Systems and methods for autonomous vehicles with lighting control

A method of controlling an illumination system for an autonomous vehicle, the method comprising:

• storing, in a memory, a plurality of lighting pattern definitions for controlling the illumination system;
• receiving, at a processor in communication with the memory and the illumination system, salient data defining a current salient feature, the feature being salient to the autonomous vehicle, wherein the salient data comprises at least one of environmental data defining an object in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle or trajectory data defining a target location of the autonomous vehicle;
• at the processor, selecting a lighting pattern of the plurality of lighting patterns based on the salient data;
• and
• controlling the illumination system based on the autonomous vehicle in relation to the current salient feature.

An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• a chassis;
• two or more drive wheels extending below the chassis;
• a drive motor housed within the chassis for driving the drive wheels;
• an illumination system for emitting light from at least a portion of the chassis;
• a memory storing a plurality of lighting pattern definitions;
• and
• a processor operable to:
• receive salient data defining a current salient feature, the feature being salient to the autonomous vehicle, wherein the salient data comprises at least one of environmental data defining an object in the vicinity of the autonomous vehicle or trajectory data defining a target location of the autonomous vehicle;
• select a lighting pattern of the plurality of lighting patterns based on the salient data;
• and
• control the illumination system based on the autonomous vehicle in relation to the current salient feature.