System and method for occlusion detection in autonomous vehicle operation

An apparatus, comprising:

• at least one processor;
• and
• at least one memory including computer program code which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause apparatus to perform operations comprising:
• obtaining, from a camera associated with an autonomous vehicle, a first image of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the environment including a road on which the autonomous vehicle is operating and an occlusion on the road;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, the occlusion in the first image based on map information of the environment and at least one camera parameter of the camera for obtaining the first image;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, an object represented in the first image;
• determining, by the at least one processor, a confidence score relating to the object, wherein the confidence score indicates a likelihood a representation of the object in the first image is impacted by the occlusion;
• determining, by the at least one processor, an operation algorithm based on the confidence score;
• and
• causing the autonomous vehicle to operate based on the operation algorithm;
• wherein:
• the at least one camera parameter of the camera comprises at least one of a height of the camera or a tilt angle of the camera;
• the first image comprises a reference line relating to the at least one camera parameter;
• the map information comprises a contour of the road, and
• identifying the occlusion in the first image based on the map information of the environment and at least one parameter of the camera comprises:
• at each of a plurality of points along the reference line, determining a distance between the point on the reference line and a corresponding location on the contour of the road;
• and
• identifying a location of the occlusion based on the distances.

A non-transitory computer readable program storage medium having code stored thereon, the code, when executed by at least one processor, causing the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

• obtaining, from a camera associated with an autonomous vehicle, a first image of an environment of the autonomous vehicle, the environment including a road on which the autonomous vehicle is operating and an occlusion on the road;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, the occlusion in the first image based on map information of the environment and at least one camera parameter of the camera for obtaining the first image;
• identifying, by the at least one processor, an object represented in the first image;
• determining, by the at least one processor, a confidence score relating to the object, wherein the confidence score indicates a likelihood a representation of the object in the first image is impacted by the occlusion;
• determining, by the at least one processor, an operation algorithm based on the confidence score;
• and
• causing the autonomous vehicle to operate based on the operation algorithm;
• wherein:
• the at least one camera parameter of the camera comprises at least one of a height of the camera or a tilt angle of the camera;
• the first image comprises a reference line relating to the at least one camera parameter;
• the map information comprises a contour of the road, and
• identifying the occlusion in the first image based on the map information of the environment and at least one parameter of the camera comprises:
• at each of a plurality of points along the reference line, determining a distance between the point on the reference line and a corresponding location on the contour of the road;
• and
• identifying a location of the occlusion based on the distances.