US 12,746,946 B1Granted

Determining relevant objects and relevant object trajectories

AssigneeZoox, Inc.

InventorsMarin Kobilarov, Linjun Zhang

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Abstract

Techniques for identifying relevant objects and/or trajectories are described herein. A vehicle may identify laterally adjacent lane reference(s) and determine whether it is kinematically feasible for the vehicle to navigate to the lane reference(s). If the vehicle is unable to navigate to the lane reference, the vehicle may exclude the objects located in the associated driving lane from being included in further relevancy filtering operations. In contrast, if the vehicle can navigate to the lane reference, the vehicle may identify an object located in the driving lane of the lane reference and determine whether the object and the vehicle are predicted to overlap spatially and/or temporally. Based on identifying an overlap, the vehicle can determine a relevance score for the object trajectory and use the relevance score to determine whether the object is a relevant object and/or to determine whether the object trajectory is a relevant trajectory.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A system comprising:

one or more processors;
and
one or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed, cause the system to perform operations comprising:
determining, based at least in part on sensor data, a position of a vehicle in an environment;
receiving, based at least in part on the position, map data associated with the environment;
determining, based at least in part on the map data and the position, that the vehicle is located within a first driving lane;
identifying, based at least in part on the map data, a lane reference associated with a second driving lane that is laterally adjacent to the first driving lane;
determining a first maximum curvature associated with controlling the vehicle;
generating a candidate path from the position of the vehicle to the lane reference;
determining a second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
determining, as a comparison, that the first maximum curvature of the vehicle is less than the second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
causing, based at least in part on the comparison, an object located within the second driving lane to be excluded from a list of relevant objects;
and
controlling one or more of steering, propulsion, acceleration, or braking of the vehicle based at least in part on the list of relevant objects.

11 more elements

One or more non-transitory computer-readable media storing instructions executable by one or more processors, wherein the instructions, when executed, cause a system to perform operations comprising:

determining that a vehicle is located within a first driving lane;
identifying, based at least in part on map data, a lane reference associated with a second driving lane that is proximate to the first driving lane;
determining a first maximum curvature associated with controlling the vehicle;
generating a candidate path from the vehicle to the lane reference;
determining a second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
determining, as a comparison, that the first maximum curvature of the vehicle is less than the second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
causing, based at least in part on the comparison, an object located within the second driving lane to be excluded from a list of relevant objects;
and
controlling one or more of steering, propulsion, acceleration, or braking of the vehicle based at least in part on the list of relevant objects.

6 more elements

A method comprising:

determining that a vehicle is located within a first driving lane;
identifying, based at least in part on map data, a lane reference associated with a second driving lane that is proximate to the first driving lane;
determining a first maximum curvature associated with controlling the vehicle;
generating a candidate path from the vehicle to the lane reference;
determining a second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
determining, as a comparison, that the first maximum curvature of the vehicle is less than the second maximum curvature of the candidate path;
causing, based at least in part on the comparison, an object located within the second driving lane to be excluded from a list of relevant objects;
and
controlling one or more of steering, propulsion, acceleration, or braking of the vehicle based at least in part on the list of relevant objects.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 18/591,620Filed 29 Feb 2024
Granted: 29 Sep 2026
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification6 codes

B60W 60/0011
Planning or execution of driving tasks: involving control alternatives for a single driving scenario, e.g. planning several paths to avoid obstacles
B60W 30/18163
Related to particular drive situations: lane change; Overtaking manoeuvres
B60W 2552/53
Input parameters relating to infrastructure: road markings, e.g. lane marker or crosswalk
B60W 2554/40
Input parameters relating to objects: dynamic objects, e.g. animals, windblown objects