# US 12,762,952 B2 · Method for determining and providing lane routes

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- Number: US 12,762,952 B2
- Document ID: US12762952B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/877,300
- Filed: 2023-05-23
- Published: 2025-12-18
- Granted: 2026-10-13
- Earliest claimed: 2022-06-28
- Assignees: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
- Applicants: Mercedes-Benz Group AG
- Inventors: Thomas Monninger
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12762952B2

## CPC

- G08G 1/096811: {where the route is computed offboard}
- G01C 21/3407: {specially adapted for specific applications}
- G01C 21/3867: {Geometry of map features, e.g. shape points, polygons or for simplified maps}
- G08G 1/20: {Monitoring the location of vehicles belonging to a group, e.g. fleet of vehicles, countable or determined number of vehicles}
- G08G: TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS (guiding railway traffic, ensuring the safety of railway traffic B61L; arrangement of road signs or traffic signals E01F9/00; radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for traffic control G01S13/91, G01S15/88, G01S17/88; {radar or analogous systems, sonar systems, lidar systems specially adapted for anti-collision purposes G01S13/93, G01S15/93, G01S17/93})
- G01C: MEASURING DISTANCES, LEVELS OR BEARINGS; SURVEYING; NAVIGATION; GYROSCOPIC INSTRUMENTS; PHOTOGRAMMETRY OR VIDEOGRAMMETRY (measuring liquid level G01F; radio navigation, determining distance or velocity by use of propagation effects, e.g. Doppler effects, propagation time, of radio waves, analogous arrangements using other waves G01S)

## Abstract

A central computing unit determines and provides lane routes of streets to vehicles of a vehicle fleet. A geometric map having geometric lane boundaries and applying a grid with grid cells of a specified size to the map is provided. Fleet data is collected from fleet, the fleet data including position sequences covered by the fleet vehicles. Vehicle orientations of the vehicles at positions of the grid cells are determined from the collected position sequences. The determined vehicle orientations are discretized and a histogram is generated for each individual grid cell position for the discretized vehicle orientations. A map section having a specified amount of grid cells is selected and the lane routes on the map section are determined using a learning-based method from the histograms created for the grid cells of the map section and the geometric lane boundaries on the map section.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method comprising:
receiving, by a central computing unit, a geometric map having geometric lane boundaries;
applying, by the central computing unit, a grid with grid cells of a specified size to the geometric map;
collecting, by the central computing unit, fleet data from vehicles of a vehicle fleet, wherein the fleet data comprises position sequences covered by the vehicles of the vehicle fleet;
determining, by the central computing unit, vehicle orientations of the vehicles at positions of the grid cells from the collected position sequences;
discretizing, by the central computing unit, the determined vehicle orientations;
generating, by the central computing unit, a histogram for each individual grid cell position for the discretized vehicle orientations determined at the position of a respective grid cell;
selecting, by the central computing unit, a map section having a specified amount of grid cells;
determining, by the central computing unit, the lane routes on the map section by a learning-based method from the histograms created for the grid cells of the map section and the geometric lane boundaries on the map section;
supplying, by the central computing unit, the determined lane routes to a trajectory planning module of one of the vehicles of the vehicle fleet, wherein the one of the vehicles of the vehicle fleet is an autonomously driving vehicle; and
autonomously operating the one of the vehicles along a trajectory defined by the trajectory planning module along one of the determined lane routes.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determined lane routes are provided to the vehicles of the vehicle fleet for retrieval.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determined lane routes are provided to the vehicles as data in a digital map.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determined lane routes are supplied to a trajectory planning module of a plurality of autonomously driving vehicles of the vehicle fleet.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein training the learning-based method takes place the generated histograms and by ground truth maps created for specified regions.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the trajectory along which the one of the vehicles of the vehicle fleet is autonomously operated is missing lane markings or is a bus lane.