route preferences of an occupant of the vehicle;
- receiving, by the processor, vehicle characteristics that indicate a state of one or more components of the vehicle;
- receiving, by the processor, a sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, a sensed activity of the occupant of the vehicle, and a sensed state of the vehicle;
- selecting, by the processor, a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
- selecting, by the processor, based on the static route characteristics, the dynamic route characteristics, the user route characteristics, and the vehicle characteristics for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
- providing, by the processor, the selected route to a navigation system;
- providing, by the navigation system, route directions for the selected route to a vehicle control system for autonomously controlling the vehicle along the selected route;
- and
- controlling autonomously, by the vehicle control system, driving functions of the vehicle to maneuver the vehicle along the selected route.
8 more elements
A non-transitory information storage media having stored thereon one or more instructions, that when executed by one or more processors, cause a vehicle to perform a method, the method, comprising:
- receiving, from a database external to the vehicle for each of two or more routes between a common start point and a common end point, static route characteristics that do not change for each of the two or more routes;
- receiving, in real-time from one or more other vehicles, dynamic route characteristics that change for each of the two or more routes, wherein each of the two or more routes has a different set of the static route characteristics and the dynamic route characteristics;
- receiving user route characteristics that indicate route preferences of an occupant of the vehicle;
- receiving vehicle characteristics that indicate a state of one or more components of the vehicle;
- receiving a sensed environment surrounding the vehicle, a sensed activity of the occupant of the vehicle, and a sensed state of the vehicle;
- selecting a level of autonomy, from among a plurality of levels of autonomy, based on the sensed activity of the occupant;
- selecting, based on the sets of static route and dynamic route characteristics for each of the two or more routes, a route of the two or more routes that best fits the selected level of autonomy, the sensed environment, and the sensed state of the vehicle;
- providing the selected route to a navigation system;
- providing route directions for the selected route to a vehicle control system for autonomously controlling the vehicle along the selected route;
- and
- autonomously controlling driving functions of the vehicle to maneuver the vehicle along the selected route.
8 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.