Method of autonomous lane identification for a multilane vehicle roadway

A system for identifying whether a vehicle has entered, departed or stayed in a target lane as opposed to an adjacent non-target lane of a segmented roadway, each lane having a width (W), and each lane having a predetermined centerline, which is a series of geographic positions, the system comprising:

• a receiver within, attached to or integrated into the vehicle for receiving signals from at least one signal source and marking the geographic position of the vehicle at a sampling rate in a detailed travel path;
• circuitry in communication with the receiver programmed for:
• at each sampled point in the travel path, comparing the standard perpendicular distance between:
• the vehicle and the target lane centerline (d1);
• and
• the vehicle and the non-target lane centerline (d2);
• assessing that the vehicle is in the target lane if the distance d1 is less than the distance d2, and otherwise, assessing that the vehicle is in the non-target lane;
• from a time (t1) at which the vehicle is assessed to be departing from the target lane, deeming each such sampled point to be an excursion point and summing the excursion point departure distances until the vehicle is assessed to return to the target lane, or the detailed travel path ends, at a time (t2);
• and
• if:
• the sum of the excursion point departure distances is less than a threshold distance, or
• the time from t1 to t2 is less than a threshold time,
• treating the vehicle as having remained in the target lane, and otherwise, treating the vehicle as having changed to the non-target lane between time t1 and t2.