Detecting potentially occluded objects for autonomous vehicles

A method of controlling a vehicle having an autonomous driving mode, the method comprising:

• determining, by one or more processors, that the vehicle is approaching a crosswalk;
• generating, by the one or more processors, a set of potential occluded pedestrians for the crosswalk, each potential occluded pedestrian of the set of potential occluded pedestrians being assigned a speed characteristic defining a speed of the potential occluded pedestrian and an assigned location for the potential occluded pedestrian;
• updating the assigned location of the set of potential occluded pedestrians over time using the assigned speed characteristics;
• receiving, by the one or more processors, sensor data from a perception system of the vehicle corresponding to a visible area which is not occluded;
• removing, by the one or more processors, one or more potential occluded pedestrians from the set having an updated assigned location corresponding to the visible area;
• and
• after the removing, using, by the one or more processors, the set to control the vehicle in the autonomous driving mode.