Automatic mode selection system

A computer implemented method for automatically selecting a mode for a vehicle, comprising:

• receiving, through a perception system of the vehicle, real-time perception data representing an environment in a desired direction of travel of the vehicle;
• predicting, using a first fitted inference model, based on the real-time perception data, a sequence of first-subsystem candidate mode predictions for a first-subsystem of the vehicle, wherein each of the first-subsystem candidate mode predictions corresponds to a set of predefined modes for the first-subsystem, each of the predefined modes defining a respective set of one or more operating parameters for the first-subsystem;
• determining, based on the sequence of first-subsystem candidate mode predictions, a first-subsystem mode;
• and
• causing the first-subsystem mode to be implemented by the first-subsystem.

A vehicle equipped with a computer system, the computer system being configured for automatically selecting an operating mode for the vehicle by:

• receiving, through a video camera of the vehicle, a sequence of image frames representing upcoming terrain in a direction of travel of the vehicle;
• predicting, using a first fitted inference model, based on the sequence of image frames, a sequence of candidate mode predictions for the vehicle, wherein the candidate mode predictions correspond to a set of predefined modes for a system of the vehicle, each of the predefined modes defining a respective set of one or more operating parameters for the system;
• determining, based on the sequence of candidate mode predictions, a system mode;
• and
• causing the system mode to be implemented by the vehicle.