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US 11,993,264 B2Granted
Systems and methods for autonomous vehicle control based upon observed acceleration
AssigneeGM Cruise Holdings LLC
InventorKevin Danford
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Described herein are various technologies that pertain to controlling an AV based upon forward-looking observations of road surface behavior. With more specificity, technologies described herein pertain to controlling maneuvering of an AV in a region of a driving environment based upon an observed acceleration of an object in that region of the driving environment. A plurality of positions of an object in the driving environment are determined from output of sensors mounted on the AV. An acceleration of the object is computed based upon the positions. The AV is subsequently controlled based upon the computed acceleration.
Claims20
An autonomous vehicle (AV), comprising:
- a plurality of sensor systems that generate a plurality of sensor signals, the plurality of sensor signals indicative of a different vehicle in a driving environment of the AV, the different vehicle being separate from the AV in the driving environment of the AV;
- and
- a computing system that is in communication with the plurality of sensor systems, wherein the computing system comprises:
- a processor;
- and
- memory that stores computer-executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform acts comprising:
- generating, based upon the sensor signals, a plurality of position solutions for the different vehicle in the driving environment, the position solutions indicative of positions of the different vehicle over a period of time, the positions being included in a region in the driving environment in a forward path of the AV;
- computing a magnitude of acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region in the driving environment during the period of time based upon the position solutions;
- computing a coefficient of traction of a driving surface in the region based upon the computed magnitude of acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region, an object type classification of the different vehicle, and an approximate weight of the different vehicle corresponding to the object type classification of the different vehicle;
- and
- controlling acceleration of the AV while the AV traverses the region based upon the computed coefficient of traction of the driving surface in the region computed based upon the computed magnitude of acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region.
8 more elements
A method executed by an autonomous vehicle (AV), the method comprising:
- receiving sensor signals from a plurality of sensor systems mounted on the AV;
- generating, based upon the sensor signals, a plurality of position solutions for a different vehicle in the driving environment, the position solutions indicative of positions of the different vehicle over a period of time as the different vehicle traverses a region of the driving environment in a forward path of the AV, the different vehicle being separate from the AV in the driving environment;
- computing an acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region of the driving environment as the different vehicle traverses the region during the period of time based upon the position solutions;
- generating a measure of traction of a driving surface in the region of the driving environment based upon the computed acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region, an object type classification of the different vehicle, and an approximate weight of the different vehicle corresponding to the object type classification of the different vehicle;
- and
- controlling at least one of a braking system, a steering system, or a propulsion system of the AV based upon the measure of traction of the driving surface in the region generated based upon the computed acceleration of the different vehicle observed by the AV in the forward path of the AV within the region.
3 more elements
A system comprising:
- a first autonomous vehicle (AV);
- and
- a server computing device in communication with a fleet of AVs, the first AV included in the fleet of AVs, the server computing device configured to perform the following acts:
- updating map data pertaining to an operational region of the fleet of AVs responsive to receiving surface data indicative of a measure of traction of a driving surface in the operational region, wherein the surface data is received from a second AV in the fleet of AVs, wherein the second AV generates the surface data based on an acceleration of a differing vehicle observed by the second AV in the operational region based on sensor signals generated by at least one sensor system of the second AV, and wherein the second AV further generates the surface data based an object type classification of the differing vehicle and an approximate weight of the differing vehicle corresponding to the object type classification of the differing vehicle;
- and
- transmitting the updated map data to the first AV, wherein the updated map data includes the surface data, wherein subsequent to the first AV receiving the updated map data, the first AV controls acceleration of the first AV when the first AV is traveling on the driving surface based upon the surface data, and wherein the acceleration of the first AV is controlled such that a maximum acceleration of the first AV is set based on the measure of traction of the driving surface in an area in which the first AV is traveling.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.