Systems and methods for autonomous vehicle motion control and motion path adjustments

A computing system for altering vehicle paths, the system comprising:

• one or more processors and one or more non-transitory computer-readable memories;
• wherein the one or more non-transitory computer-readable memories store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the computing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• accessing map data for a geographic area, the map data including information associated with a nominal path;
• obtaining data describing a target zone along the nominal path, wherein the target zone is an area which an autonomous vehicle is instructed to traverse before continuing to travel along a travelway;
• identifying, based on data representing a position of one or more lane boundaries included in the map data, whether the target zone is at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries;
• altering, in accordance with the target zone being at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries, the data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries such that the target zone is within a space designated by altered data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries;
• generating, based on the altered data, an altered nominal path to traverse the target zone before continuing to travel along the travelway;
• accessing perception data describing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle;
• generating a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle, the trajectory based on a target velocity, the one or more objects, and the altered nominal path;
• and
• controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the trajectory.

An autonomous vehicle, comprising:

• one or more processors;
• and
• one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that collectively store instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• accessing map data for a geographic area, the map data including information associated with a nominal path;
• obtaining data describing a target zone along the nominal path, wherein the target zone is an area which the autonomous vehicle is instructed to traverse before continuing to travel along a travelway;
• identifying, based on data representing a position of one or more lane boundaries included in the map data, whether the target zone is at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries;
• altering, in accordance with the target zone being at least partially outside the one or more lane boundaries, the data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries such that the target zone is within a space designated by altered data representing the position of the one or more lane boundaries;
• generating, based on the altered data, an altered nominal path to traverse the target zone before continuing to travel along the travelway;
• accessing perception data describing one or more objects in an environment of the autonomous vehicle;
• generating a trajectory for the autonomous vehicle, the trajectory based on a target velocity, the one or more objects, and the altered nominal path;
• and
• controlling the autonomous vehicle based on the trajectory.