Systems and methods for vehicle navigation

A method for navigating a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one captured image representative of features in an environment of the vehicle, the at least one captured image being captured by a camera of the vehicle;
• generating a warped image based on the received at least one captured image, wherein the warped image simulates a view of one or more of the features in the environment of the vehicle from a simulated viewpoint elevated relative to an actual position of the camera, the warped image being generated by transforming pixels corresponding to a ground plane in the environment of the vehicle to a warped ground plane, the warped ground plane being at an angle relative to the ground plane, wherein generating the warped image includes adding at least one additional pixel to the warped image such that the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image includes more image pixels than the representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• identifying at least one road feature represented in the warped image, wherein the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image is transformed in one or more respects relative to a representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• determining a navigational action for the vehicle based on the identified at least one road feature represented in the warped image;
• and
• causing at least one actuator system of the vehicle to implement the determined navigational action.

A system for mapping a road feature for use in vehicle navigation, the system comprising:

• at least one processor comprising circuitry and a memory, wherein the memory includes instructions that when executed by the circuitry cause the at least one processing device to:
• receive at least one captured image representative of features in an environment of the vehicle, the at least one captured image being captured by a camera of the vehicle;
• generate a warped image based on the received at least one captured image, wherein the warped image simulates a view of one or more of the features in the environment of the vehicle from a simulated viewpoint elevated relative to an actual position of the camera, the warped image being generated by transforming pixels corresponding to a ground plane in the environment of the vehicle to a warped ground plane, the warped ground plane being at an angle relative to the ground plane, wherein generating the warped image includes adding at least one additional pixel to the warped image such that the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image includes more image pixels than the representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• identify at least one road feature represented in the warped image, wherein the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image is transformed in one or more respects relative to a representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• determine a position of one or more points associated with the identified at least one road feature;
• and
• forward the determined position to a server for use in updating a road navigation model.

A method for mapping a road feature for use in vehicle navigation, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one captured image representative of features in an environment of the vehicle, the at least one captured image being captured by a camera of the vehicle;
• generating a warped image based on the received at least one captured image, wherein the warped image simulates a view of one or more of the features in the environment of the vehicle from a simulated viewpoint elevated relative to an actual position of the camera, the warped image being generated by transforming pixels corresponding to a ground plane in the environment of the vehicle to a warped ground plane, the warped ground plane being at an angle relative to the ground plane, wherein generating the warped image includes adding at least one additional pixel to the warped image such that the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image includes more image pixels than the representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• identifying at least one road feature represented in the warped image, wherein the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image is transformed in one or more respects relative to a representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• determining a position of one or more points associated with the identified at least one road feature;
• and
• forwarding the determined position to a server for use in updating a road navigation model.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause at least one processor to perform a method for navigating a vehicle, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one captured image representative of features in an environment of the vehicle, the at least one captured image being captured by a camera of the vehicle;
• generating a warped image based on the received at least one captured image, wherein the warped image simulates a view of one or more of the features in the environment of the vehicle from a simulated viewpoint elevated relative to an actual position of the camera, the warped image being generated by transforming pixels corresponding to a ground plane in the environment of the vehicle to a warped ground plane, the warped ground plane being at an angle relative to the ground plane, wherein generating the warped image includes adding at least one additional pixel to the warped image such that the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image includes more image pixels than the representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• identifying at least one road feature represented in the warped image, wherein the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image is transformed in one or more respects relative to a representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• determining a navigational action for the vehicle based on the identified at least one road feature represented in the warped image;
• and
• causing at least one actuator system of the vehicle to implement the determined navigational action.

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, are configured to cause at least one processor to perform a method for mapping a road feature for use in vehicle navigation, the method comprising:

• receiving at least one captured image representative of features in an environment of a vehicle, the at least one captured image being captured by a camera of the vehicle;
• generating a warped image based on the received at least one captured image, wherein the warped image simulates a view of one or more of the features in the environment of the vehicle from a simulated viewpoint elevated relative to an actual position of the camera, the warped image being generated by transforming pixels corresponding to a ground plane in the environment of the vehicle to a warped ground plane, the warped ground plane being at an angle relative to the ground plane, wherein generating the warped image includes adding at least one additional pixel to the warped image such that the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image includes more image pixels than the representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• identifying at least one road feature represented in the warped image, wherein the representation of the at least one road feature in the warped image is transformed in one or more respects relative to a representation of the at least one road feature in the at least one captured image;
• determining a position of one or more points associated with the identified at least one road feature;
• and
• forwarding the determined position to a server for use in updating a road navigation model.